The Influence of Perception in Human Communication

Title: The Influence of Perception in Human Communication

1.0  Introduction           

           Human communication is a process of sharing meaningful messages through social interaction (Shockley-Zalabak, 2002). Human communication can be social and cognitive. This is because this type of communication process consists of exchanging information between people and it is influenced through symbols and signs (Higgins & Semin, 2002).

           Perception is a process where one’s aware of surroundings through senses such as sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. (Devito, 2011). Communication process will be affected because people interpret messages differently due to different perception of different individuals. Some factors influence perception. For example, experiences, culture, and feelings.

 

2.0  The Process of Perception

Perception includes some process of select, organize, and interpret information where our own structures and patterns are organized. Then, previous experiences will be interpreted. Perception is a cognitive and psychological process where the way people and objects were perceived affects our communication. We will respond in a different way to people or something that we like and dislike.

2.1  Selecting Information

      The first step of perception process is selecting. This is the part where we give attention to the information to be received. We tend to pay attention to information or something outstanding. When something attracts our attention, we tend to focus on that part more the something else. This type of things is visually or aurally stimulating, and it usually meet our interests and needs. It is a positive thing when our senses are stimulated. For example, a couple that cannot stop talking at movies shows stimulating is a good thing. When something meets our needs and interests, we tend to pay more attention to that information.

      Next, the relationship between outstanding and expectation is complicated. We find expected things are outstanding and things become unexpectedly outstanding. We expect to experience the something that is out of routine and we find stimuli related to that expectation salient.

 

2.2  Organizing Information

      The second part of the perception process is organizing. In this process, we categorize the information that gets base on natural and cognitive patterns. There are three ways to sort things into patterns which is by using proximity, similarity, and difference. We tend to think that something that are close together go together. We also group things together based on similarity. For example, people that always go out together might be mistakenly as brothers because of the closeness and the chemistry. Even though there are many different features of each other, the outstanding characteristic are organized based on similarity.

      Punctuation is a structuring of information into a timeline to determine the cause and effect of our communication interactions (Allan L. Sillars, 1980). Applying this idea to relational clash can enable us to perceive how the observation procedure reaches out past the person to the relational level. This idea likewise delineates how association and elucidation can happen together and how understanding can impact the arrangement of data and the other way around. Punctuation differences can often escalate conflict, which can lead to a variety of relationship problems (Paul Watzlawick; Janet Beavin Bavelas; Don D. Jackson, 1967).

 

2.3  Interpreting Information

      Interpretation is third step of the perception process, in which we dole out significance to our encounters utilizing mental structures known as schemata. Schemata is like a database where were saved information to interpret new experiences. Our perception affects our behaviour. Schemata are used to interpret other people behaviour and impression.

 

2.4  Memory

      All the information and messages are being store in memory the stimulation from your senses, organization of these stimuli, and interpretation and evaluation of them.

 

2.5  Recall

      The older memory might be something people going to recall to one day. All these processes of perception are very important to be kept and saved.

 

3.0  The Influence of Perception

      Culture assumes a critical job in embellishment us into the general population we are today. It makes a situation of a common conviction, mindset, and technique associating among that gathering of individuals. It is dynamic and continually changing crosswise over time. The way of life you are naturally introduced to will shape your eating conduct, for example, what you eat, when you eat, and even how you eat. It will impact the garments you wear and the games you play. Social standards put forward by your way of life will decide how you interface with relatives, companions, and outsiders.

      Culture is surrounding us, forming our mind and conduct. Thus, individuals from different societies will process the world in an unexpected way. Besides subcultures exist inside societies. Religions, people group, promotion local accents and traditions all work to impact your insight and discernment. As more research is executed, the possibility of human instinct disseminates, and we consider mankind to be a gathering involved one of a kind people formed by their mind boggling and unpredictable culture.

      Information changes almost like the failure of message delivery, information changes can also occur if someone has a different perception, but not discussed at that time. Someone may be able to receive the information conveyed, but when repeating the contents of the message apparently, he gives information that is far different from the initial message. This is one of the influences of perception in interpersonal communication that we often encounter and cause misunderstandings.

      The emergence of less effective communication will lead to less effective communication because of the perception that is not straightened out. Clarification becomes an important thing to do so that the communication process can run properly. The communication process can be less effective simply because of differences in perceptions of the elements of interpersonal communication involved in it.

4.0  Conclusion

      Perception and thought are not independent of the cultural environment; therefore, our brains are both shaped by the external world and shape our perception of the external world. The idea of high-context and low-context societies was promoted by Edward T. Lobby (1976). Societies in which little of the significance is dictated by the setting because the message is encoded in the express code are named low-context. Societies in which less must be said or composed claiming a greater amount of the importance is in the physical condition or effectively shared by individuals are marked high-context. Low-context societies tend to utilize coordinate face transaction and express more self-confront while high-context societies, worry for association furthermore, incorporation, tend to utilize circuitous face transaction and express more shared face or other-confront support.

Reference

Andy Schmitz (Ed.). (2012). A Primer on Communication Studies: Communication and   Perception (v. 1.0) Retrieved from https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-    on-communication-studies/ s02-communication-and-perception.html

Culture’s Influence on Perception (2016, February 17). Retrieved from             https://psychneuro.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/cultures-influence-on-perception/

Culture’s Influence on Perception (n.d.). Retrieved from      https://www.sagepub.com/sites/             default/files/upm-binaries/45975_Chapter_3.pdf

E.T. Higgins, G.R. Semin. (2002, November 2). International Encyclopedia of the Social &          Behavioral             Sciences, 2001. Retrieved from          https://www.sciencedirect.com/         topics/neuroscience/human -communication

Introduction to Human Communication [Powerpoint Presentation]. School of Multimedia             Technology             and Communication, University Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah.

Perception [Powerpoint Presentation]. School of Multimedia Technology and Communication,    University Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah.