Individual and Group

Behavior
Session 3: Perception and Perceptual Processes
PDM (2015 17)

Check that!
Do you remember first time you heard your voice on your answering
machine/phone or in a video?

Have you ever enjoyed a new food more than you thought you would?
Have you enjoyed a movie you expected to like much less than you
anticipated?

Have you seen a mirage anytime?

Highlights..!
An estimated 30 unaccompanied children arrive at the city's 125 train stations
every day, according to Aasara, a nonprofit organization that supports
Bombay's homeless children. They're attracted by the perception that there
must be jobs available in the country's most prosperous city, and also by the
image of glamour that gives Bombay the reputation of being the Los
Angeles of India

Women in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America report that gender

stereotyping makes it difficult for them to enter the profession because it is

largely regarded as a job strictly for men.

Highlights..!
Bengalis
timid; devious; crafty flatterers;given to empty
threats;
marginal honesty; minimum generosity; provincial;
cliquish; eccentric; submissive.

Gujaratis
honest; just; quiet; empty threats;
kind; selfish; unreliable in crisis;
cowardly flatterers.

Madrasis
provincial; selfish; garrulous; cliquish; simple;
intelligent; cowardly; unreliable.

Punjabis
innocent; cliquish; generous; good;
quick to anger; rash; lawless; obstinate;
boastful; hardworking.

Source: Grimshaw, A.D. Social epithet in India - a Hindi example. Journal of Social
Psychology 1967, 72

Highlights..!
No Mobile Phones, Jeans for Girls; Khap Panchayat Issues Order through
WhatsApp in Rajasthan. (Source: IBN Live)

US legalises gay marriage while Indian families rape their kids to 'correct'
their sexual orientation (Source: First Post.com)

Moody's ratings revised India's sovereign rating outlook to "positive" from

"stable" on Thursday, a step closer to an upgrade of the credit rating, as it
expects actions by policymakers to lift the country's economic growth.
(Source: Reuters)

Welcome to the Life full of Perceptions.!

Contd!
We dont see things as they are but we see things as we are!
Why Is It Important?

Because peoples behavior is based on their

perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.
The world as it is perceived is the world that is
behaviorally important.

Sensation vs. Perception

Sensation vs. Perception

Sensation is the process of receiving, converting, and transmitting information from
the outside world.

Sensory organs contain receptors that transduce sensory energy into nerve impulses
that are carried to the brain

Bottom-up Processing: Raw Material processed

Perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their

impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

Top-down processing: Concept-driven, use of preexisting knowledge to interpret
information.

Perception
Perceptual processes include:
Selection refers to choosing which of many stimuli that will be

processed.
Organization involves collecting the information into some pattern.
Interpretation involves understanding the pattern.

Perceptions can be in error

Illusions are visual stimuli that are misinterpreted .

Basic Stages of Perceptual Processes

Environment
Stimuli
Perceptual
Selection
External Vs.
Internal Factors
Interpretation
Perceptual
errors/Attribution

Observation
Taste Smell
Hearing, Sight,
Touch

Perceptual
Organization/Grouping

Responses
Covert/Overt

Perceptual Process
Perceptual Selection
The phone is ringing, television is blaring, a dog is barking outside, someone is honking
outside, your laptop is making some strange noise and you smell a coffee brewing.
Which one will you ignore? Which one will you pay attention to?

Perceptual selection is the process by which people filter out most stimuli so that they
can deal with most important ones. Selection depends on external and internal factors.

Perceptual Process (Contd.)

External Factors:
Size: The larger the size, the more likely it is to be perceived. E.g. large sized
advertisements

Intensity: The more intense an external factor, the more likely it is to be perceived. E.g.
a loud noise on the street while students are attending a lecture diverts their attention.

Contrast: External factors that stand out against the background or that are not what

people expect are more likely to be perceived. E.g. 10 blue circle and 1 pink circle on a
white board

Perceptual Process (Contd.)

External Factors:
Motion: Movement or illusion of movement tends to receive more attention as
compared to stationary object. E.g. video games

Repetition: repeated factor more likely to be perceived than single factor. E.g. An
advertisement repeated on television

Novelty and Familiarity: Either familiar or a novel factor in the environment can
attract attention, depending on circumstances. E.g. You may quickly observe an
elephant walking on the street. You are likely to perceive the face of a close friend
among a group of people walking towards you.

Perceptual Process (Contd.)

Internal Factors
Personality: E.g. an individual who is high on authoritarianism would like to control
his subordinates and seek compliance from them and generally perceive them as being
incompetent.

Learning: E.g Architect/Interior Decorator/Real estate appraiser - approaching a tall

building office in Mumbai

Architect will notice architectural style and construction material used; Interior Decorator
will perceive dcor of the building; Appraiser may focus on general conditions of building
and surrounding areas, and factors that would influence the buildings price and saleability

Perceptual Process (Contd.)

Internal Factors:
Motivation: While taking shower you faintly hear what sounds like the telephone
ringing. Do you get out of the shower to answer it? Or do you conclude that it is only
your imagination?

Your behavior depends on factors other than shrillness here. If you are expecting a call, you
will likely scurry out of the shower. If you are not expecting a call, you are more likely to
attribute the ringing sound to other noises in the shower.

Your perception will be guided by most urgent needs and desires at a particular time.

Perceptual Process (Contd.)

Perceptual Organization
Process by which people group environmental stimuli into recognizable patterns.
The stimuli selected for attention now appear as a whole
E.g. Properties such as wood, four legs, a seat, a back and armrests. This is an image of
????

The information is organized into a meaningful whole

Perceptual grouping is a tendency to group together individual stimuli into a meaningful
pattern by means of processes like continuity, closure, proximity and similarity.

Points to be discussed
Which factors, external as well as internal, helped in noticing the details in
the picture?

Which part of the picture were most frequently noticed? Why?

Did the reaction within the group vary? Why?