Unit 2A Content: Perception, Thinking, Problem Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making

sensation

the process by which our senses detect stimuli from our environment

perception

the process by which our brain organizes, interprets, experiences, and makes sense of external stimuli

selective attention

the focusing of awareness on a particular stimulus, while ignoring other stimuli

cocktail party effect

the ability to focus your hearing on one specific thing even though noise is all around you

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere (ex. change blindness: missing visible changes that happen right in front of you)

bottom-up processing

using parts to understand the whole

top-down processing

relying on our previous experiences and expectations to process information

perceptual set

a temporary readiness to perceive certain objects or events rather than others (ex. old woman-young woman image)

sociocultural factors (on perception)

factors that influence perception by shaping how individuals interpret sensory information based on their cultural norms, values, and experience

gestalt

an organized whole: humans sense parts, but perceive a whole

gestalt principles

figure-ground, closure, similarity, proximity

figure-ground

a gestalt principle of organizing the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

proximity

a gestalt principle of grouping nearby figures

closure

a gestalt principle of filling in gaps to create a complete, whole object

similarity

a gestalt principle of grouping objects by their like shape, color, etc.

depth perception

the ability to see objects in 3D although the images striking the retina are 2D

binocular cues

a depth cue depending on use of 2 eyes

retinal disparity

comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance (greater disparity means the object is closer)

convergence

as an object moves closer, both eyes move inwards to focus on it: the brain uses this muscle movement to measure distance

monocular cues

depth cues available to each eye separately

relative clarity

closer = clearer

relative size

closer = bigger

linear perspective

walls, lines, etc. converge with distance, showing depth

texture gradient

closer = more textured

interposition

one thing in front of another

motion parralax

things closer to you appear to be moving faster

stroboscopic effect

projecting several, slightly different photographs to create perception of movement (ex. flip books)

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, hape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

concept

mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people (ex. chairs)

prototype

a mental image or best example of a concept

metacognition

thinking about thinking

schema

how you define what something is: a person’s collection of existing knowledge about a concept that guides perception, interpretation, decision-making, or problem-solving

assimilation

making information fit an existing schema

accomodation

when information changes a schema or creates a new schema

algorithm

a methodical, logical role or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently

representativeness heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of ow well they seem to match particular prototypes

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory: presuming events are more common when instances come readily to mind

base-rate fallacy

when we ignore statistics: happens as a result of the representativeness heuristic

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

priming

what information is presented can unconsciously affect decisions and judgements

framing

how information is presented can affect decisions and judgements

sunk-cost fallacy

the belief that one is better off continuing to invest more resources (time and effort) because “I’ve invested so much already” (getting your “money’s worth”)

gambler’s fallacy

the tendency to assume that one is “due” for success after previous failures

overconfindence

tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one’s belief and judgements

hindsight bias

“I knew it all along!”

functional fixedness

the tendency to only thing of familiar functions for objects without thinking of alternative uses (example of a mental set)