Top-down processing is defined as the development of pattern recognition through the use of contextual information.
At the time, the chief steward hadnât yet learned of the Titanicâs fate, so he wasnât even on the lookout for icebergs. He simply spotted a streak of red paint along the icebergâs base, which most likely meant a ship had collided with it in the last 12 hours.
Titanic received six warnings of sea ice on 14 April but was travelling near her maximum speed when her lookouts sighted the iceberg. Unable to turn quickly enough, the ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard (right) side and opened five of her sixteen compartments to the sea.