Final answer:
The principle of closure is what causes us to perceive a quarter as round, regardless of the angle at which it is viewed. It is one of the Gestalt principles that describe how our brain tends to fill in missing visual information to form complete objects in our perception.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tendency to perceive a quarter as being round even when it is viewed at any angle is called the principle of closure. This principle is one of the many identified by Gestalt psychologists, which describe how our brains tend to organize and interpret sensory information in particular ways. According to the principle of closure, we perceive objects such as a quarter as being whole or complete even if they are partially obscured or incomplete. Our brain fills in the gaps of visual information to create a coherent, complete object.
This principle is part of our visual perception mechanisms that allow us to recognize objects quickly and efficiently, preventing us from getting bogged down in the details of the individual parts. Gestalt principles, such as closure, highlight how our perception is sometimes a result of an active construction process carried out by our brains rather than a passive recording of sensory information. Other related concepts include perceptual illusions and how factors such as lighting, angle, and distance can affect our perception of color, size, and shape.