As we have read in our textbook, humans cognitive systems are organized in a sort of hierarchy, the most basic of perception toward the bottom, and the more complex perception that are based on prior knowledge at the top. These perceptions based on prior knowledge have come to be known as top-down processing. Top-down processing gives us the ability to take what we know before a stimulus is presented toward us, and make sense of it, which causes people to perceive things in different ways. This prior knowledge and experience is the key when it comes to understanding top-down processing. On a rainy day a couple of days ago, I was scrolling around different social media sites to try to pass the time and get rid of my boredom, when I came across a post titled Cna yuo raed this? which I believe to be a perfect example of top-down processing. Try reading this: i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dsenot mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghi t pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it. Myself, as well as most of my friends that I showed could easily read this paragraph without hesitation, and I wondered to myself how? Until reading about top-down processing I thought it was just an illusion of the mind, however, it makes more sense to me now. Because I had an extensive understanding of the rules, regulations, and grammar that is behind the English language (prior knowledge), I could easily perceive words and perceive this gibberish as words, sentences, and even a paragraph that made sense. Thank you top-down processing, now Im not as concerned with my lack of spelling skills. |
