Chapter 6 Flashcards
Cocktail party effect
Ability to attend to only one voice among many
Selective Attention
Focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect
Inattentional blindness
Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Change blindness
After brief visual interruption you fail to notice changes in your visual field
Change deafness
Failure to notice slight changes in our auditory field
Choice blindness
Failure to notice our selection of a particular stimulus has changed
Choice blindness blindness
Exhibit denial (blindness) to falling victim to a hypothetical experiment
Pop out phenomenon
Some stimuli are so strikingly different, they demand our attention
Illusions
Perception as of visual stimuli (optical illusion) that represents what is perceived in a way different than reality
Gestalt
An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
Figure ground
Organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)
Grouping
Perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
Proximity
Group nearby figures together
Similarity
Group together figures that are similar
Continuity
Perceive smooth, continuous patterns
Connectedness
Uniform and linked
Closure
Fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object
Depth perception
Ability to see objects in 3 dimensions although the images that strike the retina are 2 dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Visual cliff
Laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
Binocular cues
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of 2 eyes
Retinal disparity
By comparing images from the 2 eyeballs, the brain computes distance. Greater disparity(difference) between 2 images, the closer the object
Convergence
Extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object. Greater inward strain, closer the object
Monocular cues
Depth cues such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
Relative size
If we assume 2 objects are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away
Interposition
If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
Relative clarity
Because light from one object passes through more atmosphere, we perceive hazy objects as farther away than sharp, clear objects
Texture gradient
Gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, distinct texture signals increasing distance. Objects far away appear smaller and more densely packed
Relative height
Perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away
Relative motion
As we move, objects that are actually stable may appear to move
Linear perspective
Parallel lines appear to converge with distance (railroad tracks)
Light and shadow
Nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes
Phi phenomenon
Illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Stroboscopic movement
Brain will perceive continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images
Perceptual constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
Perception
Process by which our sensory receptors and central nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
Perceptual adaptation
In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Perceptual set
Mental predisposition to perceive 1 thing and not another
Schema
Concepts (that organize and interpret unfamiliar information)
Human factor psychologists
Branch of psychology that explains hoe people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
Extra sensory perception
The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input
Parapsychology
Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
Context effects
Influence of environmental factors on ones perception of a stimulus
Visual capture
Tendency for vision to dominate other senses
