Perception in Interpersonal Communication
Chapter 3 Discussion Board
Before You Begin This Assignment: Make sure you have read and understand the requirements for Chapter Discussion Board Posts (word count, textbook references, peer responses, etc.).
DB Prompt: First, read Chapter 3, “Perception in Interpersonal Communication,” in the course text, How to Improve Your Interpersonal Communication Skills. In this chapter the author defines perception, and discusses elements that influence the perception process.
Once you have completed reading, and exploring the learning tools of the chapter, respond in detail to each of the following:
- Select one idea from the chapter that would be helpful to you in changing your perception of yourself. Explain why you selected this idea.
- Engage in a process of changing your perception of yourself:
- Identify an aspect of your perception of yourself that you desire to change (For example, I would like to be more patient with others when communicating).
- After you establish the desire to change an aspect of your perception of yourself, decide what specifically, you would like to change. Further discuss why you feel a change may be needed. Are others telling you to change? If so, what significance do these individuals have in your life? Are their concerns legitimate?
- Set reasonable personal goals: How will you change this perception of yourself? What is required of you to change your perception of yourself? Remember you do not have to be perfect. Take small measurable steps.
- Review and Revise your plan. Look at what is working and keep it. Let go of what does not work for you to change this aspect of your perception of yourself.
- Surround yourself with relational boosters. What people do you need to have around you, that will help you in this process?
Chapter 3: Perception in Interpersonal Communication
Overview
This chapter defines perception
. It discusses details of the perception process. An explanation of how perception influences communication in interpersonal relationships adds another layer to the understanding of this topic.
Objectives
- To define perception
- To identify elements of the perception process
- To engage in processes to understand how perception influences communication in interpersonal relationships.
Defining Perception
Perception is the way we experience the world. We use the five senses as a basic way of taking in information to make sense of the world around us. Shelly D. Lane in her book Interpersonal Communicationdefines perception as “the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting sensory information.” (p. 36)
Selecting Sensory Information
Selecting sensory information means deciding what to pay attention to in the environment. If you are driving on a freeway, there are many objects competing for your attention, such as other cars, bill boards, and the road itself. It is impossible to focus on all the objects at the same time. Therefore, it is important to make a mental decision as to what will occupy your attention during a particular moment.
Organizing Sensory Information
Organizing sensory information refers to the ability to arrange information in a way that makes sense to you. For example, if a noise wakes you up in the night it is important to organize the sound, that is, identify what it is and whether it requires your attention. Interpreting sensory information implies making a judgement, an evaluation as whether the stimulus is positive or negative, good or bad, or worthy or unworthy.
One of the fundamental tools of the perception process is our five senses:
- Seeing: To gain knowledge through the eyes.
- Hearing: Special sense by which noises and tones are received as stimuli.Hearing | Definition of Hearing by Merriam-Webster
- Tasting: The sense that is stimulated by contact of a substance with the taste buds on the surface of the tongue and is capable of distinguishing between sweet, sour, salt, and bitter.(Merriam Webster Dictionary: Springfield, MA, USA, 1997, ISBN:0-87779-911-3, p. 740)
- Smelling: To be aware of by means of the olfactory nerves. A substance is perceived by stimulation of the olfactory nerves in the nasal cavity. (Merriam Webster Dictionary: Springfield, MA, USA, 1997, ISBN:0-87779-911-3, p. 687)
- Touching: The sense by which pressure or traction on the skin or mucus membrane is perceived. (Merriam Webster Dictionary: Springfield, MA, USA, 1997, ISBN:0-87779-911-3, p. 763)
Children showing 5 senses Image © Shutterstock, Inc.
Knowledge Checkpoint 3.1
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True
False
About 97% of the earth’s water is undrinkable.
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True
False
Our senses are so closely linked to the way we engage the world that we often overlook them as a source of significant information. As a result, we underestimate their involvement in interpersonal communication. This fact is quickly brought to understanding if you go grocery shopping with new roommate or significant other. Differences in tastes, spending, and so on, can quickly become a source of disagreement.
Interpreting Perceptual Stimuli
The way we understand or interpret stimuli is explained in the following quotation:
“Everyday different stimuli around us will be stimulating our sense organs. Many of these stimuli are received by our sense organs and are converted into sensations. These sensations are transmitted to the concerned parts of brain. In turn the brain will interpret these sensations. It is only after such interpretation we understand what the stimulus is.” (Perception: Meaning, Definition, Principles and Factors Affecting in Perception)
Communicating About Perceptual Stimuli
In interpersonal relationships, the way a person perceive circumstances influences the communication. For example, if one person mistrusts another person, the messages sent and received are not loving and kind. Each person’s perception influences the other. When the parties agree to come to a mutual understanding, they negotiate or come to an understanding through discussion.
“All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.” Leonardo da Vinci Image © Shutterstock, Inc.
Knowledge Checkpoint 3.2
Perceptions, the way we see the world, are influenced by many factors such as family, community, school, religious institutions, cultural background, educational level, economic status, group associations, political affiliations, racial background, gender orientation, and the list is endless.
Differences in perception are often based in different degrees of sensory awareness. The term sensory
means, “transmitting impulses from sense organs to nerve centers.” (sensory – Free Dictionary). Awareness
is defined as, “the conscious perception of one’s environment or of oneself.” (Awareness | definition of awareness by Medical dictionary). Some people see better than others. Some people are more sensitive to sounds than others. Some people are driven by one taste more so than others . . . the person with the “sweet tooth.” Some people have damaged olfactory nerves, and therefore can’t smell very well. These people have no idea when there is a foul odor rising in the atmosphere. Some people like to be touched and some people do not want anyone touching their body.
The Mind and Perception
The mental reaction to stimuli is a process by which we think about experiences. The mind is used to think. “It is through the mind, primarily, that we perceive reality. Our thoughts create our reality. A sunset to one person can be the height of beauty while that same sunset to another can represent tremendous sorrow. In an effort to achieve clear perception, we must begin by calming the mind,” (S.G. McKeever, in his book, Learn to Meditate).
The mind is one of the most important tools integral to the perception process. The mind is the tool we use to perceive. There is a relationship between the quality of mental activities and the way one perceives the world. The mind is defined in the dictionary, as “the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills and reasons.”
Decoding and understanding problem, face to face explanation concept Image © Shutterstock, Inc.
Knowledge Checkpoint 3.3
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True
False
About 97% of the earth’s water is undrinkable.
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True
False
Personal Insight Regarding Perception
As an African-American female who grew up in racially segregated Mississippi, it was critical to change my perception in to flourish as a human being.
The inherent nature of segregation sent continuous negative messages, such as you are not white, therefore, you are not good enough. You are not white, therefore, you are not smart. You are not white, therefore, you are not beautiful.
My generation, through the civil rights movement, challenged this perception in cooperation with our elder leaders. We challenged the status quo perceptions of our family, schools, churches, city, county, state, and federal government. We supported Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and other famous and unknown civil rights workers who challenged the legality and morality of segregation. My generation had to see life through a different lens in to unlearn the limiting perceptions we were taught, and find a new lens through which to view the world.
One tool we used to broaden our perception was Freedom School. Freedom Schools were organized to provide education on political, social, and economic development of African-Americans. During the summer of 1964, when the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, many of these schools were set up to help African-Americans change their perceptions of themselves and the communities in which they lived.
One historical event that significantly affected my perception of myself and the world was Freedom Summer 1964, when I attended Freedom School at the Old Baptist Seminary in Meridian Mississippi. The Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) had organized Freedom Summer to register blacks to vote all over the south. Michael Schwerner and his wife Rita came to Meridian as CORE volunteers. They were instrumental in organizing the Freedom School to teach black students, young and old about their Civil Rights, including the right to vote. (Michael Schwerner Biography, Life, Interesting Facts).
On June 21, 1964 three of the CORE volunteers went to Longdale, Mississippi, about fifty miles from Meridian, to investigate the burning of Mount Zion United Methodist Church. The Church had been burned five days earlier. Speculations were rampant about the connection between the burning of the Church, and the fact that it had been a meeting place for Civil Rights groups. It was generally suspected that the Ku Klux Klan was involved in the burning of the Church. (Three Missing Civil Rights Workers in 1964 Mississippi).
The three volunteers, Michael Schwerner, a twenty-four-year old Jewish social worker and organizer of CORE volunteers, Andrew Goodman, a twenty-year-old anthropology student from New York, who had just arrived in Mississippi a few days before, and James Chaney, a twenty-one-year-old black male, who had been a student and a member of my confirmation class at St. Joseph’s Catholic School were murdered on that day, June 21, 1964.
