The pattern of eye movement and the areas on which the gaze rested in each case were markedly different. And here one recorded pattern of eye movements of an observer looking at the painting. We clearly do not scan pictures in either a random or robotic manner. One group was hungry whilst the other group had just eaten. The ones who were hungry more often perceived food items in the ambiguous drawings than those who had just had a meal.
Current needs can thus affect perception.
One was a poor group from a slum area in Boston and the other was an affluent group from the same city. The poor group over-estimated the size of the coins far more than did the affluent group. Thus social values and individual needs can influence perception. The researchers found a relationship between perceived status and estimated height. Those in authority were judged to be taller than they actually were, whilst those in lower status were judged to be shorter.