Figure 3

The Gestalt principles. In A, the principle of closure signifies our tendency to see complete figures even when part of the information is missing. In such a diagram we perceive three black circles covered by a white triangle, even though it could just as easily be three incomplete circles. In B, as stipulated by the principle of proximity, those parts that are closest together, we perceive the group (1) as three vertical lines of dots and the group (2) as three horizontal lines of dots. The dots in (3) are equally spaced and do not suggest an orientation. In C, the similarity principle suggests that we group together those parts that appear ‘similar’. Hence in C, we see separate white diagonal lines and black diagonal lines rather than vertical or horizontal lines of black and white dots. And in D, according to the principle of closure, we group together parts that give the appearance of closed shapes figures adapted from Mullet & Sano (1995).