Do the French and the Chinese see the world in the same way? No. Do Venezuelans and Ghanaians see the
world in the same way? Again, no.
No two national groups see the world in exactly the same way. Perception is the process by which each
individual selects, organizes, and evaluates stimuli from the external environment to provide meaningful
experiences for himself or herself (2;12;16;18). For example, when Mexican children simultaneously viewed
tachistoscopic pictures of a bullfight and a baseball game, they only remembered seeing the bullfight.
• Perception is selective
• Perceptual patterns are learned.
• Perception is culturally determined.
• Perception tends to remain constant.
• We therefore see things that do not exist, and do not see things that do exist