Perception and Communication

Lecture by Derek R. LaneAdapted from Alan D. DeSantis

January 26, 2005

Perception

I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but, I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

Preview

• Perception defined

• Influences of perception

• Four stages of perception

• Pitfalls to accurate perception

Perception Defined• The process by which we become aware of objects and

events in the external world.

• The process of making sense of the world around us.

• Many people ignore the fact that all of us are different and that these differences equip us to view the world from our very own vantage points. Usually we spend more energy defending our own position than understanding others.

Where does the triangle begin?

Influences on Perception• Physiological (biological, neurological) Influences

– Senses, age, health, fatigue, hunger, biological cycles

• Social Influences– Cultural Differences

• Nonverbal behaviors, odors, speech, silence, space

– Social Roles• Sex roles, gender roles, occupational roles

– Self-Concept• Self-esteem, locus of control, attribution (attaching meaning to

behavior)

Perception• Perception is the process of making

sense of the world around us– Also called informational or cognitive

processing• Perception is influenced by two factors:

– Biological/Neurological—How we are hardwired

• Universal to all humans– Social—The different social influences in

our lives• Differs in all humans (men vs. women; US vs.

Japan; 12th vs. 21st Century)

• It is important we understand this process if we are to become smart, competent communicators– It is the “thing” that happens before we even

open our mouths• There are four stages of perception

– (if we could slow it down for examination)

Stage 1: Selection• Life is a process of selecting

information/data• We are confronted with millions of

pieces of stimuli each day (1,500 advertisements alone)

• Factors That Influence Our Selection• A. Interest (College Basketball, Movies, Music)• B. Need (lectures, traffic lights, buying 1st car)• C. Aesthetics (noise, movement, color)

– What advertisers, marketers, & designers do

• D. Biology (sensation seeking, ADHD, circadian rhythms)

• Sesame St. Syndrome• Educators competing with the media—and

losing

Bad ElmoBad Elmo

Stage 2: Organization

• To eliminate the chaos of life (entropy) and help make sense of the world, we simplify and reduce our world

• We put our “selected” data in cognitive “folders”– Also called: Schematas or Cognitive Frameworks

• Three Principles of Organization:– A) Binary Opposition (all things in pairs)

• male/female, short/tall, white/black, good/bad– B) Already formed social categories

• 101 students, sorority sisters, UK basketball players, Italians

– C) We also organize by similarities• size (big buildings), color (things that are purple), space (things from Hawaii), smell (things that make us hungry), function (computer, phone, TV, DVD, VCR, CD player, pager, palm)

Halloween LabsHalloween Labs

How many Fs?

A Duck . . . Or a Rabbit?

Stage 3Interpretation/Comprehension

• Next, we have to Evaluate the data in our folders– Larger files (more complete and accurate) – Smaller files (simplistic and underdeveloped)

• Our Comfort Zone:– Not Comfortable with New or Small Folders– We like our old, Big Folders (Basketball) and

avoid our small, underdeveloped folders (Sra Lanka)

– College Forces Us To Make New Folders

• Researchers now think that this is the reason for racism and prejudice – All that we know about Italians we have learned

from Mafia Movies, Dr. DeSantis, and the Olive Garden.

Wonder WomanWonder Woman

Young, or old?

Young, or old?

Native American . . . Or Eskimo?

Which line is longer?

A B

Perfect Circle?

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

Count the black dots . . .

Ladder up… or down?

Which way is water flowing?

Stage 4Retention and Memory

• We Don’t Retain All We Select!– Photographic Memory & Hypnosis (still

not perfect)

• Factors That Influence Long-term Memory – A) Recency of Time (today vs. 10

years from now)

– B) Frequency of Use (628-2254, names, TV channels)

– C) Importance (test information, PIN number, anniversary)

– D) Emotional Connection (1st kiss,, wedding)

– E) Weirdness/Uniqueness (sumo wrestlers, 500 lbs. Dancer, Tool Videos)

A boy & his dogA boy & his dog

Pitfalls to Accurate Perception

““I love the Yankees”I love the Yankees”

Pitfalls to Perception• As much as we wish our minds

(and the process of perception) were perfect, they are not– Ask the police at a crime scene or

ex-lovers reflecting on “what went wrong”

• Some of our mistakes, however, are due to our “biological brain” playing tricks on us (below the level of consciousness)

• If we know what they are, we can prevent them!

• There are 5 major “biological” pitfalls:

Life After PoliticsLife After Politics

1) Impressions of Others• A) First Impressions of others

– 1st impressions overwhelm 2nd & 3rd• They tend to taint the rest of the interaction (for the

better or worse)

– Dougherty (1994) Job Interview Research• Start strong is what matters!!

• B) Negative Impressions of others– When people are aware of both positive and

negative qualities, we tend to be more influenced by the negative

– “Bob is handsome, hardworking, intelligent and honest. He’s also conceited”

• Did you keep Bob’s negative quality in perspective? 4 to 1 ratio!

– Kellermann (1989) Study:• Interviewers were likely to reject candidates who

revealed any negative info

2) Halo & Devil Effect• A) We select the first (positive or negative)

“obvious” or “dominant” characteristic of a person– Physical appearance, weight, personality,

wealth, clothing, regional accent, race, large nose, glasses, nice shoes, etc.

• B) We then assign “accompanying” positive or negative traits to that person (that they have not earned)– Halo--Attractive People: smart, happy, rich,

honest– Devil--Unattractive People: dumb, poor,

dishonest

• C) Problem: We unfairly punish some while rewarding others simply due to one dominant trait we happen to notice

3) Selective Processes• The mind likes consistency, simplicity, &

balance. Any information that could “disrupt the peace” is seen as dangerous. Ergo, the brain tries to restore balance:– A. Selective Exposure

• We attend to messages that are in accord with our already-held attitudes (conservative talk radio)

• And avoid dissonance from other ideas

– B. Selective Retention• We remember what is consistent with pre-

existing attitudes and interests

– C. Selective Perception• We mentally recast messages so that they are

inline with our beliefs and attitudes• Classic Study by Allport and Postman in 1945

4) Primary (first things) & Recency (last things) Theory

• The mind privileges things that come first and last in a set, list, or encounter– Job Interviews (never get stuck in

the middle)

– Beauty Pageants & Talent Contests e.g. Greek Sing (statistics show bookends are more likely win)

– Spelling Lists (the top & bottom are easy)

– Movies (intros & conclusions stay with us)

– Human Encounters (see pitfall #1)

5) Self-Serving Bias (AKA Fundamental Attribution Error)

• We alter our interpretations to favor ourselves & to “cheat” others:

• Your Test Grade: – When we do well, it is because of internal factors

• I worked hard--I’m smart

– When we do poorly, it is because of external factors

• Your professor hates you

• Others Test Grade:– When others do well, it is because of external

factors• They got lucky--They were given special treatment

– When others do bad, it is because of internal factors

• They are stupid and lazy

5) Cont. Self-Serving Bias

• Rating Ourselves:– 1) 95% of men believe = 50%

athletic– 2) 90% of Americans believe =

50% attractive– 3) American High School

students believe = Best at Math & Science

The joys of parenthoodThe joys of parenthood

Summary

• Perception defined

• Influences of perception

• Four stages of perception

• Pitfalls to accurate perception

Have A Great Day!!!!