Principles of grouping

Gestalt psychologists argued that these principles exist because the mind has an innate disposition to perceive patterns in the stimulus based on certain rules.

The human brain uses similarity to distinguish between objects which might lie adjacent to or overlap with each other based upon their visual texture.

This reaction stems from the mind's natural tendency to recognize patterns that are familiar and thus fill in any information that may be missing.

Closure is also thought [citation needed] to have evolved from ancestral survival instincts in that if one was to partially see a predator their mind would automatically complete the picture and know that it was a time to react to potential danger even if not all the necessary information was readily available.

[citation needed] When visual elements are seen moving in the same direction at the same rate (optical flow), perception associates the movement as part of the same stimulus.

Even in cases where two or more forms clearly overlap, the human brain interprets them in a way that allows people to differentiate different patterns and/or shapes.