Ch 2: Perception

Question 1

law of Pragnanz

Answer 1

the notion that the simplest possible organization of the visual environment is what is perceived; proposed by the Gestaltists

Question 2

figure-ground organization

Answer 2

the division of the visual environment into a figure (having a distinct form) and ground (lacking a distinct form); the contour between figure and ground appears to belong to the figure, which stands out from the ground

Question 3

word superiority effect

Answer 3

the finding that a target letter is detected faster when presented in words than in nonwords

Question 4

geons

Answer 4

basic shapes or components that are combined in object recognition; a portmanteau of “geometric ions” coined by Biederman

Question 5

apperceptive agnosia

Answer 5

form of visual agnosia in which there is impaired perceptual analysis of familiar objects

Question 6

associative agnosia

Answer 6

this is a form of visual agnosia in which perceptual processing is fairly normal but there is an impaired ability to derive the meaning of objects

Question 7

prosopagnosia

Answer 7

a condition mostly caused by brain damage in which there is a severe impairment in face recognition with little or no impairment of face recognition; aka “face blindness”

Question 8

fusiform face area

Answer 8

an area within the inferotemporal cortex that is associated with face processing; the area is also associated with the processing of other categories of visual objects

Question 9

Charles Bonnet syndrome

Answer 9

a condition in which individuals with eye disease form vivid and detailed visual hallucinations that are mistaken for visual perception

Question 10

binocular rivalry

Answer 10

when two different visual stimuli are presented one to each eye, only one stimulus is seen; the stimulus that is seen tends to alternate over time

Question 11

Anton’s syndrome

Answer 11

a condition in which blind patients mistakenly believe that visual imagery is actually visual perception; basically blind people who don’t think they’re blind

Question 12

inattentional blindness

Answer 12

the failure to perceive the appearance of an unexpected object in the visual environment

Question 13

change blindness

Answer 13

the failure to detect that a visual stimulus has moved, changed, or been replaced by another stimulus

Question 14

change blindness blindness

Answer 14

the tendency of individuals to exaggerate greatly their ability to detect visual changes and so avoid change blindness

Question 15

subliminal perception

Answer 15

perceptual processing occurring below the level of conscious awareness that can nevertheless influence behavior

Question 16

blindsight

Answer 16

an apparently paradoxical condition often produced by brain damage to early visual cortex in which there is behavioral evidence of visual perception in the absence of conscious awareness

Question 17

affective blindsight

Answer 17

the ability to discriminate among different emotional stimuli in spite of the absence of conscious perception

Question 18

categorical perception

Answer 18

the finding that when a sound is intermediate between two phonemes, the listener typically perceives one or the other of the phonemes

Question 19

segmentation problem

Answer 19

the listener’s problem of dividing the almost continuous sounds of speech into separate phonemes and words

Question 20

coarticulation

Answer 20

the finding that the production of a phoneme is influenced by the production of the previous sound and by preparations for the next sound; it provides a useful cue to listeners