I can imagine the young men, just back from a training on how to register black voters, feeling upset, curious, and defiant about the burning of the church, looking for evidence to support their perception of the racial climate in Mississippi. Freedom summer was organized by COFO, which was the Council of Federated Organizations. COFO was a coalition of organizations including SNCC: Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee; CORE: Congress of Racial Equality; NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
As COFO volunteers, they had been alerted in training to expect their descriptions and license numbers would be circulating among the White Citizens Council, a group organized to maintain white supremacy as a matter of principle and law in Mississippi. Reports of what happened that fateful afternoon generally agree that Cecil Price, a Neshoba County deputy and member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, stopped the blue station wagon with the three young men. Chaney, the driver, was arrested for speeding, and Schwerner and Goodman were held for investigation. The young men were not allowed to make calls out, which was a part of the COFO security processes they had been taught, as well as their legal right. When the COFO Workers called the Neshoba County jail, the secretary stated, as she was instructed, they were not there.
As the young Americans were being held in jail, news reports indicated that Price contacted other white males who would plan and execute the murder of the civil rights workers. Chaney was charged $20.00 for the speeding ticket, after some time, and the three civil rights workers were released from jail. As they headed back to Meridian, Price pulled them over with his police siren. He held them until the Ku Klux Klan murderers arrived. All three men were shot to death. Their car was driven to the Bogue Chit to swamp and burned. Their bodies were burned and buried in an earthen dam. (The KKK kills three civil rights activists).
For six weeks of the summer of 1964, our previously unknown community was invaded with national attention, watching the search for the missing boys. Fear gripped our community. I was a scared teenager. Our parents were afraid for our safety. We were outraged at the behavior of our local and state government.
Even though this was something that I was both indirectly and directly involved in, to the extent that I lived in this community and participated in activities designed to obtain civil rights, it had a much more profound effect on my perception than I understood at the time. The experience of fear in the hearts of young and old, the mystery of not knowing what happened to the young men hung over our community like a ball of Mississippi humidity from top to bottom. The historical record of racism in both the Ku Klux Klan and the state of Mississippi was intensified by the Civil Rights Movement. Our world was changing, and we began to demand our rights rather than accept the oppression that was imposed upon us.
There were some indictments but no one was convicted of the murder of Schwerner, Goodman, or Cheney until 2005. Edgar Ray Killen, who was described as the man who planned and directed the murders of the three civil rights workers was convicted of three counts of manslaughter. Killen, who was then 80 years old, was sentenced to three terms of 20 years in prison. “He appealed, claiming that no jury of his peers would have convicted him at the time on the evidence presented. The Mississippi Supreme Court confirmed the verdict in 2007,” according to an online article entitled Civil Rights Movement Veterans.
When I am asked what life was like growing up in Mississippi, I consistently say, “The white people of Mississippi were very well organized.” They had a complete system that supported racial superiority for themselves, and they reinforced racial inferiority of blacks in Mississippi. The threats and innuendoes, which caused fear to permeate us, were real. I mean, just think about seeing a group of Ku Klux Klanners (KKK) parade down the main street of your hometown! The KKK spread the word when they were going to have a parade, because they really did not want black people in their sight and they did not feel that blacks had a right to be present when they were “doing their thing. This was our reality.
Somehow, we had to fight to get out of the status quo, because, it would not allow us to live a decent life. Change causes fear. Everyone was afraid of what the new world would bring . . . heaven help us . . . get rid of the “white and colored signs,” let’s eat and worship together . . . It was a frightening time. We could either accept the status quo, or move with the change.
I had to dream bigger than my small community. I had to step out of the black and white world, and see a world bigger than the one I was experiencing—there had to be more to life. Education was my vehicle. I used school as a tool to learn how to read and write, so that I could discover more than I was presented. To become educated, I had to move beyond the black and white screen I had been presented. I had to learn to remember the white people who had been kind and helpful to me. I had to learn to look past a racist stare, to move beyond my own perception to gain the knowledge that I knew was in the world.
Check Your Perception
Because human beings are diverse, just because one perceives something does not make it true. It is simply one’s perception. In interpersonal relationships it is a good idea to check one’s perception. For example, if you and a friend have a disagreement, it’s best to check to make sure your perception of the event is correct. Checking your perception involves three steps.
- Identify the behavior that causes concern.
- State two possible ways the behavior could be understood.
