Perception

“Perception is the process through which the information from outside environment is selected, received,
organized and interpreted to make it meaningful to you. This input of meaningful information results in
decisions and actions.”
Perception is something more than sensation. It correlates, integrates and comprehends diverse sensations and
information from many organs of the body by means of which a person identifies things and objects, the
sensations refer to.

Perception is determined by both physiological and psychological characteristics of the human being whereas
sensation is conceived with only the physiological features. Thus, perception is not just what one sees with the
eyes it is a much more complex process by which an individual selectively absorbs or assimilates the stimuli in
the environment, cognitively organizes the perceived information in a specific fashion and then interprets the
information to make an assessment about what is going on in one’s environment.

Perception is a subjective process, therefore, different people may perceive the same environment differently
based on what particular aspects of the situation they choose to selectively absorb, how they organize this
information and the manner in which they interpret it to obtain a grasp of the situation.

Importance of Perception:
(i) Perception is very important in understanding the human behavior, because every person perceives the world
and approaches the life problems differently- Whatever we see or feel is not necessarily the same as it really is.
It is because what we hear is not what is really said, but what we perceive as being said. When we buy
something, it is not because it is the best, but because we take it to be the best. Thus, it is because of perception,
we can find out why one individual finds a job satisfying while another one may not be satisfied with it.

(ii) If people behave on the basis of their perception, we can predict their behavior in the changed circumstances
by understanding their present perception of the environment. One person may be viewing the facts in one way
which may be different from the facts as seen by another viewer.

(iii) With the help of perception, the needs of various people can be determined, because people’s perception is
influenced by their needs. Like the mirrors at an amusement park, they distort the world in relation to their
tensions.

(iv) Perception is very important for the manager who wants to avoid making errors when dealing with people
and events in the work setting. This problem is made more complicated by the fact that different people
perceive the same situation differently. In order to deal with the subordinates effectively, the managers must
understand their perceptions properly.

Thus, for understanding the human behavior, it is very important to understand their perception, that is, how
they perceive the different situations. People’s behavior is based on their perceptions of what reality is, not on
reality itself. The world as it is perceived is the world that is important for understanding the human behavior.
Three important stages involved in perception process, i.e.

(A) Perceptual Inputs, (B) Perceptual Mechanism, and (C) Perceptual Outputs.

A. Perceptual Inputs:
A number of stimuli are constantly confronting people in the form of information, objects, events, people etc. in
the environment. These serve as the inputs of the perceptual process. A few of the stimuli affecting the senses
are the noise of the air coolers, the sound of other people talking and moving, outside noises from the vehicular
traffic or a street repair shop or a loud speaker playing, somewhere plus the impact of the total environmental
situation. Some stimuli do not affect the senses of a person consciously, a process called subliminal perception.

1. Perceptual Mechanism:
When a person receives information, he tries to process it through the following sub processes of selection,
organization and interpretation.
a. Perceptual Selectivity: Many things are taking place in the environment simultaneously. However, one
cannot pay equal attention to all these things, thus the need of perceptual selectivity. Perceptual
selectivity refers to the tendency to select certain objects from the environment for attention. The objects
which are selected are those which are relevant and appropriate for an individual or those which are
consistent with our existing beliefs, values and needs. For this, we need to screen or filter out most of
them so that we may deal with the important or relevant ones.

The following factors govern the selection of stimuli:

1. External Factors 2. Internal Factors

Various external and internal factors which affect our selection process are as explained below:

