The lowest level of perceptual organization is an awareness of the presence of the stimulus.
The Gestaltists, using their phenomenological approach to explore figure-ground discrimination. They would flash pictures before subjects at an increased shutter speed. They reasoned that as the exposure time was shortened, the perceptual process would not have time to be completed.
Hence, the experiences of the subjects would represent the stages of perception. The Gestaltists identified four stages or levels of organization:
1. The Level of Awareness: When the stimulus is very brief, or very weak, we have only an awareness of its presence. When a person is not accustomed to using a modality, it is necessary to start training at this level of perception.
For example, if I have a hearing loss and acquire a hearing aid, I will need to practice first just being aware when the sound is present.
- Sometimes, a child does not produce a certain speech sound.