This course will become read-only in the near future. Tell us at community.p2pu.org if that is a problem.

Task 18: Visual cues (revision)


Psychology terms related to visual cues




See the following website for flashcards relating to visual cues:
http://quizlet.com/4550040/vahs-ap-psychology-visual-cues-flash-cards/

gestalt
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

proximity
the tendency to group nearby figures together

similarity
the tendency to group parts of a stimulus field that are similar to each other tend to be perceived as belonging together as a unit

continuity
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

connectedness
When objects are uniform and linked, we perceive spots, lines, or areas as a single unit.

closure
the innate tendency to perceive incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric stimuli as symmetric

depth perception
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the close the object

convergence
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object

relative size
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; the smaller retinal image is farther away

interposition
if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer

relative clarity
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects are farther away than sharp, clear objects

relative height
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; objects higher in our field of vision are perceived as farther away

relative motion
The perception of an observer that, as the observer moves forward, the objects that appear to him/her to move backwards faster are closer than apparently slower-moving objects; a monocular cue.

linear perspective
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance

Light and shadow
Nearby objects reflect more light into our eyes than more distant objects. Given two identical objects, the dimmer one appears to be farther away.



Read the following extract [http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/courses/GPWeiten/C4SandP/VisualConst.html]
and the answer the following question:
Give one example of how perception is altered by our experiences.

Visual Constancies

The visual constancies are some of the most powerful examples of the difference between perception and sensation. Once again, what we know or what we think we know will overcome or modify our sensory experience. Size constancy occurs because we know the sizes that characterize familiar objects. Cars are bigger than people, buildings are bigger than cars, for example. So when we see a car and it is far away, the image of that car takes up less space on our retinas. As the car comes closer, its image takes up more space on our retinas, and we say it is getting closer. As noted earlier, when we view new or unfamiliar objects, we may have some trouble perceiving their distance from us...
...So the constancies provide firm evidence that perception and sensation are not the same. Perception is more than the simple reporting of sensations. Perception is profoundly altered by our experience.

Task Discussion