Expertise shapes perception

Previously we have demonstrated that the ‘magic’ limitation on short-term memory as suggested by Miller (1956), is not only influenced by expertise (e.g., Sørensen & Kyllingsbæk, 2012), but to a high degree determined by familiarity and previous exposure of the specific category processed (Dall, et al., 2021). As such, these results suggest a large element of variation in how each of us individually process perceptual information -– and that this is shaped throughout our development and in an interaction with the environment. This questions whether expertise-like mechanisms also shape individual perceptual strategies, i.e., what information is prioritized by the brain during perceptual tasks. Here I suggest that perceptual strategies could provide the basis for a range of phenomena e.g., synaesthesia and developmental prosopagnosia.