Jumping To Conclusions

We are all guilty of it. It just happens; its like an automatic knee-jerk reaction to assume an object is whatever we assume it to be. In today’s busy-is-better world, we oftentimes don’t feel the need to fully process information as it is given to us, because we don’t have time to sit down to fully commit ourselves to learning about something. This obviously leads to unwanted, unintended consequences stemming from the lack of accurate knowledge about an event.

By definition, perception is the way each of us individually experiences and understands ideas and concepts. This enables us to process our environment, and from there we make internal representations and create mental maps that guide our navigation through our environment. Once we are exposed to an object, we become familiar with it, learn how it works, and what its purpose and function is. We create an impression or association about the object internally to allow for rapid recognition later. This recognition will later enable our brain to recognize many objects even if they are partially hidden.

In lecture, we discussed our brain’s ability to “fill in” and make connections between incomplete objects and pictures. Perceptions of previously “known” objects allow us to do this. I think it is so interesting that we are able to look at an object that is partially hidden or a picture that is not completed yet, and we are able to recognize what the picture is.  This lack of complete information allows us to make an assumption about an object so we can recognize and process the object. Take a textbook on a shelf for example. We assume that the book is rectangle even though more than half of the shape of the book is obscured from view, we assume it is scholarly and accurate based off our prior experience with textbooks, and it will probably pertain to some kind of material you are learning about in one (or more) of your classes.

This speedy way we have adopted to process information about our environment is both a blessing and a curse. It’s great that we can just glance at an incomplete object in our environment and assume x, y, and z from the object. It allows us to react in a potentially life-saving way. This is especially relevant to when we learned about the early humans and their adaptations to their environment in class. Their assumptions about things in their environment kept them alive.

How could this possibly be a bad thing? Our perception of objects and ideas allow us to make internal representations that we can use and apply to later events. These mental maps guide us through our daily lives, and allow us to adapt to our present environment. The problems come in when we make inaccurate assumptions about an event or idea. If we start off with incorrect assumptions, it can be later very damaging to our cognitive wellbeing to have to re-learn and re-associate objects.  How would you react to someone telling you a soccer ball was actually a square, when you have associated soccer balls as being circles for your entire life? What if this was true? It can be a very jarring experience; it shatters any and all contexts and perceived truths you previously held about that object.

How can we avoid the problems that come with perception? If we take just a moment longer to assess an object, or to hear an idea completely through, we can make perhaps more accurate mental maps and representations about an object or concept in our minds. What if you are busy? For me personally, I would rather take a little bit more time to process an idea and learn it the correct way than to have to learn it once, it be wrong, then have to learn it again. This is not always possible and not always realistic; as a result we run into this problem constantly. We do our best to make do with what we have, and correct our mental maps as necessary.