1. External Factors:
i. Size: The bigger the size of the stimulus, the higher is the probability that it is perceived. Size always
attracts the attention, because it establishes dominance. The size may be the height or weight of an
individual, sign board of a shop, or the space devoted to an advertisement in the newspaper. A very tall
person will always stand out in the crowd on the other hand; a very short person will also attract
attention. A full page advertisement will always catch attention as compared to a few lines in the
classified section.
ii. Intensity: Intensity attracts to increase the selective perception. A few examples of intensity are yelling
or whispering, very bright colors, very bright or very dim lights. Intensity will also include behavioral
intensity. If the office order says “Report to the boss immediately,” it will be more intense and effective
as compared to the office order which says “Make it convenient to meet the boss today.”
iii. Repetition: The repetition principle states that a repeated external stimulus is more attention drawing
than a single one. Because of this principle, supervisors make it a point to give the necessary directions
again and again to the workers. Similarly, the same advertisement or different advertisement but for the
same product shown, again and again on the TV will have more attention as compared to an
advertisement which is shown once a day.
iv. Status: High status people ran exerts greater influence on the perception of the employees than the low
status people. There will always be different reactions to the orders given by the foreman, the supervisor
or the production manager.
v. Contrast: An object which contrasts with the surrounding environment is more likely to be noticed than
the object which blends in the environment. For example, the Exit signs in the cinema halls which have
 red lettering on a black background are attention drawing or a warning sign in a factory, such as Danger,
written in black against a red or yellow background will be easily noticeable. In a room if there are
twenty men and one woman, the woman will be noticed first because of the contrast.
vi. Movement: The principle of motion states that a moving object receives more attention than an object
which is standing still. A moving car among the parked cars catches our attention faster. A flashing
neon-sign is more easily noticed.
vii. Novelty and Familiarity: This principle states that either a novel or a familiar external situation can
serve as an attention getter. New objects in the familiar settings or familiar objects in new settings will
draw the attention of the perceiver. A familiar face on a crowded railway platform will immediately
catch attention. Because of this principle, the managers change the workers jobs from time to time,
because it will increase the attention they give to their jobs.
viii. Nature: By nature we mean, whether the object is visual or auditory and whether it involves pictures,
people or animals. It is well known that pictures attract more attention than words. Video attracts more
attention than still pictures. A picture with human beings attracts more attention than a picture with
animals.

2. Internal Factors: The internal factors relate to the perceiver. Perceiving people is very important for a
manager, because behavior occurs as a result of prception.

Following are the internal factors which affect perception:

i. Learning: Although interrelated with other internal factors learning may play the single biggest role in
developing perceptual set. A perceptual set is basically what a person expects from the stimuli on the
basis of his learning and experience relative to same or similar stimuli. This perceptual set is also known
as cognitive awareness by which the mind organizes information and forms images and compares them
with previous exposures to similar stimuli. A number of illustrations have been used by psychologists to
demonstrate the impact of learning on perception. Learning creates an expectancy in an individual and
expectancy makes him see what he wants to see.

ii. Motivation: Besides the learning aspects of the perceptual set, motivation also has a vital impact on
perceptual selectivity. Say, a person who has a relatively high need for power, affiliation or achievement
will be more attentive to the relevant situational variables. For example, when such a person walks into
the lunch room, he may go to the table where several of his co-workers are sitting, rather than a table
which is empty or on which just one person is sitting. Another example is that a hungry person will be
more sensitive to the smell or sight of food than a non-hungry person. In one experiment people who
were kept hungry for some time were shown some pictures and were asked to describe what they saw in
them. Most of the reported more food items in such perceptions.

iii. Personality: Closely related to learning and motivation is the personality of the perceiving person. For
example, the older senior executives often complain about the inability of the new young manager to
take tough decisions concerning terminating or reassigning people and paying attention to details and
paper work. The young managers, in turn, complain about the ‘old guards’ resisting change and using
paper and rules as ends in themselves. Different perceptions in young and old are due to their age
differences. Further, the generation gap witnessed in recent years definitely contributes to different
perceptions. In addition to the above two problems another problem is about the woman in the work
place. Women are still not reaching the top levels of organizations. At least part of this problem can be
attributed to perceptual barriers such as the established managerial hierarchy is not able to see (perceive)
that qualified woman should be promoted into top level positions. Of course, there are individual
differences in all age categories but the above examples show that how personalities, values and even
age may affect the way people perceive the world around them.
B. Perceptual Organization:

After having selectively absorbed the data from the range of stimuli we are exposed to at any given time, we
then try to organize the perceptual inputs in such a manner that would facilitate us to extract meaning out of
what we perceive. Or in other words, person’s perceptual process organizes the incoming information into a
meaningful whole. While selection is a subjective process, organizing is a cognitive process. How we organize
the stimuli is primarily based on the following principles:

(i) Figure and Ground: Figure-Ground principle is generally considered to be the most basic form of
perceptual organization. This principle simply implies that the perceived object or person or event stands out
distinct from its back ground and occupies the cognitive space of the individual. For example, as you read this
page, you see white as the background and black as the letters or words to be read. You do not try to understand
what the white spaces amidst the black letters could mean. Likewise, in the organizational setting, some people
are more noticed or stand out than others. For example, an individual in the organization might try to focus his
entire attention on his immediate supervisor, trying to be in his good books, completely ignoring his colleagues
and how they feel about his behavior. According to this principle, thus, the perceiver tends to organize only the
information which stands out in the environment which seems to be significant to the individual.

