Question

1. Describe the role of expectation on perceptual set. Use examples to support your argument.

Answer 1

Explanation:

perception as an active process involving selection, inference and interpretation.

The concept of perceptual set is important to the active process of perception.  Allport (1955) defined perceptual set as:

'A perceptual bias or predisposition or readiness to perceive particular features of a stimulus.'

Perceptual set is a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the available sensory data and ignore others.  According to Vernon, 1955 perceptual set works in two ways:

(1) The perceiver has certain expectations and focuses attention on particular aspects of the sensory data: This he calls a Selector'.

(2) The perceiver knows how to classify, understand and name selected data and what inferences to draw from it. This she calls an 'Interpreter'.

It has been found that a number of variables, or factors, influence perceptual set, and set in turn influences perception. The factors include:

• Expectations

• Emotion

• Motivation

• Culture