Perception

Meaning & Definition

Perception is a function of the information
processed through any or all of the five
senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing and
smell.
In simple terms, perception is understood
as the act of seeing what is there to be
seen.
But what is seen is influenced by the
individual, the object, and the situation.


The study of perception is concerned with
identifying the processes through which
we interpret and organize sensory
information to produce our conscious
experience of objects and object
relationship. (Baron)
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
We can understand the dynamics of the
perceptual process by using an input-
throughput-output model.
The stimuli in the environment-be they objects,
events or people--<;an be considered as the
inputs.
The actual transformation of these inputs
through the perceptual mechanisms of selection,
organisation and interpretation are the
throughputs, and the resultant opinions, feelings,
values, attitudes and behaviour can be deemed
to be the outputs.
Perceptual Inputs
Perceptual inputs encompass all the stimuli in
the environment, including the people in the
setting, the events that occur there, the objects
in the system, all available information, the
discussions among members, and such.
These inputs are absorbed as a function of how
one perceives oneself (i.e., one's self-concept)
Perceptual Throughputs
Perceptual throughputs or the stage of
transformation of perceptual inputs to
outputs involve the three processes of
selection, organisation and interpretation
of the stimuli in the environment.
Though everyone follows these same
three steps, not everyone processes
information the same way.
Our own selective perceptions (because we
cannot absorb everything in the environment),
biases and personality predispositions (since we
are all of different orientations and differ from
one another in some ways) influence how we
select, organise and interpret information.
Now let us examine each of the three throughput
processes-selection, organisation and
interpretation-in some detail.

Selection
Several things exist in our environment
(including inanimate objects like tables and
chairs) and several events also simultaneously
take place all of a sudden in the work setting.
It is not possible for our senses to absorb all the
stimuli bombarding us at the workplace.
we are selective in what we perceive.
This attribute of taking note of only certain
aspects while ignoring all others in the
environment, either because of their
irrelevancy or information overload is
called selective perception.
Selective perception is also influenced by
various characteristics of the stimulus
itself,
Organisation
We try to organise these perceptual
inputs in such a manner as to make sense
of the situation and offer it some meaning.
Figure and Ground
Our attention is riveted when the
perceived object stands out distinctly from
its background and occupies our cognitive
space.
Grouping
Grouping is the tendency to classify
individual stimuli into meaningful patterns,
and is a shortcut method of organising
data.
When we perceive objects or people with
similar characteristics, we tend to group
them together.
Simplifying
Simplifying the perceptual inputs is yet another
way of circumventing information overload.
The perceived stimuli are reduced further in
complexity
By deciding which are the relevant data for
consideration in any given situation and which
are irrelevant
Or peripheral and should be ignored.
Such simplification helps make the decision
making process quick and easy.
Closure
Since we often have to function with
incomplete information, we would feel the
need to fill in the missing pieces of data
based on past experiences before making
decisions.
In other words, we would want to bring the
matter to a "closure".
Interpretation
The stimuli that have been thus organised
will have to be interpreted by the perceiver
so that some idea of whit is going on in the
situation can be formulated.
Without interpretation, all organised stimuli
will have no meaning.
People interpret the cognitively organised
stimuli would depend on several factors.
An individual's assumptions of people and
self will greatly influence how one
interprets, makes attributions, distorts
information and becomes judgemental.
People bring in their own subjective
feelings and try to fit the meaning in any
given situation to accord with their own
emotional state, thoughts and feelings at
the time.
It is interesting to note that in the process of
interpreting we might tend to become
judgemental of people and events leading to the
use of such labels as good/bad, right/wrong,
wise/senseless, and the like to describe them.
Pieces of information are also likely to get
distorted, and unpleasant facts ignored or
magnified.
Thus, subjectivity, judgemental attitudes,
distortions, and ignoring data bias our interpreta-
tions.
Our perceptions, then, could not possibly reflect
"reality".
Perceptual Outputs
Which denote the transformation of the
perceptual inputs via the throughput processes.
These include the perceiver's resultant
attitudes, opinions, feelings, values, and
behaviour, which have been influenced by the
perceived characteristics of the stimuli, the
situation, and the perceiver himself or herself
As a function of these influences each person's
reactions to an identical stimulus would differ.