The Upside-Down Truth: The Fostering of the Most Intimate

Perception

Yunran Wang

School of Foreign Languages, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, 100098, China

Keywords: Ups and Downs, Vision, Perception.

Abstract: The present study mainly discusses the perceptual memory module in psychology, analyzing people's memory

points and neural operation patterns in the brain through their different feelings towards objects or words from

different angles, in order to analyze the suitable angles for object placement in different scenarios. The

applicable scenarios here include advertising promotion, cultural images, and so on. Although it is the same

object or text, people may have different feelings due to its placement in different directions. Individuals may

experience varying feelings toward the same object depending on its location in their daily lives. Readers can

consider whether the placement of a single advertising slogan on a promotional poster will unconsciously

affect consumers' shopping desires? Why is the bullet screen designed above the viewing screen? This article

will answer the above questions through two sets of psychological experiments. The study's findings

demonstrate the dynamic interplay between spatial context and human experience by showing that object

position has a substantial impact on individual perception. This paper offers useful suggestions to better match

object placement with user requirements and preferences in light of these findings.

1 INTRODUCTION

The stage of memory research in psychology can be

traced back to 1875, during which the representative

figure was Ebbinghaus. Since then, he began

measuring the phenomenon of "forgetting" in

humans. After the mid-1950s, psychologists began to

divide memory into sensory memory, short-term

memory, and long-term memory. In recent years, it

has been further divided into explicit memory and

implicit memory, and so on. This article mainly

discusses the sensory memory module in psychology,

(Although it can only retain short memory

information, it can provide us with a broader space

for memory content.) and studies how people

perceive the same things from different perspectives.

In addition, factors that affect sensory memory

include individual attention, physical function and

health status, as well as emotional ability. Then the

topic will be discussed from two perspectives,

analyzing when and what perspective can make

people feel more familiar. This article will use

psychological research methods such as VR surveys

and literature review.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction to the Sensory

Memory

Sensory memory refers to the momentary image

maintained after the cessation of sensory stimuli. It

involves the brief storage of raw sensory information

obtained from the environment, usually only a few

hundred milliseconds to a few seconds before it

automatically fades away. Therefore, sensory

memory is also known as instantaneous memory. Its

main type is visual memory, followed by other

sensory memories such as hearing and touch, which

respectively process information received from

senses such as ears and skin (Larivière et al., 2014).

2.2 The Correlation Between Different

Orientations and People's Memory

Familiarity

People often use spatial orientation as a metaphor

when understanding and memorizing information.

Many people subconsciously believe that things

expressed in the "up" direction are more important,

and secondly, the "down" direction is used to present

148

Wang, Y.

The Upside-Down Truth: The Fostering of the Most Intimate Perception.

DOI: 10.5220/0014109500004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 148-152

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

less important things. In addition, because the

information above is often associated with positive

and important concepts, it also plays a role in

enhancing people's memory effectiveness. This study

focuses on the memory and developing brain, using

methods such as structural brain imaging and

coordinated measurements between laboratories.

Through longitudinal design (record every minute at

intervals of one minute) and complex data modelling

(divided into 5 groups according to the age range of

18-22), it examines in real time how different brain

structures support memory. The sample of this

experiment is ordinary college students, with a male

to female ratio of 1:1 and an age range of 18-22 years

old as limiting factors. A balanced gender ratio in the

sample can to some extent avoid the additional

influence of gender on the overall research results. In

order to avoid the influence of samples nervous

emotions on the results, this experiment combines

online and offline methods - using survey

questionnaires and laboratory records to jointly

analyze the results of this experiment and finally

completes the big data collection of the relevant

platform. The highlight of this experiment is the use

of neuroimaging techniques, which makes its

conclusions more accurate and reliable. According to

the experimental results, it can be known that the

neural structure of the human brain produces different

fluctuations and reactions when observing the same

object from different angles, and these long and short

fluctuations will affect a series of memory situations

later on (Tober, 2011).

For example, researchers used a poster advertising

design to confirm our hypothesis and experiment, and

the results showed that placing the product above the

advertising screen made it easier for people to

remember it and improve their memory accuracy.

(Usually, people first see information located above

the screen and quickly remember it, such as brand

label but the content seen below the screen is more

likely to be converted into long-term memory). The

difference in memory accuracy between the two is

20% and 35%. Next, it will be described in detail the

impact of the perspectives of "up" and "down" on

people's memory familiarity associations.

2.2.1 The Impact of "Upper" Orientation on

People's Memory Familiarity

Association

As a visual high position, the upper part is often more

likely to attract people's attention. Therefore, in the

process of memory, people tend to choose the

information or objects above them more easily, which

can form a higher degree of memory familiarity. Even

the information in the upper part of people's brain

nerves is more easily connected to their long-term

memory network. This association not only helps

with the storage and retrieval of information, but also

improves the accuracy and persistence of people's

memory, making it more likely to become a long-term

memory rather than a short-lived and easily

disappearing one (Sorokina et al., 2006).

2.2.2 The Influence of the Orientation

“Below” on People's Memory

Familiarity Correlation

In the process of memory retrieval, the information in

the lower direction may be more easily activated and

recalled. This may be because the information in the

lower direction is more closely related to people's

spatial cognition and emotions, thereby improving its

extractability.

From a spatial perspective, it is easier for people

to determine the position, direction, and distance of

an object below, and this cognitive ability is crucial

for people's daily lives. In terms of emotional

connection, the downward orientation is often

regarded as a symbol of inferiority or lowly status in

some cultures, which may lead to negative emotional

effects on some people and greatly deepen their

memory difficulty. Therefore, in some architectural

designs, the downward orientation may be more

likely to reflect people's emotional needs. We can use

the orientation below to increase people's spatial

cognition and memory effects to design an object, or

guide certain groups of people to undergo memory

training for special scenarios (Luce, 2001).

For example, we arrange a row of numbers in

order, in the same space, with the same shape, size,

and color. And participants are often more likely to

notice the numerical group displayed below, and are

also more likely to remember the content of the

numerical group below (Charoenthammachoke et al.,

2020).

2.3 The Impact of Different Visual

Perceptions on Perceived Risk

2.3.1 The Definition of Perceived Risk

Perceived risk usually includes two factors, the

uncertainty of decision results and the severity of the

consequences of wrong decisions. It was originally

due to the implicit uncertainty of the results in

consumer purchasing decisions, and this uncertainty

became the initial concept of risk. Initially, because

The Upside-Down Truth: The Fostering of the Most Intimate Perception

149

any consumer purchasing behavior may not be able to

determine whether the expected results are correct,

and these results may make consumers unhappy, it is

called risk. Later perceived risk refers to an

individual's subjective assessment and expected

outcome of the potential negative consequences of an

event or behavior (Capari et al., 2024).

2.3.2 The Impact of Different Visual

Perceptions on Perceived Risk

Different visual presentation methods include regular

images, regular videos, and virtual reality technology.

This article mainly introduces in detail the impact of

virtual reality technology on people's perception of

risk.

Virtual reality technology, also known as VR,

provides people with an immersive visual experience,

allowing participants to experience risk scenarios

firsthand. It provides a better platform for participants

to cope with potential risks through sound effects and

a comprehensive visual experience of the

environment they are in (Ke et al., 2002).

For example, researchers designed a VR visual

experiment that combines the different visual effects

of "up" and "down" on people's memory. The

experimental group gathered a group of college

students on campus as "subjects"(the total number is

100, set as male female year-on-year), who were

asked to wear VR glasses while viewing the same set

of pictures in the upper and lower positions (These

images are uniformly composed of numbers 1-9 and

different colors. For example, the background of the

number "9" is yellow, and participants need to

remember the corresponding background color of the

number. At the same time, these numbers will not be

uniformly located in the center of the VR glasses

screen. Some will be designed to be located above the

visual area, while others will be located at the bottom

of the screen) and finally studied their memory points

through a survey questionnaire. Experiments have

shown that images located below are easier for

participants to notice at first glance, while images

located above are easier for people to remember. The

experimenter also observed that during the 5-second

presentation time of each image, the subjects first

paid attention to the number, and then noticed the

color behind it. Among the complete 100 sets of

images, the subjects' accurate memory array was

related to their mental state, personality, preferences,

and other information for the day. For example, a

participant prefers a blue background, and most of the

numbers they remember are from the blue

background image. In addition, another participant

likes the number "3", she remembers more of the

background of the number "3" (Sharma et al., 2012).

