Perception

Perception

Chapter 4
Perception

Perception
• Bottom-up processing: individual elements of the
stimulus are combined into a unified perception
• Top-down processing: sensory information is
interpreted in light of existing knowledge, concepts,
ideas, and expectations

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2011

3

Perception

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2011

4

The Role of Attention
• Attention involves two processes:

– Focusing on certain stimuli
– Filtering out other incoming information

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2011

5

The Role of Attention
• Inattentional blindness: the failure of
unattended stimuli to register in
consciousness

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2011

6

The Role of Attention
• Stimulus characteristics that affect attention:
– Intensity
– Novelty
– Movement
– Contrast
– Repetition

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2011

7

The Role of Attention
• Personal factors that affect attention:
– Motives
– Interests
– Threats to well-being

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2011

8

Organization and Structure
• Gestalt principles: argues that the whole is
more than the sum of its parts
• Figure-ground relations: the organization of
stimuli into a foreground figure and a
background

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc.
2011

9

Organization and Structure

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc.
2011

10

Organization and Structure

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2011

11

Organization and Structure
• Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization:

– Law of Similarity: similar elements will be
perceived as belonging together
– Law of Proximity: elements that are near each
other are likely to be perceived as part of the
same configuration

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc.
2011

12

Organization and Structure
• Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization:

– Law of Closure: people tend to fill in gaps in
incomplete figures
– Law of Continuity: people link individual elements
together to form a pattern...

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