Perception
can be defined as a process by which individuals organize and interpret
their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.
However, as we have noted, what one perceives can be substantially different
from objective reality. It need not be, but there is often disagreement.
Perception is important because people's behavior is based on their perception
of what reality is, not on reality itself.
FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTION
 There
are a number of factors to influence our perception.
* attitudes
* motives
* interests
* past experiences
* expectations
PERSON
PERCEPTION
Our perceptions of people differ from our perceptions of inanimate
objects because we make inferences about the actions of people that we
don't make about inanimate objects. When we observe people we attempt
to develop explanations of why they behave in certain ways. Our perception
and judgment of a person's actions, therefore, will be significantly influenced
by the assumptions we make about the person. Perceiving and interpreting
what others do is burdensome and therefore we use a number of shortcuts
for making it more manageable. An understanding of these shortcuts can
be helpful toward recognizing when they can result in significant distortions.
Selective Perception
Any characteristic that makes a person stand out will increase the
probability it will be perceived. Since we can't observe everything going
on about us, we see things we are very interested in. For example you
have just bought a new car, a red Volvo, and suddenly you see a lot of
red Volvos on the streets.
Since we cannot assimilate all we observe, we take in bits and pieces,
chosen according to our interests, background, experience, and attitudes.
We see what we want to see and sometimes draw unwarranted conclusions
from an ambiguous situation.
Halo Effect
When we draw a general impression about an individual based on a single
characteristic a halo effect is operating. The propensity for the halo
effect is likely to be most extreme when the traits to be perceived are
ambiguous in behavioral terms, when the traits have moral overtones, and
when the perceiver is judging traits with which he or she has had limited
experience.
Contrast effects
We do not evaluate a person in isolation. Our reaction to one person
is often influenced by other persons we have recently encountered. If
you, for example, are a candidate for a job and doing an interview, it
is likely that you receive a more favorable evaluation if preceded by
mediocre applicants, and a less favorable if preceded by strong applicants.
Projection
It is easy to judge others if we assume they are similar to us. If
you want challenge and responsibility in your job, you assume others want
the same. We tend to attribute our own characteristics to other people
and see people as more homogeneous than they really are.
Stereotyping
We judge someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which
he or she belongs. In organizations, we frequently hear comments that
represent stereotypes based on gender, age, nationality and even weight.
One of the problems of stereotypes is they are so widespread, despite
the fact that they may not contain a shred of truth or may be irrelevant.**
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beauty,
in that it lies "in the eye of the beholder"