y Perception is the process through which people select,

receive, organize and interpret information from their environment. y Through perception, people process information inputs into decisions and actions. It is a way of forming impressions about you, other people and day to day life experiences. y Process of perception involves receiving raw data from the senses and then filtering, modifying or transforming the data completely through the process of cognition.

y 1)Receiving Stimuli : starts with the reception of

stimuli. Stimuli is receiving from the various sources. 5 Senses we hear sounds, smell, we see things, taste and touch things. Stimuli can also be internal like energy generation by muscles.
y 2)Selection of Stimuli : We observe or receive stimuli

from the environment at a time daily. We select some stimuli for further processing to attach meanings to them while the rest are screened out.

y 3)Organization of Stimuli : is the process of

organizing stimuli into groups and perceives them as unified wholes. Individuals organize their selected stimuli or data in some form so as to assign some meaning to them. According to the principles of Gestalt Psychology every person organize their perception into unified whole:

y i) Figure Ground Principle : The meaningful bits

and pieces of stimuli are called figure and the meaningless ones are called as ground . More attention to Figure and less to ground.

y ii) Grouping : It is based on the similarity of various

stimuli perceived. Individual tends to group stimuli ie: people or things that appears similar in certain ways so that they form a unified picture of impression.

y iii) Closure: when people face incomplete

information, they tend to fill the gaps themselves to make it more meaningful. They may do it on the basis of their experience, hunches, guess or past data. Thus, the tendency to form a complete message from an incomplete one is known as Closure.

y 4) Interpretation: The data collected and organized

remains meaningless for the perceiver till these are assigned meanings. Assigning meanings to data is called interpretation. This based on what individual expects to see in the light of previous experience, on motives and interests at the time of perception an on the clarity of stimulus itself.

y 1) Characteristics of Object:

a) Contrast : If an object, some way, contrasts with its surrounding, it is more noticeable. For eg: a manager who interviews twenty women and one man for a job will tend to remember the man first simply because he posed such a contrast. b) Intensity: Object may also vary in term of their intensity in features such as brightness, color, depth or sound. For instance, we tend to listen carefully to someone who is shouting or whispering because of the intensity of sound is un unusual. c) Movement : we also tend to focus our attention first on objects that are moving or changing . For eg: we easily notice a person walking through a group of standing people.

d) Repetition: can also increase our awareness of objects, For eg : If one of the executives repeat a request again and again, manager is more likely to remember the request than if it had only been made only once.
y 2) Characteristics of the person:

a) Need and desire: Perception varies depending upon variations in his/her needs and desires from time to time. b) Personality: Personality of the perceiver also affects what is to be perceived. Researchers have reported that secure individuals tend to perceive others as warm not cold and indifferent and persons accepting themselves and having faith in their individuality perceive things favourable.

c) Experience: Experience and knowledge serve as basis for perception. Successful experience enhances his/her perceptive ability; failure erodes his/her selfconfidence.
y 3) Situational characteristics:

The physical, social and organizational settings of the situation or event also influence perceptions.

y Halo effect : Drawing a general impression about an

individual based in a single characteristics or trait is called halo effect. y Attribution : Explaining human behavior in terms of cause and effect is called attribution. Behaviour of others can be examined on the basis of: Distinctiveness the degree to which a person behaves similarly in different situations Consistency the degree to which a person engages in the same behaviour at different times Consensus the degree to which other people are engaged in the same behaviour

y Stereotyping : When individuals are judged on the

basis of the characteristics of the group they belong, it is called Sterotyping.

y Definition: Any relatively permanent change in

behavior that occurs as a result of experience. y Components involved: 1) Learning involves change. Change may be good or bad 2) The change must be relatively permanent 3) Some form of experience is necessary for learning 4) Learning is a life long process

y Classical Conditioning: first demonstrated by

Russian Psychologist, Ivan Pavlov. He conducted experiment on dog to know how a dog response to various conditional and unconditional stimulus.

y Operant Conditioning: This argues that behavior is the

function of its consequences. People learn to behave to get something they want or to avoid something they don t want. Operant conditioning is generally associated with the work of B.F.Skinner did for operant conditioning. Skinner s operant conditioning is based in the notion that behavior is a function of its consequences, which may either be positive or negative. Thus, behavior that results in pleasant consequences is more likely to be repeated and the behavior that results in unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated. Skinner argued that creating pleasing consequences to follow specific forms of behavior would increase the frequency of that behavior. Rewards are most effective if they immediately follow the desired response. In addition, behavior that is not rewarded or is punished is less likely to be repeated.

y Social Learning :

Individuals can also learn by observing what happens to other people and just by being told about something, as well as by direct experiences. So, For example, much of what we have learned comes from watching models parents, teachers, peers, motion pictures and television performs bosses and so forth. This view that we can learn through both observation and direct experience has been called social-learning theory.