Chapter 5. Sensation and Perception

SP.5: Deep Dive – Gestalt Principles of Form Perception

Approximate reading time: 2 minutes

Table SUP SP.1 Gestalt principles of form perception
Principle Description Example Image
Figure-ground relationship We structure input so that we always see a figure (image) against a ground (background). At right, you may see a vase or you may see two faces, but in either case, you will organize the image as a figure against a ground.
Similarity Stimuli that are similar to each other tend to be grouped together. You are more likely to see three similar columns among the XYX characters at right than you are to see four rows.
Proximity We tend to group nearby figures together. Do you see four or eight images at right? Principles of proximity suggest that you might see only four.
Continuity We tend to perceive stimuli in smooth, continuous ways rather than in more discontinuous ways. At right, most people see a line of dots that moves from the lower left to the upper right, rather than a line that moves from the left and then suddenly turns down. The principle of continuity leads us to see most lines as following the smoothest possible path.
Closure We tend to fill in gaps in an incomplete image to create a complete, whole object. Closure leads us to see a single spherical object at right rather than a set of unrelated cones.

Image Attributions

All images in Table SUP SP.1  are licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license. The image creator has requested to not receive attribution.
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Introduction to Psychology: Supplemental Readings and Resources Copyright © 2024 by Jessica Motherwell McFarlane is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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