Perception

Session Objectives
At the end of the session the student will be able to
– Understand the overall nature of perception and differentiate
between Sensation and Perception
– Understand the perceptual process and also able to understand
the sub processes of perception
– Understand and explain the social perception
– Outline and understand the theories of Social Perception
– Understand and explain the Attribution theory and the
attribution errorsoutline and understand the different
perceptual biases while perceiving others
– Assess why stereotyping occurs
– Summarize the self fulfilling prophecy process
– Recognize and explain the strategies to improve perception
– Discuss the Impression management process
 What is a Sensation?
• Sensation refers to the state when the raw
sensory inputs are registered by our sensory
organs

• Refers to the initial contact between

organisms and their physical environment
 What is Perception?
• “A process by which individuals select,
organize and interpret their sensory
impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment” (Daniel, 2011)
• “All perception involves signals that go
through the nervous system, which in turn
result from physical or chemical stimulation of
the sensory system” (Goldstein, 2009)
 The perceptual process
External Environment

Feeling Hearing Smelling Touching Tasting

Perceptual selection

Perceptual Organization

Perceptual interpretation

Feedback and Behavior

 Perceptual Selection

• Refers to the process of selecting certain

stimuli for inclusion in our conscious
experience, or awareness at any given time
Factors affecting Perceptual Selection

External Forces
Internal Forces Intensity
Learning Size
Attitude Perceptual Contrast
Motives Selection Repetition
Interests Motion
Expectations Novelty or
Experience Familiarity
 Perceptual Organization
• Refers to the process by which individuals
group stimuli into recognizable patterns or
identifiable whole objects. The process can be
described in the light of the following
principles,
1. Perceptual grouping
2. Figure – Ground
3. Perceptual Constancy
 Perceptual Grouping

1. Principle of Similarity
2. Principle of Proximity
3. Principle of Continuity
4. Principle of Closure
 Figure and Ground
• It is the most prominent form of perceptual
organization explain “how individual use elements of
the scene which are similar in appearance and shape
and group them together as a whole”
• According to researchers “similar elements (figure)
are contrasted with dissimilar elements (ground) to
give the impression of a whole and perceived objects
stand out as separable from their general
background”
 Perceptual Constancy
• Refers to the tendency to perceive certain
characteristics of an object as remaining
constant or stable
1. Size and Shape Constancy
2. Brightness Constancy
 Illusion
• Illusions are perceptions but they do not agree
with our other perceptions.

(A)
Fig – 1
(B)

X Y

Fig - 2
 Social Perception
• “Social perception refers to identifying and utilizing
social cues to make judgments about social roles,
rules, relationships, context, or the characteristics
(e.g., trustworthiness) of others” (McCleery, Horan &
Green, 2014).
• The two important aspects of Social perception
1. Social Identity Theory
2. Attribution Theory
 Social Identity Theory
• “Social identity theory is described as a theory that predicts
certain intergroup behaviours on the basis of perceived
group status differences, the perceived legitimacy and
stability of those status differences, and the perceived ability
to move from one group to another” (Turner, 1979; Turner,
1999)

Social Identity
Personal identity
I am an Indian.
I am smart.
I am a student of CSREM.
I am an extrovert.
I am a member of the
I am an introvert.
red cross society.
 Attribution Theory
• “It refers to the cognitive process by which
people draw conclusions about the factors
that influence or make sense of another’s
behavior” (Heider, 1958)
• The conscious process of attaching or
attributing causes or reasons to the actions or
events
 Heider’s “Naive” Psychology

• Fritz Heider(1958) proposed the theory which

explored how individuals try to understand
the meaning of other people’s behavior with
relations to personal and impersonal factors.
Kelly’s theory of Causal Attribution
• Kelly’s attribution theory(1967,1973) grew out of
Haider’s Naïve psychology. The main concern of
this theory is how we determine whether an
action is caused by internal or external forces
• The basic method we use to identify the causes
of a particular effect is the presence-absence test
• If presence of a cause leads to effect and absence
of it does not lead to any effect
 3 Factors
Kelly Identified 3 basic factors we use in deciding
the cause of a response.
1. Consistency : The extent to which a particular
response occurs whenever a situation is present.
2. Consensus : The extent to which other people
respond in the same situation and in the same
manner.
3. Distinctiveness : The extent to which the person
responds differently in various situations.
 Theory of Attribution.
Internal Attribution

Frequently Frequently Seldom

High consistency Low distinctiveness Low consensus

Consistency Distinctiveness Consensus

How often did the How often does the How often do other people
person acted in this Person act this way Act in this way in
Way In the past? In other settings? Similar situations?

