Properties of Sensory Perception Within the Realm

Properties of Sensory Perception

Within the realm of Gestalt theory, the concept of attention is differentiated from that of perception. Attention is the cognitive ability of the human brain to simultaneously focus on a variety of subjects, while continually adjusting the intensity of that focus in response to external factors. A total of four techniques have been identified by Gestalt theory to exert an impact on one's attention: intensity, novelty, incongruity, emotion. In the example above, the speaker could utilize the intensity technique to keep my attention by intermittently punctuating his or her speech with loud exclamations or the clapping of hands. The novelty technique could be invoked when the speaker uses clever and unique turns of phrase, or through the originality of their message. Gestalt's incongruity technique might be employed to keep my attention when the speaker presents stark contrasts in terms or comparisons between differing issues. Finally, the emotion technique of capturing and maintaining attention is exploited through the use of abstractions and sentimental appeals. The speaker may consider using emotionally charged words such as love and hate to arouse a cognitive response in their audience.

Firmly held convictions such as the faithful belief in God, while appearing to begin form later in one's cognitive development, may actually be traced to infancy using Piaget's stage theory. The Sensorimotor Stage, which extends from birth to the acquisition of language, is defined by the development of habits and the ability to use primitive symbols. An infant may observe his or her parents praying or reading the Bible, and begin to associate these activities with normalcy. Within the Preoperational Stage, the combination of emerging preoperatory and intuitive thought with symbolic function would serve to reinforce developing notions of faith. Entering the Concrete Operational Stage, the brain's ability to employ seriation, transitivity, decentering and other organizational processes would result in a logical examination of one's personal beliefs. Within the Formal Operational Stage, the cognitive function now fully realized, one would be capable of utilizing both logic and faith to properly assess their beliefs in God. A belief borne of this final stage is optimal because there are no decencies in its basis; all angles of the argument have been considered and faith has emerged as the most logical option.

The concept of dialogue is very important to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory. When an authority figure fitting Vygotsky's definition of a More Knowledgeable Other, such as a teacher, professor or mentor, engages in a dialog with a student, this conscious act of organizing and systemizing one's thought processes invariably aids the learning process. Vygotsky's concept of reciprocal learning stands in stark contrast to traditional transmissionist or instructionist learning. For Vygotsky, a reciprocal learning experience, in which teachers collaborate with their students to facilitate the construction of meaning, is extremely useful in raising one's ZPD. By actively engaging with one's instructor, lessons can be absorbed and comprehended at a higher rate, thus enabling the student to attain independence more rapidly. Both dialogue and reciprocal learning are examples of Vygotsky's concept of social interaction, which, in his own words states that the "very function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)" (Vygotsky 1978).