Perception

0
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright material

What Is Perception, and Why Is It

Important?
Perception
A process by which
individuals organize
and interpret their
sensory impressions in
order to give meaning
to their environment.

Peoples behavior is based

on their perception of what
reality is, not on reality
itself.
The world as it is perceived
is the world that is
behaviorally important.

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

The Importance of Perception

Perception helps define reality.
Objective realitywhat truly exists in the
physical world to the best abilities of science to
measure it.
Perceived realitywhat individuals experience
through one or more of the human senses, and
the meaning they ascribe to those experiences.

Behavioral problems arise when an

individuals perceived reality does not
match objective reality.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

The Perceptual Process

u
v
w
x
y
z

a
c
g
h
l
m
p
r
s
t
v

a
c
g
h
l
m
p
r
s
t
v

f
i
l
t
e
r
s

a
c
h
p
r
s

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

a
c
h
p
r
s

Translation

a&c
h
p
r&s

Stimuli interpretation

f
i
l
t
e
r
s

a
c
g
h
l
m
p
r
s
t
v

S
e
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

Stimuli organization

S
t
i
m
u
l
i

S
e
n
s
o
r
y

Organization

Stimuli acceptance

a
b
c
d
e

Selection

Physical sensation

Sensation

The Perceptual Process

1.Sensation

3.Organization

An individuals ability to
detect stimuli in the
immediate
environment.

2.Selection

The process of placing

selected perceptual
stimuli into a
framework for
storage.

4.Translation
The process a person
uses to eliminate some
The stage of the
of the stimuli that have
perceptual process at
been sensed and to
which stimuli are
retain others for further
interpreted and given
processing.
meaning.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

The Perceptual Process

Organization
The process of placing selected perceptual
stimuli into a framework for storage.
Stimuli become associated when they:

Are similar in physical resemblance.

Occur in close physical (space) proximity.
Occur in close time proximity.
Are used for figure-ground differentiation.
Are used together to achieve closurea
perception of the whole or to piece together a
message.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

Factors That
Influence Perception

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

Figure-Ground Illustration
Field-ground
differentiation
The tendency to
distinguish
and focus on a
stimulus that
is classified as
figure as
opposed to
background.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

Closure
Closure
The tendency to organize
perceptual stimuli so that,
together, they form a
complete message.

Source: Reprinted with permission from Introduction to psychology:

Explorations and applications by Dennis Coon. Copyright 1977
by West Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Created by Soumi

Rai.Copyright
material

Person Perception: Making

Judgments About Others
Attribution Theory
When individuals observe
behavior, they attempt to
determine whether it is
internally or externally
caused.
Distinctiveness: shows different behaviors in different situations.

Consensus: response is the same as others to same situation.

Consistency: responds in the same way over time.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

Attribution Theory

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

10

Errors and Biases

in Attributions
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate
the influence of external factors
and overestimate the influence of
internal factors when making
judgments about the behavior of
others.

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

11

Errors and Biases in Attributions

Self-Serving Bias
The tendency for individuals to
attribute their own successes
to internal factors while
putting the blame for failures
on external factors.

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

12

Frequently Used Shortcuts in

Judging Others
Selective Perception
People selectively interpret
what they see on the basis of
their interests, background,
experience, and attitudes.

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

13

Frequently Used Shortcuts in

Judging Others
Halo Effect
Drawing a general impression
about an individual on the
basis of a single characteristic
Contrast Effects
Evaluation of a persons characteristics that
are affected by comparisons with other
people recently encountered who rank higher
or lower on the same characteristics.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

14

Frequently Used Shortcuts in

Judging Others
Projection
Attributing ones own
characteristics to other
people.
Stereotyping
Judging someone on the
basis of ones perception
of the group to which that
person belongs.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

15

Specific Applications in Organizations

Employment Interview
Perceptual biases of raters affect the
accuracy of interviewers judgments of
applicants.
Performance Expectations
Self-fulfilling prophecy (pygmalion effect):
The lower or higher performance of
employees reflects preconceived leader
expectations about employee capabilities.
Ethnic Profiling
A form of stereotyping in which a group of
individuals is singled outtypically on the
basis of race or ethnicityfor intensive
inquiry, scrutinizing, or investigation.
Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright
material

16

Specific Applications in Organizations

Performance Evaluations
Appraisals are often the subjective
(judgmental) perceptions of
appraisers of another employees
job performance.
Employee Effort
Assessment of individual effort is a
subjective judgment subject to
perceptual distortion and bias.

Created by Soumi Rai.Copyright

material

17