visual sensation and perception Flashcards
sensation
involves transduction (process of converting energy from environment into neural impulses), occurs at receptor neurons in eyes, ears, skin, etc. Transducer for the eye is the retina
Perception
occurs in the brain
Retina is the
Transducer, converting light energy to neural impulses
figure-ground
we see things within boundaries as objects, and naturally distinguish objects from background.
Gestalt (“whole”) psychologists
believed people perceive sights and sounds as organized wholes, not just sums of individual sensations. Proposed several principles describing how sensations are “glued” together into shapes and patterns
Law of proximity
elements that occur close together are perceived as a group
Law of similarity
objects that looks similar to one another are perceived as part of a group or pattern
Law of continuity
the eye is drawn to continuous lines and shapes
Law of closure
we perceive a whole even if object is incomplete or space is not completely enclosed
relative size
larger = closer
height in visual field
distant objects higher in field
interposition
closer objects block farther ones
linear perspective
parallel lines converge in the distance
reduced clarity
objects at greater distances become fuzzy
light and shadow
casting a shadow provides a 3D cue
