Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Define Perception and How Does Affect Communication

Better Essays
1042 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Define Perception and How Does Affect Communication
Definition of Perception

The process by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them, though necessarily based on incomplete and unverified (or unreliable) information, perception is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior in general. It is important in the study of Organizational Behavior because people’s actions are based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.

Someone's perception is our reality. Perception in communication is based on three elements.

I. Organization:
A social unit of people systematically structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals on a continuing basis. All organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between functions and positions, and subdivides and delegates roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out defined tasks. Organizations are open systems in that they affect and are affected by the environment beyond their boundaries.

II. Identification
Identification is the appropriation of identity, either by the individual or collective in question or by others. Identification includes "the development and maintenance of an individual's or group's 'sameness' or 'substance' against a backdrop of change and 'outside' elements." Salient symbolic linkages (through communication) are important to identification, identification is a process, and the nature of a particular individual's or group's identification with something is continually changing. Identification, to organizations or anything else is "an active process by which individuals link themselves to elements in a social scene" and identifications help us make sense of our world and thoughts and help us to make decisions. The process of identification occurs largely through language as one expresses similarities or affiliations with particular groups, including organizations.

III. Interpretation of Sensory Information.
Interpretation of sensory information in order to fabricate a mental representation through the process of transduction, which sensors in the body transform signals from the environment into encoded neural signals. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs.

We judge ourselves by our intentions; others judge us by our actions.
Types of Perception in Communication:

1. Self-Perception
Your self-perception is the way you perceive yourself. The self-perception is based on your self-esteem, self-concept and self-efficacy. Your self-esteem is how much you value yourself. Are you confident or insecure in how you perceive yourself? Your self-concept is designed by how you think people perceive you, how you're perceived in a group setting and your own perceptions based on past experiences. Self-efficacy is the predictions you make about yourself, such as "No matter what, I'm going to get that job."

2. Environmental
Environmental perceptions are formed based on the context in which the information is received. For example, if a child turned to a parent and said, "I hate you," that would have one obvious perception, but if you were practicing for a play and you read, "I hate you" in your script, the perception of the same words changes. One's environment will shape the perception that creates a mental filter in which they will process life and information through.

3. Learned
Learned perception is formed around personality, culture and habit. Learned perceptions are thoughts, ideas and beliefs that are formed by a person being taught. Whether they were formally taught or learned by example, an individual will process and react based on his or her learned perception. This can be seen in children reflecting their parent's personality traits, religious beliefs and philosophy on life.

4. Physical
Physical perception is based on the tangible world. It's the way your physical ears and eyes perceive something and how your mind processes it. For example, in U.S. culture, it would be perceived as intrusive and rude for a stranger to stand close to you while you ride the bus, but in South American cultures, this is perceived as a norm. Another example of physical perception is our idea of color. Red represents danger or romance while blue represents calm or water. The way a person identifies with various colors is an example of physical perception.

5. Cultural
Cultural perception differs from environmental perception because it refers to larger scale of a society and not a specific environment based on the person’s life. Culture perceptions will vary from city to city and region to region. "For instance, an Asian American woman possesses at least two distinct identities, each associated with different and sometimes conflicting domain-specific stereotypes," according to researchers at Harvard University's Interpersonal Perception and Communication Laboratory. Cultural perceptions are formed by the sub-society in which a person is raised.
How does perception affect communication?
Perception is at the heart of our communication. Perception is a major ingredient in all communication. For instance, if you're blind, you won't see body language; if you're deaf, verbal communication means nothing. But if you have certain opinions or feelings about the person giving you the message, such as how powerful that person is, it affects how that information is treated.
Let’s take an email communication. If this email looks like it uses a template that the service provider has on file, it could be perceived as - this company hasn't done email long, doesn't invest in communicating to me, is not professional, etc.
All communications are perceived not only by "looks" as in the example above, but also by language. If you are sending an informal letter, your reader is a little more at ease. If you’re writing over your key prospects head using jargon instead explaining what things are, they will walk away.

