PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION

CHAPTER 6
LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing this chapter you should be able to:

■explain the nature of the perceptual process and selectivity and attention;
■detail internal and external factors that provide meaning to the individual;
■examine the organization and arrangement of stimuli, and perceptual illusions;
■explain the importance of selection and attention, and organization and judgement;
■identify problems and difficulties in perceiving other people and nonverbal communications;
■evaluate the relevance of neuro-linguistic programming and transactional analysis;
■review the importance of an understanding of perception andcommunication.
THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
SELECTIVITY IN ATTENTION AND
PERCEPTION
It is not possible to have an understanding of perception without taking into account its sensory basis. We are not
able to attend to everything in our environment; our sensory systems have limits. The physical limits therefore
insist that we are selective in our attention and perception.

Perception as information processing

if a manager has been advised by colleagues that a particular trainee has managerial potential, the manager may
be specifically looking for confirmation that those views are correct. This process has been known as ‘top-down’
because the cognitive processes are influencing the perceptual readiness of the individual to select certain
information.
Meaning to the individual

•The process of perception explains the manner in which information (stimuli) from the environment around us is selected and organized to provide meaning for the

individual.

•Perception is the mental function of giving significance to stimuli such as shapes, colors, movement, taste, sounds, touch, smells, pain, pressures and feelings. Perception

gives rise to individual behavioral responses to particular situations.

Internal and external factors

•The first stage in the process of perception is selection and attention. Why do we attend to certain stimuli and not to others? There are two important factors to consider

in this discussion: first, internal factors relating to the state of the individual; second, the environment and influences external to the individual. The process of perceptual

selection is based, therefore, on both internal and external factors.

 INTERNAL FACTORS

Our sensory systems have limits – we are not able to see for ‘miles and miles’ or hear very low or very high-pitched
sounds. All our senses have specialist nerves that respond differently to the forms of energy that are received. For
instance, our eyes receive and convert light waves into electrical signals that are transmitted to the visual cortex of
the brain and translated into meaning.

Sensory limits or thresholds

As individuals we may differ in terms of our sensory limits or thresholds. Without eye glasses some people would
not be able to read a car’s number plate at the distance required for safety. People differ not only in their absolute
thresholds but also in their ability to discriminate between stimuli.
Psychological factors
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
The importance of language

•Our language plays an important role in the way we perceive the world. Our language not only labels and distinguishes
the environment for us but also structures and guides our thinking patterns.

•Our language is part of the culture we experience and learn to take for granted. Culture differences are relevant because
they emphasize the impact of social learning on the perception of people and their surroundings.

•language not only reflects our experience but also shapes whether and what we experience. It influences our
relationships with others and with the environment.
EXTERNAL FACTORS

The knowledge of, familiarity with, or expectations about a given situation or previous experiences
will influence perception. External factors refer to the nature and characteristics of the stimuli. There
is usually a tendency to give more attention to stimuli which are, for example:

■large ■bright

■moving ■novel

■intense ■repeated

■loud ■in strong contrast to their background.

 SELECTION AND ATTENTION

What information do we select and why? The social situation consists of both verbal and non-verbal signals. The non-verbal
signals include:
■bodily contact ■gestures
■proximity ■posture
■orientation ■direction of gaze
■head nods ■dress and appearance
■facial expression ■non-verbal aspects of speech.

Verbal and non-verbal signals are coordinated into regular sequences, often without the awareness of the parties. The mirroring of
actions has been researched and is called ‘postural echoing’. There is considerable evidence to indicate that each person is
constantly influencing the other and being influenced.
 PERCEIVING OTHER PEOPLE

There are a number of well-documented problems that arise when perceiving other people.

Many of these problems occur because of our limitations in selecting and attending to information.

The Gestalt principles apply equally well to the perception of people as to the perception of objects

The principles and examples of perceptual differences explained earlier apply to the way we perceive others. Some examples might be as follows:

■Grouping – the way in which a manager may think of a number of staff – for example, either working in close proximity; or with some common feature such as all IT
technicians, all graduate trainees or all black workers; as a homogeneous group rather than a collection of individuals, each with their own separate identity and characteristics.

