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Top-Down Processing and Perception

Top-down processing is a cognitive approach where perceptions begin with general expectations and prior knowledge that help interpret new information. It allows the brain to quickly make sense of our complex sensory experiences by applying what we already know. Examples that demonstrate top-down processing include being able to visualize a partially hidden object and having difficulty catching our own typos in writing because our brain predicts what we intended to write. Context and motivation can also influence our top-down perceptions and interpretations.

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Geetika Rao
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56 views1 page

Top-Down Processing and Perception

Top-down processing is a cognitive approach where perceptions begin with general expectations and prior knowledge that help interpret new information. It allows the brain to quickly make sense of our complex sensory experiences by applying what we already know. Examples that demonstrate top-down processing include being able to visualize a partially hidden object and having difficulty catching our own typos in writing because our brain predicts what we intended to write. Context and motivation can also influence our top-down perceptions and interpretations.

Uploaded by

Geetika Rao
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BASICS

What Is Top-Down
Processing?
By Kendra Cherry Updated on October 18, 2020

Medically reviewed by Amy Morin, LCSW

Yuo cna porbalby raed tihs esaliy desptie


teh msispeillgns.

Passages like this have been bouncing


around the internet for years. But how do
we read them? How do our brains so
quickly make sense of these jumbled
letters? The answer is simple: top-down
processing.

What Is Top-Down
Processing?
In top-down processing, perceptions
begin with the most general and move
toward the more speciOc. These
perceptions are heavily inPuenced by our
expectations and prior knowledge. [1] Put
simply, your brain applies what it knows
to Oll in the blanks and anticipate what's
next.

For example, if half of a tree branch is


covered, you usually have an idea of what
it looks like, even though half is not being
shown. This is because you know what
trees look like from prior knowledge.

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Processing information from the top


down allows us to make sense of
information that has already been
brought in by the senses, working
downward from initial impressions
down to particular details.

Why We Use Top-Down


Processing
In a world where we are surrounded by
virtually limitless sensory experiences and
information, top-down processing can
help us quickly make sense of the
environment.

Our senses are constantly taking in new


information. At any given time, we're
experiencing a never-ending stream of
sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and
physical sensations. If we had to focus
equally on all of these sensations every
second of every day, we would be
overwhelmed.

Top-down processing helps simplify our


understanding of the world. It allows us to
quickly make sense of all the information
our senses bring in. As you begin to take
in more information about your
environment, your initial impressions
(which are based on previous experiences
and patterns) inPuence how you interpret
the Oner details.

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This type of processing can be useful


when we are looking for patterns in
our environment, but these
predispositions can also hinder our
ability to perceive things in new and
diYerent ways.

Influences on This Process


A number of things can inPuence top-
down processing, including context and
motivation. The context, or
circumstances, in which an event or object
is perceived can inPuence what we expect
to Ond in that particular situation.

If you are reading an article about food


and nutrition, for example, you might
interpret a word you're not familiar with
as something related to food. Motivation
can also make you more likely to interpret
something in a particular way. For
example, if you were shown a series of
ambiguous images, you might be more
motivated to perceive them as food-
related when you're hungry.

Examples of Top-Down
Processing
In order to better understand how top-
down processing works, it can be helpful
to explore a few examples of this
phenomenon in action.

The Stroop Effect


One classic example of top-down
processing in action is a phenomenon
known as the Stroop eYect. In this task,
people are shown a list of words printed in
diYerent colors. They’re then asked to
name the ink color, rather than the word
itself. 

Interestingly, people are much slower and


make more mistakes when the meaning of
the word and the ink color doesn’t match.
So, for example, people have a harder time
when the word “red” is printed in green
ink instead of red ink.

Top-down processing explains why


this task is so di^cult. People
automatically recognize the word
before they think about the speciOc
features of that word (like what color
it's written in). This makes it easier
to read the word aloud rather than to
say the color of the word.

Typos
You type a message to your boss,
proofread it, and hit 'Send.' Only after the
message has gone into the nether sphere
do you spot three typos in the Orst few
sentences.

If you've experienced some version of this


scenario, you're not alone. Most people
Ond it di^cult to catch their own typos.
But it's not because they're stupid.
According to psychologist Tom StaYord, it
may actually be because you're smart!

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“ When you're writing,


you're trying to convey
meaning. It's a very
high-level task... We
don't catch every detail,
we're not like computers
or NSA databases.
Rather, we take in
sensory information and
combine it with what we
expect, and we extract
meaning. [2]”
— TOM STAFFORD, PSYCHOLOGIST AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD IN
THE UK

Because writing is such a high-level task,


your brain tricks you into reading what
you think you should see on the page. It
Olls in missing details and corrects errors
without you even noticing. This allows
you to focus on the more complex task of
turning sentences into complex ideas.

Related: The Bottom-Up Processing View


of Perception

2 Sources

By Kendra Cherry
Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author
and educational consultant focused
on helping students learn about
psychology.

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