„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

As some of the organization of signals into a pattern is learned, it may be expected
that in different cultures somewhat different patterns will be established by similar
stimuli. People in different cultures organize their world into different patterns and
hence possess different concepts for almost the same stimuli. Thus, they perceive the
world slightly differently.
Indeed, comparative semantics and anthropology suggest that words of one
language are often not exactly equivalent to words of another language. Thus, while the
Western culture divides the color spectrum one way, one of the cultures in Liberia, for
example, divides the same color spectrum slightly differently. In their language red and
orange constitute a single unit; one word designates both colors (Brown, 1965). The
Eskimos are known to have several words for snow, each of which indicates somewhat
different qualities of snow, which are understood only with difficulty by an outsider.
However, as many of these differences are due to learning, other people too can learn to
make fine discriminations among the qualities of snow and hence perceive it in the same
manner as the Eskimo.
Additional Factors Affecting Perception
Under certain specified conditions, perception may be distorted. Some factors that lead
to such distortions are related to the internal emotional and motivational states of the
perceiver, while others are considered to be properties of the stimulus.
It has been demonstrated that a child from a low-income home tends to recall a
perceived coin as being larger than a richer child recalls it or than the actual size of the
coin. “Set,” or readiness to perceive, is known to lower thresholds for certain stimuli. In
other words, because of one’s set, which is established by frequent exposure to a given
stimulus, one tends to perceive that particular stimulus more readily than otherwise. A
given object placed in a different background is perceived somewhat differently. For
example, a given color placed on a given color background may appear brighter or
darker, depending on the background and without any changes in illumination.
Sometimes certain features added to known stimuli distort the judgment of certain
qualities of the perceived object; thus, an “optical illusion” is being created. For
example, a given straight line may appear shorter if arrowheads are drawn on both ends
of the line.
Sometimes stimulus conditions are uncertain or sensory information is less than
complete, as when a person glances at an object for only a brief moment. Confusion can
result, thus making a person mistakenly perceive a coiled piece of rope to be a snake. At
other times an object may be sufficiently ambiguous so that absolute identification of the
stimulus is very difficult. In other words, the pattern of signals is less than complete.
Hence it can be matched with more than one stored pattern, leading to any one of several
interpretations (“matching”). A set may determine which of the several alternative
patterns will be chosen; so may other possible determinants such as interests, attitudes,
values, and motives of the perceiving person.
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The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer