Perception: what you see is what you get

Perception:what you see is what you get Chapter topics • The Perception Process • Influences on Perception • Common Tendencies in Perception • Perception Checking • Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication

The Perception Process • Four Steps of the Perception Process • Selection • Organization • Interpretation • Negotiation

The Perception Process • Selection • What attracts your attention? • Selecting which impressions we will attend to • Stimuli that are intense often attract our attention • We’re more likely to remember: • Extremely tall or short people • An obnoxious laugh • A person who speaks loudly

The Perception Process • Organization • Along with selecting information, we must arrange it in some meaningful way • What do you see? • Which image stands out? Figure 3.1 Page 84

The Perception Process • Organization • “Vase-Face” has a two figure relationships • How many ways can you view the boxes? Figure 3.3 Page 85

The Perception Process • Organization • We classify people based on their: • Appearance • Beautiful or Ugly, Young or Old • Social Role • Student, Attorney, Wife • Interaction Style • Friendly, Helpful, Aloof • Membership • Democrat, Immigrant, Christian

The Perception Process • Organization • Stereotyping • After the organizational scheme has been chosen, we use that scheme to make generalizations • These generalizations lead to stereotyping • Stereotypes may be based on a small amount of truth but beyond the facts at hand usually have no valid basis

The Perception Process • Organization • Stereotyping • Three Characteristics • You often categorize people on the basis of an easily recognized characteristic • You ascribe a set of characteristics to most or all members of a category • You apply the set of characteristics to any member of the group

The Perception Process • Organization • Punctuation • Consider the punctuation of these sentences: • “I don’t like your friend because he never has anything to say.” • “He doesn’t talk to you because you act like you don’t like him.” • “I keep talking because you interrupt so much.” • “I interrupt so much because you don’t give me the chance to say what’s on my mind.”

The Perception Process • Interpretation • After we organize information we interpret it in a way that makes sense to us • Interpretation plays a role in nearly every interpersonal act • Consider these scenarios: • Is a friend’s kidding a sign of affection or irritation? • Should you take an invitation to “drop by any time” literally or not?

The Perception Process • Interpretation • Several factors influence our interpretation of an event: • Degree of involvement with the other person • Personal experience • Assumptions about human behavior • Attitudes • Expectations • Knowledge • Self-concept

The Perception Process • Negotiation • Sense-making occurs between people as they influence one another’s perception • Narratives • Interpersonal acts have more than one narrative • These narratives often differ • Ask two quarreling children what they are fighting about • You will be bombarded with two very different narratives • Shared narratives provide the best chance for smooth communication

Influences on Perception • Physiological Influences • Each of usperceives the work in a unique way • The Senses • How we experience our senses changes the way we interact and shape our perception • Consider these everyday situations: • “Turn down the radio! It’s going to make me go deaf.” • “It’s not too loud. If I turn it down, it will be impossible to hear it.”

Influences on Perception • Physiological Influences • The Senses • Scents that please some people, repel others • Temperature is subjective as well

Influences on Perception • Physiological Influences • Age • Older people view the world differently because they have a greater scope of experiences • Health and Fatigue • How do you experience the world? • When you are tired? • When you are sick? • Did you feel less sociable? • When you’re hungry?

Influences on Perception • Cultural Differences • Perception is also affected by your culture • Every culture has its own world view • The range of cultural differences is wide • In Middle Eastern countries: • Personal scents play an important role in communication • In Asian cultures • Talk is perceived differently • Silence is valued • How does this differ for Western cultures?

Influences on Perception • Cultural Differences • Ethnocentrism • The attitude that one’s own culture is superior to others • Geography • Even ones physical location can shape the way they view the world • Consider living in a particular part of the country • What does it mean to live in the North? • What does it mean to live in the West?

Influences on Perception • Social Roles • Gender Roles (Sex vs. Gender) • Sex refers to biological characteristics • Gender refers to psychological dimensions of masculine and feminine behavior • Gender roles are socially approved ways that men and women are expected to behave • Androgynous Gender Role • Combines masculine and feminine traits

Influence on Perception • Social Roles • Occupational Roles • The kind of work we do influences our view of the world • Imagine five people taking a walk through the park • A botanist • A zoologist • A meteorologist • A psychologist • A pickpocket

Influence on Perception • Social Roles • Relational roles • Roles you play in relation to others • The role of parent • Does being a parent change the way you view the world? • The roles involved in romantic love • Partner, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, sweetheart • Your romantic roles can also change the way you view others

Common Tendencies in Perception • We Judge Ourselves More Charitably • Self-serving Bias • An attempt to convince ourselves that the positive face we show the world is true • Consider this example: • When they botch a job, they weren’t listening well or trying hard enough • When we botch a job, the problem was unclear or perhaps there wasn’t enough time

Common Tendencies in Perception • We Cling to First Impressions • Halo Effect • The tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic • We assume that others are similar to us • We are influenced by the obvious

Perception Checking • The Skill of Perception Checking • Serious problems can arise when we treat our interpretations as matters of fact • Consider the following: • “Why are you mad at me?” (Who said you were?) • “What’s the matter with you?” (Who said anything was the matter?) • “Come on now. Tell the truth.” (Who said you were lying?)

Perception Checking • Elements of Perception Checking • A perception check has three parts: • A description of the behavior you noticed • At least two possible interpretations of the behavior • A request for clarification about how to interpret the behavior

Perception Checking • Example: • “You haven’t laughed much in the last couple of days.” (behavior) • “It makes me wonder whether something’s bothering you,” (first interpretation) • “or whether you’re just feeling quiet.” (second interpretation) • “What’s up?” (request for clarification)

Perception Checking • Perception Checking Considerations • Completeness • A perception check doesn’t always need all parts • Nonverbal Congruency • Nonverbal behavior reflects open-mindedness • Cultural Rules • A straight forward approach may cause problems • Face Saving • Can help raise an uncomfortable topic

Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication • Empathy • The ability to re-create another person’s perspective, to experience the world from the other’s point of view • Sympathy • Viewing another person’s situation from your point of view

Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication • Cognitive Complexity • The ability to construct a variety of frameworks for viewing an issue • Cognitive complexity: • Increases the chances of satisfying communication in a variety of contexts • Can be enhanced through training • Can help increase one’s empathy

Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication • The Pillow Method • A quick tool for clarifying misunderstandings Figure 3.5 Page 110

Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication • The Pillow Method • Position 1: I’m Right, You’re Wrong • Position 2: You’re Right, I’m Wrong • Position 3: Both Right, Both Wrong • Position 4: The Issue Isn’t as Important as it Seems • Position 5: There is Truth in All Four Perspectives

Chapter Review • The Perception Process • Influences on Perception • Common Tendencies in Perception • Perception Checking • Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication

Perception: what you see is what you get