Seldom Seldom Frequently

Low consistency High Distinctiveness High consensus

External Attribution
 Attribution Errors
• Fundamental Attribution Error
• Self Serving Bias
Fundamental Attribution Error
• The fundamental attribution error (also known as
correspondence bias or over-attribution effect) is the
tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional,
or personality-based explanations for behaviors
observed in others while under-emphasizing
situational explanations
• Example: If giving someone our sympathy or blaming
the true culprit somehow causes us dissonance, we
may hold the victim responsible for his or her own
pain and suffering. "He had it coming" and "she was
asking for it" are all-too-common phrases!
Self-Serving Bias
• The self-serving bias refers to the tendency to
attribute internal, personal factors to positive
outcomes but external, situational factors to
negative outcomes
• For example: People who are hired for a position
often attribute this decision to personal factors,
such as an exceptional resume or other strong
qualifications, but are quick to point to external
factors, such as a short-sighted hiring manager,
when they are not given the position
 Perceptual Biases
• Stereotyping
• Self Fulfilling Prophecy
1. Pygmalion Effect
2. Golem Effect
• Halo Effect
• Projection (Similar to me) Effect
• Primacy Effect
• Recency Effect
 Stereotyping
• Stereotyping is the process of making
assumptions about a person or group of
people based on various attributes, including
gender, race, religion, or physical traits
• Negative consequences of Stereotyping at
workplaces:
– Low staff morale
– Low staff retention
– Increased risk of litigation
Source:What Is Stereotyping? Stereotyping In A Nutshell - FourWeekMBA
 Self-fulfilling Prophecy
• In a self-fulfilling prophecy an individual’s
expectations about another person or entity
eventually result in the other person or entity
acting in ways that confirm the expectations
• A classic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy is
the bank failures during the Great Depression
 Pygmalion effect
• The Pygmalion effect is where an individual’s
performance is influenced by others’
expectations. In other words, higher
expectations lead to higher performance
• However, the Pygmalion effect specifically
refers to how our expectations of others affect
our behavior towards them. In turn, this can
contribute to higher performance
 Golem Effect
• The Golem Effect describes the process where
superiors (such as teachers or managers)
anticipate low performance from a subordinate,
causing the very behavior they predict
• This is one of the more common and disturbing
effects that can occur in a workplace. If you're
not careful, you could end up being treated like a
robot!
• This is the opposite of Pygmalion effect
 Halo Effect
• The halo effect refers to the tendency to allow
one specific trait or our overall impression of a
person, company or product to positively
influence our judgment of their other related
traits
• For example, if you perceived a person to be
warm and friendly, we will attribute a number of
other associated traits to that person without any
knowledge that they are true, such as they are
generous
 Projection (Similar to me) Effect
• The similar-to-me effect represents a possible cause
of bias when it comes to judging other people. “In
fact, research has shown that when superiors rate
their subordinates, the more similar the parties are,
the higher rating the superior tends to give”
(Greenberg, 2010)
• Similar-to-me effect is defined as “individuals get
along with people who tend to look and think like
they do” (The Pennsylvania State University, 2015)
 Primacy Effect
• The primacy effect is caused by the fact that
people tend to rehearse items in order to
remember them.
• The Primacy Effect is characterized by a tendency
on the part of an observer to be more influenced
by items and facts that are presented earlier than
others
• In regards to the primacy effect, first impressions
are more likely to carry weight that any evidence
to the contrary that is presented later
 Recency Effect
• The Recency Effect is the tendency of a person to recall
the first and last items in a series
• The recency effect refers to the fact that we are more
likely to remember information that has been given to
us more recently
• Psychologists have found evidence both for a recency
effect and a primacy effect (better memory for
information presented earlier)
• In addition to being studied by memory researchers,
social psychologists have investigated how the ordering
of information can impact our evaluations of others
 Improving Perceptions

• Having different types of awareness

• Making interactions more meaningful
• Practicing of “Accountability”
• Empathy
• Improving “Self-Awareness”(Johari Window)
 Empathy
• Refers to the “individual’s understanding of
and sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts and
situations of others”
 The Johari Window
Known to Unknown to
me me
FEEDBACK

D (I) (II)
Known I
to others S Open Blind
C
L
O
S (III) (IV)
U
Unknown R
to others E Hidden Unknown
Thank You