Which of the following best exemplifies the principle of figure and ground?

The principle of figure and ground refers to the perceptual differentiation between an object (the figure) and its surrounding context (the ground). This concept is fundamental in understanding how we visually interpret our environment. When you distinguish an object from its background, you effectively engage with this principle by identifying the figure as a distinct entity that stands out against the ground that surrounds it.

For instance, when looking at a photograph, you may see a person as the figure while the scenery behind them is the ground. This differentiation allows us to focus our attention on the important elements within our visual field.

The other options do involve visual perception but do not capture the essence of the figure-ground relationship as specifically as distinguishing an object from its background. Identifying multiple colors, recognizing patterns, or grouping items based on similarity concerns different aspects of visual processing or cognitive categorization, rather than the fundamental distinction of figure and ground.