Proximity

Proximity explains how we group nearby figures together.

Because of this principle, when pairs of columns of dots are close to each other, we see 3 sets of 2 columns of dots rather than 6 columns of dots. We use this with many everyday objects and pictures throughout our lives.

similarity

Similarity is the most basic principal of the perception laws. Its the idea that you place items or people that look similar into groups.

For example, in a soccer game you group the two teams together by their different uniforms they wear so while you play and watch you can tell who is on which team.

Relative Size

Relative size is a Monocular cue that explains that if two objects are the same size the object that looks the largest will be judged as being closest to the observer.

For example in the two pictures it appears that the second person is smaller when really they are just closer to the observer. Both people are really the same size. The distance from the observer makes the closer person appear bigger.

Texture Gradient

Texture gradient is a Monocular cue in which when one is looking at an object or feature that extends into the distance the texture becomes less and less apparent the farther it goes on into the distance.

For example, in a grassy field you can see the texture of the grass near you but as you look farther and farther into the distance you loose sight of the texture and the grass looks smooth and green.

Shape Constancy

Shape constancy is the tendency at which you perceive an object having the same shape regardless of the orientation or the angle from which you view it. We do this with most objects in our life. For example, when you look head on at a picture frame, it appears to be rectangle. When you step to the side it appears to be the same but really the image processed by our retina is a trapezoid.

Motion Perception

Motion Perception is the process of inferring the speed the speed and direction of elements in a scene based on visual, vestibular and proprioceptive inputs. We perceive motion when there are changes in spatial distribution of light, and over time it can lead to motion perception. We see this when watching a person jog. The movement can be individual or unified.
We perceive a few different types of movement.
Real: The light physically moves.
Apparent: Lights flash one after the other with close to 40-200 milliseconds in between. The movement is perceived from one light to the other.
Induced: Light is surrounded by a larger object that is moved. The light appears to move in opposite directions.
Auto-kinetic: Light that is seen in a completely dark environment. The light can be perceived in any direction.
Movement after-effect: Light appears to be moving in opposite directions.

A Binocular Cue

A binocular cue helps you judge how far things are due to the fact that you have two eyes. In this picture, the subject has one finger about six inches away from their face, and another 12 inches away. switching between looking from one to the other is an example of a binocular cue. You will feel the muscles in your eye switching to show how one is closer than the other.

Size Constancy

Size constancy explains how we infer the sizes of objects based on the distance they are away from us. We perceive things on the horizon or in the background to be bigger because things that are farther away look smaller. Experience along with inherent knowledge has taught us this.

In this picture, everyone looks about the same size. In reality the size of the man in the background is much smaller than the people in the front of the people.


http://psych.hanover.edu/krantz/SizeConstancy/page2.html

We see him as the same size because we know that things are meant to get smaller as they get farther away.

Closure

With the law of closure, we often fill in gaps in a picture to create a complete, whole object. We ignore gaps and fill in contour lines with our minds in order to see objects.

               http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm

We apply this to many things in real life including in this panda, which serves as the logo for WWF. This picture of a panda has many open lines, but we fill them in with our brains and are still able to perceive the panda.

Figure-Ground Perception

Figure-ground perceptions describes how we perceive any object, called the figure, as distinct from it's surroundings, called the ground. In most situations we can clearly determine what is the figure and what is the ground, but in some cases the lines become blurred and we see that the same stimulus can trigger more than one perception. We use cues like the size, shape, and positioning of lines and shapes in the pictures to help us determine what is front and center and what is in the background.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure%E2%80%93ground_(perception)

In this image, it is hard to tell what is the figure and what is the ground. It can be perceived as a white vase set against a black background, or as two black faces in a white background.

Brightness Consistancy

Brightness consistency is the ability to see an object as having a constant level of lightness, even if the lighting conditions change. In these two pictures, you can tell what each color is. Even though in the second picture where the lights are turned down, you are still able to tell that she is wearing a white sweater, blue jeans, and brown boots.

Continuity

This picture represents continuity, which is the way your brain will assume that an object that appears to be moving in one direction, will continue to move in that particular direction. In this picture, it appears that one line is going strait horizontally while the other is weaving up in down through the other. The brain doesn't break up the two lines, it continues to move in one direction.

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