Perception is the manner in which things are viewed and exists on two different levels. The first is that how things are perceived is naturally tied to our past experiences. If someone has had an accident in a small car that was traumatic, then that person's perception of small cars in general will be colored by that experience. The other way that things are perceived is by intentionally trying to look at them differently. Sometimes this happens when comparing it to other similar things and sometimes this occurs when someone else points something else out that hadn’t been noticed or in some way recommends it. Comparing several different midsize cars would relate to the first, while taking a friend along on a car shopping venture would relate to the second. Perception is often changed by objectively looking at a work of art through criticism.