Psychology

1. PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION

2. DEFINITION
Perceptual organization involves structuring
information into coherent units (whole
figures, forms and shapes).

3. PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
PRINCIPLES
1. Figure –Ground Relationship
2. The Law of Pragnanz ( The law of Simplicity)
Pragnanz means clarity in German. Thus the
law of clarity.
2.1Closure
2.2 Similarity
2.3 Proximity
2.4 Continuation

4. FIGURE-GROUND RELATIONSHIP

5. Figure-Ground Relationship cotd
• Whatever stands out is the figure and the rest
is the background

6. The Law of Pragnanz
• Called the Law of simplicity
• 4 examples
2.1Closure
2.2 Similarity
2.3 Proximity
2.4 Continuation

7. CLOSURE
• This is the tendency to complete or close the
pattern or fill in sensory gaps and perceives it
as a meaningful whole

8. SIMILARITY
• Similarity
• Objects or stimuli that look alike are usually
perceived as a unity.

9. PROXIMITY
• Proximity
• Proximity is closeness
• Objects or stimuli that appear close to one
another are likely to be perceived as belonging
together to the same group.

10. CONTINUITY
• Continuity
• Objects or stimuli are perceived as a unity or
group on the basis of their continuity.

11. PERCEPTUAL ILLUSIONS
• Perceptual Illusions:
The misperception of the true characteristics of
an object or an image.
• Muller- Lyer Illusion
• Moon illusion

12. CONCLUSION & SUMMARY
• Perception is an active process involving
selection, organization and interpretation of
sensory information
• There internal and external factors that affect
attention
• The Gestalt perceptual organization principles
include figure-ground and the law of pragnanz

13. CONCLUSION COTD.
• Perceptual illusions or false perception occur
resulting in perception failing to correspond
with reality.
• Perceptual illusions differ in nature and
characteristics. Different sets of principles are
needed to explain the cause of illusion.

14. GESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL
ORGANIZATION
They are two:
1. Figure-ground relationship
2. The law of simplicity
• Gestalt coming from the German means
configuration, totality or whole

15. FIGURE-GROUND RELATIONSHIP
• According to this principle, a figure is perceived in
relationship to its background.
• The Rubins Vase
• This is an ambiguous figure that can be perceived
either as a base or as two faces.
• It depicts reversible figure-ground perception.
The two shapes, vase or two faces, is perceived as
the figure and which as background. However, it
is impossible to perceive both figure and
background at the same time.

16. FIGURE- GROUND RELATIONSHIP
• Figure –Ground Relationship:
• According to this principle, a figure is perceived in
relationship to its background.
• The Rubins Vase
• This is an ambiguous figure that can be perceived
either as a base or as two faces.
• It depicts reversible figure-ground perception.
The two shapes, vase or two faces, is perceived as
the figure and which as background. However, it
is impossible to perceive both figure and
background at the same time.

17. THE LAW OF SIMPLICITY
• These include:
• Closure
• While confronting an incomplete pattern one
tends to complete or close the pattern or fill the
sensory gaps and perceives as a meaningful
whole.
• The following principles of grouping organize
meaningful patterns by grouping them on some
solid basis like similarity, proximity and continuity.