Retinal Disparity (Binocular Cue)

A Binocular Cue is a type of the depth cue that relays on the use of both eyes to judge the distance between two nearby objects. An example of an binocular cue is retinal disparity, which combines the images of an object from the view of both retinas to determine the actual distance between the objects. For example, the image below shows the distance between two peaches as perceived with the use of both retinas. If only one eye was used to view the peaches, the distance between them would appear greater, as if shifted apart, or closer, as if pushed together, depending on which eye was used. 

 

Linear Perspective (Monocular Cue)

Linear Perspective is an example of a monocular cue, a depth cue that is able to seen with one eye only, that explains the phenomena of two parallel lines that appear to converge as they continue towards the horizon. The closer the two parallel lines appear correlates to a greater perceived distance between the viewer and that point on the horizon. For example, in the photo below, the path with parallel sides becomes closer together as the distance between the photographer and that point on the path increases.

Relative Size (Monocular Cue)

Relative Size is a monocular cue,a depth cue that is able to seen with one eye only, that the mind uses to infer the distance between yourself and two objects of the same size. If you know that two objects are the same size, the mind infers that the one that appears smaller in our field of vision is farther away, whereas, when an object appears larger, it is perceived as being closer. For example, the image below displays a mosque with two minarets that are of equal size. However, because one minaret appears smaller than the other, we can infer that it is farther away from the photographer than the one that appears larger.

Figure-Ground Perception

Figure-Ground Perception explains the relationship between an object and its surroundings. The visual field is organized into a figure and the ground it is seen against. The eye focuses on either the figure or the ground to form a distinct perception of the situation from the perspective of each component. For example, the picture below displays the view of a canyon through a wrought iron fence. By solely focusing on the figure (the wrought iron fence) one only focuses on the figure, which creates a different perspective of the situation than if on only focused on the ground (the canyon).

    

Closure

Closure is that objects that appear to make up an image that is easily recognizable are more likely to be perceived as though they belong in the same group, even if there are gaps in the image that the brain needs to fill in. Closure is very similar to top-down processing. This picture of the 2 pieces of ribbon shows closure because even though there is a gap in the circle that they are perceived to create, the mind still views that form as a circle. 

Proximity

Proximity is that objects that are close together appear to belong in the same group. This picture of these hair clips shows proximity because even though there are 2 groups of two hair clips, the brain perceived them as a single group of 4 hair clips. 

Similarity

Similarity is that objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group. This picture of clouds shows similarity because even though each cloud is individual, they look similar in many ways so the brain sees them as being in a bigger group.