Unit 2 AOS 2 SAC Flashcards
attention
the level of awareness directed towards certain stimuli to the exclusion of others
divided attention
Splitting attention across two or more stimuli at once
selective attention
Exclusively focusing attention on a specific stimulus or task while ignoring all others
sustained attention
focusing on one stimulus or task across a prolonged, continuous period of time
top down processing + example
when perception is driven by prior knowledge and expectations. e.g. expecting something to be a certain way
bottom up processing + example
when perception is determined by incoming sensory information, e.g. reading an unfamiliar text or learning a language
gestalt principles
figure ground, closure, similarity, proximity
figure ground
dividing a visual scene into a figure, which stands out and its background
closure
perceptual tendency to mentally close up gaps in a visual image to percieve objects as complete
similarity
percieving parts of a visual image that have similar features as part of the same group
proximity
perceiving parts of a visual image that are close together as part of the same group
depth cues
visual clues that allow someone to judge the distance and depth of stimuli or their environment
monocular depth cues + examples
require only one eye,
pictoral depth cues and accomodation
Pictoral depth cues
external clues provided by the environment, assist the brain in determining depth and distance
Linear perspective
interposition
texture gradient
relative size
height in the visual field
linear perspective
two parallel lines that converge together as they move further away
interposition
when two images overlap each other, one object is partially blocked by something making it appear further away
texture gradient
level of detail in an environment, when an object is less detailed, it is percieved as being further away
height in the visual field
uses the horizon to determine how far away an object is. the closer to the horizon, the further away the object is
relative size
size of the image that is recieved by the retina. the larger the image, the closer it is
perceptual constancies
perceiving an object as remaning stable and constant despite any changes that may occur to the actual image
size constancy
percieving an object as remaining the same size, just moving closer or further away
shape constancy
perceiving an object as the same shape, despite the shape that is cast on the retina, just moving closer or further away
perceptual set
the readiness to perceive something how we expect it to be. Makes us more likely to interpret object or event in a predetermined way
factors influencing perceptual set
contect, motivation, emotional state, past experience, culture
culture
the way of life of a particular community or group that sets it apart from other communities and groups
sensation
the process of recieving and detecting raw sensory information via our sensory organs and sending it to the brain
perception
the process of selecting, organising and interpreting sensory information to be able to understand it
muller lyer illusion
the misinterpretation of two lines of equal length, each with different shaped ends. One line has arrowheads and each end, while the other has feathertails.
muller lyer link to depth cues
convergence - arrowheads cause eyes to turn inwards, perceiving line as closer
size constancy - feathertail line is perceived as further away
muller lyer link to social factors
culture - influenced by familiarity with modern, western building designs (regular rectangular shapes with right angles)
extraneous variables
participant variables, placebo effects, experimenter effect, order effects (practice & boredom), non standardised instructions
strengths and limitations of between subjects
no order effects, quick inexpensive and appropriate for larger groups
assumes that variation between participants is similar for both groups
strengths and limitations of within subjects
individual differences do not influence results
susceptible to order effects
counterbalancing
used to overcome the order effect. The order of conditions is split, so potential order effects are averaged out
strengths and limitations of mixed design
provides richer understanding of what is being investigated
more difficult to carry out and produces results that can be more difficult to analyse
perceptual process - sensation
reception, transduction, transmission
reception
initial detection of stimulus in the environment. Eye focuses light onto retina.
transduction
energy is recieved by retina and converts into a form that can be sent to the brain via optic nerve
transmission
sending information in electrical impulses along the optic nerve
perceptual process - perception
selection, organisation, interpretation
selection
specialised cells select and filter out visual signals according to certain perceptually important features
organisation
brain uses principles (gestalt and depth) to group fragmented signals together
interpretation
process of giving meaning to visual information so that we can understand what we are looking at
