Miscellaneous
We cannot sense or perceive every stimulus we encounter because our attention is this
What is selective?
Minimum amount of stimulus detectable 50% of the time
What is an absolute threshold?
Photoreceptors that allow us to see color
What are cones?
Provides information about distance when parallel lines seem to converge in the distance
What is linear perspective?
Tendency to perceive elements of like size, shape and color as a unit
What is similarity?
Failure to notice big changes in our environment
What is change blindness?
If a stimulus meets the threshold, a neuron either fires or it doesn't. What is this principle?
Area of the retina with the clearest focus?
What is the fovea?
Overlap; can be seen when a closer object cuts off the view of part or all of a more distant object
What is interposition?
Tendency to perceive objects that are physically close together as a unit or group
What is proximity?
Failure to notice a stimulus because our attention is focused elsewhere
What is inattentional blindness?
50 out of 100 people detecting the very slight contrast between two shades of green is an example of what?
It is formed by the axons of ganglion cells
What is the optic nerve?
Closer objects appear sharper than more distant objects
What is relative clarity?
Tendency to focus on the main element of a scene, in contrast with the surroundings
What is figure-ground?
Type of PROCESSING involving sensory input AND individual psychological factors such as experience and motivation
What is top-down processing?
A stimulus too weak to trigger conscious awareness, but possibly strong enough to affect our mood or thoughts
What is a subliminal stimulus, or subthreshold?
Specialized neurons in the visual cortex that perceive specific stimuli and organize them into visual images
What are feature detectors?
When the closer of two same-or-similarly-sized objects casts a larger image on your retina
What is relative size?
Tendency to fill in gaps in an incomplete image
What is closure?
A mental framework for organizing and interpreting incoming information
What is a schema?
If it takes adding 2 teaspoons of sugar to a cup of tea before it is noticeably sweeter, how much sugar would it take to discern that a quart of tea is sweeter?
What are 8 teaspoons?
Because of this, we tend to believe what we see over what we hear or otherwise sense
What is visual capture?
When objects closer to the horizon appear to be farther away
What is relative height?
The tendency to perceive uniform or attached items as a single unit.
What is connectedness?