Chapter 6 Vocab Flashcards
Selective Attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect
Perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Cocktail Party Effect
your ability to attend to only one voice among many (though let another voice speak your name and your cognitive radar will instantly bring that voice into consciousness)
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Change blindness
inattentional blindness (gorilla in room, directions)
Change Deafness
inattentional deafness (list of challenging words, voice change)
Choice Blindness
The failure to notice our selection of a particular stimulus has changed.
Choice-Blindness Blindness
Exhibiting denial to failing viticim to a hypothetical experiment
Pop-Out Phenomenon
when a strikingly distinct stimulus, such as a smiling face in a crowd of crying people, draws our attention. Not our choice.
Illusions
reveal the ways we normally organize and interpret our sensations
Visual Capture
the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses
Gestalt
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
Figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
Grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
Proximity
we group nearby figures together. (we see not six separate lines, but three sets of two lines)
Similarity
we group together figures that are similar to each other. (we see the triangles and circles as vertical columns of similar shapes, not as horizontal rows of dissimilar shapes)
Continuity
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones. (this pattern could be a series of alternating semicircles, but we perceive it as two continuous lines-one wavy, one straight)
Connectedness
because they are uniform and linked, (we perceive the two dots and the line between them as a single unit)
We perceive things as uniform and linked, as a single unit
Closure
we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object
Depth Perception
the ability to see objects in 3-D although the images that strike the retina are 2-D; allows us to judge distance
Visual Cliff
a 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 two eyes
Retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance-the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object
Convergence
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object. The greater the inward strain, the closer the object.
Monocular cues
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Relative Size
The one that casts the smaller retinal image is perceived as further away
Interposition
If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer.
Relative clarity
Light from distance objects passes through more atmosphere, we perceive hazy objects as farther away than sharp, clear objects.
Texture gradient
A gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine indistinct texture signals increasing distance
Relative height
We 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
Light and shadow
Nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes.
Phi phenomenon
An illusion of movement created she two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Perceptual Constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
Perceptual adaptation
In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Human factors psychology
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
Extrasensory perception
The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. Telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
Schemes
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
