Introduction:

Perception of an individual is one of the most complex issues to handle in an organization. How one sees may reflect
his/her experiences, expectation or ideals. It is rare to see individuals see things in exactly the same way. We see based
on our point of view and these different perspectives often cause troubles in a relation of one person to another.
Slide 1:
"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." This quote by Anais Nin expresses an essential point of view
for this discussion about the symbolic meaning of inanimate objects, since it is our personality and our memories, which
determine our character and meaning. Our feelings towards certain objects are individual, as everyone associates
different things in a different manner. We see them as we are since they can mirror our past, pains, hopes and our ideals.
Thus, they become more than just an object, but a symbol for a certain part of someone's feelings and life.

Slide 2:
According to what I have read, there are three different meanings that a person can give in a certain thing.
These are the Intended meaning, the dictionary meaning and the perceived meaning. Intended meanings are the
messages that what one really wants to convey, the dictionary meaning or those things/words that one often use or is
common to everyone, and the perceived meaning or the meaning that is based on what you get or how you interpret
someone’s message/speech. For today, we will be talking about perception and the different factors affecting the
perspective of one.

Slide 3:
As per book definition, perception means the process by which people select, organize, interpret, retrieve, and respond
to information from their environment. There is this thing we call reality but we don’t really recognize this as the reality
itself because we give meaning to it. The way we give meaning to something can be shaped or distorted depending
on some factors which we will also be discussing later. So as we give our own meaning to that reality, we call it our
personal reality or how we decode the message we get. The way we define things can be passive, or we perceive things
without conscious efforts because our senses are operating or it can be active where we seek out information through
conscious observation and questioning.

Slide 4:
The world is full of stimuli that can attract our attention through various senses. Thus; we are able to describe systematically
the sights, sound, smell and taste that populate our conscious experience.

In the selection process, we tend to choose something to focus on. As we are not able to percept everything that is
happening around us simultaneously, we tend to engage in selective perception; perceiving only paying attention to
what is important to us. In the selection process, we tend to choose those things that are salient or things that attracts
our attention most. According to a video I saw, one can only focus one thing at a time and this happens so fast in our
brain that we don’t really think about it. It said that, if we see ourselves as good at multi-tasking, we really aren’t multi-
tasking at all but we are good at shifting our attention from one thing to another; thus focusing and selecting one thing
to perceive.

In the organizing part of the process, we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned
cognitive patterns. According to Alan Coren, there are three ways to sort things into pattern, these are proximity, similarity
and difference. In terms of proximity, we tend to think that things that are close together go together. We also group
things together based on similarity. We tend to think similar-looking or similar-acting things belong together. We also
organize information that we take in based on difference. In this case, we assume that the item that looks or acts different
from the rest doesn’t belong with the group. We simplify information and look for patterns to help us more efficiently
communicate and get through life.

The next step is Interpreting. In this stage we assign meaning to our experiences using mental structures known as
schemata and attributions or known as the expectations that we hold for a certain thing or we create explanations for
a certain thing or situation. And the last step our response, which is basically the result of the process.
(Example)

Slide 5:
There are three factors affecting perception, these are the perceiver, the target and the situation.
The perceiver, this refers to the person who perceives the target. The way how the perceiver sees or views his target
affects perception and the way he views a target may also be affected by some factors that are unique to him. These
may be his past experiences, needs and motivation, personality, values and attitudes, or expectations. His past
experiences may affect ones view of a certain thing. (Example: Dog: D) Needs or motives stimulate individuals and may
exert a strong influence on their perceptions. For example, in an organizational context, a boss who is insecure perceives
a subordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a threat to his or her own position. Personal insecurity can be
transferred into the perception that others are out to "get my job", regardless of the intention of the subordinates. Another
factor that can affect social perception is the perceivers' self-concept. An individual with a positive self-concept tends
to notice positive attributes in another person. In contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out
negative traits in another person. Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others.
The perceiver's attitudes affect perception. For example, suppose Mr. X is interviewing candidates for a very important
position in his organization –a position that requires negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. Mr X
may feel that women are not capable of holding their own in tough negotiations. This attitude will doubtless affect his
perceptions of the female candidates he interviews. Lastly, Expectations. Expectations can distort your perceptions in
that you will see what you expect to see.

The next factor is the target which refers to the person, object, or event that is perceived by another person.
The following factors are characteristics of the target which may affect perception.
Contrast. Example, when a target is situated in a background of contrast.
Intensity. This may vary in terms of brightness, color, depth, and sound.
Figure-ground separation. Where figure refers to one being looked at and ground is the background against which it
stands.
Size.
Motion. A moving object draws more attention as compared to a stationary object
Repetition andNovelty A novel or a familiar external situation can serve as attention getter.

The last factor affecting perception is the situation.

Situation is where there is interaction between the perceiver and the target which has an influence on the perceiver's
impression of the target. There are three situational factors that affect perception: these are time, work setting and social
setting.