(ii) Perceptual Grouping: Grouping is the tendency to curb individual stimuli into meaningful patterns. For
instance, if we perceive objects or people with similar characteristics, we tend to group them together and this
organizing mechanism helps us to deal with information in an efficient way rather than getting bogged down
and confused with so many details. This tendency of grouping is very basic in nature and largely seems to be
inborn. Some of the factors underlying his grouping are:

(a) Similarity: The principle of similarity states that the greater the similarity of the stimuli, the greater
the tendency to perceive them as a common group. The principle of similarity is exemplified when
objects of similar shape, size or color tend to be grouped together. For example, if all visitors to a plant
are required to wear white hats while the supervisors wear blue hats, the workers can identify all the
white hats as the group of visitors. Another example is our general tendency to perceive minority and
women employees as a single group.

(b) Proximity: The principle of proximity or nearness states that a group of stimuli that are close
together will be perceived as a whole pattern of parts belonging together. For example, several people
working on a machine will be considered as a single group so that if the productivity on that particular
machine is low, then the entire group will be considered responsible even though, only some people in
the group may be inefficient.

(c) Closure: The principle of closure relates to the tendencies of the people to perceive objects as a
whole, even when some parts of the object are missing. The person’s perceptual process will close the
gaps that are unfilled from sensory input. Speaking from the point of view of an organization, if a
manager perceives a worker, on the whole, a hard worker, sincere, honest, then even, if he behaves in a
contradictory way sometimes (which is a kind of a gap), the manager will tend to ignore it, because it
does not fit in with the overall impression, that he has about the worker.

(d) Continuity: Continuity is closely related to closure. But there is a difference. Closure supplies
missing stimuli, whereas the continuity principle says that a person will tend to perceive continuous
lines of pattern. The continuity may lead to inflexible or non creative thinking on the part of the
organizational participants. Only the obvious patterns or relationships will be perceived. Because of this
type of perception, the inflexible managers may require that employers follow a set and step by step routine
leaving no ground for implementation of out of line innovative ideas.

(iii) Perceptual Constancy: Constancy is one of the more sophisticated forms of perceptual organization. This
concept gives a person a sense of stability in this changing world. This principle permits the individuals to have
some constancy or stability in a tremendously variable and highly complex world. If constancy were not at
work, the world would be very chaotic and disorganized for the individual. There are several aspects of
constancy:

(a) Shape Constancy: Whenever an object appears to maintain its shape despite marked changes in the
retinal image e.g. the top of a glass bottle is seen as circular whether we view it from the side or from the
top.

(b) Size Constancy: The size constancy refers to the fact that as an object is moved farther away from us
we tend to see it as more or less same in size. For example, the players in cricket field on the opposite
side of the field do not look smaller than those closer to you even though their images on the retina of
the eye are much smaller.

(c) Color Constancy: Color constancy implies that familiar objects are perceived to be of the same color
in varied conditions. The owner of a red car sees it as red in the bright sunlight as well as in dim
twilight. Without perceptual constancy the size, shape and color of objects would change as the worker
moved about and it would make the job almost impossible.

(iv) Perceptual Context: The highest and most sophisticated forms of organization are context. It gives
meaning and value to simple stimuli, objects, events, situations and other persons in the environment. The
organizational structure and culture provide the primary context in which workers and managers do their
perceiving. For example, a verbal order, a new policy, a pat on the back, a raised eye brow or a suggestion takes
on special meaning when placed in the context of the work organization.

