What do you see?

1
 “ WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS

THEY ARE, WE SEE THINGS AS

WE ARE.”
When you change

the way you look at things, the things

you look at change.

 PERCEPTIONS
“You become what you thinketh”

“If everyone perceived everything the same way, things would

be a lot simpler”
-Moorhead & Griffin
What is Perception and Why is it
Important?
• Perception is a process by which individuals organize and
interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to
their environment.

• It’s important because people’s behavior is based on their

perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.

6
Perception

the process by which stimuli in the external, physical world

are translated into internal, mental representations;

three stages:
• sensation: registering stimuli through the five senses
(vision, sound, taste, smell, touch);
• attention: allocating processing resources to certain
stimuli;
• comprehension: interpreting stimuli that have been
attended to;
 Factors influencing perception

A number of factors operate to shape and

sometimes distort perception. These factors

can reside in the perceiver, in the object or

target being perceived or in the context of the

8
situation in which the perception is made.
Factors That
Influence
Perception
The Perception Process

10
 Shortcuts in Judging Others or
Perceptual distortions
Perceptual Distortions: errors in perceptual judgment arising
from inaccuracies in any part of the perceptual process

1.)Selective Perception
2.) Halo Effect
3.) Contrast Effects
4.) Projection
5.) Stereotyping
 Selective Perception

• It is a tendency to observe people selectively and accordingly

interpret based on their interest, background, experience and
attitudes

• We tend to notice things which are similar to us.

• For instance, we are more likely to notice the type of cars which
are similar to ours.

• For example, a production manager is always likely to identify

the need to strengthen the production system; the marketing
manager will focus only on the marketing research and sales
promotions activities.
• The simplest way of avoiding hasty or wrong decision being
made due to selective perception is to seek other people’s
perceptions of “reality” in the same situation in order to
make a better assessment of the situation.
ii) Projection

• It is a tendency to assign one’s own personal attributes to others.

• For instance, a manager who is corrupt will tend to project that

all others are also corrupt like him.

• Similarly, a manager who loves challenging work might project

that all others like challenging work.

• They tend to see people as more homogeneous than they really

are. Thus, managers should guard themselves against
perceptual biases through projection
• Beauty Bias
• Glasses are used as intelligence
factor
iv) Halo Effect:

• It is tendency to draw a general overall impression about an

individual based on single striking characteristics

• For instance, if a person speaks English fluently, we tend to

assume that that person is very knowledgeable, intelligent,
smart, clever etc. hard working, smart etc
iii) Stereotyping:

• It is a tendency to judge people based on the perception of

the group to which he belongs.

• We tend to attribute favorable or unfavorable characteristics

to the individual based on upon widely held generalization
about the group.

• we perceive that Japanese in general are hard working,

quality conscious and industrious, and based on that we
generalize that all Japanese are like that, but in reality it may
not be so.
v) Contrast Effect:

• It is tendency to evaluate a person’s characteristics by just

comparing with other people who happened to acquire
higher or lower position on the same characteristics.

• For instance, while comparing the presentation of students,

a good presentation made by one student just before you
will probably make you feel that you won’t be as good as
you probably are.
Methods to overcome such
biases in perception
• Knowing and perceiving oneself accurately

• Being empathic

• Having positive attitudes

• Enhancing one’s self-concept

• Making a conscious effort to avoid the possible common

biases in perception

• Open communication

• Avoiding Attributions.
Perceptual distortions

Selective Perception
• People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of
their interest, background, experience, and attitudes.
• Example:
• You go to the supermarket to buy a few fruits, and you always
pick up the ones you know taste good, having made this
decision without tasting other fruits.

• You vote for a political party only because it caters to your

beliefs, irrespective of whether it contributes to any valuable
changes in society.
27
Perceptual distortions
Selective Perception
• Selective perception is often used as an advertising strategy to enhance the
popularity and the sales of a product.

• For instance, there is a great demand for a particular brand of a cell phone,
which you then consider buying yourself. You suddenly see an ad for the
same in the newspaper, a magazine, or on television. Suddenly, that phone is
all over the place. What you don't notice is that all this has always been
around you but you have filtered out these stimuli because you never really
needed that cell phone. However, now that you are considering buying the
cell phone, you are seeing it everywhere because your general awareness
now includes the lookout for the cell phone. The company on the other hand,
has created or triggered the desire in you to buy the phone by promoting the
product to make it popular, thereby increasing your awareness about it.
• If a prospective employer views the
applicant as attractive or likable, they
are more likely to also rate the
individual as intelligent, competent,
and qualified.
• If you like one aspect of something, you'll have a
positive predisposition towards everything about
it.
• If you dislike one aspect of something, you'll
have a negative predisposition towards
everything about it.
Selectivity of perception

• Discuss how the following picture would be interpreted

through the eyes of a religious figure, a physicist, a painter
or a farmer?
• Monk sees God creation etc.

