Glossary
Attention
The process of selectively focusing on specific stimuli or aspects of the environment while ignoring others.
Example:
When studying for an exam, you direct your attention to your notes and textbook, filtering out distractions.
Bottom-Up Processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
Example:
Learning to read a new language by first recognizing individual letters and then combining them into words is an example of bottom-up processing.
Closure
A Gestalt principle stating that we tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete, filling in gaps to create a whole object.
Example:
Seeing a dotted circle and perceiving it as a complete circle, rather than just a series of dots, is an example of closure.
Context
The surrounding circumstances or environment that can significantly influence how sensory information is interpreted.
Example:
A person yelling might be perceived as angry in a quiet library but excited at a loud sporting event, due to the differing context.
Cultural Experiences
Shared norms, values, and beliefs within a group that influence how individuals perceive and interact with their environment.
Example:
The interpretation of personal space or eye contact can vary greatly across different societies due to diverse cultural experiences.
Figure and Ground
A Gestalt principle of perception that organizes the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
Example:
When looking at a vase that also forms two faces in profile, you can switch between seeing the vase as the figure and ground.
Inattention
A lack of attention, often leading to a failure to notice something obvious, even when it is directly in one's field of vision.
Example:
During a magic trick, the magician relies on your inattention to misdirect your focus and perform the illusion.
Perception
The process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information to make sense of the world.
Example:
When you hear a song, your brain doesn't just register sounds; it uses perception to recognize the melody and lyrics.
Perceptual Sets
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, influenced by our experiences, assumptions, and expectations.
Example:
If you're told a picture contains hidden animals, your perceptual set will make you more likely to spot them.
Personal Experiences
Individual past events and learned lessons that shape an individual's unique way of perceiving and interpreting the world.
Example:
Someone who had a bad experience with a specific type of food might develop a strong aversion to it, illustrating the impact of personal experiences.
Proximity
A Gestalt principle stating that we tend to group objects that are close to each other as part of the same unit.
Example:
If you see three pairs of shoes lined up, you'll likely perceive them as three distinct pairs rather than six individual shoes due to proximity.
Schemas
Mental frameworks or concepts that help organize and interpret information based on prior experiences and knowledge.
Example:
Your schema for 'dog' includes furry, four-legged animals that bark, which helps you quickly identify a new breed.
Selective Attention
The ability to focus on only one stimulus at a time, filtering out other competing stimuli.
Example:
At a noisy party, you can still focus on a conversation with one person, an example of the 'cocktail party effect' and selective attention.
Similarity
A Gestalt principle stating that we tend to group objects that are similar in appearance (e.g., color, shape, size) together.
Example:
In a crowd of people, you might group all those wearing red shirts together, demonstrating the principle of similarity.
Top-Down Processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
Example:
If you're expecting a friend to call, you might mistakenly hear your phone ring even when it doesn't, demonstrating top-down processing.