- Ask the other person to please explain the behavior.
Quotations that Influenced Student Perceptions
(Note these are quotations from current students about perception. The students were asked to remember a lesson that was repeated to them often as children and that influenced their perception of life. Each student agreed that I could use the quotation).
“Easy come, easy go.” Ban Alaharb
“Think twice before you talk.” Lamees Salih
“My mom taught me about patience.” David Gagliardo
“It doesn’t matter how many times you hit the mat, it matters how many times you get up.” Richard Gaaghen
“If you don’t make mistakes you won’t reach your goal.” Wisam Alimari
“Doing the right thing, which doesn’t have regret. Don’t listen to others, what they think about you.” Tammi Mohammad
“Don’t judge peoples personality unless you know them well and talk to them.” Livant Hona
“Life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” Sasoha Yousif
“Choose what you want not what others want.” Mahaba Kio
“Do not postpone todays work for tomorrow, do everything on time.” Shevin
“Work harder.” Sarah Amadio
“If you never ask the answer will be no.” Samantha Cairano
“Don’t listen to others and keep going.” Omar
“It’s not worth it, sweetie.” Nicole Peterson
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Jazmin Grano
“Always respect women.” Jaime Carranza
“What you give, you get something better.” Nareman Younis
“Let it to or be dragged.” April Benham
“You can do it.” Raad Akko
“Don’t take things personally from someone you’re not personal with.” Samantha Wallace
“Don’t judge between two people until you listen to them both.” Maha Abu Altaheen
“Don’t be shy.” Azhan Azyousif
“Nothing will go to someone else if it was for you.” Merna Kabado
“Never be afraid of making mistakes but be wise enough to not repeat that same mistake over and over, learn from your mistake.” Farkhunda
“Don’t wait till tomorrow.” Ahmed Al Harbi
“Don’t push todays work for tomorrow.” Randoo Orahin
“Don’t talk back and respect your elders.” Ananna Ashe
“Live the life you love.” Rami Shabba
“Honesty is the best policy, always be honest even if it’s hard.” Melody
“You have to be generous.” Mazen Alghamb
“Don’t wait for tomorrow, live your life today.” Fadi Shebo
“The way you treat people is how you’re going to get treated.” Walaa Al Kinah
“Be a good example to your siblings.” Mohammad Al Sayer
“Be kind with everyone.” Mosaed Al Refaei
“When you meet someone for the first time you show them respect by being polite and appreciative. As well as all the time.” Sharday Thomas
“If you want to play with the big boys you can’t piss like a puppy.” Audrey Flores
“Don’t delay todays work for tomorrow. Work hard or go home.” Omar Alnaser
“When you mess up, do not hide it from your parents as they are there to help you through anything.” Michael Koher
“Work hard for what you get.” Marc Macalindol
“Be yourself don’t change for anyone.” Armstrong
“Never let anyone know how much money you have.” Tamara Riddick
“Nobody’s work is done until everybody’s work is done.” Cassandra Long
“There is important and more important.” Abdullah Al Mutair
“If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.” Jessenia Negrete
“Be nice to everyone.” Ken Kawata
“Care for people as much as you care for yourself.” Hamad Alhamad
“Nothing is handed to you, you’ve gotta work hard for it.” Alma Groom
“Praying to God is the key to success.” Mohammed Nasser
“Don’t look at people from the outside.” Abdullah Almalki
“Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Alumed Nasser
“Work hard and you will see results in the final.” Dhari Alsaquer
“Treat others how you would like to be treated.” Steven Albarran
“Take care of what you own. Know your plan.” Keith Waller
“Every dog has its day. Always pray. Keep your secrets in your stomach.” Nour Aljuwaihel
“People are free and the world is too.” Devin Distefano
“All foster kids fall into a statistic.” Yesenia A
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” John Chassin
“Always see the best in people.” Cassidy Carolino
“Can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Aaron Mata
“Don’t count your chickens before the eggs hatch.” David
“Vee a veer que puso la marrana…Go check what the pig did.” Evelin Quintero
“Say please and thank you. Treat others like you want to be treated
Be you! Worry about yourself.” Elizabeth Farris
Summary
The chapter defines perception. A discussion of the elements of the percedpton process is included. Resources to explore how perception influences communication in interpersonal relationships. The author’s personal insight of exploring the topic adds a personal touch to the text. A listing of quotations by students related to perception adds spice to the chapter.