MODULES 16 - 17 Flashcards
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 and ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)
Grouping
The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups based on proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure
Depth perception
The ability to see objects in three dimensions even though the images that strike the retina are two dimensional; allows us to judge distance
Visual cliff
A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and other young animals
Binocular dues
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of our eyes
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the two eyeballs. The brain can compute distance from this information: the greater 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 cue
Depth cues, such as relative size, interposition, relative clarity, texture gradient, relative height, relative motion, linear perspective, and light and shadow
Relative size – one that casts the smaller retinal image is farther away
Interposition – if one object partially blocks our view, we see it as closer
Relative clarity – hazy = far, clear
Texture gradient – indistinct texture signals = increased distance
Relative height – higher = farther
Relative motion – as we move, stable objects seem to move
Linear perspective – more lines converge, the greater the distance
Light and shadow – Nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes
Stroboscopic movement
The brain will percieve continuous motion from a series of slightly varying images or lights
Perceptual constancy
Percieving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
Critical period
the period in which neural connections are made that otherwise not created or disturbed would stunt sensory and perceptual development
Perceptual adaptation
In vision, the ability to adjust to an artifically displaced or even inverted visual field
Why do people percieve the same thing in different ways?
Each person percieves things based on their schemas, and because each person’s schema is unique, each person has a unique way of interpreting something. Cultural, biological, and psychological influences can determine how so many people see a scene differently.
Human factors psychologists
A branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made sage and easy to use
