Can anyone help me with this simple Q? I think TPR is wrong…

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Can you guys help me with this? I chose B, but am I wrong? I feel like TPR's explanation mixed things up…anyway, here's the Q:

The process of constructing perceptions from sensory input by drawing on one’s own experience and expectations is called what?

A. Top-down processing
B. Bottom-up processing
C. Serial processing
D. Transfer-appropriate processing

 

[theonlytycrane]

Is the answer A?

bottom-up: data driven cognitive processing

top-down processing: conceptual and contextual processing (also may be based on expectations or memories)

 

[aldol16]

The answer should be A. Bottom-up depends only on objective features of the input - e.g. edges, contours, colors, etc. Top-down draws on your memories and experiences.

 

[NextStepTutor_3]

Agreed - all answers so far have been great! Personally, with a topic like this one (which can be really complex if you get into it), I like to think in terms of simple examples. A good go-to example for this concept is seeing a tiger in the woods.

Bottom-up processing: Imagine you're a young child and you've never seen a tiger (or any animal) before, and you also happen to be alone in the woods looking directly at one. Your perception will be based on what you can piece together from individual sensory inputs. You may see a long orange thing (tail) and notice that it's moving back and forth; you may see long sharp objects directly underneath two circular things. In this way, you "build" - from the most specific pieces of data upward - an idea of what you're seeing.

Top-down processing: Now, imagine you've seen hundreds of tigers in books and the movies, and you're standing in the woods. Even if you only spot a flash of orange and some stripes, or only see part of the tiger's body, you automatically think "tiger," and perhaps other things like "danger" and "run." This is top-down processing, where you rely on memories or known concepts to "fill in the gaps" left by what you actually see. This is part of the explanation for some optical illusions as well.