Center for Behavioral Decision Research

CBDR : Seminar Series : Seminar by Emily Balcetis

Motivated Visual Perception: How We See what We Want to See

	presented by Emily Balcetis (Ohio Univesrity)


	Thursday, December 4	link to paper
	12pm
	PH 223D	link to Speaker's Site

	Abstract:

	People assume that their visual experiences accurately reflect reality. This line of research questions this supposition. Instead, I argue that motivational forces color the perceptual representations that reach perceivers’ awareness. Data suggest that higher-order social motivations originally considered relevant to the domain of social thought—motives such as wishful thinking, cognitive dissonance, and desires—bias visual perception. I discuss local mechanisms responsible for motivated perception including the direction of attention and processing style. I argue that such motivated visual perception occurs in service of self-regulation. In other words, motivated perception biases visual perception in order to assist perceivers in successfully navigating their environment in light of their accessible goals. This work adds to an ongoing debate regarding theories of how the mind works and advocates for a highly interactive relationship between cognition and perception.

	Host at CMU: Morewedge