Higgins' experiment

Higgins' experiment demonstrated how expectations influence perception. Participants listened to ambiguous speech sounds that could be interpreted as either "d" or "g." Before each sound, they were told a word containing either a "d" or a "g." Those told the "g" word were more likely to hear the ambiguous sound as "g," and vice versa. This showed that our prior knowledge or expectations can shape how we interpret sensory information, highlighting the role of top-down processes in perception.