Perception and Attention.
We have been discussing at great length the Innate or Gestalt perceptual processes. Of course, it was evident all the way along, that the influence of learning cannot be totally extracted from these processes.
We will now turn our attention to the Learned or Behaviorist side of Perception. Of course, as before, the influences of the opposite innate physiological factors will still be present.
We will be discussing two powerful influences in the perceptual processes: Attention and Expectancies.
Attention: Like the word "Language," the word "attention" is easy to say, but hard to describe. I find myself getting confused in the literature by the terms "arousal" and "vigilance," which are often used in discussions about attention.