Psychology
Influences on Perception
Influences on perception refer to the various factors that shape how individuals interpret and make sense of the world around them. These influences can include past experiences, cultural background, social environment, and personal beliefs. Understanding these influences is crucial in psychology as they impact how individuals perceive and interact with their surroundings.
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8 Key excerpts on "Influences on Perception"
eBook - PDF- James L. Bowditch, Anthony F. Buono, Marcus M. Stewart(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
An underlying assumption made by perception theorists is that certain types of mental processes that operate in relatively simple visual and auditory situations similarly occur in more complex interpersonal situations. Thus, the ability to examine more complex forms of perception is based on our understanding of these relatively simple perceptual processes. There are a number of internal and external factors that influence the way in which we view the world around us. Before proceeding to an examination of these variables, however, it is necessary to identify two basic sources of perceptual variation: physio- logical limitations and cultural and environmental constraints. We are surrounded by data that are transmitted through our daily interactions with others, the Internet and media, educational experiences, family life and friendships, work experiences, and our socialization processes in general. The physiological aspect of perception defines the 41 42 Chapter 2 Perception, Attitudes, and Individual Differences limits of what we can actually see, hear, smell, and so forth of these data. Yet, even given these limitations, the information that is gathered by our senses does not enter our minds as raw or unprocessed data. Rather, people tend to interpret this information in a way that is congruent with their sets of beliefs, values, and attitudes, which are shaped by larger cultural and environmental experiences. Thus, perception is determined by the interaction among these psychological and broader sociocultural factors. BASIC INTERNAL PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZING PATTERNS Since people are continually subjected to a barrage of visual and auditory stimulation from the outside world, it is necessary to have an internal process or way in which all these data can be selected and organized into meaningful information.
eBook - PDF- Barry Babin, Eric Harris, Barry Babin(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Again, we see the subjectivity of perception. As consumers’ brains organize perceptions, some comprehension takes place in the form of an interpre- tation. This interpretation provides an initial cognitive and affective meaning. The term cognitive refers to a mental or thinking process. A reader of this book almost instantly converts a word into meaning as long as the word on the page matches a known English-language cognitive organization a process by which the human brain assembles sensory evidence into something recognizable Exhibit 3.4 “Organizing” Morning Beverages Assimilation — Product Characteristics Fit Category Easily Accommodation — An Adjustment Allows Product to Fit Category — Coffee Can Be Served on the Rocks Contrast — The Product Characteristics Are Too Different to Fit Category Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock.com Tomophafan/Shutterstock.com Vera stock/Shutterstock.com 57 CHAPTER 3: Consumer Learning Starts Here: Perception Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. PART TWO: Internal Influences APPLICATIONS TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOR The perceptual process has many implications for con- sumer behavior. For example, just what is it that leads consumers to think some service environment, like a restaurant, hospital, or hotel is clean? Colors and light- ing can help change perceptions of cleanliness. For instances, consumers associate bright blue colors and citrus scents with cleanliness. When signs of cleanliness are absent, consumers tend to be dissatisfied with a ser- vice environment.
eBook - PDF- John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Daniel G. Bachrach(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
What does your phone, tablet, or computer say about your personality? Michel Gaillard/REA/Redux Pictures 220 CHAPTER 12 Individual Behavior Takeaway 12.1 How Do Perceptions Influence Individual Behavior? Answers to Come • Perception filters information received from our environment. • Perceptual distortions can hide individual differences. • Perception can cause attribution errors. • Impression management influences how others perceive us. Karen Nussbaum left her job as a secretary at Harvard University and founded 9 to 5, a nonprofit devoted to improving women’s salaries and promotion opportunities in the workplace. She describes “the incident that put her over the edge” this way: “One day I was sitting at my desk at lunchtime, when most of the professors were out. A student walked into the office and looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Isn’t anyone here?’” Nussbaum started 9 to 5 with a commitment to “remake the system so that it does not produce these individuals.” 1 Perception Filters Information Received From Our Environment. When people communicate with one another, everything passes through two silent but influen- tial shields: the “perceptions” of both the sender and the receiver. Perception is the process through which people receive and interpret information from the environment. It is the way we form impressions about ourselves, other people, and daily life. As suggested in Figure 12.1, you might think of perception as a bubble that surrounds us and influences the way we receive, interpret, and process information from our environments. 2 Because our individual idiosyncrasies, backgrounds, values, and experiences influence our per- ceptions, this means that people can and do view the same things quite differently. These differ- ences in perceptions influence how we communicate and behave in relationship to one another. Perceptual Distortions Can Hide Individual Differences.
