In the context of AP Psychology, what does the principle of closure refer to?

• A. The tendency to attribute others' behavior to internal causes.
• B. The tendency to perceive incomplete figures as complete and unified wholes.
• C. The ability to focus on one stimulus while ignoring others.
• D. The process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the principle of closure is a concept from Gestalt psychology, which studies how people perceive visual elements as whole forms rather than just a collection of parts.
2. Recognize that closure specifically refers to the mind's tendency to fill in missing information in incomplete visual stimuli to perceive a complete, unified shape or figure.
3. Differentiate closure from other psychological concepts such as attribution (explaining behavior), selective attention (focusing on one stimulus), and memory processes (transferring information between memory stores).
4. Recall that closure helps us make sense of fragmented or partial images by mentally 'closing' gaps to form a familiar pattern or object.
5. Summarize that the principle of closure means perceiving incomplete figures as complete and unified wholes, which is essential for understanding how we organize visual information.