Chapter Six Flashcards
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
perception
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
selective awareness
the ability to attend to only one voice among many (someones speaks your name)
cocktail party effect
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
inattentional blindness
when a strikingly distinct stimulus draws our eye
pop-out phenomenon
a perception, as of visual stimuli that represent what is perceived in a way different from reality
illusions
the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses
visual capture
an organized whole; psychologists emphasized our tendency to inter grate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
gestalt
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
figure-ground
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups (perceived whole differs from the sum of its parts)
grouping
we group nearby figures together
proximity
we group together figures that are similar to eachother
similarity
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
continuity
we perceive them as a single unit because they are uniform and linked
connectedness
we fill in the 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
a 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
a binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the difference between the two images, the closer the object
retinal disparity
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
convergence
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
monocular cues
in judging distance, the one that casts the smaller retinal image is perceived as further away
relative size
when the line of vision is blocked; the object blocking the view is closer than the object that is being blocked
interposition
because light from distant objects passes though more atmosphere, we perceive hazy objects as farther away that sharp, clear objects
relative clarity
a gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance; objects far away appear smaller and more densely packed
texture gradient
we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away (ground); we perceive the lower part of the illustration as closer (figure)
relative height
your brain uses speed and direction clues to compute the objects’ relative distances; the nearer the object the faster it seems to move
relative motion
parallel lines, such as railroad tracks, appear to converge with distance; the more the lines converge, the greater their perceived distance
linear perspective
given two identical objects, the dimmer one seems farther away; nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes
light and shadow
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
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or eve inverted visual field
perceptual adaptation
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not antoher
perceptual set
a brand of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
human factor 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
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information; starts when we are born & changes throughout development
schema
perception of movement by our brain when a series of images that change slightly are presented in rapid succession
stroboscopic movement
visual field is blocked momentarily; then unable to notice change in visual field (painting & map guys switch)
change blindness
unable to notice a slight change in the auditory field
change deafness
people are blind to their own choices and preferences
choice blindness
the influence of environmental factors on ones perception of a stimulus (word recognition, learning ability, memory, object recognition)
context effects
