Perseverance of Beliefs Imagine you are looking at a slide that is completely out of focus. Gradually, it becomes focused enough so that the image is less blurry. At this point, the exper- imenter wants to know if you can recognize the picture. The response you’re likely to make is interesting. Participants in experiments of this type have more trouble making an identification if they watch the gradual focusing procedure than if they simply view the final, blurry image. In the mechanics of the per- ceptual process, people apparently form early impressions that interfere with their subsequent ability to “see straight” once presented with improved evidence.