eBook - PDF- E. Goldstein, James Brockmole(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
These cognitive in- fluences were represented by the word “knowledge” inside the person’s brain in the perceptual cycle in Figure 1.1. Researchers study cognitive influences by measuring how knowledge and other factors, such as memories and expectations, affect all of the relationships in Figure 1.9. For example, consider the rat–man demonstration. If we were to measure the stimulus–perception relationship by show- ing just Figure 1.11 to a number of people, we would probably find that some people see a rat and some people see a man. But when we add some “knowledge” by first presenting the more rat-like picture in Figure 1.7, most people see Figure 1.11 as a “rat” or “mouse.” Thus, in this example, knowledge has affected the stimulus–perception relationship. As we will see throughout this book, these cognitive influences affect per- ception not only for demonstrations like rat–man, in which knowledge is presented just before testing the subject, but also for other perceptual phenomena, in which knowledge has been accumulated over a long period of time. One of the things that becomes apparent when we step back and look at the three relationships is that each one pro- vides information about different aspects of the perceptual process. An important message of this book is that to truly understand perception, we have to study it by measuring both behavioral (A) and physiological (B and C) relationships. Only by considering both behavior and physiology together can we create a complete picture of the mechanisms responsible for perception. TEST YOURSELF 1.1 1. What are some reasons for studying perception? 2. Describe the process of perception as a series of seven steps, beginning with the distal stimulus and culminating in the behavioral responses of perceiving, recognizing, and acting. 3. What is the role of higher-level or “cognitive” processes in perception? Be sure you understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing.
- Stephen F. Davis, William Buskist, Stephen F. Davis, William F. Buskist(Authors)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
You can view examples 250 • SENSORY PROCESSES AND PERCEPTION of this clip as well as other examples of change blindness and inattentional blindness on the Visual Cognition Lab of the University of Illinois Web site (http://viscog.beckman .uiuc.edu/djs_lab/demos.html). 6. Perception is the result of both bottom-up and top-down processes. Essentially all information individuals acquire of the world comes in through their senses (often referred to as bottom-up processing ). This type of processing is what most people think about when they reflect on what they perceive—“I perceive my dog because my eyes see my dog” or “I feel the smooth texture of the glass because my finger is moving smoothly across it.” Indeed, unless you are dreaming or hallucinating (or are part of The Matrix ), your perceptions are dominated by external stimuli. However, the incoming sensory information is not the only influence on what you perceive. Of the millions of sensory signals being activated by environmental stimuli, only a small subset will enter conscious perception (those attended to). Of those, only a few are processed deeply enough to permanently change the brain (i.e., be encoded as a memory). These previously encoded experiences can influence your expecta-tions and motivations, and in turn, influence the bottom-up sensory signals and the likelihood they will achieve con-scious perception (often referred to as top-down process-ing ). An increasing body of research has demonstrated top-down influences on the neural responses of relatively low-level sensory/perceptual processing areas of the brain (e.g., Delorme, Rousselet, Mace, & Fabre-Thorpe, 2004). There are innumerable examples of top-down influences. If we are walking in the woods, and I tell you that there are a lot of spiders around, you might then perceive any soft movement on your skin as being a spider, at least for a second.
eBook - ePub- Terry McMorris(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
2 Sensation and Perception of External InformationLearning objectives
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:- understand what is meant by indirect or inferred perception
- describe how information processing theorists explain perception, with particular reference to:
- – signal detection theory
- – nature and role of selective attention
- – nature and role of visual search
- – how individual differences affect perception
- understand what is meant by direct perception
- have a basic knowledge of how ecological psychologists explain perception, including
- – nature and importance of affordances
- – how perception and action interact to detect affordances
- understand the main criticisms of information processing and ecological psychology theories with regard to perception
- be aware of the main developmental factors affecting perception.