■Figure and ground – a manager may notice a new recruit and set them apart from the group because of particular characteristics such as age, appearance or physical features.

■Closure – the degree to which unanimity is perceived and decisions made or action taken in the belief that there is full agreement with staff when, in fact, a number of staff
may be opposed to the decision or action.
PERCEPTUAL DISTORTIONS AND ERRORS

The accuracy of interpersonal perception and the judgements made about other people are influenced by:
■the nature of the relationship between the perceiver and the other person;
■the amount of information available to the perceiver and the order in which information is received;
■the nature and extent of interaction between the two people.

There are five main features that can create particular difficulties and give rise to perceptual problems, bias or distortions in our
dealings with other people. These are:
■stereotyping
■the halo effect
■perceptual defence
■projection
■self-fulfilling prophecy.
 STEREOTYPING

Examples of common stereotyping may be based on:

■nationality, for example all Germans are orderly and industrious, all Australians like cricket;
■occupation, for example all accountants are boring, all librarians are serious and undemonstrative;
■age, for example all young people are unreliable, no old person wants to consider new ideas;
■physical, for example all people with red hair have a fiery temperament; all fat people are lazy;
■education, for example all graduates are intelligent;
■social, for example all unemployed people are lazy; immigrants do not want to learn English;
■politics, for example all Labor voters favor strong trade unions, all Conservative voters support privatisation
 THE HALO EFFECT

The halo effect is the process by which the perception of a person is formulated on the basis of a single favorable or
unfavorable trait or impression. The halo effect tends to shut out other relevant characteristics of that person. Some
examples might be as follows:

■A candidate for employment who arrives punctually, is smart in appearance and friendly may well influence the
perception of the selectors, who then place less emphasis on the candidate’s technical ability, qualifications or
experience for the job.

■A new member of staff who performs well in a first major assignment may be perceived as a likely person for
promotion, even though that assignment is not typical of the usual duties the member of staff is expected to undertake.

■A single trait, such as good attendance and timekeeping, may become the main emphasis for judgement of overall
competence and performance rather than other considerations such as the quantity, quality and accuracy of work.
 PERCEPTUAL DEFENCE

Perceptual defense is the tendency to avoid or screen out certain stimuli that are perceptually disturbing or
threatening. People may tend to select information that is supportive of their point of view and choose not to
acknowledge contrary information. For example, a manager who has decided recently to promote a member
of staff against the advice of colleagues may select only favorable information which supports that decision
and ignore less favorable information which questions that decision.
PROJECTION

• Attributing, or projecting, one’s own feelings, motives or characteristics to other people is a further
distortion which can occur in the perception of other people. Judgements of other people may be
more favorable when they have characteristics largely in common with, and easily recognized by,
the perceiver. Projection may also result in people exaggerating undesirable traits in others that
they fail to recognize in themselves.
SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

The essence of the prophecy is that simply because it has been made, this will cause it to happen.
People strive to validate their perceptions irrespective of the actual reality. People’s beliefs or
expectations influence their actions and behavior in such a way as to make the beliefs or expectations
more likely to come true. If staff believe a rumor (prophecy) that there will be no promotions or
bonuses for the foreseeable future, they are likely to behave in such a way that their performance
would not justify promotion or bonuses (even if the rumor were not true).
UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANISATIONAL
PROCESS
The process of perception has been outlined as selective and subjective: we perceive the world in our own terms
and expect the world to ‘fit’ into our constructs. Throughout our development we have learned to distinguish what
is important and significant (figure) from information that is additional and contextual (ground). This process is
repeated when we join new organizations or take a new job within the same organization. Fitting into the
organization involves selecting information that is necessary from that which is less significant. At times, the
process can be distorted and we can also be ‘tricked’ into seeing the world in particular ways.