Because much of our perception can be determined by the experiences we have had and the inferences we make, it is important to understand top-down processing. Describe how expectancy, motivation, and schemas influence top-down processing of perceptions.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Sensory information is often ambiguous, and, therefore, the brain uses information stored in memory as well as other contextual environmental signals to help interpret the ambiguous sensory information. This is known as top-down processing and can be a powerful influence on the interpretation of signals from the environment. The major factors associated with top-down processing are (1) our expectations about what we are about to see, hear, etc.; (2) our motivational states like hunger, thirst, etc.; and (3) existing knowledge schemas we possess about how phenomena should occur. Expectancies and schemas help us to process information more quickly by biasing our perceptions toward interpretations that are more likely to be correct in a particular context. Although greater speed of processing results from these biases, interpretational errors become more likely as well. These errors often take the form of misidentification of phenomena or perceiving phenomena that aren't really there. Motives like hunger and thirst help sensitize us to features of our environment that can help us satisfy our needs but, like expectancy and schemas, the influence of motives results in biases toward perceptions of particular stimuli to the exclusion of others.