An Investigation of How Perception is Inffuenced by Mental Set

PURPOSE:The present experiment is designed to investigate whether and how the perception of ambiguous picture, as revealed by immediate reproductions and verbal descriptions by the subjects, is influenced by preceding pictorial suggestions. The factors to be studied include relative degrees of suggestion, relative exposure time of the ambiguous pictures, nature (degree of complexity) of the pictures, and the age and intelligence of the subjects. SUBJECTS:Five classes of boy students each of the first and second grades of the Junior Department of The High School of Taiwan Normal University are used. According to the authorities of the school, the classes of each grade are of approximately the same level in age, intelligence, and academic achievement.