Perception

What are the two types of processing functions in perception?

Top-down and Bottom-up processing.

What is Top-down processing?

A perception method that uses existing schemas to fill in gaps, often resulting in less accuracy.

What does Bottom-up processing rely on?

It relies on sensory input to create a perception.

What is the key belief of Gestalt psychology?

The human brain perceives stimuli as a whole, not just as the sum of its parts.

Who are the founders of the Gestalt Approach?

Wertheimer, Koffka, and Kohler in 1912.

What does Gestalt mean?

Organized whole.

What does the Law of Pragnanz state?

People perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex images in their simplest forms.

What are Figure-Ground Relationships?

The tendency to perceive objects or figures as existing on a background.

Who is associated with the concept of Figure-Ground Relationships?

Edgard Rubin.

What contributes to change in figure-ground perception regarding edges?

Blurriness affects the sharpness or lack thereof between two objects.

How does contrast affect figure-ground perception?

Contrast in colors helps differentiate the figure from the background.

What does size refer to in figure-ground perception?

The size of the target object relative to the rest of the image.

How does separation affect figure-ground perception?

Objects that are separated from the background are perceived as figures.

What is the law of similarity?

The tendency to perceive things that look similar as belonging to the same group.

What does proximity in perceptual organization refer to?

The tendency to perceive objects that are close together as part of the same group.

What is closure in perceptual organization?

The tendency to fill in gaps and complete incomplete figures.

What is the continuity principle in perceptual organization?

The tendency to perceive patterns as continuous.

Who proposed the Common Region principle?

Stephen Palmer in 1992.

What does contiguity mean in perception?

When two things happen together, they are perceived as related or part of the same group.

What are perceptual constancies?

Allow us to recognize familiar stimuli under varying conditions.

What does brightness constancy refer to?

It occurs because the ratio of light intensity between the object and its surroundings is constant.

What is the shape constancy?

The ability to perceive objects from various angles as the same shape.

What does size constancy mean?

The size of objects remains constant despite changes in distance.

What is depth perception?

The ability to see in three dimensions.

What are monocular depth cues?

Depth cues that require use of one eye, such as linear perspective and texture gradient.

What is linear perspective in depth perception?

Objects that are farther away appear smaller.

What is the texture gradient depth cue?

Surfaces appear to have more detail when closer.

What does interposition refer to in depth cues?

Objects that partially block others are perceived as closer.

What is aerial perspective?

Distant objects appear hazier or bluer.

What is relative size in depth cues?

When we know two objects are similar in size, the smaller one appears farther away.

What does relative height mean in terms of depth perception?

Objects higher in our visual field appear farther away.

What is motion parallax?

Closer objects appear to move faster than distant objects when we move.

What role do shadows and shading play in depth perception?

They help determine the shape and position of objects.

What are binocular depth cues?

Depth cues that require both eyes, such as stereopsis and convergence.

What is stereopsis?

Using slightly different images from each eye to judge distance.

What is convergence in depth perception?

Eyes move inward when looking at closer objects.

What is retinal disparity?

The difference in image position on the retinas of two eyes that helps calculate depth.

What is the Hermann Grid illusion?

A visual illusion where dark spots appear at grid intersections, explained by lateral inhibition.

When was the Hermann Grid illusion first described?

In 1870 by Ludimar Hermann.

What causes the Hermann Grid illusion?

Lateral inhibition between light and dark receptive fields.

What is the Müller-Lyer illusion?

An optical illusion where two lines of the same length appear different due to fins at their ends.

When was the Müller-Lyer illusion first described?

In 1889 by Franz Müller-Lyer.

Why do lines with outward-pointing fins appear longer?

Because our visual system interprets the fins as depth cues.

What is the Moon Illusion?

The Moon appears larger near the horizon than when high in the sky despite no actual size change.

What explains the Moon Illusion?

The apparent distance theory, which involves contextual information in size judgments.

What is the Autokinetic effect?

A static point of light appears to move in a dark environment.

What is the Phi Phenomenon?

The perception of movement created by a series of static images shown in sequence.

What is the Waterfall illusion?

A moving stimulus causes a stationary object to appear to move in the opposite direction after looking away.

What is the Rotating snakes illusion?

Static circular patterns appear to rotate continuously.

What is the Wagon wheel illusion?

A spinning wheel appears to rotate backward or stand still due to frame rate of observation.

What is perceived causality in motion?

When one object's motion causes another object's motion, we perceive them as related.