Unit 2: Cognition: Reading Note Taking Handout
Topic: Perception
Module 2.1 A pages 167-173
Vocabulary: selective attention- focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
Inattentional blindness- failing to see visible objects when our attention is
directed elsewhere.
Change blindness- failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of
inattentional blindness.
Perceptual set- a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
1. How does selective attention direct our perceptions? It helps us focus on one thing and
ignore other things.
2. Summarize, in your own words, what the reading states about selective attention and
accidents. Focusing too much on one thing, like texting can cause accidents.
3. What is inattentional blindness and how does it influence perception? It’s not noticing
something obvious because you’re focused on something else.
4. What is change blindness? It’s not seeing a big change because you didn’t pay attention
to it.
5. How do our expectations, contexts, motivation, and emotions influence our perceptions?
They shape what we see, hear, or feel based on what we expect. What are two examples
of a perceptual set? Seeing a cloud as a face and hearing a word you’re expecting.
6. Explain bottom up and top-down processing. Which of these does perceptual set
involve? Bottom-up starts with senses and top-down uses your brain and expectations.
7.How does context, motivation, and emotion affect our perception? They make us see things
differently depending on the situation or how we feel.
8.What is motivation? It’s wanting to do something.
9.What is emotion? It’s how we feel
Module 2.1B: Perception: Perceptual Organization and Interpretation pages 174-185
Vocabulary: gestalt
Figure ground - the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that
stand out from their surroundings (the ground). Phi Phenomenon
- an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick
succession.
Grouping - the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.
Autokinetic Effect - the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room.
