The principle of closure is one of a number of principles referred to as Gestalt principles of perception. It states that whenever possible, people tend to perceive a set of individual elements as a single, recognizable pattern, rather than a multiple, individual elements. The tendency to perceive a single pattern is so strong that people will close gaps and fill in missing information to complete the pattern if necessary. For example, when individual line segments are positioned along a circular path, they are first perceived holistically as a circle, and as comprising multiple, independent elements. The tendency to perceive information in this way is automatic and subconscious; it is likely a function of an innate preference for simplicity over complexity, and pattern over randomness.
