1. Perceptual Heuristics & Gestalt Principles of Perception
Psychology 355: Cognitive Psychology Instructor: John Miyamoto 04/04/2018: Lecture 02-3
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2. Outline
Finish: The "mouse" versus "old man" experiment. Top-down influences on perception.
Perceptual heuristics
Gestalt principles of perception
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Question: What Did People See in the "Mouse" vs "Old Man" Experiment

3. LEFT SIDE saw Image 1a RIGHT SIDE saw Image 1b EVERYONE saw Image 2
Top Down Processing: What you see in Image 2 is influence by what you expect from Image 1.
EVERYONE saw Image 2
Results of Classroom Experiment
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

4. Results of the Classroom Experiment
Left side of the room saw Image 1a only.
Categorization of Image 2 by left side of the room:
29 saw “mouse”
0 saw “old man”
Right side of the room saw Image 1b only.
Categorization of Image 2 by right side of the room:
17 saw “mouse”
13 saw “old man”
Image 1a
Image 2
Image 1b
Results exhibit influence of top-down processing: Prior exposure to mouse- like or man-like image influences interpretation of second image.
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Tomorrow’s Topics - END

5. Summary re Bottom Up & Top Down Processing
What we see is usually the consequence of both top-down and bottom-up processing.
Bottom up processes are data-driven - they are influenced by current stimulation.
Top down processes fill in information that is not present in the actual stimulus; they are inferences or expectancies.
Although cognitive theories must integrate theories of bottom-up and top-down processing, any particular study may focus on just one or the other.
Outline: Remainder of this Lecture
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

6. Outline: The Cognitive Side of Perception
Unconscious inference is pervasive in perception
Bottom Up & Top Down Processing
Previous
Inverse Projection Problem
Perceptual heuristics
Gestalt Principles of Perception: Some examples
Preliminary topic to object perception
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Examples of Bottom Up Processing

7. Inverse Projection Problem
Object could be created by the larger more distant rectangle or the tilted trapezoid.
Inverse Project Problem: For any 2-dimensional image that is projected onto the retina, there are infinitely many different 3-dimensional shapes that could have produced that image.
How does the mind decide which real-world shape actually produced the 2-dimensional projected image? 7
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Ambiguous Figures: The Ambiguous Box

8. Example: Ambiguous Image (Necker Cube)
Do you experience competing interpretations of the image? (I.e., do you experience "Gestalt shifts in perception")
Box viewed from above,
versus
Box viewed from below 8
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Same Image But With Circles that Indicate Change in Interpretation

9. Example: Ambiguous Image (Necker Cube)
Do you experience competing interpretations of the image? (I.e., do you experience "Gestalt shifts in perception")
Box viewed from above,
versus
Box viewed from below
Ambiguous Figure: Young/Old Woman 9
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

10. Example: Ambiguous Images
Do you experience competing interpretations of the image? (a.k.a. "Gestalt shifts in perception")
Young woman
versus
Old woman
mouth
* Old woman/young woman image was published in 1915 by the cartoonist, W. E. Hill.
mouth
Original Cartoon from which this Figure was Derived - Puck Magazine 10
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

11. "My Wife and My Mother-in-Law"
According to Wikipedia (
British cartoonist William Ely Hill (1887–1962) published
"My Wife and My Mother-in-Law "They are both in this picture — Find them".
in Puck, an American humour magazine, on 6 November 1915, with the caption
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Inverse Problem – How Does the Visual System Decide What is 3-D Object?

12. How Does the Visual System Answer the Question: What Is the Real Object That Produces the Stimulation at the Retina?
Basic answers:
Bottom Up Processes
The visual system uses cues for object relations that usually work (but the system can be fooled by a clever stimulus).
Top Down Processes
The visual system makes a variety of unconscious inferences (Helmoltz's idea).
What Is a Heuristic?
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

13. What is a Heuristic?
A heuristic is a simple reasoning strategy that is used to solve a problem, make a decision or form a judgment.
Perceptual heuristic: A strategy in perceptual information processing that (typically) helps to determine the objective situation that produced the immediate sensations.
Heuristics are shortcuts that are typically useful, even though they are occasionally misleading.
Heuristics are often adaptive, but they can lead to systematic errors.
Craters versus Mounds
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

14. Example: Craters or Mounds?
Typically Craters Typically Mounds
“Light comes from above” assumption guides perception.
Repeat this Slide with Ellipses that Pick Out Corresponding Craters and Bumps
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

15. Example: Craters or Mounds?
Typically Craters Typically Mounds
“Light comes from above” is a perceptual heuristic.
Why Idea of Unconscious Inference Is Important for Cog Psych
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

