Bruner and Minturn's study on Expectation

• What is a perceptual set?

  A belief about what is likely to happen
• How can past experiences affect perception?

  They influence what we notice in the environment
• What was the aim of Bruner and Minturn's study?

  • To investigate if context changes perception
  • To see if an ambiguous figure is interpreted differently
• What method did Bruner and Minturn use in their study?

  • Lab experiment
  • Independent groups design
  • 24 students participated
  • Counterbalancing was used
• How many students participated in the study?

  24 students
• What were the two sequences presented to participants?

  A sequence of letters and a sequence of numbers
• What ambiguous figure was used in the study?

  A figure that could be seen as B or 13
• What did participants have to do with the ambiguous figure?

  Report and draw what they saw
• What was the result for participants shown letters?

  They reported seeing the letter B
• What did participants shown numbers tend to report?

  They reported seeing the number 13
• What conclusion can be drawn from Bruner and Minturn's study?

  • Expectation affects perception
  • Context influences how figures are interpreted
• What is a weakness of the study related to the task?

  The task was artificial and lacked validity
• What is a weakness related to the independent groups design?

  Individual differences may affect results
• What is a strength of the study regarding real-life application?

  • Explains errors in perception
  • Shows how expectations influence real-world tasks