AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module

23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

1. Gestalt princi- Gestalt psychologists searched for rules by which the

ples brain organizes fragments of sensory data into gestalts.
In pointing out that the whole may exceed the sum of its
parts, they noted that we filter sensory information and
construct our perceptions.

2. Necker cube il- The individual elements of this figure, called a Necker
lustrate Gestalt cube, are really nothing but eight blue circles, each con-
taining three converging white lines. When we view these
elements all together, however, we see a cube that some-
times reverses direction.

3. figure-ground To recognize an object, we must first perceive it (see it as

a figure) as distinct from its surroundings (the ground).
We bring order and form to stimuli by organizing them
into meaningful groups, following such rules as proximity,
continuity, and closure.

4. figure ground ex- See if you can reverse the figure and make it the ground...
ample now try making the ground the figure. Your choice of what
is figure is what creates this illusion.

1 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

5. grouping (prox- See if you can reverse the figure and make it the ground...
imity now try making the ground the figure. Your choice of what
is figure is what creates this illusion.

6. continuity A Gestalt law of grouping that states we perceive smooth,

continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.
This pattern could be a series of alternating semicircles,
but we perceive it as two continuous lines—one wavy, one
straight.

7. closure A Gestalt law of grouping that states we fill in gaps to

create a complete, whole object. Thus we assume that the
circles on the left are complete but partially blocked by
the (illusory) triangle. Add nothing more than little line
segments to close off the circles and your brain stops
constructing a triangle.

2 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

8. Impossible dog The Gestalt grouping principle of closure leads us to per-

house Gestalt ex- ceive the boards
ample as continuous.

9. visual cliff exper- 6- to 14-month-old infants were placed on the edge of the
iment "cliff" and coaxed by their mothers to crawl out onto the
glass. Most infants refused to do so, indicating that they
could perceive depth. Brain is wired at a young age to
gauge depth.

10. 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

3 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

11. monocular cues How do we judge whether a person is

(relative height 10 or 100 meters away? Retinal disparity won't help us
here, because there won't be much difference between
the images cast on our right and left retinas.
At such distances, we depend on monocular cues (depth
cues available to each eye separately).

12. relative motion As we move, objects that are actually stable may appear
to move. If while riding on a bus you fix your gaze on some
point—say, a house—the objects beyond the fixation point
will appear to move with you. Objects in front of the point
will appear to move backward. The farther an object is from
the fixation point, the faster it will seem to move.

13. relative size If we assume two objects are similar in size, most people
perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as
farther away.

4 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0
14. relative height We perceive objects higher in our field of vision as far-
ther away. Because we assume the lower part of a fig-
ure-ground illustration is closer, we perceive it as the
figure. Invert this illustration and the black will become
ground, like a night sky. Example: Horizontal-vertical illu-
sion - the St. Louis Arch is as wide as it is tall

15. linear perspec- Parallel lines appear to meet in the distance. The sharper
tive the angle of convergence, the greater the perceived dis-
tance.

16. How does the The yellow sign and the car, which are farther away from
brain perceive where the two parallel lines of the road seem to come
depth using lin- together are perceived as close. The car in this image
ear perspective is closer to where the two parallel lines seem to come
cues? together and is perceived as farther away.

17. interposition If one object partially blocks our view of another, we per-
ceive it as closer. The deer block the tree trunk...so the
tree trunk seems farther.

5 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

18. light and shadow Shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our
assumption that light comes from above. In the inverted
view, the hollow will become a hill.

19. Binocular cues depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence,
that depend on the use of two eyes

20. retinal disparity By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain
computes distance—the greater the disparity
(difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

21. convergence and the inward angle of the eyes focusing on a near object.
convergence in- Eyes are unable to work together when looking at nearby
sufficiency objects. This condition causes one eye to turn outward

6 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0
instead of inward with the other eye creating double or
blurred vision. Convergence insufficiency is usually diag-
nosed in school-age children and adolescents.

22. convergence in- Eyes are unable to work together when looking at nearby
sufficiency objects. This condition causes one eye to turn outward
instead of inward with the other eye creating double or
blurred vision. Convergence insufficiency is usually diag-
nosed in school-age children and adolescents.

23. stroboscopic Our brain perceives a rapid series of slightly varying im-
movement ages as continuous movement (a phenomenon called
stroboscopic movement). We construct that motion in our
heads, just as we construct movement in blinking mar-
quees and holiday lights (phi phenomenon).

24. phi phenomenon We perceive two adjacent stationary lights blinking on and
off in quick succession as one single light moving back
and forth. Lighted signs exploit this phi phenomenon, 1
min with a succession of lights that creates the impression
of, say, a moving arrow.

25. perceptual con- Perceptual constancy enables us to perceive objects as

stancy stable despite the changing image they cast on our reti-
nas.

7 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

26. color constancy Our ability to perceive consistent color in objects even
though the lighting and wavelengths shift.

27. brightness/light- We perceive an object as having a constant brightness

ness constancy even as its illumination varies. This perception of constan-
cy depends on relative luminance—the amount of light an
object reflects
relative to its surroundings.

28. shape constancy We perceive an object as having an unchanging shape,

even while our distance from it varies.

29. size constancy We perceive an object as having an unchanging size

even while our distance from it varies. We assume a car is
large enough to carry people, even when we see its tiny
image from two blocks away. So...to our eyes...it appears
an object
(a car, a friend...) moving away from us is getting small-
er.(sensation) But our brain understands that friends and

8 / 10
 AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0
cars don't shrink like that and interprets the visual input as
an increase in distance. (perception)

30. restored vision After cataract surgery, blind adults were able to regain
sight. These individuals could differentiate figure and
ground relationships, yet they had difficulty distinguishing
a circle and a triangle

31. sensory restric- Inability to perceive elements of the physical world due to
tion lack of previous exposure to them

32. critical period An optimal period early in the life of an organism when ex-
posure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal
development

33. perceptual adap- The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including
tation an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

9 / 10
AP Psych Unit 3, Lesson 4 Visual Organization and Interpretation, Module
23 pgs. 233-41
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_dynmn0

10 / 10