What occurs when one object partially blocks the view of another one perceives it as closer?

_____________ occurs when one object partially blocks our view of another, and we perceive it as closer.

Pedro recognized that his son was closer to him than his daughter because his son partially obstructed his view of his daughter. Pedro's perception was most clearly influenced by a distance cue known as:

The distance between our right and left eyes functions to provide us with a cue for depth perception known as

Our minds bring order and form to stimuli by following certain rules for grouping. The rule identified by Gestalt psychologists when we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object is:

You are participating in a local psychology experiment wherein the research assistant asks you to hold two pencils in front of you and touch the tips together. She then asks you to do this with one eye closed. You find this terribly difficult which demonstrates the importance of ______________.

Kittens, monkeys, and humans who experience sensory deprivation early in life end up with permanent damage to their visual functioning. This finding suggests that:

there is a critical period for normal sensory and perceptual development.

Your 8-year-old cat ran away, got into a neighbor's cellar, and was stuck there for two months. Luckily, there was enough food and water in the basement for Minnie to survive. However, it was pitch black. When your neighbor returned from her two-month vacation, she found Minnie and returned her to you. How will this sensory deprivation affect Minnie's vision? 

Her vision will be unaffected by this sensory deprivation.

Julio is working on a series of landscape paintings. He wants to create a realistic depiction of the English countryside. To turn the flat surface of the canvas into a three-dimensional painting, he would use techniques like:

1 in 10 adults complains of this sleep disorder in which they have nightly problems falling or staying asleep.

Studying for his final exams, Leon is forced to do a great deal of memorization. Unfortunately, his next-door neighbor has a dog that is prone to barking at night. Amazingly, the barking coincides almost precisely with Leon's REM sleep cycle, interrupting his ability to dream. Leon does very poorly on his exams. According to the information-processing theory of dreams, an explanation for his poor performance is:

the barking interfered with his REM sleep, which interfered with memory consolidation.

The large, slow brain waves associated with Stage 4 sleep are called

People who claim to have been abducted by space aliens—often shortly after going to bed—commonly recall being floated off their beds. It is most likely that they have incorporated ________ into their memories.

Chronic sleep deprivation is most likely to contribute to

suppression of the immune system

Susan has been prescribed medication to keep her awake and less likely to fall asleep behind the wheel of her car. She most likely suffers from _____.

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

Every night, after a late dinner, Sasha has a strong cup of coffee before working out at the gym. On her way home, she likes to stop for a double-chocolate frozen yogurt. Finally, she watches the late news and drinks two glasses of red wine, because she has heard that red wine is good for you. Based on this routine, sleep experts might predict that Sasha would be likely to:

You go to bed at your regular time, and as you begin to drift slowly off to sleep, you jump up suddenly as you feel you are falling down the stairs. This is best explained by a:

Bright light affects our feelings of sleepiness by increasing or decreasing the production of

Drivers detect traffic signals more slowly if they are also conversing on a cell phone. This best illustrates the impact of

One way that we perceive depth in the world around us is through the use of what are known as monocular cues. These are clues that can be used for depth perception that involve using only one eye. If you try closing one eye, it might be more difficult to judge depth, but you're still able to detect how near or far objects are in relation to your position.

Depth perception allows us to perceive the world around us in three dimensions and to gauge the distance of objects from ourselves and from other objects. You can contrast monocular cues with binocular cues, which are those that require the use of both eyes.

These are some of the common monocular cues that we use to help perceive depth.

Relative Size

The relative size of an object serves as an important monocular cue for depth perception. It works like this: If two objects are roughly the same size, the object that looks the largest will be judged as being the closest to the observer.

This applies to three-dimensional scenes as well as two-dimensional images. Two objects on a piece of paper are the same distance away, yet size difference can make the larger object appear closer and the smaller object appear farther away.

Absolute Size and Familiar Size

Absolute size, or the actual size of an object, also contributes to the perception of depth. Smaller objects, even if we don't know exactly how big they are, will look farther away than a large object placed in the same spot.

Our familiarity with an object affects our perceptions of size and distance. While driving, your familiarity with the typical size of a car helps you determine how close or far away other vehicles on the road are from your location.

Elevation

An object position in relation to the horizon can also serve as a type of monocular cue. Objects located closer to the horizon tend to be perceived as farther away, while those that are farther from the horizon are usually seen as being closer.

Texture Gradient

Another essential monocular cue is the use of texture to gauge depth and distance. When you're looking at an object that extends into the distance, such as a grassy field, the texture becomes less and less apparent the farther it goes into the distance. As you look out over a scene, the objects in the foreground have a much more apparent texture. The asphalt of the road looks rough and bumpy. The vegetation in the field looks distinctive, and you can easily distinguish one plant from another.

