Perceptual system Essay Example for Free

Perceptual system Essay It has been found that our perceptual system respond to perceptual symbols as a means of making sense of information, it is not a unified center in the brain, rather it is a complex and integrated process which is affected by focus of attention, knowledge and memory, and emotional evaluation (Sekuler Blake, 2001). Focus of attention refers to the length and quality of the attention given to an image or situation, sometimes when our perceptual system experiences information overload, it tends to focus attention on the more relevant information and to disregard the unimportant information. However, there is no way to tell which information will be given attention or not, and sometimes vital information may not be perceived hence leading to misinterpretation of a situation. For example, in the movie Sixth Sense, we see the actor unable to open doors but we do not focus attention on that detail because we are intent at perceiving the events in the movie and listening to the dialogue of the characters, at the end of the movie we are shocked to find out that Bruce Willis was the ghost. Knowledge and memory brought about by previous experiences also lead us to misinterpret objects and situations, through learning we acquire perceptual sets that enable us to respond immediately to situation (Hommel Milliken, 2007). For example, we have heard from news reports that crimes by street gangs have risen and that most gang members are African-Americans and Latinos, such that when we witness a street fight, and later recall what we have seen, we are more likely to say that the gang members were Latino and African-Americans. This perceptual schema is often related to stereotypes, when we are bombarded with the same information we tend to believe that it is true and we commit that to memory. When confronted with incomplete images or situations, we tend to fill in the gaps based on our previous knowledge and experiences (Sekuler, Watamaniuk Blake, 2002). Our perceptual system is also affected by the emotional reaction that perceptual symbols trigger, for example, if I was fighting with a loved one and in the exchange of hurtful words, my perceptual system’s ability to process the information is clouded by the emotions that I attach to the hurtful words which causes more misunderstanding. In order to reduce misjudgments and misinterpretation of what we see, hear, or feel, it is always best to not rely on first impressions. When confronted with a situation in which we are asked to recall what happened, we must be conscious of how our previous experiences affect our understanding of the situation (Sekuler, Watamaniuk Blake, 2002). We must also be aware that we only have a limited attention span and it takes much concentration and presence of mind to be able to pay attention to details. We should also not rush into judgment, if we are unsure of the situation, then we must find ways to validate our understanding of the situation by asking other people of their judgments. As human as we are, we do tend to attach emotional values to objects and situations, for example, we feel disgust and fear for ex-convicts, therefore we limit or avoid our interaction with them and easily pass judgment that they should be locked up again, however not all inmates are criminals and there are those who really change and straighten their lives. However, since our emotion has gotten the better of us, then we do not perceive them as capable of change. Therefore, we should not let emotional attachments get in the way of how we perceive and process our world and the interactions we have with other people.