This political cartoon is an example of Top-down processing. The viewer must use high level, preconceived cognitions in order to discern the meaning behind the cartoon. The viewer first sees the four different figures wearing suits, two of whom are behind a desk, so it is assumed that they are business picture. They then note that two of the suits are on an elephant and a donkey, meaning they represent the republican and democratic parties. One of the suits behind the desk belongs to a George Bush caricature, and the other represents the insurance industry, which is made evident by the label on his lapel. The viewer then reads the speech bubbles and relinks them to their respective figures, giving them clues to what the political cartoon is about. The entire process employs goal-directed eye movements between the words and cartoon figured, and the viewer must constantly relink between the actions and cognitions of the figures and text.
*This political cartoon was taken from a political blog: http://nikchng.wordpress.com/
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