Unit 2: Section 2.1/2.2 Vocab Flashcards
Practice for section 2.1 and 2.2
apparent movement
an illusion of motion or change in size of a visual stimulus.
Attention
The cognitive process of selectively focusing on a specific aspect of information while ignoring other perceivable information.
binocular cue
Depth cues that rely on information from both eyes to perceive depth and distance, such as retinal disparity and convergence.
Bottom-Up Processing
An approach to perception that starts with incoming stimuli and builds up to a final perception; involves analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
Change Blindness
A phenomenon in visual perception where changes in a visual stimulus are not noticed by the observer.
closure
one of the Gestalt principles of organization. It states that people tend to perceive incomplete forms (e.g., images, sounds) as complete, synthesizing the missing units so as to perceive the image or sound as a whole—in effect closing the gap in the incomplete forms to create complete forms.
Cocktail Party Effect
The phenomenon of being able to focus one’s auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli, like hearing your name in a noisy room.
convergence
A binocular depth cue where the eyes turn inward or converge to focus on nearby objects.
figure-ground
A gestalt principle of perception where we perceive objects as distinct from their background.
gestalt
A German word meaning “form” or “pattern,” referring to the perceptual tendency to organize sensory information into meaningful wholes.
inattentional blindness
The failure to notice unexpected objects or events when attention is focused elsewhere.
interposition
a monocular depth cue occurring when two objects are in the same line of vision and the closer object, which is fully in view, partly conceals the farther object.
linear perspective
one of the monocular depth cues, arising from the principle that the size of an object’s visual image is a function of its distance from the eye. Thus, two objects appear closer together as the distance from them increases, as seen in the tracks of a railroad that appear to converge on the horizon.
monocular cue
Depth cues that require only one eye to perceive depth and distance, such as relative size, interposition, and linear perspective.
perceptual set
A mental predisposition or expectation that influences perception, often based on prior experiences, motives, or context.
proximity
one of the gestalt principles of organization. It states that people tend to organize objects close to each other into a perceptual group and interpret them as a single entity.
relative clarity
Relative clarity: Objects that appear sharp, clear, and detailed are seen as closer than more hazy objects.
relative size
a perceptual clue which allows you to determine how close objects are to an object of known size.
retinal disparity
A binocular depth cue resulting from the slightly different images projected onto each retina, allowing for depth perception and stereoscopic vision.
schema
A cognitive framework or mental structure that organizes and interprets information about the world, guiding perception, memory, and problem-solving.
selective attention
The ability to focus awareness on a particular stimulus or aspect of the environment while ignoring others.
similarity
one of the gestalt principles of organization. It states that people tend to organize objects with similar qualities into a perceptual group and interpret them as a whole.
texture gradient
the progressive decline in the resolution of textures as the viewer moves away from them.
Top-Down Processing
An approach to perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations; involves the use of contextual information in pattern recognition.