Communication and Perception
When you communicate with someone, you convey a message that the other person is meant to perceive and decode. The simpler and more straightforward the message, the easier it is to perceive. For instance, asking someone if he is hungry is a simple communication that asks a direct question. But if you phrase it in a language the recipient doesn't know well or you put an inflection in your voice, it adds layers to the communication that the recipient might not get. For instance, the lilt in the question could be silently asking if the recipient wants to eat with you, though you didn't ask that question.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Perception Process

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Perception is the way in which a person sees and understands the world; every person perceives the world in their own way and understanding. Today I am going to summarize the perception process and give you an example using the steps of the perception process. The perception process consists of 4 steps: selection, organization, interpretation, and negotiation.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Perception

    • 533 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Perception may be defined an “immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities.” Perception is a human quality and characteristic that is embedded within each individual from the moment they can think independently. Every perception is different but can be similar and that is what makes each person uniquely different. Our personality, character, upbringing, education and even geographical location determine our cognitive behavior where perception is concerned.…

    • 533 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In my opinion, an organization is basically members of a working group that are structured and allocated various tasks with the aim of achieving a common goal.…

    • 4765 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Xacc/280 Week 3 Paper

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Organization is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. (Businessdictionary.com)…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Let thinks about all the things around us and how we look at them on a daily basis. When thinking about perception an individual should think about all their senses, these senses involve the ability to become aware of the changes within one’s body and mind. As you travel, you may see objects that cause you to think of various things in your life. Think about the touch of objects, the smell of various aromas the may remind you of a home-cooked meal and different types of music playing can also have an affect on a individual differently. All of these things help create a conscious familiarity and allow one to connect with the people and objects around us.…

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Analyzing Organization

    • 3184 Words
    • 10 Pages

    An organization or company can be defined as the developed social elements by the humans in order to serve some kind of purpose. Generally the organization is consisting of an individual or a group of people purposely systemized or organized to achieve a common and an overall goal or set of goals. Usually organizations range in size from one person to thousands. Almost every organization has a structure of management that regulates relationships between the members and different activities and authority , responsibilities and assigning role to carry out different tasks within and outside of organization.…

    • 3184 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Perception is a fundamental process in all interpersonal communication encounters. This essay will describe perception and the role it has in interpersonal communication. It will focus on the perceptual process of stereotyping and I will explore some of my experiences with stereotyping.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perception vs Reality

    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Have you ever thought you heard something, but there was nothing there? Have you ever thought you saw someone in the corner of your eye, and when you looked there was no person there? When we look down from a high building on people, do they appear small like ants? Aren't there thousands of occasions when we do misperceive? What is reality and perception? Mainstream science describes reality as "the state of things as they actually exist". So reality is simply: everything we observe. Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world (sapdesignguild.org np). I believe people should base some decisions on reality and fact rather than perception. Our perceptions differ greatly on so many things, so how can anyone decide what is real and what is not? Just because we see something a particular way it does not make it so. Sometimes we think our way of seeing something is more right than anyone else’s and we are very insistent about it.…

    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My perception of the situation is that there is room for growth when it comes to Toya getting feedback about her weakness within the job. If I was mentoring Toya I would make sure she knows that we as a company value her as an employee but there are some things that in order for her to further her training she needs to correct some work habits.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perception is a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present. Biologically, the perceptions might get triggered depending on the hormones and neurotransmitters that are traveling the body. For example, a two year old will see beautiful women as a bunch of girls in his world. While a 19 year old will feel a physical attraction towards them. Socially, the opinions of a certain human might change due to their groups perceptions. Maybe a teenager finds a girl really attractive and starts to date her. But when his friends see her and they have a rather pessimistic perception, they might force him to blow her off.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Directions: Apply the three-step process of perception checking in at least TWO communication situations outside of class that do NOT involve your classmates. Then reflect on whether or not perception-checking…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Listening and Perception

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages

    right or wrong comment or decision of the individual or situation we encounter. A lot of people have a tendency of talking too quick to make a statement without analyzing the situation; and at this point the process of communication becomes unclear or lead to misunderstandings. We need to be careful when we are exercising our judgment. We need to analyze all situations before making a statement. Once…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perception

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Perception is a process by which an individual organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Perception is a process that all people take part in as we move through the course of events in our daily lives. When we meet people, make business decisions, evaluate performances, or pass judgments, our perception surrounding such events help persuade our next course of direction (Goldstein, 2006). In a sense, perception, accurate or flawed, is our reality. Robbins (2005) defines perception as a process that individuals go through, influenced by surrounding stimuli and sensory impressions, to define their surrounding environment. Causes that shape or distort our perceptions have a tremendous effect on the impact of an organization's behavior. Individuals, by nature, develop perceptive shortcuts when passing judgment and inflect both positive and negative effects. In exploring perception, we can see how decisions are made in real world organizations and how these perceptions shape ethical and moral decisions.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tata Nano

    • 3778 Words
    • 16 Pages

    “Perception is the process, by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world around as”.…

    • 3778 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Person Perception

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Refers to the different mental processes that we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics