Perception

Perception is that organising process by which we

come to know objects in their appropriate identity, as

trees, men, buildings, machines and so on. Perception

does not operate like an adding machine: impressions

are not cumulative; rather, the mind interprets and

integrates what it receives. We do not see the same

thing in a picture, and report the same accident

differentially depending on our age, sex, intelligence,

experience etc. A distinction is often made between

sensation and perception on the ground that sensation

is the primary response of the sense organs, whereas

perception is the meaningful apprehension of the

stimulus object. This distinction is theoretical with

very little practical value. The processes of sensation

and perception are not separated in experience. We

never have pure sensations of colour or form or sound

distinct from associations with objects and other

experiences. If some one mentions the Taj Mahal at

Agra, our nod of recognition will probably include a

visual image of the building supplemented by memories

of things seen there. Odour of medicine reminds us

of a hospital ward and a sweet taste may call to mind

experiences of a dinner party. In response to the term

cricket many people report feeling as though they are

bowling or batting. Perception in these cases differs

somewhat from imagination. In fact, imagination is

really perception, in which there is a minimum sensory

control. Perception is a mediating process antecedent

to the final response. What we perceive depends in

part on the nature of the stimulus and to an even

greater degree on ourselves, so that perception

becomes the comprehension of a present situation in

the light of past experience.

The main characteristics of perception are unity and

organisation of feelings and emotions; attention and

selection; fixation and persistency; learning and past

experiences etc. Attention precedes perception and

determines its character. Attention is a process of

give and take with the environment. It is an active

behaviour. We are said to be attentive when our sense

organ activity is focused upon some defined stimulus:

sounds in the street, changes in the weather, a cricket

match, a lecture etc.

Perception is determined by internal personal

conditions and external social situations. Motives,

emotions, familiarity, attitudes, values and adjustment

are the main internal factors which influence

perception. The organization of stimulus, the similarity

in stimulus, closeness in stimulus, elements of figure

and context, influence perceptions. The presence of

others or a group also influences perception.

Types

There are two main types of perception i.e. (i) Depth

perception, (ii) Movement perception.

Depth perception is related to the linear perspective,

clearness, interposition, shadows, gradients of texture

and movement of objects, closure or away from the

fixation point.

Movement perception is related to the type of motion

(i) Apparent motion and (ii) Real motion. The apparent

motion may be autokinetic or induced.

Social Perception

Social perception is a subject matter of social cognition.

Our social perception of others is initially based on

the information we obtain about them and inferences

(attributions) we make about the causes of their

behaviour. Our social perceptions are grounded in our

observation of others: their physical characteristics

and their behaviour in particular settings. Our

observation provides the information i.e. converted

into meaningful inferences by our cognitive framework.

At a minimum, this process involves placing the

information into cognitive categories related to other

categories. We can make simple inferences from

minimum data or combine rich sets of information

into overall impressions. We can also make inferences

about the causes of other people’s behaviour as well

as our own behaviour. Despite the smoothness in the

working of the process, it has no guarantee of accuracy

or the possibility of comparability with the observations

of others. Social perception processes determine how

we react to others and how we see ourselves. The

cognitive framework simplifies the process of forming

impressions of others. Many of the factors involved in

making attributions about others also play a role in

the process of forming self attribution. Social facilitation

occurs most readily where the presence of the other

is motivating.

Conformity pressures can create situations in which

the information obtained from personal modes conflicts

with the information obtained from social modes.

Conformity can also occur in response to the requests

of an authority figure and to rules governing behaviour.