Module16: Perceptual Organization and Interpretation

Gestalt Psychology- an organized whole Figure and Ground- the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground) Grouping- perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent wholes Similarity- we group together figures similar to each other 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 Proximity- we group nearby figures together as part of one form Closure- we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object Depth Perception- ability to see objects in 3D even though image is in 2D (distance) Visual Cliff- a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals How do we transform two 2D images into single 3D perception? Two depth cues: Binoculars Cues: depends on use of both eyes Monocular Cues: available to each eye separately Binocular Cues Retinal Disparity- comparing images from both retinas to compute distance Neuromuscular Cue- caused by they eyes greater inward turn when viewing nearby objects Monocular Cues Relative Size- if we assume two objects are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal images as farther away

Interposition- if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer Texture Gradient- gradual changes from a coarse texture to a fine texture, this signals increasing distance Relative Clarity- we perceive objects that appear hazy as farther away than clear objects Relative Height- objects higher in our field of vision seem farther away (Negative field, objects close, positive field, objects further away) Relative Motion- as we move, objects that are stable appear to move Linear Perspective- parallel lines appear to converge with distance Light and Shadow- nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes so a dimmer object seems to be farther away Perceptual Constancy- perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change. There are three main types: Color Constancy- we see an objects color as constant even as the surrounding light changes Shape Constancy- objects whose actual shape cannot change may seem to change based on the angle of our view Size Constancy- perceiving objects as having a constant size even though our distance from them varies Size-Distance Relationship- given an objects perceived distance and the size of its image on our retinas; we instantly and unconsciously infer the objects size Sensory Deprivation and Restored Vision It is not the actual eye that is hinder, it is the visual cortex that is unable to send information to the brain. If you are unable to see at a young age, you lose the important developmental stage, which cause it to be almost impossible to retrieve those stages of sight back that lead to future problems, however, it is not the same vise-versa. If you had sight through development and then lose it but still able to regain it after surgery, you will see normally unless there was something wrong in surgery. Perceptual Set Our experiences, assumptions, and expectations may give us a perceptual set or mental predisposition that greatly influences what we perceive. This is due to our schemas/ top-down processing.