Chapter 6 Key Terms Flashcards
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect
selective attention
ability to attend to only one voice among many
cocktail party effect
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
inattentional blindness
lack of awareness of happenings in their visual environment
change blindness
focusing on words being said, failing to notice a change in the speaker
change deafness
people pick more attractive photo, photo is switched and shown to the person, person explains why they chose the photo; seldom noticed deception. This is an example of
choice blindness
when a strikingly distinct stimulus draws our eye; stimuli demands our attention
pop-out
the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses
vision capture
an organized whole (or form); these psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
gestalt
the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings
figure-ground
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
grouping
group nearby figures together
proximity
group together figures that are similar to each other
similarity
perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
continuity
uniform and linked, seen as a single unit
connectedness
fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object
closure
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
depth perception
laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
visual cliff
depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes
binocular cues
binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the 2 eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object
retinal disparity
binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes turn inward when looking at an object; the greater the inward strain, the closer the object
convergence
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
monocular cues
if we assume that two objects are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away
relative size
if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
interposition
because light from distant objects passes through more atmosphere, we perceive hazy objects as farther away than sharp, clear objects
relative clarity
a gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance
texture gradient
we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away; lower objects seem closer and are usually perceived as figure
relative height
as we move, objects that are stable may appear to move
relative motion (motion parallax)
parallel lines appear to converge with distance; the more the lines converge, the greater their perceived distance
linear perspective
nearby object reflect more light to eyes; dimmer objects seem farther away
light and shadow
brain will perceive continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images
stroboscopic movement
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
phi phenomenon
perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change
perceptual constancy
we perceive the form of familiar objects as constant even when our retinal images of them change
shape constancy
we perceive objects as having constant size, even when our distance from them varies
size constancy
moon looks 50% larger near the horizon than when high in the sky
moon illusion
we perceive an object as having a constant lightness even while its illumination varies
lightness (brightness) constancy
the amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings
relative luminance
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
perceptual adaptation
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
perceptual set
a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
human factors psychology
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; said to include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
extrasensory perception (ESP)
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
parapsychology
mind-to-mind communication; one person sending thoughts to another or perceiving another’s thoughts
telepathy
perceiving remote events; such as sensing a friend’s house is on fire
clairvoyance
perceiving future events; such as a president’s death or sporting event outcome
precognition
mind over matter; such as levitating a table or influencing the roll of a die
psychokinesis
