absolute sensory threshold
the intensity at which a given individual can detect a sensory stimulus 50% of the time; a low threshold indicates the ability to detect faint stimuli
binocular cues
visual cues that depend on the actions of both eyes
closure
in Gestalt psychology, the tendency to imagine the rest of an incomplete, familiar figure
common fate
the tendency to perceive objects as being part of the same group if they change or move in similar ways at the same time
continuation
in Gestalt psychology, the tendency to fill in the gaps in an interrupted line
brightness contrast
an increase or decrease in an object apparent brightness because of the effects of objects around it.
depth perception
the perception of distance, which enables us to experience the world in three dimension
feature detector
a neuron in the visual system of the brain that responds to the presence of a simple feature, such as a horizontal line; discovered by Hubel and Wiesel
figure and ground
an object and its background
Gestalt psychology
an approach to psychology that seeks to explain how we perceive overall patterns
good figure
in Gestalt psychology the tendency to perceive simple, symmetrical figures
induced movement
a perception that an object is moving and the background is stationary when in fact the object is stationary and the background is moving
monocular cues
visual cues that are just as effective with one eye as with both
moon illusion
the apparent difference between the size of the moon at the horizon and its size when viewed higher
motion parallax
the apparently swift motion of objects close to a moving observer and the apparently slow motion of objects farther away
optical illusion
a misinterpretation of a visual stimulus as being larger or smaller, or straighter, or more curved, than it really is
perception
the interpretation of sensory information
phi phenomenon
the illusion of movement created when two or more stationary lights separated by a short distance flash on and off at regular intervals
proximity
in Gestalt psychology the tendency to perceive objects that are close together as belonging to one group
reversible figure
a stimulus that you can perceive in more than one way
signal -detection theory
the study of people's tendency to make hits, correct rejections, misses and false alarms
similarity
in Gestalt psychology the tendency to perceive objects that resemble each other as belonging to a group
stroboscopic movement
an illusion of movement created by a rapid succession of stationary images
subliminal perception
the ability of a stimulus to influence our behavior even when it is presented so faintly or briefly or along with such strong distracters that we do not perceive it consciously
visual constancy
the tendency to perceive objects as unchanging in shape, size, and color, despite variations in what actually reaches the retina
waterfall illusion
a phenomenon in which prolonged staring at a waterfall and then looking at nearby cliffs causes those cliffs to appear to flow upward.
bottom up processing
Processing in which a whole is constructed from parts
top down processing
Information processing guided by higher level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
cocktail party effect
Ability to attend to any one voice among many.
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
Elenor Gibson
Discovered that depth perception is innate using the visual cliff and experiment with 6-14 months old babies
Ames Room
a specially designed room that is trapezoidal in shape but appears to be rectangular. This room gives misleading visual cues that lead people to believe that two similar-sized objects are of different sizes, depending on where their locations in the room
selective attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect