3.3 How we make sense of what we see Flashcards
sensation
The initial information gathering and recoding by the sensory structures.
perception
The interpretation by the brain of sensory information.
bottom-up processing
the processing of incoming sensory information as it travels up from the sensory structures to the brain.
top-down processing
The brain’s use of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations to interpret sensory information.
perceptual set
The interpretation of ambiguous sensory information in terms of how our past experiences have set us to perceive it.
figure-and-ground principle
The Gestalt perceptual organizational principle that the brain organizes sensory information into a figure or figures (the center of attention) and ground (the less distinct background).
contextual effect
the use of the present context of sensory information to determine its meaning.
closure
The Gestalt perceptual organizational principle that the brain completes (closes) incomplete figures to form meaningful objects.
subjective contour
A line or shape that is perceived to be present but does not really exist. The brain creates it during perception.
perceptual constancy
The perceptual stability of the size, shape, brightness, and color for familiar objects seen at varying distances, at different angles, and under different lighting conditions.
depth perception
Our ability to perceive the distance of objects from us.
retinal disparity
A binocular depth cue referring to the fact that as the disparity (difference) between the two retinal images of an object increases, the distance of the object from us decreases.
linear perspective
A monocular depth cue referring to the fact that as parallel lines recede away from us, they appear to converge—the greater the distance, the more they seem to converge. Sometimes referred to as perspective convergence.
interposition
A monocular depth cue referring to the fact that if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer to us.
