Perception: The concept, Process and Influencing Factors

Perception refers to the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information to understand the presented information. “Perception is the organizing process by which we interpret our sensory input”—Edmund Fantino. 

Sensation vs Perception:
Sensation refers to the initial contact between organisms and their physical environment. Sensation receives and transmits the stimulus from the environment, while perception interprets, analyses and integrates the stimulus to give meaning to the stimulus.

The process of perception

The different stages of the perceptual process are:

1. Receiving

The process of perception starts from an object in the real-world which is known as the distal stimulus.

Through the means of light, sound, smell, taste, and touch the object stimulates the body's sensory organs; eye, ear, nose, mouth, and skin.

2. Selecting

A person doesn’t receive the data randomly but selectively. A person selects some information according to the interest or needs which are influenced by:

External factors such as intensity, size, repetition, familiarity, and novelty, etc.

Internal factors  such as psychological requirements, learning, background, experience, and interest.

3. Organizing

The sensory organs transform the input energy into neural activity which is known as transduction.

The neural signals are transmitted to the brain and processed. The information is synchronized and organized to make sense of the data received by grouping them on the basis of their similarity, proximity, closure, and continuity.

4. Interpreting

A mental re-creation of the stimulus known as ‘the percept’ is happened to give a meaning to the stimulus.  

Factors influencing perception:

1. Characteristics of the Perceiver

Needs and Motives

Self Concept

Past Experience

Current Psychological State

Beliefs

Expectations

Situation

Cultural Upbringing

2. Characteristics of the Perceived: Characteristics of the Perceived includes physical characteristics such as appearances, age, gender, manner of communication as well as personality traits, other forms of behavior and the status or occupation of a person

3. Characteristics of the Situation

Gestalt Law:

Gestalt principles or laws are rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements. The Gestalt principles are:

1. Principle of similarity: Items of the same size, shape or quality are more likely to be reviewed as a group or pattern than similar elements.

2. Principle of proximity: Items that are closed together tend to be grouped in our perceptions.

3. Principle of continuity: the natural opposition to break the continuous flow of line, pattern or design in our perceptual awareness.

4. Principle of closure: strong inclination to perceive objects as unified wholes

The low of the common region: the elements that are grouped together within the same region of space tend to be grouped together.

5. The principle of the common region: the elements that are grouped together within the same region of space tend to be grouped together.

6. Law of Pragnanz: It refers to the tendency of the people to interpret the objects in the simplest way when some elements are presented which can be interpreted in different ways. 

Fundamental attribution error (FAE)

Fundamental attribution error (FAE), also known as correspondence bias refers to the tendency of people to explain someone’s behavior based on their internal factors such as personality and disposition and under-emphasizing the situational explanations for an individual's observed behavior.  The example of Fundamental attribution error (FAE) is when an employee fails to achieve his monthly target, one may explain his failure as his or her 'inability to work' (internal factor) instead of explaining the situational factors such as economic conditions and market trends. 

Some Images for Perception test: