Theories on Pattern Recognition Continued
3. Structural theories place emphasis on how features of a pattern are joined to other features of a pattern. These theories emphasize that we follow a set of rules that help us to recognize patterns.
- Structural theorists often use figures called ambiguous figures to demonstrate this rule principle.
Look at the figure below.
Figure 2.1
It can either be seen as a white vase on a blue background or as two blue profiles of people facing each other. This face/vase figure is called ambiguous because it can be seen in one of two ways.
Whether you see the figure as a face or a vase, you are using a rule called figure/ground to recognize a pattern. The figure/ground rule states that we tend to organize patterns so that there is something in the foreground, a figure that has a form, and something else in the background, which tends to be more formless and does not capture our attention. When you organize the face/vase figure as a white vase, then the blue area becomes the background upon which the white figure rests. When you organize the face/vase figure as two profiles, then the blue area is seen as a figure with the white background separating the two profiles from each other.