• Physicist sees blue light scattered by the

atmosphere to form the blue sky. Because this
light is removed the sun looks redder.
• Artist sees the graduation of colour in the sky etc.
• Farmer can tell the weather (red sky at night etc.)
Selectivity of perception -
education
What do you see? What would a musician
see?
Selectivity of perception – emotion- Beauty
is in the eye of the beholder
There’s
someone
for
everyone.
Perceptual selectivity principles

 Numerous stimuli are constantly confronting us: - Noise of

papers, people talking, moving cars, phone etc
 With all these stimulation on people, how and why do hey select
only a few stimuli at a given time?
 The answer can be found in the principles of perceptual
selectivity
 The principles can be divided into external and internal
principles
Internal – a those that are based on the individual
psychological make up
External – those arising form outside environmental
influences
Perceptual distortions

Halo Effect
• Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of a
single characteristic.
• For example, if a chef is famous for making one particular dish, then the
halo effect allows people to assume that he can cook anything with equal
proficiency.
• A sales professional is proficient at bringing in new accounts and
generating revenue, so he is promoted to the position of vice president of
sales. Unfortunately, he does not know the first thing about being a
company executive.

• If the payroll group in the accounting department consistently makes

mistakes on employee paychecks, then the halo effect would allow the rest
of the company to assume that no one in the accounting department can do
their job properly.
Perceptual distortions
Contrast Effects
• Comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank higher
or lower on the same characteristics.

Example

• When you meet two other people, you are likely to compare each against
the other on several dimensions to decide which you prefer. This may
include physical beauty, similarity of interests and various personality
factors.

• Put one hand into hot water and other into cold water, then move them
both to lukewarm water. The cold hand will feel hot and the hot hand will
feel cold.
MMMMmmm Ice cream!
Which looks more tempting?

1 2
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Ice Cream!!!!!!!!!!
Which looks more tempting?

1 2
 What is contrast EffecT?

• Object appears better or worse depending on what it is compared to

• All judgments are relative

 Do you sometimes feel…

That life is out of your control?

That you have no say in how things work out?

That life just happens and you’re not really sure how or why it all turned out a certain way?
• I tend to make assumptions a lot, about everything and
everyone.

• “He/she hates me!”

• “Other people make me uncomfortable.”

• “If I can do it, other people can as well.”

What We Believe
Comes True …for
better or for worse!
Projection

• Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people

Example
• I do not like another person. But I have a value that
says I should like everyone. So I project onto them
that they do not like me. This allows me to avoid
them and also to handle my own feelings of dislike.
Projection

• Example: One person may see another across the

room and notice a rosy glow in their cheeks.
• They might interpret this as meaning the person is
healthy.
• A skin specialist may see the same person and decide
he is unhealthy and that he has a rosy complexion
because of broken blood vessels under the skin.
• All Politicians are Corrupt

• Women who smoke and drink do not have morals.

• All Blacks are great basketball players.

• All Muslims are terrorists.

• Chinese will eat anything.

• Women are more brilliant than men.

• Men always have an "I don't care" attitude.

 Stereotyping

• Judging someone on the basis of your perception of the group

to which that person belongs.

• Tendency to assign an individual to a group or broad category

and then attribute generalizations about the group to the
individual
• Stereotypes can be both positive…:

“Thai people are friendly and welcoming.”

…and negative:

“Irish people love getting drunk.”

 Stereotyping

• Cultures

• Stereotypes also exist about cultures an countries as a whole. Stereotype

examples of this sort include the premises that:

• All white Americans are obese, lazy, and dim-witted.

• Mexican stereotypes suggest that all Mexicans are lazy and came into
America illegally.

• All Arabs and Muslims are terrorists.

 Types of Stereotypes

As noted, stereotypes can be positive or negative.

• For example, we could stereotype all older people as “cranky” or we
could stereotype them as “wise”
• The point is that when we stereotype someone we make
assumptions. We assume that they will talk, look, and act like all
the other members of the category into which we put that person
Perception—
What Do You See?