As the scene recedes into the distance, these texture cues become less and less apparent. You cannot detect every single tree on the mountain in the distance. Instead, the vegetation covering the mountains simply looks like an indistinct patch of green color. These texture differences serve as important monocular cues for gauging the depth of objects that are both near and far.

Motion Parallax

The perception of moving objects can also serve as a monocular cue for depth. As you're moving, objects that are closer seem to zoom by faster than do objects in the distance. When you're riding in a car, for example, the nearby telephone poles rush by much faster than the trees in the distance. This visual clue allows you to perceive the fast moving objects in the foreground as closer than the slower moving objects off in the distance.

Aerial Perspective

Objects that are farther away seem to be blurred or slightly hazy due to the atmosphere. As you look off into the horizon, closer objects seem more distinct while those in the distance might be obscured by dust, fog, or water vapor. Because objects in the distance tend to appear hazier, this cue tells us that blurry objects tend to be further away.

Linear Perspective

Parallel lines appear to meet as they travel into the distance. For example, the outer edges of a road seem to grow closer and closer until they appear to meet. The closer together the two lines are, the greater the distance will seem.

Overlap (or Interposition)

When one object overlaps another, the object that is partially obscured is perceived as being farther away. For example, if you see two figures standing in the distance and one figure overlaps and occludes the other one, you will perceive the occluded figure as being behind the non-occluded one. This allows you to judge how objects are placed in relation to one another and contributes to your experience of depth in the world around you.

Shading and Lighting

The way light falls on objects and the amount of shading present can also be an important monocular cue. Objects that are darkened and obscured may appear further off in the distance than those that are brightly lit.

Accommodation

In order to focus on close-up objects, certain muscles in your eye contract, altering the shape of your lens. When looking at objects that are far away, these same muscles relax. This accommodation can serve as a monocular cue, even though we are often unaware of it.

How Monocular Cues Are Used

When perceiving the world around us, many of these monocular cues work together to contribute to our experience of depth.

The corner of a building looks larger and more textured, causing it to seem closer. Objects further down the street appear smaller, so we judge them as being farther away. The parallel lines of the highway appear progressively closer as they disappear in the distance, and the mountains in the distance seem fuzzy and indistinct.

All of these monocular cues contribute to our total experience of the scene, our perception of depth and distance, and our interpretation of our position in relation to other objects in the scene.

A Word From Verywell

Monocular cues can play an important role in the detection of depth in the world around us. Unlike binocular cues, which involve the use of both eyes, monocular cues only require the use of one eye and can be presented in two dimensions. Because of this, many of these cues are used in art to create the illusion of depth in a two-dimensional space.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Iehisa I, Ayaki M, Tsubota K, Negishi K. Factors affecting depth perception and comparison of depth perception measured by the three-rods test in monocular and binocular vision. Heliyon. 2020;6(9):e04904. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04904

2. Welchman AE. The human brain in depth: How we see in 3D. Annu Rev Vis Sci. 2016;2:345-376. doi:10.1146/annurev-vision-111815-114605

3. Ozkan K, Braunstein ML. Background surface and horizon effects in the perception of relative size and distance. Vis cogn. 2010;18(2):229-254. doi:10.1080/13506280802674101

4. Tozawa J. Height perception influenced by texture gradient. Perception. 2012;41(7):774-790. doi:10.1068/p7188

5. Kim HR, Angelaki DE, DeAngelis GC. The neural basis of depth perception from motion parallax. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016;371(1697). doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0256

6. Held RT, Cooper EA, Banks MS. Blur and disparity are complementary cues to depth. Curr Biol. 2012;22(5):426-431. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.033

7. Erkelens CJ. Equidistant intervals in perspective photographs and paintings. Iperception. 2016;7(4):2041669516662666. doi:10.1177/2041669516662666

8. Dresp B, Durand S, Grossberg S. Depth perception from pairs of overlapping cues in pictorial displays. Spat Vis. 2002;15(3):255-276. doi:10.1163/15685680260174038

9. Pinna B. Perceptual organization of shape, color, shade, and lighting in visual and pictorial objects. Iperception. 2012;3(5):257-281. doi:10.1068/i0460aap

10. Vienne C, Plantier J, Neveu P, Priot A-E. (Disparity-driven) Accommodation response contributes to perceived depth. Front Neurosci. 2018;12:973. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00973

Additional Reading

• Coon D, Mitterer JO. Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior. 13th ed. Wadsworth Cengage Learning; 2012.

• Goldstein EB. Sensation and perception. Cengage Learning; 2014.

By Kendra Cherry
Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author and educational consultant focused on helping students learn about psychology.

Thanks for your feedback!

When one object partially blocks our view of another we perceive it as closer?

When one object partially blocks your view of another you perceive the partially blocked object as being farther away this is the monocular depth cue of?

When one object appears to block the view of another we assume that the blocking object is in a position between our eyes and the blocked object This is an example of?

When you perceive an object as being closer to you because it blocks out part of the background you are using the depth cue of _______?