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Simone Shane's picture

From Senstation to Perception

So, this goes back to not feeling your clothing on your skin and may not be as scientifically based as some former replies. However, I was reminded of working memory models when reading Skye’s post. I can’t remember if Baddeley (the guy responsible for making a really famous working memory model) included this in his model, but basically, for information to get set in memory, it must first be sensed. Ok, obvious. However, everything that is sensed must also be perceived if it is to go on to inter consciousness and therefore memory. Basically, perception works both bottom up and top down. A sensory input can only be perceived if it is really there (bottom up processing), but also will only be perceived if we are exerting attention to it (top down processing). We may pay attention to a certain stimulus because of feedback coming from longterm memory or another part of working memory, such as the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, or central executive system. In any case, the point I’m trying to make is that top down processing may not be focusing on the feeling of our clothes and therefore we do not pay attention to it. This doesn’t really get to the biological underpinnings, but it may clarify some cognitive theories.

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