Meaning and Definition of Perception:
Perception can be understood as the process through which information or stimulus
is received from the environment, then selected, organised and interpreted in order
to assign some meaning to it. The meaning is derived out of the information received
from the environment so that the information can be used for taking important
decisions and actions. The process of perception can be better explained through the
definitions given below:
According to Joseph Reitz, “Perception includes all those processes by which an
individual receives information about his environment- seeing, hearing, feeling,
tasting and smelling. 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.”
“Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals organise and interpret
their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.”
Therefore, in simple words, perception can be described as the process of seeing
what is available to be seen. But, this process is influenced by perceiver, the object
being perceived and the situation in which perception is being formed.
Nature and Importance of Perception
Perception is basically interpretation of the sensory data which involves
understanding the stimulus received from the environment. It is determined by
physiological as well as psychological characteristics of an individual because
perception not just involves receiving the stimulus from the sensory organs-eyes,
ears, skin, nose, tongue but, it is much more than that. Perception is formed when
the stimulus received is organised in a particular fashion and then interpreted to
have an idea about what is happening in the environment. In addition to that,
perception is a subjective process because different individuals may perceive the
same environment differently on the basis of what stimulus they select from the
environment, the manner they organise and interpret the information in order to
understand the situation. Importance of perception can be understood from the
following points:
, a) Perception is important in understanding variations in individual behaviour. As
discussed above, every individual perceives the surroundings differently and
therefore, understanding the perception help us find out why every individual
behaves in a particular manner. This is one of the major reasons why one individual
finds one job interesting and satisfying while another finds the same job boring and
dissatisfying.
b) As perception strongly influences behaviour of an individual, we can very easily
predict the behaviour of an individual in the changed circumstances by
understanding his perception about the present environment.
c) Perception can also help in assessing various needs of the people, because their
perception is largely influenced by their needs.
Perceptual Process:
From the definitions of perception discussed above it is very clear that perception is
composed of various sub-processes: receiving, selecting, organising, interpreting,
checking and reacting to stimuli. The process is influenced by perceiver, object and
situation. The process of perception is explained in the following figure:
1. Receiving
Human body is comprised of five sensory organs viz. eyes, ears, nose, tongue and
skin. These sensory organs help in sensing the environment in the form of vision,
hearing, smell, touch and taste. The sensory organs receive the stimuli form the
outer environment. Anything which we notice in the environment is stimulus e.g.
noise of vehicles, smell of food, sound of rain, sense of heat or cold etc. The stimuli
which we receive serve as inputs for the process of perception.
2. Selecting
Many things happen in the environment simultaneously but, human mind cannot pay
equal attention to all events or things equally. Therefore, individuals filter or screen
out the irrelevant things and select the things which are relevant with their existing
beliefs, values and needs. This process of selecting relevant things from the
Perception can be understood as the process through which information or stimulus
is received from the environment, then selected, organised and interpreted in order
to assign some meaning to it. The meaning is derived out of the information received
from the environment so that the information can be used for taking important
decisions and actions. The process of perception can be better explained through the
definitions given below:
According to Joseph Reitz, “Perception includes all those processes by which an
individual receives information about his environment- seeing, hearing, feeling,
tasting and smelling. 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.”
“Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals organise and interpret
their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.”
Therefore, in simple words, perception can be described as the process of seeing
what is available to be seen. But, this process is influenced by perceiver, the object
being perceived and the situation in which perception is being formed.
Nature and Importance of Perception
Perception is basically interpretation of the sensory data which involves
understanding the stimulus received from the environment. It is determined by
physiological as well as psychological characteristics of an individual because
perception not just involves receiving the stimulus from the sensory organs-eyes,
ears, skin, nose, tongue but, it is much more than that. Perception is formed when
the stimulus received is organised in a particular fashion and then interpreted to
have an idea about what is happening in the environment. In addition to that,
perception is a subjective process because different individuals may perceive the
same environment differently on the basis of what stimulus they select from the
environment, the manner they organise and interpret the information in order to
understand the situation. Importance of perception can be understood from the
following points:
, a) Perception is important in understanding variations in individual behaviour. As
discussed above, every individual perceives the surroundings differently and
therefore, understanding the perception help us find out why every individual
behaves in a particular manner. This is one of the major reasons why one individual
finds one job interesting and satisfying while another finds the same job boring and
dissatisfying.
b) As perception strongly influences behaviour of an individual, we can very easily
predict the behaviour of an individual in the changed circumstances by
understanding his perception about the present environment.
c) Perception can also help in assessing various needs of the people, because their
perception is largely influenced by their needs.
Perceptual Process:
From the definitions of perception discussed above it is very clear that perception is
composed of various sub-processes: receiving, selecting, organising, interpreting,
checking and reacting to stimuli. The process is influenced by perceiver, object and
situation. The process of perception is explained in the following figure:
1. Receiving
Human body is comprised of five sensory organs viz. eyes, ears, nose, tongue and
skin. These sensory organs help in sensing the environment in the form of vision,
hearing, smell, touch and taste. The sensory organs receive the stimuli form the
outer environment. Anything which we notice in the environment is stimulus e.g.
noise of vehicles, smell of food, sound of rain, sense of heat or cold etc. The stimuli
which we receive serve as inputs for the process of perception.
2. Selecting
Many things happen in the environment simultaneously but, human mind cannot pay
equal attention to all events or things equally. Therefore, individuals filter or screen
out the irrelevant things and select the things which are relevant with their existing
beliefs, values and needs. This process of selecting relevant things from the
