Thinking About Psychology
The Science of Mind and Behavior 3e
Charles T. Blair-Broeker & Randal M. Ernst
PowerPoint Presentation Slides by Kent Korek
Perception
Module Overview
• Gestalt Organizational Principles • Depth Perception
• Perceptual Constancy • Perceptual Set
• Illusions
Perception
• The process of organizing and
Gestalt Organizational
Principles
Gestalt
• The “whole,” or the organizational
patterns that we tend to perceive;
• the Gestalt psychologists emphasized
that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt Organizational
Principles:
Figure-Ground
Relationships
Figure-Ground
• The organization of the visual field
into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).
• The figure is the object(s) that stands out or draws one’s attention.
Gestalt Organizational
Principles:
Grouping Principles
Grouping
• The perceptual tendency to organize
stimuli into understandable units.
• Several principles of grouping include: – Similarity
– Proximity – Closure
Grouping - Similarity
• The tendency to place items that
Grouping - Proximity
• The tendency to place
objects that
are physically close to each other in a
Grouping – Closure
Grouping – Continuity
Depth Perception
Depth Perception
• The ability to see in three dimensions
Visual Cliff
• A laboratory device for testing depth
perception in infants and young animals. • Infants are reluctant to crawl past the
“edge” of the visual cliff
• Other animals had similar results.
Depth Perception:
Binocular Depth Cues
Binocular Cues
• Depth cues that require the use of
Retinal Disparity
• A binocular depth cue resulting from
slightly different images produced by the retina of the left and the retina of the right eye.
Convergence
• A binocular depth cue related to the
tension in the eye muscles when the eyes track inward to focus on objects close to the viewer.
• The more tension in the eye muscle, the closer the object is
Depth Perception:
Monocular Depth Cues
Monocular Cues
• Depth cues that require the use of
only one eye.
• Monocular depth cues include: relative size, relative motion, interposition,
Monocular Depth Cues – Relative Size
• Using the perceived size of a familiar object to determine depth
Monocular Depth Cues – Relative
Motion
• A person who is moving can determine depth by focusing on a distant object.
• Objects further away than the object of focus will appear to move in the same direction as the subject is moving.
• Objects closer than the object of focus will appear to move in the opposite
Monocular Depth Cues – Interposition
• Method of determining depth by noting that closer objects partially obstruct the more distant objects
Monocular Depth Cues – Relative
Height
Monocular Depth Cues – Texture
Gradient
• Method of determining depth by noting that distant objects have a smoother
Monocular Depth Cues – Relative
Clarity
• Method of determining depth by noting that distant objects are less clear than nearby objects
Monocular Depth Cues–Linear
Perspective
• Method of determining depth by noting that parallel lines appear to converge in the
distance
Perceptual Constancy
Perceptual Constancy
• Perceiving the size, shape, and
lightness of an object as unchanging,
• even as the image of the object on the
retina of the eye changes.
Perceptual Constancy:
Size Constancy
Size Constancy
• A person’s understanding that as an
object moves further or closer to them its actual size stays the same
• As an object appears to become larger we realize it is getting closer, not bigger. • As an object appears to become smaller
Perceptual Constancy:
Shape Constancy
Shape Constancy
Perceptual Constancy:
Lightness Constancy
Perceptual Set
Perceptual Set
• A mental predisposition to perceive
something one way and not another.
• Example of top-down processing
• Influence of the “power of suggestion” (subliminal perception)
Illusions
Illusions
• Misinterpreting sensory stimuli
Müller-Lyer Illusion
Gestalt Closure Illusion
Light Illusions
• Using light and shadows to form an illusion of depth.
Teacher Information
• Types of Files
– This presentation has been saved as a “basic” Powerpoint file. While this file format placed a few limitations on the presentation, it insured the file would be compatible with the many versions of Powerpoint teachers use. To add functionality to the presentation, teachers may want to save the file for their specific version of Powerpoint.
• Animation
– Once again, to insure compatibility with all versions of Powerpoint, none of the slides are animated. To increase student interest, it is suggested teachers animate the slides wherever possible.
• Adding slides to this presentation
Teacher Information
• Domain Coding
– Just as the textbook is organized around the APA National Standards, these Powerpoints are coded to those same standards. Included at the top of almost every slide is a small stripe, color coded to the APA
National Standards.
• Scientific Inquiry Domain • Biopsychology Domain
• Development and Learning Domain • Social Context Domain
• Cognition Domain
• Individual Variation Domain
• Applications of Psychological Science Domain
• Key Terms and Definitions in Red
– To emphasize their importance, all key terms from the text and their
Teacher Information
• Hyperlink Slides - Immediately after the unit title slide, a page (usually slide #4 or #5) can be found listing all of the module’s subsections. While in slide show mode, clicking on any of these hyperlinks will take the user
directly to the beginning of that subsection. This allows teachers quick access to each subsection.
• Continuity slides - Throughout this presentations there are slides,
usually of graphics or tables, that build on one another. These are included for three purposes.
• By presenting information in small chunks, students will find it easier to process and remember the concepts.
• By continually changing slides, students will stay interested in the presentation.
• To facilitate class discussion and critical thinking. Students should be encouraged to think about “what might come next” in the series of slides.
• Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. regarding these presentations.
Kent Korek
Name of Concept
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