In this chapter we examine, from an information processing perspective, how we perceive external information particularly for the purposes of making decisions. From an ecological psychology stand point, we are looking at how perception and action combine to recognize the existence of affordances in the environment. The role of perception in the control of movement is covered in Chapter 6 .Information processing theory, sensation and perception
Although information processing theorists argue that sensation and perception are different, the two concepts tend to be treated as one. The senses, which are the most important in the perception of information for decision making, are visual and auditory receptors. Vision is generally considered to be the most important of the senses. Light rays enter the eye through the lens and are detected by the retina. The central portion of the eye, the fovea, is rich in nerve receptors, which allow it to extract detail from an object. The range of foveal or central vision depends on how the eye is focused. This is controlled by the ciliary muscles, which are on either side of the lens. The range is generally regarded as being between 2° and 5°. The vision outside of this range is referred to as peripheral vision. The receptors, here, are less dense and images are less distinct than those found in foveal vision. Although foveal and peripheral vision are commonly used terms, Trevarthen (1968) used the terms focal and ambient vision. Focal vision is identical to foveal vision, but ambient vision differs a little to peripheral vision. According to Trevarthen, ambient vision
eBook - PDF- Catherine A. Sanderson, Karen R. Huffman(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
Summarize the three processes involved in perception. • Explain illusions and why they’re important. • Discuss the process of selection and its three major factors. • Describe the three ways we organize sensory data. • Review the main factors in perceptual interpretation. • Discuss the research findings on ESP and why so many people believe in it. We are ready to move from sensation and the major senses to perception, the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting incoming sensations into useful mental representations of the world. Normally, our perceptions agree with our sensations. When they do not, the result is called an illusion, a false or misleading impression produced by errors in the perceptual process or by actual physical distortions, as in desert mirages. Illusions provide psychologists with a tool for studying the normal process of perception (Figure 4.16). Note that illusions are NOT the same as hallucinations or delusions. Hallucinations are false sensory experiences that occur without external stimuli, such as hearing voices during a psychotic episode or seeing particular images after using some type of hallucinogenic drug, such as LSD or hallucinogenic mushrooms. Delusions refer to false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany drug or psychotic experiences. Selection In almost every situation, we confront more sensory information than we can reasonably pay attention to. Three major factors help us focus on some stimuli and ignore others: selective attention, feature detectors, and habituation. Certain basic mechanisms for perceptual selection are built into the brain. For exam- ple, we’re able to focus our conscious awareness onto a specific stimulus, while filtering out other stimuli thanks to the process of selective attention (Figure 4.17).
eBook - PDF- Douglas Bernstein, , , (Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
The candidate lost his chance because of the president’s social perception , the processes through which people interpret information about others, form impressions of them, and draw conclu-sions about the reasons for their behavior. In this section, we examine how and why social perception influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The Role of Schemas The ways in which we perceive people follow many of the same laws that govern how we perceive objects, including the Gestalt principles discussed in the chapter on sensa-tion and perception (Macrae & Quadflieg, 2010). Consider Figure 16.1. Consistent with Gestalt principles, most people would describe it as “a square with a notch in one side,” not as eight straight lines (Woodworth & Schlosberg, 1954). The reason is that they in-terpret new information using the mental representations, or schemas , that they already have about squares (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2013). In other words, they interpret this diagram as a square with a slight modification. We have schemas about people, too, and they can affect our perceptions. For one thing, schemas influence what we pay attention to and what we ignore. We tend to pro-cess information about another person more quickly if it confirms our beliefs about that person’s gender or ethnic group, for example, than if it violates those beliefs (Betz & Sekaquaptewa, 2012; Carlston, 2010). Schemas also influence what we remember about others (Carlston, 2010). In one study, if people thought a woman they saw in a video was a waitress, they recalled that she had a beer with dinner and owned a TV set. Those who thought she was a librarian remembered that she was wearing glasses and liked classical music (Cohen, 1981). We also tend to remember people who violate our schemas. In an-other study, researchers showed pictures of men and women and told a little story about each, including whether the pictured people had cheated on their romantic partners.
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