According to the principle of proximity, how do humans tend to group visual items?

The principle of proximity suggests that humans naturally group visual items that are physically close to one another. This psychological phenomenon arises from our tendency to perceive objects that are near each other as belonging together, thereby facilitating easier interpretation of visual information.

For example, if you see several dots on a page, those that are clustered close together will likely be perceived as a single group or unit, while dots that are farther apart will not be associated with each other. This principle plays a crucial role in how we comprehend visual patterns and organize stimuli in our environment, impacting fields such as design, art, and user interface layout.

The other options, while they reflect different visual grouping principles, do not align with the specific focus of proximity. Grouping by color similarity, size comparison, and movement direction involves different perceptual processes that may include factors such as similarity or common fate, but they are not based on the spatial relationship of items as defined by proximity.