Psych 2.1

Perception

the process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, transforming it into meaningful objects and events

Bottom-Up Processing “Details to Big Picture”

a way our brain makes sense of information by starting with the small details and then building up to a complete perception, no prior knowledge or expectation

Top-Down Processing “Big Picture to Details”

involves interpreting sensory information based on the larger context, prior knowledge, and expectations, brain uses overarching concepts and experiences to understand the details

Selective Attention

the process of focusing on a specific aspect of information while ignoring others

Cocktail Party Effect

our ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment, like a crowded party, while tuning out other stimuli, (ex. can hear someone calling name at a party)

Inattentional Blindness

 an individual fails to notice an unexpected stimulus in their visual field when their attention is focused on something else

Change Blindness

the failure to notice large changes in one’s environment when the change occurs simultaneously with a visual disruption

Schemas

mental frameworks that help us organize and interpret information in the world around us 

Perceptual Set

 the predisposition to perceived sensory information in a particular way due to factors like past experiences, expectations, motivations, and emotions 

Gestalt Psychology

we perceive whole objects or figures (gestalts) rather than just a collection of parts

Figure-Ground

refers to the ability to distinguish an object (figure) from its surroundings (ground)

Grouping

a set of principles to account for the observation that humans naturally perceive objects as organized patterns and objects

Proximity

principle states that objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups or units

Similarity

principle states perception lends itself to seeing stimuli that physically resemble each other as part of the same object

Closure

refers to the mind’s tendency to see complete figures or forms even if a picture is incomplete, partially hidden by other objects, or if part of the information needed to make a complete picture in the mind is missing 

Binocular Depth Cues

visual information that requires both eyes to perceive depth and distance

Retinal Disparity

when each eye sees a slightly different picture because of their separate positions on our face, figures out how far away things are

Convergence

when our eyes move inward toward each other to focus on a close object, understands how near something is

Monocular Depth Cues

visual indicators of distance and space that can be perceived using just one eye

Relative Clarity

a depth cue where objects that are clearer and more detailed are perceived as closer, while objects that are hazier or less clear seem farther away 

Relative Size

a visual cue where objects closer to us appear larger, while objects further away appear smaller, determines distance

Texture Gradient

 the way we perceive texture to become denser and finer as it recedes into the distance 

Linear Perspective

 a depth cue where parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance, helps perceive depth by judging how far away objects are based on how the lines come together

Interposition

occurs when one object overlaps another, leading us to perceive the overlapping object as closer, helps understand arrangement of objects in space

Perceptual Constancies

 our brain’s ability to see objects as unchanging, even when the image on our retina (like size, shape, or color) changes

Shape Constancy

our ability to perceive an object as having the same shape, even when our angle of view from which we see the object changes, helps recognize objects regardless of perspective viewed

Size Constancy

our perception that an object remains the same size, even when its distance from us changes, causing the image on our retina to grow or shrink, things don’t just changede sizes because they are far away

Color Constancy

ability to perceive colors of objects as the same under varying lighting conditions 

Apparent Movement

the perception of motion when there isn’t any actual movement, illusions of motion from a series of still images (ex. animations)