ch. 21. Influences on Perception lecture notes

Definition: Perceptual set is a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. This influences interpretations of sensory input via top-down processing.
Expectations and Contexts: Our expectations and context shape what we see, hear, taste, and feel.
- Example: Perception of ambiguous images can change based on previous visual context.
- Figure 21.1: Depicts an optical illusion where viewers can identify either an old woman or a young woman based on their perceptual set established by previously viewed images.
- Context also applies to interpreting script depending on direction: left to right vs. top to bottom influences meaning.
Historical Example: In 1972, a British newspaper published photographs claiming to show the Loch Ness monster. Skeptical researchers interpreted the same images as a tree limb based on their differing perceptual sets.
Auditory Example: A communication misunderstanding occurred when a co-pilot expected to hear “Gear up” but misheard “Cheer up,” leading to an incorrect action.
Mishearings: Music enthusiasts have documented numerous examples of misheard song lyrics on websites such as kissthisguy.com, illustrating how prior expectations influence perception.

Analyze how our expectations, contexts, motivation, and emotions influence perception.

Describe the claims of ESP and discuss the conclusions of research psychologists regarding these claims.

Schemas: Pre-existing schemas from experience influence how we interpret new, ambiguous information.
Influence of Gender Stereotypes: Gender stereotypes can affect perception, such as assumptions about a baby’s size based on their name (e.g., “David” perceived as stronger than “Diana”).

Social Context: Context can drastically alter perceptions. For instance, drivers may perceive pedestrians as irritating, while pedestrians view drivers as dangerous.
Examples of Contextual Influence:
- Holding a gun increases likelihood of interpreting a different person holding a phone as also holding a gun.
- Misinterpretation can occur based on auditory context: “eel” can be heard as “wheel” depending on surrounding words.

People from diverse cultures often perceive stimuli differently, affecting interpretation based on societal norms and experiences.

Influence on Perception: Our motivations can significantly impact how we interpret stimuli.
- Example: A thirsty person may perceive a water bottle as being closer than it actually is.
- Experiments: Studies show that obstacles like steep hills seem larger to those carrying heavy loads or when feeling fatigued. Losing weight changes the perception of physical challenges (hills/stairs).
- Softball players perceive the ball's size differently based on their success in hitting.

Emotional Influence: Emotions can skew perceptual interpretation.
- Example: Sad music can lead to interpreting words with sorrowful meanings (mourning instead of morning).
- Individuals in anger may misperceive neutral objects as threatening (e.g., seeing objects as guns).
- Subtle emotional states impact our perception of attractiveness in faces.

Perception is determined not just by the stimuli but also by mental constructs shaped by experience, context, motivation, and emotion.
Top-down Processing: Our interpretations are shaped significantly by the brain's assumptions and preconceived ideas based on previous experiences.

Definition: ESP is the controversial concept suggesting that perception can occur without sensory input. This includes:
- Telepathy: Mind-to-mind communication.
- Clairvoyance: Awareness of distant events (e.g., knowing about a fire in another state).
- Precognition: Ability to foresee future events (e.g., predicting deaths).
Another related claim is psychokinesis, the ability to move objects with the mind.

Most psychologists remain skeptical about the existence of ESP due to lack of replicable evidence under controlled conditions.
Parapsychology Studies: While some researchers conduct experiments looking for ESP, results are often inconclusive and plagued by methodological criticisms.

Claims of psychics predictably predicting future events have proven unreliable in various high-stakes situations (e.g., psychological predictions after the 9/11 attacks). Many predictions made by psychics failed.
Research into coincidences suggests many occurrences attributed to ESP could be explained by chance and selective interpretation.

Controlled experiments aim to test if individuals can demonstrate ESP under rigorous scientific conditions.
Notable efforts include experiments designed to measure abilities in predicting outcomes (e.g., coin tosses).
Despite some claims of successful outcomes from individual studies, skepticism persists.

A clear differentiation is essential between belief in anecdotal evidence and scientific proof.
Continually, skepticism invites rigorous testing and re-evaluation in scientific research, ensuring our understanding keeps evolving.

Perceptual set is vital to how we view the world.
Learned schemas shape our interpretations of ambiguous situations. Motivation and context significantly affect these interpretations.

ESP encompasses telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition, with skepticism surrounding these claims due to lack of reproducible evidence under empirical scrutiny.