''Looming'' is a term found in the study of

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

, as it relates directly to

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. Looming occurs when an object begins moving closer to the eye. As the resulting image becomes increasingly larger on the perceiver's

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

, i.e., when an object ''looms'', there is an automatic

physiological Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

response to

perceive Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

the object as an approaching object or surface, instead of one that is stationary or receding. Evidence indicates that looming perception is not limited to the visual modality, but can occur due to auditory or even tactile stimuli.Lawson, B. D. (2014). Tactile Displays for Cueing Self-Motion and Looming: What Would Gibson Think?. ''Advances in Cognitive Engineering and Neuroergonomics'', 11, 3. There is a different type of

mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...

that is also described as looming, in which distant objects appear much nearer than they actually are. This is explained in the same way as the image of the ship, except that the image is not inverted; the variations in density may also act as a

magnifying glass A magnifying glass is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of an object. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle. A magnifying glass can be used to focus light, such as to concentrate the sun's radiation to cre ...

References

*Schiff, W., Caviness, J.A., & Gibson, J.J. "Persistent fear responses in rhesus monkeys to the optical stimulus of 'looming'." ''Science'', 1962, 136, 982–983. *Schiff, W., "Perception of impending collision; a study of visually directed avoidant behavior." ''Psychological Monographs'', 1965, 79 Whole #604. Perception {{cognitive-psych-stub

See also

References