Perception: Meaning, Definition and Factors Affecting in Perception!

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.

Hence in understanding the world around us, attention occurs first, followed by sensation and
finally interpretation by brain.

This process of ‘interpretation of stimulus is known as perception’. So perception involves two

processes: sensation interpretation. But interpretation of any stimulus requires past experience
also. For example, a child who has not seen an elephant earlier either in photo or directly cannot
identify that animal, whereas another child who has seen earlier will identify the animal easily.

Hence, perception may be defined as “a process of interpretation of a present stimulus on the

basis of past experience”.

Perception is not as simple as said here. It is an integrated approach. It is a synthetic process

where different physiological and psychological processes are involved. For example, the
accuracy of sense organs, clarity of sensations, mental set of an individual, etc. Otherwise our
perception may go wrong.

“Perception is the process through which the information from outside environment is selected,
received, organized and interpreted to make it meaningful to you. This input of meaningful
information results in decisions and actions.”

“Perception may be defined as a process by which individuals organize and interpret their
sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.”
 According to Joseph Reitz, “Perception includes all those processes by which an individual
receives information about his environment—seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. The
study of these perpetual processes shows that their functioning is affected by three classes of
variables—the objects or events being perceived, the environment in which perception occurs
and the individual doing the perceiving.”

In simple words we can say that perception is the act of seeing what is there to be seen. But what
is seen is influenced by the perceiver, the object and its environment. The meaning of perception
emphasizes all these three points.

Factors influencing Perception in Organizational behaviour

A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception. These factors are:

i. In the perceiver
ii. In the object or target being perceived or
iii. In the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

Characteristics of Perception in Organisational Behaviour

Characteristics of the Perceiver

Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect perception. When an individual looks at a
target and attempts to interpret what he or she, that interpretation is heavily influenced by
personal characteristics of individual perceiver. The major characteristics of the perceiver
influencing perception are:

A. Attitudes: The perceiver's attitudes affect perception. For example, suppose Mr. X is
interviewing candidates for a very important position in his organization –a position that
requires negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. Mr. X may feel that
women are not capable of holding their own in tough negotiations. This attitude will doubtless
affect his perceptions of the female candidates he interviews.
B. Moods: Moods can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone. We think
differently when we are happy than we do when we are depressed. In addition, we remember
information that is consistent with our mood state better than information that is inconsistent
 with our mood state. When in a positive mood, we form more positive impression of others.
When in a negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavorably.
C. Motives: Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals and may exert a strong influence
on their perceptions. For example, in an organizational context, a boss who is insecure
perceives a subordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a threat to his or her own
position. Personal insecurity can be transferred into the perception that others are out to "get
my job", regardless of the intention of the subordinates.
D. Self-Concept: Another factor that can affect social perception is the perceivers' self-concept.
An individual with a positive self-concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person.
In contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out negative traits in another
person. Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others.
E. Interest: The focus of our attention appears to be influenced by our interests. Because our
individual interests differ considerably, what one person notices in a situation can differ from
what others perceive. For example, the supervisor who has just been reprimanded by his boss
for coming late is more likely to notice his colleagues coming late tomorrow than he did last
week. If you are preoccupied with a personal problem, you may find it hard to be attentive in
class.
F. Cognitive Structure: Cognitive structure, an individual's pattern of thinking, also affects
perception. Some people have a tendency to perceive physical traits, such as height, weight,
and appearance, more readily. Others tend to focus more on central traits, or personality
dispositions. Cognitive complexity allows a person to perceive multiple characteristics of
another person rather than attending to just a few traits.
G. Expectations: Finally, expectations can distort your perceptions in that you will see what you
expect to see. The research findings of the study conducted by Sheldon S Zalkind and
Timothy W Costello on some specific characteristics of the perceiver reveal.
 Knowing oneself makes it easier to see others accurately.
 One's own characteristics affect the characteristics one is likely to see in others.
 People who accept themselves are more likely to be able to see favourable aspects of other
people.
 Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single skill.
These four characteristics greatly influence how a person perceives others in the environmental
situation.

Characteristics of the Target

Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived. Physical
appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. Extremely attractive or unattractive
individuals are more likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary liking individuals. Motion,
sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.

Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. The perceiver will notice the
target's physical features like height, weight, estimated age, race and gender.

Perceivers tend to notice physical appearance characteristics that contrast with the norm, that are
intense, or that are new or unusual. Physical attractiveness often colourour entire impression of
another person. Interviewers rate attractive candidates more favorably and attractive candidates
are awarded higher starting salaries.

Verbal communication from targets also affects our perception of them. We listen to the topics
they speak about, their voice tone, and their accent and make judgments based on this input.

Non-verbal communication conveys a great deal of information about the target. The perceiver
deciphers eye contact, facial expressions, body movements, and posture all in an attempt to form
an impression of the target.

The perceiver, who observes the target's behaviour, infers the intentions of the target.

For example, if our manager comes to our office door way, we think "oh no! He is going to give
me more work to do". Or we may perceive that his intention is to congratulate us on a recent
success. In any case, the perceiver's interpretation of the target's intentions affects the way the
perceiver views the target.

Targets are not looked at in isolation, the relationship of a target to its background influences
perception because of our tendency to group close things and similar things together.

Objects that are close to each other will tend to be perceived together rather than separately. As a
result of physical or time proximity, we often put together objects or events that are unrelated.
For examples, employees in a particular department are seen as a group. If two employees of a
department suddenly resign, we tend to assume their departures were related when in fact, they
might be totally unrelated.

People, objects or events that are similar to each other also tend to be grouped together. The
greater the similarity, the greater the probability we will tend to perceive them as a group.

Characteristics of the Situation

The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place has an
influence on the perceiver's impression of the target. For example, a professor may not notice his
20-year-old female student in a bikini at the swimming pool. Yet the professor will notice the
same girl if she comes to his organizational behaviour class in abikini. In the same way, meeting
a manager in his or her office affects your impression in a certain way that may contrast with the
impression you would form had you met the manager in a restaurant.

The strength of the situational cues also affects social perception. Some situations provide strong
cues as to appropriate behaviour. In these situations, we assume that the individual's behaviour
can be accounted for by the situation, and that it may not reflect the individual's disposition. This
is the discounting principle in social perception. For example, you may encounter an automobile
sales person who has a warm and personable manner, asks you about your work and hobbies, and
seems genuinely interested in your taste in cars. Can you assume that this behaviour reflects the
sales person's personality? You probably cannot, because of the influence of the situation. This
person is trying to sell you a car, and in this particular situation he probably treats all customers
in this manner.