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GRE Psychology: Perception
From Princeton Review 7th ed
35
Psychology
Graduate
10/04/2009

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Term
Nativist Theory
Definition
Perception and cognition are largely innate.
Term
Structuralist Theory
Definition
Perception is the sum total of sensory-input. The world is understood through bottom-up processing.
Term
Gestalt psychology
Definition
Revolves around perception and asserts people tend to see the world as comprised as organized wholes: world is understood through top-down.
Term
Perceptual Development (James Gibson)
Definition
Explained as the increasing ability of a child to make finer discriminations among stimuli. The optic array trains people to perceive.
Term
Figure and ground relationship
Definition
Relationship between meaningful part of a picture and the ground.
Term
Depth perception (the cues)
Definition
Binocular disparity, apparent size, interposition (overlap of objects), linear perspective, texture gradient, motion parallax (closer seems faster). Important: the visual cliff to see if innate.
Term
Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk (depth perception)
Definition
Developed the visual cliff, where children and animals would approach the edge of a table with a piece of solid glass extending. Both avoided continuing on the glass.
Term
Afterimages (McCollough effect)
Definition
Perceived due to fatigued receptors. Because the eyes have partially oppositional system for seeing colors, once one side is overstimulated and fatigued, it is overshadowed by its opposite.
Term
Dark adaptation
Definition
Result of regeneration of retinal pigment.
Term
Pragnanz (Gestalt)
Definition
Experience will be organized as meaningful, symmetrical, and simple whenever possible.
Term
Gestalt ideas (list them)
Definition
Pragnanz, closure, proximity, continuation (good continuation), symmetry, constancy, minimum principle.
Term
Closure (Gestalt)
Definition
Tendency to complete incomplete figures.
Term
Proximity (Gestalt)
Definition
Tendency to group together items that are near each other.
Term
Good Continuation
Definition
Tendency to create a whole or detailed figure based on our expectations rather than what is seen.
Term
Symmetry
Definition
Tendency to make figures out of symmetrical images.
Term
Constancy (size and color)
Definition
How people perceive objects, regardless of the retinal image. For example, a book is always perceived as rectangular regardless of the angle seen. Size constancy is knowing the size of an object, while color is knowing the color even when changed with filters.
Term
Minimum Principle
Definition
Tendency to see what is easiest or logical to see.
Term
Classic illusions (list)
Definition
Ambiguous figures, figure-ground reversal patterns (Rubin vase), impossible objects, moon illusion, phi phenomenon, Muller-Lyer illusion, Ponzo illusion.
Term
Figure-ground reversal patterns
Definition
Ambiguous figures, such as the Rubin vase. They can be perceived as two different things depending on which part you see as the figure, and which part is seen as the background.
Term
Impossible objects
Definition
Objects that have been drawn and can be perceived, but are geometrically impossible.
Term
Moon illusion
Definition
Shows how context affects perception. The moon looks larger when we see it on the horizon than when in the sky. This is due to the larger number of visual cues when its on the horizon.
Term
Phi phenomenon
Definition
Tendency to perceive smooth motion. Explains why motion is inferred when there is none (flashing light patterns), cartoons. This is apparent motion.
Term
Muller-Lyer Illusion
Definition
Two horizontal lines of equal length appear unequal due to arrow marks on the ends: one facing out, the other in.
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Term
Ponzo illusion
Definition
When two horizontal lines of equal length appear unequal because of two vertical lines slanting inwards.
Term
Autokinetic effect
Definition
The way that a single point of light viewed in darkness will appear to shake or move. This is due to the constant movements of our own eyes.
Term
Purkinje Shift
Definition
Teh way perceived color brightness changes with the level of illumination in the room.
Term
Pattern recognition
Definition
Most often explained by template matching and feature detection. In order to pick out the letter 'o' out of a page of letters, we'd concentrate only on letters with rounded edges.
Term
Robert Fantz
Definition
Found that infants prefer relatively complex and sensical displays (Fantz faces).
Term
Absolute threshold
Definition
The minimum amount of a stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time.
Term
Differential threshold (just noticeable differnce or jnd)
Definition
Minimum difference that must occur between two stimuli in order to have them perceived as having different intensities. Defined by E.H. Weber.
Term
Terminal threshold
Definition
Upperlimit after which the stimuli can no longer be perceived. Ex. high pitched tones.
Term
Weber's law
Definition
Applies to all senses but only to a limited range of intensities. Law states that stimulus needs to be increased by a constant fraction of its original value in order to be noticed as jnd. This formula is:

K(constant fraction)= change I/I
Term
Fechner's law
Definition
Built upon Weber's. Strength of stimulus msut be significantly increased to produce slight difference in sensation. S = k log R.
Term
Swet's Theory of Signal Detection
Definition
Subjects detect stimuli not because they can, but also because they want to (response bias applies). Interplay between false alarms, hits, misses, and correct rejection. From this, ROC (Receiver operating characteristic)curves were made as graphical representations of a subject's sensitivity to a stimulus.
Term
Dichotic presentation
Definition
Used in theories of auditory perception and selective attention. Subject is presented with two different verbal messages in each ear, and asked to shadow one.
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