Top-down processing can be described as a sequence of events that is heavily shaped by the knowledge and expectations that the person brings to the situations (Reisberg, 2021). Essentially, this means that our brains will process a series of events based on the knowledge/expectations that we've already gained. A personal example of this is when my brain is faced with different album covers. If I was to be given a set of Pink Floyd album covers to distinguish by title, I wouldn't have to process and think about the title of each individual cover. This is because my previous knowledge has already led me to the conclusion of the difference between covers such as The Dark Side of The Moon and Wish You Were Here.

The recognition of facial features is also related to top-down processing. When we see family and friends, we often don't have to process much of a difference in facial features as we've become accustomed to viewing the same face time and time again. We don't have to process a known person's face every time we see them. On the other hand, if someone you know has always kept a beard and long hair, it would take more time to process their face if they walked into a room with no beard, no hair and maybe a face tattoo.

discuss top-down processing add references