Set in Perception

Abstract

When a person is set, he is said to be prepared for narrowed range of possible events. Instead of being equally prepared for all possible contingencies, he expects only a few. The general notion has been variously expressed as selective attention, specific expectancies or hypotheses, relative sensitisation, abstraction, perceptual bias, and in many other ways. Set, as a result of such preparation, is said to lead to greater efficiency of perception, and to greater efficiency of any later behaviour dependent upon the perception.