selective attention
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
change blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
gestalt
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
figure ground
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
grouping
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
depth perception
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
visual cliff
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
convergence
a cue to nearby objects’ distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images.
binocular cue
a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes.
retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance — the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
monocular cues
a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
stroboscopic movement
an illusion of continuous movement (as in a motion picture) experienced when viewing a rapid series of slightly varying still images.
phi phenomenon
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.
metacognition
