Perception

Front 1

Perception

Back 1

The process through which sensations are interpreted, using knowledge and understanding of the world, so that they become meaningful experiences

Front 2

Constructivist Approach

Back 2

Argue that our perceptual systems construct a representation of reality from fragments of sensory information

Front 3

Ecological Approach

Back 3

Rather than depending on interpretations, inferences, and expectations, most of our perceptual experience is due directly to the wealth of information contained in the stimulus array presented by the environment

Front 4

Subliminal Stimuli

Back 4

Stimuli that fall below the absolute theshold

Front 5

Supraliminal Stimuli

Back 5

Stimuli that fall above the absolute theshold

Front 6

Psychophysics

Back 6

Describes the relationship between physical energy and the environment and our psychological experience of energy

Front 7

Signal Detection Theory

Back 7

A mathematical model of factors that determine how people decide to respond when asked to detect faint stimuli

Front 8

Sensitivity

Back 8

A persons ability to correctly discriminate a stimulus from it's background

Front 9

Difference Threshold

Back 9

The minimum detectable difference

Front 10

Responds Criterion

Back 10

Affecting a person's performance when presented with a faint stimulus

Front 11

Weber's Law

Back 11

States that the smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy is a fixed proportion of the intensity of the stimulus

Front 12

Fechner's Law

Back 12

When expressed as a mathematical equation relating actual stimulus intensity to perceived intensity

Front 13

Closure

Back 13

People tend to fill in missing contours to form a complete object

Front 14

Texture

Back 14

When basic features of stimuli have the same texture

Front 15

Common Region

Back 15

Holds elements located within some boundary tend to be grouped together

Front 16

Common Fate

Back 16

Set of objects that are moving in the same direction at the same speed are perceived together

Front 17

Similarity

Back 17

Similar elements are perceived to be part of a group

Front 18

Proximity

Back 18

The closer objects or events are to one another, the more likely they are to be perceived as belonging together

Front 19

Simplicity

Back 19

People tend to group features of a stimulus in a way that provides the simplest interpretation of the world

Front 20

Binocular Disparity

Back 20

The differences between two retinal images of an objects

Front 21

Bottom-Up Processing

Back 21

This begins with basic information units that serve as a foundation for recognition

Front 22

Top-Down Processing

Back 22

Aspects that begin at he top, at a conceptual level, guided by knowledge, expectations, other psychological factors

Front 23

Schemas

Back 23

Our mental representations of what we know and have come to expect about the world

Front 24

Perceptual Constancy

Back 24

The perception of objects as constant in size, shape, color, and other properties despite changes in a retinal image

Front 25

Interposition

Back 25

Closer objects block the view of things farther away

Front 26

Relative Size

Back 26

The one who casts a larger image on the retina is perceived to be closer

Front 27

Attention

Back 27

Processes of directing and focusing certain psychological resources to enhance perception, performance, and mental experience

Front 28

Convergence

Back 28

The relative location of out two eyes produces depth cues; the eyes must converge or rotate inward, in order to project an image on each retina

Front 29

Texture Gradient

Back 29

Texture appears less detailed as distance increases

Front 30

Visual Cliff

Back 30

A glass topped table that creates the impression of a sudden drop off (deals with depth perception)