Psychologist Richard Gregory believes that when something is viewed, we develop a “perceptual hypothesis,” which is rooted in our knowledge and information about previous experiences. But, how do I even know what a stop sign is? I know the action I must take when this stop sign is perceived due to top-down processing. This initial perception comes from the environment and appears to be bottom-up. In order for me to consider this stop sign, I must first visually perceive the octagonal red sign we all know so well. What about the stop sign? Is this bottom-up or top-down? I believe the correct answer is: both. The processing of this event appears to have happened by dominantly bottom-up means. This has occurred without much conscious consideration and prior knowledge needed. We have perceived the deer through our visual receptors, and come to a stop. If a deer runs out in front of our car, we will most likely attempt to avoid a collision reflexively. Some of our seemingly automatic reactions when we are driving a car are due to bottom-up processing. According to : “In the case of avoiding an on-coming car, it’s good that we don’t have to stop and think about what is going on before acting.” ( ) This assumption seems to be true. It seems that driving an automobile is a great example of the teamwork between bottom-up and top-down processing. It seems that the two operate together more often than not, which, at times, makes them difficult to distinguish between. It became quite obvious how the two processes work in harmony in order to make this world negotiable for a human being. The interplay between bottom-up and top-down processing had actually caused me to stop at the stop sign. (Goldstein, 2011) While I was driving home from my place of work on this unassuming Thursday evening, I had quite the realization while immobile at a stop sign. (Goldstein, 2011) Top-down processing always begins with a person’s previous knowledge, and forecasts due to this already acquired knowledge. ![]() ![]() Bottom-up processing is any processing that originates with the incitement of the sensory receptors. Throughout the course, I struggled to clearly understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing as it relates to perception.
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