66
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’
 COMPONENTS OF PERCEPTION

SITUATION
• Every instance of perception occurs in
some situational context.
• This context affects perception.
• The situation adds information about the
target.

68
 Gestalt Psychology

• we perceive cohesive wholes

and formulate total impressions
rather than note solitary stimuli
 Principles of Perceptual organization

• Figure and Ground

• Principle of Similarity
• Principle of Proximity
• Principle of Continuity
• Principle of Closure
Figure and Ground
 Gestalt Principles

• Figure and ground: objects or figures are perceived in relationship to

background.
Figure—the object of interest
Ground —the background
• Your brain interprets between the visual elements it considers to be in
the foreground of an image and the background.
• They wanted to determine the rules that describe what your perception
will be given certain stimulus conditions
 Principle of Similarity

The principle of similarity states that the

greater the similarity of the stimuli greater is
the tendency to perceive them as a common
group.
For e.g., All the workers may be
perceived to have the same opinions about
the management because they are grouped
together on the basis of similarity.
 Principle of Proximity

The proximity or nearness principle of

grouping states that a group of stimuli that are
close together will be perceived as a whole of
parts or pattern of parts belonging together.
For e.g., All employees working in a
particular department may be grouped
together because of physical proximity.
Principle of Proximity

The closer in proximity objects are to each other, the more

likely that they will be perceived as a group.
• Objects that are arranged close to one another are
perceived as belonging to the same group. In

this example, which would you get for free, water or food?

• Free Water

Food Sold
 Principle of Continuity

The law of continuity states the stimuli that forms a

complete figure or a good form tend to be grouped
as a part of whole.
 Principle of Closure

When faced with incomplete information, people fill up

the gaps themselves to make the information meaningful.
For e.g. When managers have to make promotion
decisions, they may not have complete information about
the suitability of an employee for a higher position. In
such cases, they rely more on the past records of the
employee.

82
 What do you see?

Now what do you see?

 Organizational
85 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
86 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
87 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
89 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
90 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
91 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
92 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
93 Behavior /
Perception
 Organizational
94 Behavior /
Perception
 Class Exercise
• Look around the room and select a
student who you do not know.
• Write down your impression of that
person.
• You won’t share your impression with anyone.

• How did you form your impression of the

person?
• What cues did you use?
99
 Social Perception

Social perception is defined as

the study of how we form
impressions of and make
inferences about other people.
 Impression Management
Impression management (self-presentation) = process
of acting in a way that presents a desired image

• Nonverbal cues (facial expression, eye contact, body

posture, gestures) are important in self-presentation

McGraw-Hill 6-101 ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Impression Management

• Techniques of impression management include:

• conforming to situational norms
• showing appreciation of others
• behavioral matching (imitating behavior of other
person)

McGraw-Hill 6-102 ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 IM Techniques or Verbal Self-
Presentational Behaviors
Self-
Favors
Descriptions

Flattery Association
Verbal Self-
Presentation
Opinion
Acclaiming
Conformity

Apologies Excuse
 first impressions
• within three  social status
seconds of seeing  politics
a person for the  education
first time we have
 Religion
decided their:
 friendliness /
approachability
 aptitude
 at work

• 90% of the impression you give of

being capable is based on perception
 30% - presentation of work
 30% - presentation of self
 30% - being seen to be doing a good job
• doing a good job accounts for 10% of
the impression you give
first impressions: the 93% rule

55%
appearance 38% tone,
& body pitch &
language pace of
your voice

7% what
you say
 6-107

Making Attributions
Attributions = thoughts about why people behave
the way they do

• Fundamental attribution error - tendency for

observers to overestimate importance of a person’s
traits and underestimate importance of situations
when they seek to explain someone else’s
behavior
 6-108

The Fundamental
Attribution Error
Social Interaction and Everyday
Life in the Age of the Internet
Walking along a crowded city street, one engages
in civil inattention.
 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

(a) Your friend had come and you were happy

(b) Your relative had died
(c) You were angry and about to fight
(d) You saw a dead pig that had been lying there a long time.
Identify examples of focused and unfocused interaction
in this photograph by Jeff Wall.
How do background expectancies influence
our conversations?
Globalization and Everyday Life
Cultural norms frequently dictate the acceptable
boundaries of personal space
How has electronic communication
Transformed social interaction?
Perceptual Selectivity

• Perceptual Selectivity: process by which individuals screen

and select various stimuli that vie for their attention
 Primacy (toward beginning)
 Recency (toward end of event)

Factors that influence this process include:

External Attention Affairs Internal Set Factors

Intensity Learning and Perception

Size Motivation and Perception

Contrast Personality and Perception

 Selectivity of perception

• Discuss how the following picture would be interpreted

through the eyes of a biologist, logger,
environmentalist, a native American?
• Biologist thinks of variety of species in the jungle and
reason why etc.
• Naturalist see endangered rain forest. Logger sees
trees/money.
• American Indian sees an interrelated habitat etc.
 Word Color Test

In this test DO NOT READ the words,

say aloud the COLOR of each word.

