How we organise perception
The brain fills in gaps, groups patterns, and uses expectations to make sense of the world.
Gestalt principles
Gestalt psychologists argued that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. We separate figure from ground, group nearby items (proximity) and similar items (similarity), see smooth continuous lines (continuity), and fill in gaps to see complete shapes (closure). These rules let us perceive objects quickly.
Depth perception
Binocular cues use both eyes: retinal disparity, the slight difference between each eye's view, signals distance. Monocular cues work with one eye, such as linear perspective (parallel lines converging), relative size, and interposition (closer objects block farther ones). Artists use monocular cues to create depth on flat canvases.
Top-down and bottom-up processing
Bottom-up processing builds perception from sensory input. Top-down processing uses knowledge, expectations, and context to interpret input. A perceptual set is a readiness to perceive things in a certain way: the same ambiguous figure might be read as the letter B or the number 13 depending on what surrounds it.
Flashcard
Rules for how we group sensory information
Check your understanding
You see a circle with a small gap but perceive it as a complete circle. Which Gestalt principle applies?