But are the responses to these 
tests actually reflecting 
individual differences in 
perception? Suppose the test 
consisted of a simple figure, 
such as the one shown at left, 
and observers were asked to 
report what they perceived. 
There is no reason to think 
that individuals would differ in 
their perception of it as a 
shape. The difference comes in 
the interpretation of the figure. 
The novel shape might be said 
to look like any number of 
things, from an artist’s palette 
to an amoeba. That observers 
would interpret the figure 
differently is not surprising. 
That such differences would 
stem from differences in past 
experience is also not 
surprising. Nor perhaps is it 
surprising that such 
differences might reflect 
differences in present need 
states; for example, hungry 
people might interpret the 
figure as an item of food 
because food would be on their 
minds.