ExpertMedium4 marksExtended Response
AQA GCSE · Question 12.3 · Cognition and Behaviour
Use your knowledge of one factor that affects perception to explain the results shown in Table 1 (on page 10).
Use your knowledge of one factor that affects perception to explain the results shown in Table 1 (on page 10).
How to approach this question
1. Identify a relevant factor that affects perception. 'Expectation' or 'perceptual set' is the most appropriate here.
2. Define or briefly explain this factor.
3. Apply the factor to Group A. Explain why seeing pictures of rabbits made them more likely to see a rabbit in the ambiguous figure. Use data from the table to support your point.
4. Apply the factor to Group B. Explain why seeing pictures of ducks made them more likely to see a duck. Use data from the table to support your point.
Full Answer
One factor that affects perception is expectation. This is the idea that our prior experiences and the context we are in create a readiness to perceive things in a certain way. This is a top-down process where the brain uses existing knowledge to interpret sensory information.
In this experiment, Group A was shown pictures of rabbits before seeing the ambiguous duck-rabbit figure. This created an expectation to see a rabbit. As a result, a large majority of them (11 out of 15) perceived the ambiguous figure as a rabbit.
Conversely, Group B was shown pictures of ducks, which created an expectation to see a duck. Consequently, most of them (13 out of 15) perceived the figure as a duck. The results clearly show that the participants' recent experience (priming) influenced their expectation and therefore their perception of the ambiguous figure.
The results of this experiment are a classic demonstration of 'perceptual set' or 'expectation'. A perceptual set is a predisposition to perceive things in a certain way. In this case, the teacher 'primed' the students by showing them a series of related images. Group A was primed with rabbits, creating an expectation that influenced their interpretation of the ambiguous duck-rabbit figure. Group B was primed with ducks, leading to the opposite interpretation. This supports the constructivist view of perception (like Gregory's theory), which argues that perception is not just a direct, bottom-up process but is also influenced by top-down processes like knowledge, context, and expectation.
Common mistakes
Describing the results without explaining them using a psychological concept. Not referring to both groups in the explanation. Using an irrelevant factor (e.g., motivation, emotion) that doesn't fit the scenario as well as expectation does.
Practice the full AQA GCSE Psychology Paper 1
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