Chapter 3 perception communication (pp)

Perception Perception is the process by which an organism attains awareness or understanding of its environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. (From Wikipedia)

Perception in Communication In living our lives and communicating with each other our perception of reality is less important than reality itself. Our perceptions are influence by: physical elements - what information your eye or ear can actually take in, how your brain processes it. environmental elements - what information is out there to receive, its context. learned elements - culture, personality, habit: what filters we use to select what we take in and how we react to it.

Colour blind people will not perceive "red" the way as other people do. Those with normal vision may physically see "red" similarly, but will interpret it culturally: Red meaning "stop" or "anger" or "excitement" or "in debt" (US). Red meaning "good fortune" (China). Red meaning your school's colours.

Selective Attention The world deluges us with sensory information every second. Our mind produces interpretations and models and perceptions a mile a minute. To survive, we have to select what information we attend to and what we remember.

Information That Attracts Our Attention Sends out strong physical stimulus: contrast, blinking, loudness, etc. Elicits emotion -- TV dramas, memory aid: when taking notes on an article, write your emotional response to it. Is unexpected? (This may draw your attention or conversely, you may miss it entirely with your mind filling in the missing pieces you expected to receive.). Fits a pattern. Previous knowledge that gives it context.

Interests you. Connects to basic needs (belonging, sex, danger, hunger...). Is useful. Note how important your cultural filters will be in determining the answers to these questions--what hooks your emotions? What is "normal" and what is "unexpected", etc.

Perception Process Perception is a three phase process of selecting , organizing and interpreting information , people, objects, events, situations and activities. You can understand interpersonal situations better if you appreciate how you and another person construct perceptions.

We select only certain things to notice, and then we organize and interpret what we have selectively noticed. What we select to perceive affects how we organise and interpret the situation. How we organise and interpret a situation affects our subsequent selections of what to perceive in the situation.

Who would you like to be your girlfriend ?

Selection Notice what is going on around you. Is the room warm or cold? Messy or clean? Large or small? Light or dark? Can you smell anything? Are sleepy, hungry comfortable? We narrow our attention to what we defined as important in that moment.

Selection We notice things that STAND OUT , and even change. Hear a loud voice than a soft one. We deliberately influence what we notice by indicating things to ourselves. Smoking is a habit; Focus on burning smell of the match, the smoke, the nasty view of ashtrays with cigarette butts, how bad a room smells when you smoke in it.

Selection What we select to notice also influenced by who we are and what is going on in us. Looking for a job. Motives, thirsty people stranded on desert see an oasis. Expectations, likely to perceive what we expect to perceive and what others have led us to perceive.

Organization Once we selected what to notice, we must make sense of it. Organize in meaningful ways. Constructivism; we organize and interpret experience by applying cognitive structures called schemata.

Schemata Prototypes; most representative example of a category. Defines categories by identifying ideal cases. Ideal models for friendship, family, business group, or relationship. Personal Construct; bipolar, mental yardstick we use to measure people and situation. Intelligent – unintelligent, kind – unkind.

Schemata Stereotype; predictive generalization about individuals and situations based on the category into which we place them. May be accurate or inaccurate. Scripts; guide to action in particular situation. A sequence of activities that define what we and others are expected to do in specific situation. Daily activities – dating, talking to professors, dealing with clerks, interacting with co-workers

Schemata Organize our thinking about people and situation. Make sense of what we notice and figure out how to act. Social perspectives and cultural views.

Interpretation After selection and organizing our perception, what they mean is not clear. Interpretation – subjective process of explaining perceptions in ways that let us make sense of them. Attribution; explanation of why things happen and why people act as they do.

Interpretation In judging whether others can control their actions, we decide whether to hold them responsible for what they do. We can be positive depending on how we explain what they do. Self serving bias; bias favour to ourselves. Inclined to make positive actions or negative actions. E.g passing and failing an exam. Can distort our perception .

Influences on Perception Everyone does not perceive situations and people in the same way. Physiology; we differ in our sensory abilities and physiologies. We tend to perceive more negatively when tired. Medical conditions; drugs that affect our thinking. Age; the older we are, the richer our perspective for perceiving life and people. Culture; beliefs, values, understandings, and practices.

Influences on Perception Social roles; the training we receive to fulfill a role and the actual demands of the role. Editor thinks about layout, and design features. Law graduates tend to be analytical, argumentative and logical. Physicians are trained to observe physical symptoms. Cognitive abilities; how elaborately we think about situations and people and our personal knowledge of others. Self; how we perceive people reflects as much about us and our experiences as about those people.

Guidelines for Improving Perception and Communication Recognize that all perceptions are partial and subjective. Avoid mindreading – one of the behaviours that contribute to conflict. Check perceptions with others. Distinguish between facts and inferences. Guard against the self serving bias.

Chapter 3 perception communication (pp)

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Chapter 3 perception communication (pp)

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