Constructive perception

Constructive perception, is the theory of perception in which the perceiver uses sensory information and other sources of information to construct a cognitive understanding of a stimulus. In contrast to this top-down approach, there is the bottom-up approach of direct perception.

Also known as intelligent perception, constructive perception shows the relationship between intelligence and perception. This comes from the importance of high-order thinking and learning in perception. During perception, hypotheses are formed and tested about percepts that are based on three things: sensory data, knowledge, and high-level cognitive processes. Visual sensations are usually correctly attributed because we unconsciously assimilate information from many sources and then unconsciously make judgments based on this information. The philosophy of Immanuel Kant explains that our perception of the world is reciprocal; it both is affected and affects our experience of the world.

Evidence of constructive perception

Context effects are not explained by bottom-up theories of accounting. Irving Biederman performed experiments that demonstrated dramatic context effects. For example, Stephen Palmer carried out an experiment in which the participants were asked to identify objects after they were shown either a relevant or irrelevant context. They might be shown a scene of a baseball game, followed by images of a baseball, car, and a phone. The stimuli that was most relevant to the context, the...
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