(v) Perceptual Defence: Closely related to perceptual context is the perceptual defence. A person may build a
defence against stimuli or situational events in a particular context that are personally or culturally unacceptable
or threatening. Accordingly, perceptual defence may play a very important role in understanding union-
management and supervisor-subordinate relationship. Most studies verify the existence of a perceptual defence
mechanism. The general conclusions drawn from these studies are that people may learn to avoid certain
conflicting, threatening or unacceptable aspects of the context. The various defenses may be denial of an aspect,
by modification and distortion, by change in the perception, then the last but not the least is recognition but
refusal to change.

C. Perceptual Interpretation:

Perceptual interpretation is an integral part of the perception process. Without interpretation, selection and
organization of information do not make any sense. After the information has been received and organized, the
perceiver interprets or assigns meaning to the information. In fact, perception is said to have taken place only
after the data have been interpreted. Several factors contribute towards the interpretation of data.

More important among them are perceptual set, attribution, stereotyping, halo effect, perceptual context,
perceptual defence, implicit personality theory and projection. It may also be noted that in the process of
interpretation, people tend to become judgmental. They may tend to distort what they see and even ignore
things that they feel are unpleasant.
D. Checking:
After data have been received and interpreted, the perceiver tends to check whether his interpretations are right
or wrong. One way of checking is for the person himself to indulge in introspection. He will put a series of
questions to himself and the answers will confirm whether his perception about an individual or object is correct
or otherwise. Another way is to check the validity of the interpretation with others.

E. Reacting:
The last stage in perception is the reaction. The perceiver shall indulge in some action in relation to the
perception. The action depends on whether the perception is favorable or unfavorable. It is negative when the
perception is unfavorable and the action is positive when the perception is favorable.

C. Perceptual Outputs:
Perceptual outputs encompass all that results from the throughout process. These would include such factors as
one’s attitudes, opinions, feelings, values and behaviors resulting from the perceptual inputs and throughputs.
Perceptual errors adversely affect the perceptual outputs. The lesser our biases in perception, the better our
chances of perceiving reality as it exists or at least perceiving situations with the minimum amount of
distortions. This will help us to form the right attitudes and engage in appropriate behavioral patterns, which in
turn will be beneficial for attaining the desired organizational outcomes. It is essentially important for managers
who are responsible for organizational results to enhance their skills in order to develop the right attitudes and
behaviors.

Shortcuts in judging others

In perceiving the stimuli in our environment, people are likely to make so many errors and ended up with poor
results. Some of those errors are stereotyping, halo effects, selective perception, distortions, attributions,
projections etc. Each of these errors is dysfunctional for good decision making and management. Since
subjective emotions, judgmental attitudes, and distortion of facts are common in perceiving any situation, we
have tried to identify ways in which we can minimize perceptual biases. The need for managers to accurately
perceive the environment and how manages can sharpen their perceptual skill are vital in enhancing perceptual
skills.

People tend to follow a number of shortcut methods when observing others and making judgment of others
activities. These techniques are to some extent valuable and allow us to make accurate perceptions rapidly and
provide valid data for making predictions. However, they are not foolproof. However, people often rely on them
and follow them blindly. They can get us into trouble, particularly if you happen to hold higher level position
and required to make effective decision making. An understanding of this shortcut can be helpful in recognizing
when they can result in significant distortions.

Frequently used shortcuts in judging others:

While observing others in our day-to-day life, people tend to commit errors due to faulty perceptual process and
make a wrong decision. This has to be avoided. There are five types of errors or short-cut methods which are
frequently used by the individuals. They are:
1. Selective Perception
2. Projection
3. Stereotyping
4. Halo Effect
5. Contrast Effect

i) Selective Perception
It is a tendency to observe people selectively and accordingly interpret based on their interest, background,
experience and attitudes. For example, a production manager is always likely to identify the need to strengthen
the production system; the marketing manager will focus only on the marketing research and sales promotions
activities. In general, we tend to notice things which are similar to us. For instance, we are more likely to notice
the type of cars which are similar to ours. The simplest way of avoiding hasty or wrong decision being made
due to selective perception is to seek other people’s perceptions of “reality” in the same situation in order to
make a better assessment of the situation.

