AP PSYCHOLOGY CH6

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Muller-lyer illusion

famous illusion of two "arrowhead" pictures where one inner line looks longer than the other

gestalt

an emphasized "whole" on our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession; the marquee

extrasensory perception

(ESP) the controversial claim that perception can occur apart form sensory input. Said to include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

convergence

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object. the greater the inward strain,the closer the object

human factors psychologists

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.

texture gradient

a gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance.

visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

ponzo illusion

a more distant object can create the same-sized images on our retinas. but experience tells us that a more distant object can create the same-sized image as a nearer one only if it is actually larger

stroboscopic movement

a motion picture creates this illusion by flashing 24 still pictures each second

relative clarity

because light from distant objects passes through more atmosphere, we perceive hazy objects as farther away than sharp, clear objects.

retinal disparity

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

moon illusion

cues to objects distances at the horizon make the moon behind them seem farther away than the Moon high in the night sky

monocular cues

depth cues; such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

binocular cues

depth cues; such as retinal disparity and convergence that depend on the use of two eyes

proximity

group nearby figures together

interposition

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

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

psychokinesis

mind over matter, such as levitating or moving objects with the mind

relative motion

motion parallax; as we move, more objects that are actually stable may appear to move.

light and shadow

nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes. given two identical objects, that dimmer one seems farther away

telepathy

one person sending thought to another or perceiving anothers thoughts

figure-ground

our first perceptual task is to perceive any object; figure, as distant from its surroundings; ground

linear perspective

parallel lines,such as railroad tracks appear to converge with distance

continuity

perceive smooth, continuous pattern rather than discontinuous ones

precognition

perceiving future events

perceptual constancy

perceiving object as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

clairvoyance

perceiving remote events, such as sensing that a friends house is on fire

visual capture

tendency for vision to dominate the other senses

connectedness

that are uniform and linked together

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

schema

the experience formed by concepts that organize and interpret unfamiliar information

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail effect

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

relative size

we assume that two object are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away

closure

we fill in gaps to complete, whole object

similarity

we group together figures that are similar to eachother

size constancy

we perceive objects as having a constant size

relative height

we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away. because we perceive the lower part of a figure-ground as closer, we perceive it as a figure

reversible figure-head

whether you see two faces or a vase depends on this relationship

cocktail effect party

your ability to attend to only one voice among many