Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

The perceptual context refers to how people take in, store, and recall information. Our knowledge of the world is dependent on what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Yet, what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is subjective and quite biased. Thus, our perception of the world is subjective and biased. Some of our subjectivity is based on the simple physiological differences among humans. No two humans are biologically exactly alike, for example. Thus, what smells good to you may stink to the person sitting next to you. Some of our subjectivity is based on culture. To a degree, culture teaches us what smells good and what smells bad. Think of the human mind as a computer where information is entered, stored, and recalled. The human mind works in the same way. Via our senses, we take in information, we then store the information in memory, and then later we recall it. All human brains, regardless of culture, take in, store, and recall information. Without this ability, human communication would be impossible.

1. Video Link: I Have to Deal with Stereotypes

Description: A central focus of this chapter is stereotyping. Kevin Wu is a Chinese American and Taiwanese-American based comedian who has become a YouTube phenomenon. One of Kevin’s most popular videos is titled I Have to Deal with Stereotypes.

Do you think Kevin handles the issue sensitively? Watch some of his other videos. Is he dealing with this issue fairly or unfairly? Does his video make you laugh or does it make you angry?

2. Video Link: Ronny Chieng Stand-Up

Description: Ronny Chieng jokes about Asian people objectively mediating racial tensions and helping the government function better.

3. Video Link: Battling Cultural Stereotypes

Description: Sadie Ortiz talks about her experiences as a self-described “furious Hispanic.” At the time of her talk, she was a high school junior attending school in Park City, Utah.

4. Video Link: Memory Test

Description: Another central focus of Chapter Five is memory. Interested in testing your memory? Take an (easy) memory test online.