Question

Modern perceptual psychologists have introduced the idea that perception is influenced by our knowledge of __________ in the environment - characteristics of the environment that occur frequently.

Answer 1

Perception is influenced by our knowledge of regularities in the environment, with factors like cultural context playing a significant role in how we interpret sensory information.

Step-by-step explanation:

Modern perceptual psychologists suggest that perception is influenced by our knowledge of regularities in the environment—characteristics of the environment that occur frequently. This knowledge affects our perceptual hypotheses, which are educated guesses we make when interpreting sensory information. These hypotheses take into account our experiences, expectations, and other factors such as our cultural backgrounds, and help shape our perceptual set.

For instance, people from different cultures will experience perceptual phenomena differently. A well-known example is the susceptibility to visual illusions where people from a "carpentered world" with environments featuring straight lines tend to perceive such illusions more than those from cultures with fewer straight lines in their environment. This cultural context in perception highlights the influence of environmental regularities on how we interpret sensory information.