Perception, Culture and Intelligence: Sensory Processing & Memory

Perception: Ability to Receive Sensations

Perception: ability to receive sensations. Capture objects. Result or interpretation of sensory data. The process by which we make sense of our surroundings.

Sensory Data and Configuring Elements

Sensory data are the material to be interpreted. Configuring elements are basic provisions of the mind that make us perceive sensory data according to certain organizing principles. Cultural elements — conceptual provisions acquired with the use of language — introduce new organization and meaning in our perceptions.

Cultural Elements of Perception

• Language: Perception is shaped by meanings that create networks of language; language both reflects reality and is rooted in perception.
• Cultural needs and interests: Needs and interests differ across cultures and societies and determine curiosity, exploration, and human traditions.
• Science: Science helps provide a vision of the universe that can challenge everyday beliefs and common sense.
• Society: Norms and customs influence perception.

Memory

Memory: the faculty by which we reproduce perceptions and experiences of the past with awareness of them.

• Habit memory: the ability to learn and retain certain content mechanically.
• Representational memory: the ability to evoke images for comprehension.

Conditions for the Development of Intelligence

• Omnivorous diet: Fruits collected in the forest and savannah were accessible to hunters and broadened dietary resources.
• Broad, plastic behavior: Hunters had to be flexible and resourceful to feed themselves.
• Patterns of behavior: Patterns are not solely determined by needs and instincts.
• Ability to plan and conduct activities: The manufacture of tools is a sign of progress and understanding, though it presents challenges.
• Innate structures: Conditions in the development of intelligence suggest correlations between intelligence and innate, domain-specific structures.

Ethnocentrism and Xenophobia

Ethnocentrism: The attitude of judging and valuing other cultures by the criteria or beliefs of one's own culture.

Xenophobia: Attitudes of contempt and rejection of the foreign.

Conceptualization of the World

Conceptualization of the world: Perception of reality includes symbolic elements. We do not always perceive objects only in their uniqueness; rather, we perceive a conceptualized reality shaped by symbols and categories.