Figure-Ground Differentiation

In initially viewing the map of 
Europe, our attention is drawn 
to the black regions because 
they are smaller than and more 
or less surrounded by the white 
regions, because they contrast 
more sharply with the white 
page than do the white regions, 
and because the convention in 
our society for printed matter is 
to color or outline things in 
black on a white background. 
For these reasons, we tend 
unconsciously to regard the 
black regions as the "things" 
and the white regions as the 
background. In so doing, we 
assign the outline between 
black and white to the black 
regions. The black regions thus 
take on a certain shape.

    The mind, then, organizes 
the pattern in a particular way, 
into a particular figure-ground 
differentiation. This mental 
process, which was described 
in 1921 by the Danish 
psychologist Edgar Rubin, is 
fundamental in all perception. 
The terms "figure" and 
"ground" have filtered into the 
common lexicon, but they are 
often simply understood to 
differentiate the object that 
stands out (figure) from the 
object or objects that recede 
into the background (ground). 
But that is only part of their 
meaning.