Editing Perception (section)

=== Grouping (Gestalt) ===
{{main|Principles of grouping}}
[[File:Gestalt closure.svg|right|thumb|Law of Closure. The human brain tends to perceive complete shapes even if those forms are incomplete.]]
The ''principles of grouping'' (or ''Gestalt laws of grouping'') are a set of principles in [[psychology]], first proposed by [[Gestalt psychology|Gestalt psychologists]], to explain how humans naturally perceive objects with patterns and objects. Gestalt psychologists argued that these principles exist because the mind has an innate disposition to [[perceive]] patterns in the stimulus based on certain rules. These principles are [[Principles of grouping|organized into six categories]]:

# '''Proximity''': the principle of ''[[Proximity principle|proximity]]'' states that, [[Ceteris paribus|all else being equal]], perception tends to group stimuli that are close together as part of the same object, and [[Stimulus (psychology)|stimuli]] that are far apart as two separate objects.
# '''Similarity''': the principle of ''[[Similarity (psychology)|similarity]]'' states that, all else being equal, perception lends itself to seeing stimuli that physically resemble each other as part of the same object and that are different as part of a separate object. This allows for people to distinguish between adjacent and overlapping objects based on their [[Texture (visual arts)#Visual texture|visual texture]] and [[Nominalism|resemblance]].
# '''Closure''': the principle of ''[[Closure (psychology)|closure]]'' refers to the mind's tendency to see complete figures or forms even if a picture is incomplete, partially hidden by other objects, or if part of the information needed to make a complete picture in our minds is missing. For example, if part of a shape's border is missing people still tend to see the shape as completely enclosed by the border and ignore the gaps.
# '''Good Continuation:''' the principle of ''[[Principles of grouping#Good continuation|good continuation]]'' makes sense of stimuli that overlap: when there is an intersection between two or more objects, people tend to perceive each as a single uninterrupted object.
# '''Common Fate''': the principle of ''[[Principles of grouping#Common fate|common fate]]'' groups stimuli together on the basis of their movement. When visual elements are seen moving in the same direction at the same rate, perception associates the movement as part of the same stimulus. This allows people to make out moving objects even when other details, such as color or outline, are obscured.
# The principle of ''[[Principles of grouping#Good form|good form]]'' refers to the tendency to group together forms of similar shape, pattern, [[color]], etc.<ref>Gray, Peter O. (2006): ''Psychology'', 5th ed., New York: Worth, p. 281. {{ISBN|978-0-7167-0617-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sensation and Perception|last1=Wolfe|first1=Jeremy M.|last2=Kluender|first2=Keith R.|last3=Levi|first3=Dennis M.|last4=Bartoshuk|first4=Linda M.|last5=Herz|first5=Rachel S.|last6=Klatzky|first6=Roberta L.|last7=Lederman|first7=Susan J.|publisher=Sinauer Associates|year=2008|isbn=978-0-87893-938-1|edition=2nd|pages=78, 80|chapter=Gestalt Grouping Principles|chapter-url=http://www.sinauer.com./wolfe/chap4/gestaltF.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723150836/http://www.sinauer.com/wolfe/chap4/gestaltF.htm|archive-date=23 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Goldstein (2009). pp. 105–107</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopaedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychological Terms|first=J. C.|last=Banerjee|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd|year=1994|isbn=978-81-85880-28-0|article=Gestalt Theory of Perception|pages=107–108}}</ref>

Later research has identified additional grouping principles.<ref>{{cite book|title=Psychology: themes and variations|last=Weiten|first=Wayne|publisher=Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.|year=1998|isbn=978-0-534-34014-8|edition=4th|page=144}}</ref>