Perception in Communication

‘Perception as a process which individuals organize
and interpret their sensory impressions in order to
give meaning to their environment’
Or
‘The process by which an individual maintains
contact with the environment’
Or
‘The process whereby an individual receives stimuli
through the various senses and interprets them’

• Perception is a mental process to get sensory
impressions and attributing meaning
• What one perceives is generally different from
objective reality
• People see, read, hear and understand things
differently
• Things / words that satisfy or are expected to
satisfy / fulfil needs and expectations are
perceived quickly, others not.
,

• One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip
to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how
poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what
would be considered a very poor family. On their return from
the trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was
great, Dad".
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yes", said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from
the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had
four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden
and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported
lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

• Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the
whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live
on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We
have servants to serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls
around our property to protect us, they have friends
to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless. Then his son
added, "Thanks, Dad for showing me how poor we
are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing ? Makes you
wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for
everything we have, instead of worrying about what
we don't have.*********

‣ People’s understanding of the ideas, facts,
impulses are based on their perception
‣ What reality is not reality itself.
‣ Number of factors operate to shape and at times
filter and distort understanding
‣ Factors reside in speaker and receiver
‣ When a reader/ receiver interprets what he
reads or listens the interpretation is influenced
by personal characteristics I.e., attitude,
experience, interest and so on.

• A word has different meanings
• Divergent intention to use a word / jargon
• Unsatisfied needs – strong influences.
• Experience – boss dictatorial / autocratic –
change in behaviour – changed perception

• Our perception of reality is less important than
reality itself.
• It may be argued that there is no ultimate reality,
only the illusion of our perceptions.
• Our perceptions are influenced by:
Physical elements -- what information your eye or
ear can actually take in, how your brain processes it.
Environmental elements -- what information is out
there to receive, its context.
Learned elements -- culture, personality, habit: what
filters we use to select what we take in and how we
react to it.

• Colour blind people will not perceive ‘Red’ the way
as other people do.
• Those with normal vision may physically see ‘Red’
similarly, but will interpret it differently
Red meaning "stop" or "anger" or "excitement" or "in
debt" (US)
Red meaning "good fortune" (China)
Red meaning your school's colours

• The world deluges us with sensory
information every second.
• Our mind produces interpretations,
images / models and perceptions to
survive,
• Need to select what information we
attend to and what we remember.

• Sends out strong physical stimulus: contrast, blinking,
loudness, etc.
• Elicits emotion -- TV dramas, memory aid: when taking notes
on an article, write your emotional response to it
• Is unexpected? (This may draw your attention or conversely,
you may miss it entirely with your mind filling in the missing
pieces you expected to receive.)
• Fits a pattern
• Previous knowledge that gives it context
• Interests you
• Connects to basic needs (belonging, sex, danger, hunger...)
Cultural filters will be determining the answers to these
questions—
> What hooks your emotions?
> What is "normal" and what is "unexpected", etc.

Stimulus Conditions
• Intensity
• Size
• Message language
• Novelty
• Position / status
• Context

Audience Conditions
• Information needs
• Attitude
• Values
• Interests
• Confidence
• Social context

• Noise is a physical disturbance in the signal (such
as static, a torn page in a magazine, glare, channel
overload).
• ‘Noise’ describes anything that might distort or
interrupt communication, e.g :-
Mental distraction--your attention is elsewhere
Relationship between those who are communicating
Language gap
Emotional reactions
Differences in interpretation, in knowledge

1. Every person involved in the
communication has perceptions and
filters which structure how they
send or receive a message.
2. A message is content PLUS form --
both convey meaning.