Schema

You are taking a walk in a public park. You see a woman standing near a man seated on a park bench. The woman is shouting at the man. Explain how the following may influence your perception of this scene:

• Schema

• Context

• Perceptual Set

• Biological Influences

• Social- Cultural Influences

Schema in this situation would influence every aspect of the person’s perception. People use schema everyday; it is a process where only automatic thought is needed. I would see this situation and realize I have seen situations like this before in my life. I have seen them in movies, television shows or I may have even read about it in stories. I would perceive that somehow the man enraged the woman and they have some sort of relationship. A man and a woman in a park usually gives me a mental image of a couple taking a stroll in the park so it would make sense that they are a couple. I may not know the exact relationship the two have but I would acknowledge the fact that the man enraged the women in some way. Usually when a person is shouting at another person, the person that is shouting is upset about something. This is the initial perception that I believe most people will get while observing this scene. There are also other variations of this situation. The woman could quite understandably be shouting at a man that is hard of hearing.

The context in this situation involves the surroundings that these people are in. The male and female are in the park. In my mind if a man and woman are in the park they are more likely romantically involved. It also seems as though they are married because you do not usually see young couples strolling in the park. Parks are mostly for children and adults usually take children to the park, so it is plausible that the couples are married. The positioning of the people also suggests that the woman followed the man and that she is mad at the man. The man looks innocent in this situation. If the woman was sitting and shouting at the man it could give a whole new meaning. The surrounding, positioning of the two people, and the actions of the people are very important for the context.

The perceptual set is what I think is going on in this picture. I believe that the woman and man are a couple and the woman is yelling at the man because