UNIT-3
PERCEPTION
“WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, WE SEE THINGS AS WE ARE.”
Perception- Perception is the unique way in which each person sees, organizes
and interprets things based on their background of individual differences. Each
person reacts not to an objective world, but to a world judged in terms of
his/her own beliefs, values and expectations. Sometimes it may lead to
selective perception in which people tend to pay attention to only those things
that are consistent with or reinforce their own expectations. Selective
perceptions may lead to misinterpretation of single events at work or create a
barrier in the search for new experience. Managers need to recognize the
perceptual differences among the employees and manage them accordingly.
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of
sensory information in order to represent and understand the
environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system,
which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense
organs.
The study, of these perceptual processes, shows that their functioning is
affected by three classes of variables – the objects or events being
perceived, the environment in which perception occurs, and the
individual doing the perceiving.
According to S. P. Robbins, perception can be defined as “the process by
which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in
order to give meaning to their environments.”
Perception includes the 5 senses; touch, sight, taste smell and sound. It
also includes what is known as perception, a set of senses involving the
ability to detect changes in body positions and movements.
Uday Pareek said perception can be defined as “the process of receiving,
selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory
stimuli or data.”
FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION
, Characteristics of the Perceiver
Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect perception. When an
individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she stands
for, that interpretation is heavily influenced by personal characteristics of
the individual perceiver.
The major characteristics of the perceiver influencing perception are:
Attitude
Motives
Interest
Experience
Expectation
Self-Concept
Characteristics of the Target
Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is
perceived. Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others.
Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed in
a group than ordinary looking individuals.
Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.
Physical appearance
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
, Objects
Characteristics of the Situation
Change in situation leads to incorrect perception about a person. The factor
that influences the perception are:
Time
Work setting
Social setting
Impact of Perception
In order to see the impact of perception, it can be helpful to look at how the
process works. This varies somewhat for every sense. In the case of visual
perception:
1. The environmental stimulus: The world is full of stimuli that can attract
attention through various senses. The environmental stimulus is
everything in the environment that has the potential to be perceived.
2. The attended stimulus: The attended stimulus is the specific object in
the environment on which attention is focused.
3. The image on the retina: This involves light actually passing through the
cornea and pupil and onto the lens of the eye. The cornea helps focus
the light as it enters the eye, and the iris of the eye controls the size of
the pupils in order to determine how much light to let in. The cornea
and lens act together to project an inverted image onto the retina.
4. Transduction: The image on the retina is then transformed into
electrical signals in a process known as transduction. This allows the
visual messages to be transmitted to the brain to be interpreted.
5. Neural processing: The electrical signals then undergo neural
processing. The path followed by a particular signal depends on what
type of signal it is (i.e., an auditory signal or a visual signal).
6. Perception: In this step of the process, you perceive the stimulus object
in the environment. It is at this point that you become consciously aware
of the stimulus.
7. Recognition: Perception doesn't just involve becoming consciously
aware of the stimuli. It is also necessary for the brain to categorize and
interpret what you are sensing. The ability to interpret and give meaning
to the object is the next step, known as recognition.
PERCEPTION
“WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, WE SEE THINGS AS WE ARE.”
Perception- Perception is the unique way in which each person sees, organizes
and interprets things based on their background of individual differences. Each
person reacts not to an objective world, but to a world judged in terms of
his/her own beliefs, values and expectations. Sometimes it may lead to
selective perception in which people tend to pay attention to only those things
that are consistent with or reinforce their own expectations. Selective
perceptions may lead to misinterpretation of single events at work or create a
barrier in the search for new experience. Managers need to recognize the
perceptual differences among the employees and manage them accordingly.
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of
sensory information in order to represent and understand the
environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system,
which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense
organs.
The study, of these perceptual processes, shows that their functioning is
affected by three classes of variables – the objects or events being
perceived, the environment in which perception occurs, and the
individual doing the perceiving.
According to S. P. Robbins, perception can be defined as “the process by
which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in
order to give meaning to their environments.”
Perception includes the 5 senses; touch, sight, taste smell and sound. It
also includes what is known as perception, a set of senses involving the
ability to detect changes in body positions and movements.
Uday Pareek said perception can be defined as “the process of receiving,
selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory
stimuli or data.”
FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION
, Characteristics of the Perceiver
Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect perception. When an
individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she stands
for, that interpretation is heavily influenced by personal characteristics of
the individual perceiver.
The major characteristics of the perceiver influencing perception are:
Attitude
Motives
Interest
Experience
Expectation
Self-Concept
Characteristics of the Target
Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is
perceived. Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others.
Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed in
a group than ordinary looking individuals.
Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.
Physical appearance
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
, Objects
Characteristics of the Situation
Change in situation leads to incorrect perception about a person. The factor
that influences the perception are:
Time
Work setting
Social setting
Impact of Perception
In order to see the impact of perception, it can be helpful to look at how the
process works. This varies somewhat for every sense. In the case of visual
perception:
1. The environmental stimulus: The world is full of stimuli that can attract
attention through various senses. The environmental stimulus is
everything in the environment that has the potential to be perceived.
2. The attended stimulus: The attended stimulus is the specific object in
the environment on which attention is focused.
3. The image on the retina: This involves light actually passing through the
cornea and pupil and onto the lens of the eye. The cornea helps focus
the light as it enters the eye, and the iris of the eye controls the size of
the pupils in order to determine how much light to let in. The cornea
and lens act together to project an inverted image onto the retina.
4. Transduction: The image on the retina is then transformed into
electrical signals in a process known as transduction. This allows the
visual messages to be transmitted to the brain to be interpreted.
5. Neural processing: The electrical signals then undergo neural
processing. The path followed by a particular signal depends on what
type of signal it is (i.e., an auditory signal or a visual signal).
6. Perception: In this step of the process, you perceive the stimulus object
in the environment. It is at this point that you become consciously aware
of the stimulus.
7. Recognition: Perception doesn't just involve becoming consciously
aware of the stimuli. It is also necessary for the brain to categorize and
interpret what you are sensing. The ability to interpret and give meaning
to the object is the next step, known as recognition.
