Half glass empty, half glass full? Such is the basic idea of perception that is commonly brought across to us.What is perception really?
Perception is a process by which we make sense of the world around us. Most importantly, be it half-glass empty or full, perception is definitely a determining factor in how we communicate to others. Seiler and Beall defines perception as "The process of selecting, organising, and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to the meaning to the communication we recieve."
I feel that one of the major influences to our perception is our cognitive schemata. This is part of the organising process of perception and is our default mental framework that each individual has developed over time.
WhenI describe to you a guy wearing glasses with black plastic frames, and a faded shirt from another era tucked into a pair of worn-out cargos you may instantly think: nerd, un-cool, geek (or at least something pops up in your mind la, haha) This would be an example of a cognitive schemata, or more specifically, personal protyping. We usually form these personal prototypes over time through our culture, environment and past experiences, and would most likely apply these assumptions if we come across simliar people/situations in future. In addition, media also reinforces these common personal prototypes through television shows and advertisements.
A personal construct also works like a personal prototype. If we knew we were talking to a lawyer, we would be more concious of how and what we speak, because one would naturally expect a lawyer to be knowledgable and eloquent. What does it mean to be a hardworking student can very from person to person, and is considered a personal construct.
Another interesting aspect of cognitive schemata is how we have certain "scripts" in our mind. For example, how a break-up should occur and the series of events it should follow. We most probably form such templates from our television dramas and even experiences from our friends and ourselves.
Such cognitive schematas enable us to predict how certain situations may be and how certain people may behave. This prediction in turn affects how we behave these situations and helps us be more confident at the same time. However, such "default settings" may limit our perception as it may cause us to see/hear things that may not have actually happened. It may also affect our communication adversely if we tend to assign personal contructs and prototypes to people we meet.
There are of course many other factors that result in us having such differentiated perceptions among individuals. This perception changes how we view things/situations/environment: thus the derivation of the half full/empty glass analogy.So whether you view a glass as being empty, full, or wondering where your cheeseburger went...how do you think perception is important to your communication?
hmmm very insightful post indeed! i was thinking to myself like "oh my, this is getting technical" n there u started explaining terms like "cognitive shemata", "personal construct"...
ReplyDeleteoh the "personal construct" section came in n left so abruptly haha!
haha! yup, i also found it a little dry.
ReplyDeletehmm about personal construct, it's rather like a stereotype that you form of people from your personal experiences, either from real-life, or television, etc.
have a little word limit going on there (and lack of deeper understanding) that's why. haha anw, thanks so much for giving your time to read this through! :D
haha I find this on the other hand, rather interesting! The whole point on perception can be rather subjective to each individual. One person's perception of pink, may not be another's same pink. I wonder though, is it the character that shapes our perception, or our perception that shapes our character. Or maybe come to think of it, it could be both.
ReplyDeleteyeah you're right! haha i like the way you put perception as how someone's idea of pink may not be the same as another's. Ehh as for your question on whether perception affects character or vice versa, in my POV it should be perception affects our character. Perception of each person is affected by their life experiences, culture and the people they interact with most (among other things)..this in turn affects what kind of a person they become. Like the half glass thing in this entry..a pessimistic character will most likely to think of something as "half-empty" rather than "half-full".
ReplyDeleteThe thing you said about personal constructs or prototypes are pretty true. These kind of stereotyping on people will affect how we perceive them and thus influence how we communicate to them. Somehow i feel first impressions are related to your entry on perceptions and personal prototypes..first impressions such as the way people dress, behave and present themselves affect how people think of them. For example, a guy with a visible tattoo would most likely not ace his job interview in a bank, even though he may be a very capable man. The interviewers may not know him well, but because of his tattoo, they will judge his character based on what they see.
ReplyDeleteHey yes! good point made..first impressions are indeed part of how our personal prototyping works. i myself find it hard to look at someone and not judge them at first look..it tends to put a barrier to communication i think.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent and pple manager I find it true that personal protoyping helps me identify certain pple to avoid or counsel or discipline. But I must admit that there were times when I was pleasantly surprised by some whom I had at first sterotyped negatively turning out to be quite different.
ReplyDeletethat's why! but i guess it's all part of human nature to instinctively label people..part of how our brain works, maybe? Like having to classify people, or to guard ourselves against the unknown..
ReplyDelete