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Perception process (Intepreting information (A deliberate and conscious…
Perception process
Intepreting information
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Schemata: Databases of stored, related information that we use to interpret new experiences
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Example: You learned that certain symbols and objects like an apple, a ruler, a calculator, and a notebook are associated with being a student or teacher
As you progressed through your education, your schema adapted to the changing environment
Example: Some students adapt their schema relatively easily as they move from elementary, to middle, to high school, and on to college and are faced with new expectations for behavior and academic engagement. Other students don’t adapt as easily, and holding onto their old schema creates problems as they try to interpret new information through old, incompatible schema.
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Example: If you are doing a group project for class and you perceive a group member to be shy based on your schema of how shy people communicate, you may avoid giving him presentation responsibilities in your group project because you do not think shy people make good public speakers
Organizing information
3 ways to sort things are using proximity, similarity, and difference.Stanley Coren, “Principles of Perceptual Organization and Spatial Distortion: The Gestalt Illusions,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 6, no. 3 (1980): 404–12
Proximity
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Example: A person may perceive that two people are together, just because they are standing close together in line
Similarity
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3 boys with same age, race, hair color may be mistaken for brothers
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Objectives
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Define perception: the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information
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Key takeaways
Given the massive amounts of stimuli taken in by our senses, we only select a portion of the incoming information to organize and interpret. We select information based on salience. We tend to find salient things that are visually or aurally stimulating and things that meet our needs and interests. Expectations also influence what information we select
We organize information that we select into patterns based on proximity, similarity, and difference
Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. This process affects our communication because we respond to stimuli differently, whether they are objects or persons, based on how we perceive them
We interpret information using schemata, which allow us to assign meaning to information based on accumulated knowledge and previous experience
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Excercises
As we organize information (sensory information, objects, and people) we simplify and categorize information into patterns. Identify some cases in which this aspect of the perception process is beneficial. Identify some cases in which it could be harmful or negative.
Getting integrated: Think about some of the schemata you have that help you make sense of the world around you. For each of the following contexts—academic, professional, personal, and civic—identify a schema that you commonly rely on or think you will rely on. For each schema you identified note a few ways that it has already been challenged or may be challenged in the future
Take in the perceptual field around you. What is salient for you in this moment and why? Explain the degree of salience using the three reasons for salience discussed in this section.
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Getting real
Officers use the same process of selection, organization, and interpretation to make judgments about personality traits, credibility, deception, and the presence or absence of a weapon, among others things
Questions to ponder
Describe an encounter that you have had with a law enforcement officer (if you haven’t had a direct experience you can use a hypothetical or fictional example). What were your perceptions of the officer? What do you think his or her perceptions were of you? What schemata do you think contributed to each of your interpretations?
What perceptual errors create potential ethical challenges in law enforcement? For example, how should the organizing principles of proximity, similarity, and difference be employed?
What communication skills do you think are key for a law enforcement officer to have in order to do their job effectively and why?