ii) Projection
It is a tendency to assign one’s own personal attributes to others. For instance, a manager who is corrupt will
tend to project that all others are also corrupt like him. Similarly, a manager who loves challenging work might
project that all others like challenging work. Many times, this is not true, and the manager who tries to enrich all
the jobs as challenging might be leading to wrong motivational technique for other employees. When managers
engage in projection, they compromise their ability to respond to individual differences. They tend to see people
as more homogeneous than they really are. Thus, managers should guard themselves against perceptual biases
through projection.

iii) Stereotyping:
It is a tendency to judge people based on the perception of the group to which he belongs. We tend to attribute
favorable or unfavorable characteristics to the individual based on upon widely held generalization about the
group. For instance, we perceive that Japanese in general are hard working, quality conscious and industrious,
and based on that we generalize that all Japanese are like that, but in reality it may not be so. There are some
Japanese who may not possess the above mentioned characteristics. Similarly we assume that women in general
are soft, kind, caring, affectionate, considerate, gentle, but there are some women who may not possess these
characteristics. Similarly, we may assume older people are traditional, conservative, and cranky, but not every
elderly person fits into this mould and hence we are likely to make errors of judgment. Sex-role stereotypes and
age-stereotypes adversely affect recruitment, pay, job placement, and promotion decisions. As a result of which,
organizations frequently lose good employees.

iv) Halo Effect:

It is tendency to draw a general overall impression about an individual based on single striking characteristics.
For instance, if a person speaks English fluently, we tend to assume that that person is very knowledgeable,
intelligent, smart, etc. Similarly, if a man is abrasive, he may also be perceived as bad, awful, unkind,
aggressive, harmful, deceitful and wicked. Halo effect, whether it is positive or negative, will distort our
perception and block us from actually perceiving the trait that is being judged. This phenomenon frequently
occurs when students appraise their university lecturer.

v) Contrast Effect:
It is tendency to evaluate a person’s characteristics by just comparing with other people who happened to
acquire higher or lower position on the same characteristics. For instance, while comparing the presentation of
students, a good presentation made by one student just before you will probably make you feel that you won’t
be as good as you probably are. This contrast effect can distort our perception. In general, a person will be
evaluated in isolation. But our reaction to one person is often influenced by other people or events in which we
have recently encountered. In interview situation, a job applicant is likely to receive a more favorable evaluation
if preceded by mediocre applicants and a less favorable evaluation if preceded by strong applicants.

Methods to overcome such biases in perception

The pitfalls listed above can be minimized by enhancing perceptual skills by consciously putting effort in the
following activities:
1. Knowing and perceiving oneself accurately
2. Being empathic
3. Having positive attitudes
4. Enhancing one’s self-concept
5. Making a conscious effort to avoid the possible common biases in perception
6. Open communication
7. Avoiding Attributions.

1. Knowing and perceiving oneself accurately:

One of the ways in judging others and situations more accurately are by knowing, perceiving and
understanding ourselves accurately. The best way of achieving this objective is to obtain information on
how others perceive us from as many sources as possible – supervisors, peers, subordinates and other
colleagues. By consciously putting effort in getting feedback from others as much as possible about
yourself regarding all the activities will help widen your open self. Similarly, by exposing yourself to
others regarding your opinions, suggestions, beliefs, values, attitudes life styles etc, others may be able
to understand you better and come forward to share their views more frequently. There are two critical
things relevant to widening ones open self – i) soliciting feedback from others and ii) exposing or
disclosing yourself to others.

2. Being empathic
Empathy means being able to see a situation as it is experienced by others. If a person is able to view the
problems of his employees from the employees’ point of view instead of looking things from his own
perspective, he may be able to understand the real problems experienced by them very clearly. The truly
effective manager will be able to rise above his or her own personal impressions and comprehend
problems from others perspectives. This can occur only when the manager can be sensitive to the needs
of others and perceive situations from their point of view as well before making final decisions.

3. Having positive attitude

There is a high level of relationships among attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and values. Unless managers
can take positive attitudes to whatever situations they find themselves in and see things from a positive
angle, their perceptions are likely to be distorted. By being aware of personal biases, and making a
concerted effort to be as unbiased as possible, manages can consciously try to get rid of any negative
feelings they may have of others. This will help them to pout things in their proper perspectives and thus
enhance their perceptual skills.

