selective attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect
cocktail party effect
ability to attend to only one voice among many
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
visual capture
the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses
gestalt
an organized whole - psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes
figure-ground
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) and their surroundings (the ground)
stroop task
A task invented in which a subject sees a list of words (color terms) printed in an ink color that differs from the word named. The subject is asked to name the ink colors of the words in the list and demonstrates great difficult in doing so, relative to
proximity
we group nearby figures together
similarity
we group together figures that are similar to each other
connectedness
because they are uniform and linked, we perceive units
continuity
we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinous ones
closure
we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object
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
visual cliff
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
binocular cues
depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes
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 closer the object
convergence
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object
monocular cues
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
relative size
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; if we assume that two objects are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away
interposition
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
relative clarity
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects seem further away
texture gradient
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; a gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance
relative height
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away
relative motion
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; as we move, stationary objects that are closer seem to move faster than stationary objects that are further away
linear perspective
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; parallel lines appear to converge with distance
light and shadow
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; a dimmer object seems farther away
apparent motion
the perception of movement as a result of alternating signals appearing in rapid succession in different locations
stroboscopic movement
a type of apparent movement based on the rapid succession of still images, as in motion pictures
phi phenomenon
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
perceptual adaptation
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
human factors psychology
a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
ESP
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input
parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis