Perception is defined as the recognition, organization, and interpretation of experiences from our sensory experiences. Lesson 3 also highlighted two different processing types that influence how we percieve our environemt. Bottom-up processing starts by gaining information from our environment to send signals to our brain. Top-down processing obtains inofrmation from our knowledge, expectations, and experience.

Along with learning about perceptual processing, we were also introduced to Gestalt’s Grouping Laws of Perception. Which, don’t necessarily hold true every single time, but they are accurate heuristics to rely on. Gestalt’s Grouping Laws include proximity, similarity, good continuation, connectedness, common fate, and pragnanz.

I work as a bar lead at a restaurant that is located on a military base. There are strict fraternization laws that prohibt Airmen in Trainings or AiTs from co-mingling with permanent party members. Permanent party members are non-students who have already finished basic training. There are also strict alcohol consumption laws, this varies from base to base, but the rules here cause employees who work at permanent party only establishments to be on high alert for AiTs. AiTs are not allowed to eat, drink, or loiter in areas that are only meant for permanent party. This alone automatically helps create a perception of the typical AiT in our minds. There are two of Gestalt’s Grouping Laws in particular, that I exercise on a daily basis; proximity and similarity.

The grouping priniciple of proximity states that we group things together that are close to each other. AiTs usually travel around in groups or they all tend to stay close together, due to the fraternization rule and they are also recommended to have a “buddy system.” Using proximity as a way to distinguish permanenet party from AiTs is a good way to tell each group apart. As I mentioned previously, these laws don’t always hold true. There are instances where there is a group that walks in together, automatically perceiving that they are AiTs, but sometimes these groups are TDY (temporary duty) travelers.

I also draw on the similarity law, which is described as grouping things together that are similar to each other in some characteristic. AiTs are all required to wear a reflector belt, about 60% of them carry some kind of backpack while walking, and the formation of groups also ties in with the similarity law.

“Modern perceptual psychologists have introduced the idea that perception is influenced by our knowledge of regularities in the environment-characteristics of the environment that occur frequently” (67). The above characteristics aid in associating my perception of how I identify Airmen in Training.

Goldstein, E. B. (2018). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.