Categorization
When we selectively perceive stimuli from the external environment, we must
arrange them into meaningful patterns. In the categorization stage of perception the
social and physical events or objects we encounter immediately have shape, color,
texture, size, and intensity. For example, when people are asked what a human
being is, some may describe it from the perspective of skin color, others from that of
race or nationality. If we close our eyes and think what our university library is like,
we experience an organized environment with an internal and external structure.
Two characteristics of human perception emerge at this stage. First, the
categorization process gives human perception structure. We always translate the
raw stimuli of the external world into structured experiences. Second, the process
shows that human perception is stable. After we organize the stimuli into patterns
they become durable. For example, the height of a person will not shrink two or three
feet because of variation in distance.