Table of Contents
Discussion
The concept of perception is the most critical and major concept in this course. Perception is the process of recognizing, interpreting and understanding through the senses. An individual’s perception expresses their character and attitude, it formulates personal opinions, thoughts and ideas but most importantly it shapes one’s subjective reality. With negative perception, there would be no desire for communication or interaction thus it is important to work on creating a positive and open-minded environment.
Perception is influenced by physiological, psychological, social and cultural factors. Physiological elements such as senses, age, health, biological cycles, hunger and neurobiological challenges affect the way we notice things. Also, psychological factors such as mood and self-concept control the way we communicate. If an individual is in a positive mood and has high self-esteem, their perception is optimistic and problems in communication are decreased. Some social factors that impact perception are occupational, relational and sex/gender roles. Lastly, cultural factors such as a country’s orientation (individualistic or collectivist), different views of speech and silence, and geographic latitudes can influence how people see one another.
A concept that peaked my interest is a skill known as perception checking. It minimizes the possibility of conflict by reducing miscommunication and inaccurate assumptions. To achieve a mutual understanding in a conversation, one can follow three simple steps. First, describe the behavior displayed and create at least two possibilities of why it may have occurred. Ask politely for clarification about how to properly understand the behavior you have noticed. However, perception checking and direct confrontation may not sit well with members who come from a high-context culture; in this case they prefer a less direct way of communicating, through subtle, non-verbal cues.
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Self-serving bias is the tendency to associate success as a personal accomplishment and failure arising due to external factors that were beyond one’s control. High self-serving bias leads to conflict since an individual can not recognize their faults and will place it upon others. This is a problematic way of perception since it lowers the possibility of being able to reconcile, improve as a human being and creates ignorance.
Application
This chapter regarding perception changed the way I view my relationships and interactions with others. I was interested in this topic because it can greatly improve my communication skills and the way I view myself and the “reality” I have constructed. The most influential factor that affects the way I perceive others is my psychological state. Due to my emotional state being unstable and negative, it leads me to have pessimistic views as well as interact with others with indifference. I’d like to change this and I know in time I can. I came across two quotes by Marcus Aurelius when researching about perception, “Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions- not outside.” The second quote I admired was, “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
I didn’t realize perception drove my thoughts, opinions and actions. I genuinely thought I spoke and acted a particular way because that’s who I am and always will be, but I’ve come to realize that I don’t have to remain this way and can improve on myself. I need to eliminate my self-serving bias and reward or punish situations equally. I can’t hold and attribute success solely to myself nor can I blame others for the same mistake I have possibly made. I will change my perception by allowing myself to be more open-minded, redefine perceptions labels I have on certain individuals and most importantly stop jumping to the wrong conclusions. I will definitely be implementing the skill of perception checking when I am unsure of someone’s true reason for a particular behavior. American author, Ryan Holliday brilliantly worded how to change perception and it is to “stop looking for angels and start looking for angles.”