16. 2-D Artwork That Looks Like 3-D (Sketch)
Downloaded from: Work is attributed to:
* See ‘E:\p355\IMAGES\2d.like.3d.ini.planetstreetpainting.jpg’ for the image.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

17. 2-D Artwork That Looks Like 3-D (in the Finished Product)
Downloaded from:
* See ‘E:\p355\IMAGES\2d.like.3d.planetstreetpainting-4.jpg’ for the image.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

18. The Ames Room
According to Wikipedia ( The Ames Room was invented by an American ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames, Jr. in 1934.
Static example of an Ames Room:
Video of the Ames Room
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

19. A Video Example of the Ames Room
Errol & Ricky:
Where We Are Headed in the Perception Topic
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20. Where We Are Headed in the Perception Topic
The point made by the previous slides: Our perceptual system solves the inverse projection problem by applying various perceptual heuristics.
Perceptual heuristics are strategies that provide “best guesses” about the stimulus object.
Next: Gestalt Principles of Perception
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

21. The Gestalt Approach
Emerged in early 20th century in response to structuralism. (Structuralism claimed that perception was bottom up – it was built up from simple, atomistic sensations.)
Basic question of the Gestalt approach to perception: What principles govern the grouping of the components of a perceptual stimulus into an object or organized group of objects?
Gestalt principles are sometimes called heuristics— these principles produce “best guesses” about the stimulus object.
A heuristic is a “rule of thumb” that provides a best-guess solution to a problem. Gestalt laws do not always result in accurate perceptions of the environment. Contrast with algorithm, which is a procedure that is guaranteed to solve a problem.
Principle of Similarity 21
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

22. Gestalt Principle of Similarity
Similar things are grouped together.
Similarity in lightness, shape, color, size, and orientation cause grouping.
a a a a a a a a b c d e f g b b b b b b b a b c d e f g c c c c c c c a b c d e f g d d d d d d d a b c d e f g e e e e e e e a b c d e f g f f f f f f f a b c d e f g g g g g g g g a b c d e f g
(looks like rows) (looks like columns)
Principle of Good Continuation
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

23. Gestalt Principle of Good Continuation
Connected points result in smoothly curving lines.
Points are seen as they belong together.
Lines follows smooth path.
Figure-Ground Principle
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24. Figure-Ground Principle and the Principle of Smallness
Face is Face is background foreground
Figure/ground Principle – Ambiguous Figure The famous faces/vase figure.
Principle of Smallness implies that we should see vases on the left and faces on the right
Escher Print #1
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

25. Figure-Ground Example
Downloaded from allery/A41L.html
Maurits Cornelis Escher Dutch graphics artist
Figure-ground problem: Separation of object from background
Escher Print #2
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

26. Another Figure-Ground Example
Downloaded from
Principle of Common Fate
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27. Gestalt Principle: Common Fate
Principle of common fate: Things that are moving in the same direction at a similar speed appear to be grouped together.
Go to website:
The common fate principle can be seen in the perception of biological motion. The groups of lines or shapes are only visible as a group when they are moving together.
This website tries to identify different aspects of biological motion that serve as cues for male versus female; heavy versus light; nervous versus relaxed.
P 355, Miyamoto, Winter '09 27
Examples of Gestalt Principle in Visual Design 27
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

28. Examples of Gestalt Principles in the World of Visual Design
Principle of similarity implies that we see the three left figures as a group. Thus the right figure is an exception (anomaly) so it stands out.
Principle of continuation: We "see" the motion of the leaf.
Principle of Figure/Ground
Principle of Simplicity
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
What Gestalt Principles are Present in Image of Woman at Beach?

29. Goldstein Figure 3.21
What Gestalt principles are used here to create the illusion of a semi- transparent woman?
Principle of Good Continuation
Principle of Similarity
Figure Waves by Wilma Hurskainen
Same Slide without the Red Arrows
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

30. Goldstein Figure 3.21
What Gestalt principles are used here to create the illusion of a semi- transparent woman?
Principle of Good Continuation
Principle of Similarity
Figure Waves by Wilma Hurskainen
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Summary: Gestalt Principles of Perception - END

31. Summary – Gestalt Principles of Perception
Phenomenological support
Experimental evidence – image segmentation (Not discussed in this lecture)
Gestalt laws are perceptual heuristics
Gestalt laws help to explain how the visual system solves the inverse projection problem (infer a specific reality from ambiguous inputs).
Important in the theory of object percption
Perceptual heuristics often work in combination with Gestalt principles of perception.
END
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18