On Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:59:47 -0700, Frantz, Sue wrote: >Hi all, > Need an example of perception?
I'm not sure that this is an example of perception but then again you don't specify what you mean by "perception". >Courtesy of Awkward Family Photos. (NOT my story.) > >"When I was pregnant with my first child, my Grandma passed >away. I didn't have anything to wear to the funeral, so I had to >settle on a low-cut maternity blouse that made my breasts look >enormous and made me very self-conscious. After the funeral, >one of my aunts approached me and in front of the entire family, >loudly announced: 'You are getting a fabulous chest!!!' I turned six >shades of red and blurted out defensively, 'I can't help it. Since I've >been pregnant, I've gone up a couple of cup sizes.' She was actually >referring to a chest of drawers that I had unknowingly inherited.... >um...yeah...very awkward." >( http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/07/14/awkward-family-story-the-funeral/ ) A couple of points: (1) The author "Lori" (if that is her real name) clearly was focused on her breasts which would be priming the related concept "chest". Hearing the word "chest" without verbal constraints to process furniture-related words/comcepts would bias her to interpret the word "chest" as breast related. If Lori hadn't be so focused on her own breasts, it is unlikely that she would have interpreted "chest" as referring to her breasts. This raises the question of how all of this related to "perception". I think that it reflects "top-down processing" (a cognitive process) more than a perceptual process (though the term perception has started to lose some of its meaning). (2) Just a personal peeve: I'm not a modesty fascist but what is it with women who wear tops that show off their breasts or cleavege at a FUNERAL or a wake? Yes, Lori only had a yadda-yadda-yadda. Please. At the Michael Jackson memorial/tribute, I kept wondering what was Mariah Carey thinking with that dress which revealed both her cleavege and that she wasn't wearing a bra. Just being a guy, I have to admit to being distracted by her outfit and wondering whether we would experience a wardrobe malfunction. (3) Just a point about the difference in the use of words by men and women: do women really use "chest" when they're referring to "breasts"? I have the impression that males would rarely use "chest" to refer to "breasts", some other terms come to mind but in the observance of good taste I won't share them (though I do admit to having heard other male faculty -- and some female faculty -- use the terms in meetings and private conversation). I have a feeling that a male relative relating the same info about grandma's chest of drawers would be less unambiguous (unless, of course, he was a real creepy kind of male relative). -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