3 DISCUSSION AND

SUGGESTION

3.1 The Impact of Visual Design in

Different Directions on Product

Sales

Based on the experimental results mentioned earlier,

it can be concluded that if we want a product to be

more eye-catching, we should place its concept image

below the product marketing poster. However, if we

want the product to be more easily remembered by

people, we should place its image above the poster.

In addition, researchers can also divide product

sales into micro and macro perspectives. The macro

section is responsible for showcasing the overall

image and brand concept of the product. This can

allow consumers to have a more comprehensive and

objective experience of the product design. For

example, when advertising shampoo, panoramic

photography can be used to allow buyers to clearly

see the overall bottle design of the shampoo, which to

some extent can increase consumers' desire to

purchase.

The micro perspective, on the other hand, places

more emphasis on detailed descriptions. By

magnifying a certain advantage of a product,

consumers can gain a better understanding of its

features and develop an interest in purchasing. For

example, when selling gloves, the detailed

description of the gloves can be enlarged to allow

buyers to see the material and workmanship of the

gloves more clearly, thereby generating a desire to

purchase them.

The comprehensive application of perspective

design can enhance people's intimacy and familiarity

while allowing subjects to choose their target

audience to a certain extent. Combining products

from a suitable perspective can develop targeted

consumer audiences and stimulate buyers' shopping

desires. In many ways, different perspectives of "up"

and "down" can bring different visual effects to the

same product, resulting in different feelings for the

same person.

Next, we will discuss the limitations of current

research on the "memory" module by combining the

two main memory experiments mentioned above

(Tenopir et al., 2008).

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3.2 Limitation of Current Studies

Firstly, it is inevitable that current research on related

memory modules is still limited by technology and

influenced by key equipment, including the

familiarity cultivated by technicians and the maturity

of the surrounding environment. But the following

three points are still the main objective issues facing

us:

1. Theory lags behind practice - In current

research on memory, conscious activities and

ideologies such as remembering, recalling, forgetting,

and suppressing memories have always been

important topics of phenomenological discussion, all

of which involve the reconstruction of consciousness.

However, from the current phenomenon, there are

still many shortcomings in the theoretical field.

2. Limited research subjects and methods - Many

psychological experiments need to be conducted in

the laboratory, but this itself deviates from real life,

especially in memory research, where people's

nervous emotions may also affect their memory

outcomes.

3. The complexity of deep memory recall - Many

memory loss phenomena are "suppressed memories"

that cannot be recalled briefly. If the subject tries to

recall, they will recall relevant content. However, due

to the limitation of experimental time, there is often

not enough time for participants to recall, which is

also one of the factors that affect the experimental

results (Shashikiran, 2016).

3.3 Distinguishing the Sense of

Familiarity Brought by Text from

an up and down Perspective

(1) Looking up perspective - When advertising copy

adopts a looking up perspective, it often creates a

sense of familiarity, which is different from the

natural feelings that people have towards their loved

ones from the bottom of their hearts, but rather a

strong resonance and admiration from within. It can

make people unconsciously want to have a deep

emotional connection with it.

For example, when narrating a great leader, using

words from a perspective of looking up can deepen

the description of their achievements and spirit,

making it easier for people to develop admiration for

them. Although this emotion is not a sense of

familiarity, it can bring readers closer to the text,

making them more engaged and immersed in it

(2) Viewing from a top-down perspective -

Compared to looking up, looking from a top-down

perspective gives people a sense of superiority. Text

from this perspective often brings deeper thinking and

a deeper sense of trust, because from this angle,

everyone is in the visual "main position", which

invisibly increases the reader's confidence and

composure. Although it may create a certain sense of

distance, if used appropriately, it can also deepen trust

and communication between people (Zhang et al.,

2024).

For example, when depicting a grand scene or

significant event, using top-down perspective text can

help readers better understand the depicted content.

At the same time, it can also make readers more

immersed and feel the connection between things.

This association is not a direct sense of familiarity,

but it can resonate with readers during the reading

process (McKiernan, 2000).

4 CONCLUSION

It found that through two sets of experiments that

upper visual perception is more conducive to the

formation of long-term memory in people. But people

often don't notice it immediately, and the visual below

is often more likely to catch people's attention. But

this memory is relatively short-lived, and people

often overlook its long-term memory association due

to familiarity. Finally, we conclude that if we want

people to see an object at first glance, we should place

it above their line of sight, and if we want a person to

remember an object for a longer period of time, we

should place it below their line of sight

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