Is our Visual Perception affected by our Cultural Environment?

 

    The process of visual perception is that which is still to this day not fully understood. Due to the constant filtering of visual information by our brain as we look at the world around us, it is difficult to determine how much of our visual perception is a conscious, intentional effort by us, and how much is a constructed image of reality our brain makes based of the elements in our surroundings. Work done by Baker and Kellman examined the automatic nature of our brain when processing basic elements, finding that in as little as 30 ms, “shape representation forms automatically and obligatory.” While it appears there seems to be a universality of automatic visual perception in humans, research has actually been conducted to see if even our cultural environments can play a role in our visual perception and how our brain decides to process information. In the research article Chela R. et al, they sought to find out if visual perception in East Asian collectivist cultures differed from that of Western European individualist cultures.

     To determine this, the researchers conducted a rod and frame test (RFT). In an RFT, a rod is shown in a displayed with a warped orientation, which in turn creates a visual illusion. In the task, participants were supposed to decide whether the rod was orientated vertically or not. Due to the collectivist nature of east Asian cultures, it was believed by the researchers as well as others who have done research into the field that in collectivist cultures, spatial context is often very important when looking at images, as opposed to individualist cultures. This could be due to the emphasis on upkeeping not only oneself, but the people and those around you. Individualist westerners on the other hand were believed to fixate on local objects much more than the spatial context. Due to the RFT being a visual illusion based on spatial orientation, the researchers believed that their east Asian participants on average would fail the RFT more than their western European counterparts.

    Despite seeing an effect in previous research, there seemed to be no significant correlation between east Asian participants doing worse than western Europeans. However, while there was no significant difference amongst culture lines, there was seen to be a difference amongst gender lines. From the data, it appeared as though “women were more influenced by the tilt of the frame than men” (Chela R. et. al). This same effect has also been seen in previous research, so while there does not seem to be a difference in automatic visual processing across cultures, there does seem to be a difference across genders on average.

    More research must be done into visual perception. There is still much we don’t know on what systems exactly influence what, as well as how much of our perception is based on automatic processes of our brain and how much is based on the environment, we happen to find ourselves in. Work done by Baker and Kellman goes to begin to answer how much visual information is unconsciously processed and presented to us, as it appears to be the case with abstract shapes, however, more studies must be done to determine the extent to which our visual perception may differ on a person-to-person basis.

Baker, N., & Kellman, P. J. (2018). Abstract shape representation in human visual perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(9), 1295–1308. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000409

Willey, C. R., & Liu, Z. (2022). Re-assessing the role of culture on the visual orientation perception of the rod and frame test. PLOS ONE, 17(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276393