Unit 2: Cognition (Perception)

Front

Perception

Back

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning.

Front

Bottom-Up Processing

Back

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Front

Top-Down Processing

Back

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, based on experience and expectations.

Front

Schema

Back

A mental framework that helps organize and interpret information based on prior knowledge.

Front

Perceptual Set

Back

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Front

Gestalt Psychology

Back

A psychological approach emphasizing that we perceive whole forms, not just individual components.

Front

Closure

Back

The tendency to fill in gaps in a visual image to perceive a complete, whole object.

Front

Figure and Ground

Back

The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).

Front

Proximity

Back

A Gestalt principle; objects close together are perceived as belonging to the same group.

Front

Similarity

Back

A Gestalt principle; objects that are similar are grouped together.