Visual Organization Interpretation Module 19 Gestalt Psychology German

Visual Organization & Interpretation Module 19

Gestalt Psychology § German word meaning “form” or “whole” § “The whole may exceed the sum of its parts” § Wave of psychology that demonstrated principles we use to organize sensations into our perceptions § “general rules” of the way our brain makes sense of our world so quickly § Take away: while we may be exposed to the same stimulus but we each filter incoming information into unique perceptions

Perception Portfolio Project You will find examples of Gestalt groupings, monocular and visual cues in real work examples. Use art, photography, advertising, and video clips to illustrate visual perception.

Depth Perception § Our ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge distance. § Visual Cliff experiments performed by Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk (1960) that depth perception is innate. § Binocular Cues depth cues that rely on two eyes. § Retinal disparity – the difference between the image in each eye § Motion Perception § Shrinking objects are retreating § Stroboscopic movement – flip book § Phi phenomenon – blinking lights

Visual Cliff – used to check for depth perception. (Gibson & Walk, 1960)

Sensory Deprivation § Critical Periods – limited time during development when neural networks/connections are formed. § Use it or lose it § Recovery § Adaptation – The brains ability to make a ‘new normal’ from changing sensory input § Perception goggles

FRQ Practice Point Explain the meaning of the word gestalt as it applies to perception. Then, apply any two gestalt principles to the perception of food on a plate.

FRQ Practice Point : Rubric 1. A Gestalt is a unified whole. We perceive the world in unified groups or patterns. 2. Figure-ground : the food is the figure that stands out against the ground of the plate. 3. Similarity : a dozen tater-tots would be perceived as a group because the tots all look pretty much alike. 4. Proximity : green peas would be perceived as a group because they would be near one another on the plate.