Vis Gestalt Psychology: From Bits to Wholes

ua erc
Gestalt psychologists identified the principle of Perceptual Top-Down
Processing

l P
Organization, which suggests that we perceive objects as What is that? Is that
integrated patterns or wholes rather than isolated parts. something I’ve seen
before?
Figure-Ground Perception
ep
tion Figure-ground perception is the
phenomenon where we Bottom-Up
Processing
distinguish objects (figures) from
Perception their background (ground). This
Visual
• Interpretation of the brain helps us separate elements in our
• The ability to physically Perception of Motion
• The brain interprets the visual field. Rubin's Face, Figure-
view and see things. Ground Vase
sensation it receives, giving The perception of motion is the ability to interpret
• Process of using our
order and meaning and perceive the movement of objects and our own
sights
bodies, as well as to guide eye and hand movements
What is Visual Perception? Principles of Perceptual Organization

•The process by which we organize or make sense Proximity Similarity

of the sensory impressions cause by the light that
Depth Perception
strikes our eyes.
Monocular and Binocular
Close to each other Same color and shape
The Principle of Closure Help us perceive the depth of objects, distance from us
Continuity Common Fate
Monocular Cues
Pictorial cues to create illusion of depth

Smooth, continuous Moving together or Perspective Relative Size

lines changing in sync

Top-Down Bottom-Up
Processing Processing
Perception is driven by Perception built from
Perceptual Organization in Psychology our prior knowledge, sensory information, We tend to perceive Distant objects look
experiences, and starting from raw input parallel lines as coming smaller than nearby
The process through which our brain groups visual
expectations. and assembling it into a closer together . objects of the same
elements into coherent, meaningful units.
recognizable object. size,.
 Clearness Overlapping
Retinal Disparity

ns
Vi
The closer an object is, the
ua

io
s

s
greater the difference
(disparity) between what
l Ill u
each eye sees.
The principles of perceptual organization can
Artist can suggest that Partly covered objects make our eyes “play tricks” on us.
are farther away than the Convergence
objects to the viewer by
depicting them in greater objects that obscure Due to our experience with perceptual cues, we
As objects get
detail. them. perceive the Hering–Helmholtz drawing as three-
closer, your
eyes naturally dimensional.
Shadowing Texture Gradient
turn inward to
focus on them. Part A: The horizontal lines are actually straight
and parallel, but the radiating lines make them
appear bent outward near the center.
PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES Part B: The two lines in this illusion are the same
length. However, the line on the right, with
Shadows and highligts As objects get further
allow us to perceive objects as stable and unchanging reversed arrowheads, appears longer due to the
give us information away, their textures
regardless of the variation in sensory input, visual effect created by the arrowheads
about an object’s 3- become smoother and
dimensional shape. less distinct. Part A:
Size Constancy Hering-
Motion Parallax perceive the size of an object Helmholtz
Illusion
When you move, nearby
objects, like trees, seem to
Color constancy
pass quickly, while distant tendency to perceive objects as retaining their color
objects, like mountains,
move slowly with you.
Brightness constancy Part B:
Binocular Cues perceive objects’ brightness Muler Lyer
Illusion
Binocular cues require both
eyes and provide even more Shape constancy
detailed depth information. recognize that an object’s shape remains the
same