Here again we see illustrated a general psychological law, namely, that what the mind has recently done, it tends (within certain limits) to go on doing.
It is to be noticed, further, that the perception of a single object or event is rarely an isolated act of the mind.

We recognize and understand the things that surround us through their relations one to another.
Sometimes the adjacent circumstances and events suggest a definite expectation of the new impression.

Thus, for example, the sound of a gun heard during a walk in the country is instantly interpreted by help of suggestions due to the previous appearance of the sportsman, and the act of raising the gun to his shoulder.

It may be added that the verbal suggestions of others act very much like the suggestions of external circumstances.

If I am told that a gun is going to be fired, my mind is prepared for it just as though I saw the sportsman.[10] More frequently the effect of such surrounding circumstances is to give an air of familiarity to the new impression, to shorten the interval in which the required interpretative image is forthcoming.