YELLOW BLUE ORANGE

BLACK RED GREEN
PURPLE YELLOW RED
ORANGE GREEN BLACK
BLUE RED PURPLE
GREEN BLUE ORANGE
A challenging example of perceptual organization. Once the camouflaged insect (known as a
giant walkingstick) becomes visible, it is almost impossible to view the picture again without
seeing the insect.
Some Illusions

• Moon Illusion: Apparent change in size that occurs as the

moon moves from the horizon (large moon) to overhead
(small moon)

• Apparent-Distance Hypothesis: Horizon seems more distant

than the night sky
An impossible figure—the “three-pronged widget.”
The Ponzo illusion may
help you understand the
moon illusion. Picture the
two white bars as resting
on the railroad tracks. In
the drawing, the upper
bar is the same length as
the lower bar. However,
because the upper bar
appears to be farther
away than the lower bar,
we perceive it as longer.
The same logic applies to
the moon illusion.
Factors Influencing Perception:

1.) Perceiver

2.) Target

3.) Situation
 COMPONENTS OF PERCEPTION

PERCEIVER
• The experience, needs and
emotions affect the
perceptions of a target.

131
COMPONENTS OF PERCEPTION

TARGET
• Interpretation and the addition of meaning.

132
Projection

• Example:

• A make up specialist may decide that the person has pink cheeks
because he is using Avon's #10 blush.

• A lighting specialist may decide the cheeks look reddish because

of the way the lights reflect the red from the sweater of the person
beside him.

• Each of them may quietly believe themselves to be absolutely

right about the interpretation they have projected on the situation.
 Perceptual Selection

• Selective exposure
• Consumers actively choose stimuli that they want to see

• Selective attention
• Consumers decide how much attention they will pay to a
stimulus

5-134
Perceptual Selection – Cont’d

• Perceptual defence
• Consumers screen out psychologically threatening stimuli

• Perceptual blocking
• ‘tuning out’ of stimuli

5-135
5-136
External factors that affect perceptional
selectively
 Intensity

 The more intense the external stimulus, the more likely it is to be

perceived e.g. A loud noise, strong smell, bright light
 Size

 The larger the object, the more likely it is to be perceived. e.g.

full page advertisement
 Contrast

 The external stimulus which stands out against a background or

that are not what people expect will receive more attention. E.g.
white lettering against a red background on safety sign
 Repetition

 A repeated external stimulus is more attention getting than a single one.

A worker will hear better when direction for a task is repeated more than
once. Repeated advertising is more effective

 Motion

 People will pay more attention to moving objects in their field of vision
than those that are stationary – moving adverts on streets

 Novelty and familiarity

 A novel or familiar external stimulus can serve as an attention getter –

new objects or events in a familiar setting will draw the attention of the
perceiver
 Perceptual Selection in
Marketing

• Depends on three major factors

• Consumer’s previous experience

• Consumer’s motives
• Nature of the stimulus

5-139
 Perceptual organization

• Perceptual organization deals with the manner

in which selected stimuli are organized in
order to make sense out of them.

• People organize the various stimuli on the

principles.
 Perceptual Organization
• Some of the best examples of perceptual organization were
provided by the Gestalt psychologists

• Gestalt psychologists hypothesized that “the whole is greater than

the sum of the parts”

• They were interested in showing the global nature of our

perceptions
Stereotyping

• All people who live in England have bad teeth.

• Italian or French people are the best lovers.

• All African Americans outside of the United States are poor.

• All Jews are greedy.

• All Asians are good at math. All Asians like to eat rice and drive slow.

• All Irish people are drunks and eat potatoes.

• All Americans are generally considered to be friendly, generous, and

tolerant, but also arrogant, impatient, and domineering.
Stereotype

• African Americans

• One of the more common stereotype examples is

stereotypes surrounding African Americans.

• Saying that all African Americans are good at sports is

a stereotype, because it’s grouping the race together to
indicate that everyone of that race is a good athlete.
How we
organize
perception
s