Perceptual Organization

Definition of Perceptual Organization

          It is the mental process of organizing and structuring various neural impulses generated by retina. The brain uses various visual cues to organize various stimuli. The phenomena of perceptual organization helps in perceiving the objects even in the

absence of complete information.

Introduction

          The concept of perceptual organization was first systematically studied by gestalt psychologists in early 1900s. They suggested that the “whole is different from sum of its parts”. The gestalt viewpoint suggested that human beings are naturally oriented to organize the various stimuli in to a ‘whole’ to give meaning to the information. During the process of studying perceptual organization they proposed various laws of perception. These laws are also known as laws of grouping because we are naturally wired to group stimuli. These laws explain how and why the process of grouping takes place.

Principles of Perceptual Organization

1.       Principle of Proximity – This principle states that objects that are close together in space or time are perceived as a group.

2.       Principle of Similarity – This principle states that objects that are similar to one another and have similar characteristics are perceived as belonging to a group.

3.     Principle of Continuity – According to this principle the objects which form a continuous pattern are perceived to be a part of group or seen to belongs together.

4.       Principle of Symmetry – It states that symmetrical areas are perceived as figures while asymmetrical are perceived as background.

5.       Principle of Closure or Contours – According to this principle human brain tends to fill up the gaps found in stimuli and perceive the object as a whole rather than a discrete parts.

6.       Principle of Smallness – This principle states that small areas are perceived as figures against larger areas.

7.       Principle of Surroundedness – It states that areas surrounded by other area tend to be perceived as figures and the area that surrounds is perceived as background.

8.       Principle of Common Region – This was not one of the original principles but later added by Stephen Palmer in 1992. It is the tendency to perceive objects that are in common area or region as being in the group (Ciccarelli & Mayer, 2016).

9.       Principle of Common Fate – The Law of Common Fate states that objects moving in the same direction appear to be grouped together.

References:

1.       NCERT, XI Psychology Text book.

2.       Ciccarelli, S. K. & Meyer, G. E. (2016). Psychology. Noida: Pearson India.

3.       Baron, R. (1993). Psychology.

4.       http://learn.sparklelabs.com/dmdesign3/ category/assignment/describe-the-gestalt-principles/

5.       https://in.pinterest.com/pin/324470348137458213 /?lp=true

6.       http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Modules /FM21820/visper07.html

7.       https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/gestalt-principles-of-design.

8.       http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm.

9.       https://naldzgraphics.net/gestalt-principles-graphic-web-design.