Cognitive Psychology: Approaches to Perception

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, Gestalt principles, perception/action concepts, neural pathways, and optical illusions from Chapter 3 on Perception.

Perception

The cognitive processes through which we interpret the stimuli in the world around us.

Gestalt Approach to Perception

An approach proposing that perception occurs through the application of organizational principles following physical processes, resulting in a perception of a scene that is 'more than the sum of its parts.'

Principle of Similarity

A Gestalt organizational principle stating that objects or features in a scene are grouped together according to their similarity.

Principle of Proximity

A Gestalt organizational principle stating that objects or features of a scene are grouped together based on their closeness to one another.

Good Continuation

A Gestalt organizational principle stating that objects are perceived as continuous in cases where it is expected that they would continue, even when parts are occluded.

Principle of Closure

A Gestalt organizational principle where incomplete objects are perceived as whole, even in cases where parts are occluded or missing.

Principle of Pragnanz

Also known as the law of good figure or law of simplicity, a Gestalt principle suggesting that scenes are perceived in the simplest and most concise way possible.

Figure-Ground Organization

The organization of a scene into a distinct foreground object (figure) and background (ground), allowing different perceptual interpretations based on which color or region is assigned to the background.

Configural Superiority Effect

A perceptual phenomenon where larger arrays of stimuli containing basic feature elements and more complex stimuli are easier to perceive than smaller basic arrays of stimuli.

Perception/Action Approaches

Approaches to perception that focus on the 'what for' aspect of perception, examining how perception allows organisms to perform goal-directed behaviors in their environment.

Affordance

The perception of possible behaviors or actions available in a given environment.

Direct Perception

An ecological theoretical view proposed by James Gibson suggesting that information is directly available in detectable patterns in the environment without requiring transformation of a distal stimulus into a mental proximal stimulus.

Optic Flow

The movement pattern generated by objects at different distances as an observer moves past them, where objects closer to the observer appear to pass by faster than objects farther away.

Ebbinghaus Illusion

A visual illusion where a central circle surrounded by larger circles is perceived as smaller than an identical central circle surrounded by smaller circles.

Ventral Stream

Also known as the 'what' pathway, a brain processing pathway located in the lower occipital lobe leading to the lower temporal lobe and frontal lobe, responsible for object recognition.

Dorsal Stream

Also known as the 'where' pathway, a brain processing pathway located in the upper occipital lobe leading through the parietal lobe, responsible for locating objects in space.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons in the premotor cortex (such as area F5) that active both when an individual performs a specific movement and when they observe that same movement being performed by another.

Phi Phenomenon

A visual illusion of apparent motion where light pixels or static light sources flashing on and off with specific timing are perceived as moving through space.