apperception
UK[ˌæpəˈsɛpʃən]US[ˌæpərˈsɛpʃən]
n
The mental process by which a person makes sense of a new idea or experience by relating it to their existing knowledge or past experiences.
n
(in psychology, especially in the theories of Leibniz and Kant) The process of self-consciousness or reflective awareness by which the mind is aware of its own perceptions and states.
Morpheme Breakdown
ap
per
ception
ap
per
ception
Etymology
The word 'apperception' is a philosophical and psychological term with a layered Latin etymology. It is built upon the simpler noun 'perception', which itself means 'the taking hold (of something)'. By adding the intensive prefix 'ad-' (as 'ap-'), the term evolves to signify 'a thorough or complete taking hold'. This literal sense of 'grasping toward' or 'taking to oneself' was adopted into German philosophy as 'Apperzeption' to describe the mind's active process of assimilating new perceptions into the existing unity of consciousness. Thus, the modern abstract meaning refers not to a passive reception of stimuli, but to the active, self-aware integration of experience into one's established framework of understanding.
Analysis
Structure: ap + per + ception
- ap (Latin): A variant of the prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to', 'toward', or 'near'. It assimilates before 'p'.
- per (Latin): A prefix meaning 'thoroughly', 'completely', or 'through'.
- ception (Latin): Derived from 'capere', meaning 'to take', 'to seize', or 'to grasp'. The form '-ception' is a noun-forming suffix indicating an act or result of taking.
Examples
The child's apperception of the complex story was guided by her prior familiarity with the characters.
In Kantian philosophy, transcendental apperception is the self-consciousness that unifies all experience.
Effective teaching requires connecting new material to the student's fund of apperception.