4. Enhancing one’s self-concept

Positive evaluation of oneself by accomplishing a commendable performance or remarkable things will
boost good self image. When people handle roles where they can exhibit and enhance their competence
and be successful, they will develop a basic sense of self-esteem and have a positive self regard. When
our self-concept is enhanced and we have acquired a positive self-regard, we are apt to respect others
more and perceive them more accurately.

5. Avoiding common biases in perception

By checking and cross checking the events and spending adequate time and resources to monitor the
various things around, one can consciously raise the overall level of awareness and this will help
considerably minimize our perceptual biases. Self correction and self renewal process must be
continuous within oneself as we interact with situation on a daily basis and based on that one must
change and adapt to the current situations

6. Open communication
Even though mangers may watch out for their own perceptual errors, it is a fact that employees at the
workplace act in accordance with their own perceptions. Effective mangers not only have to remember
that employees tend to misperceive situations but they should also be able to effectively communicate to
employees the happenings in the work setting such that any misperceptions are dispelled.
7. Avoiding Attributions
Inappropriate attributions are frequently made by all of us when we try to make sense of what is
happening in our environment. Due to this, our judgment will be wrong and will end up with poor
results. By observing keenly certain behavioral principles as laid down in attributions model, people can
sharpen their judgment to check whether the causes of particular behavioral act is due to personality or
situational factors. Based on this, one can enhance their perceptual skills.

Perception: Specific Applications in Organizations

In general, people tend to judge one another for many purposes, such as appraising performance,
motivational level, attitudes, skills, knowledge etc. These types of judgments will have some important
consequences for the organization.
1. Stress: Judging people based on the comparison process will make people tensed. It will have either
positive consequences or negative consequences. If a person is matured enough, he or she will take up
this issue positively and will try to put more effort to meet the expectation or perception of their
manager. Some times, the consequences will be very negative leading to absenteeism, illness, low job
satisfaction, poor morale etc. A great deal of stress can be due to the perception, judgments and
expectations that workers and managers have about the workplace. Managers must ensure that the
judgment must lead to positive consequences.
2. Employment Interview: Due to perceptual errors in the interview process, the screening of job
applicants from not so potential to potential will not be very effective. There is poor inter-rater
agreement on the performance of job applicants which will perhaps due to interviewer’s subjective
feelings, bias, prejudice and cause all the perceptual errors. In some cases, discrimination in recruitment
interviews occur due to the forming of opinions of interviews based on racial, gender or age stereotypes.
Taking due consideration on the elimination of these errors will significantly help in making effective
decision.
3. Performance Expectation: Manager’s expectation will have a significant impact on the performance of
an employee. If a manager expects a very good performance from his subordinate and conveys such
expectations in all possible ways to him, that employee will adjust behavior in such a way by putting
more effort in his work and fulfill the expectation of his manager. Similarly, if a manager expects a very
poor or substandard performance, that concerned employee will tend to behave in such a way to as to
meet those low expectations. Thus, the expectations become reality. The terms self-fulfilling prophecy
has evolved to characterize the fact that people’s expectations determine their behavior. Managers must
ensure that only positive expectations must be conveyed to their employees to make them put on more
effort to become outstanding employees.
4. Performance Evaluation: During the performance appraisal, the managers are subjected to have
influenced by various perceptual errors particularly, halo effect, stereotyping, contrast effect etc. In
general, managers use subjective measures in evaluating employees performance as good or bad based
on their overall perception Due to this, their assessment is found to be faulty leading to severe
implications in job outcomes. In order to avoid such errors, managers need to be trained in evaluation
techniques.
5. Employee Effort: Assessment of an individual’s effort is purely subjective judgment susceptible to
perceptual distortions and bias. If manager is free from such perceptual errors and his judgment is just
and fair, the employees will put more effort and help the organization to meet its objectives.

6. Employee Loyalty: Managers tend to perceive employees differently. If employees are looking for
employment outside the organization, the employees may be labeled as disloyal. If an employee
questions top management decision, he is branded as disloyal, If an employee reports unethical practices
of management to authorities outside the organization, he is branded as disloyal. The assessment of an
employee’s loyalty or commitment is highly subjective judgmental. Due care must be taken to ensure
proper judgment free from such perceptual errors.