Chapter 02: Perception and Communication
meaning to them.
POINTS:
1
44. ____________________ is a theory that suggests that we organize and interpret our world based on the use of
cognitive schemata.
45. Discuss the five guidelines for enhancing communication competence.
1. Recognize that all perceptions are subjective, so there is no absolutely correct or best
understanding of a situation or a person.
2. Avoid mind reading, or assuming you know what others perceive, think, and feel.
3. Check perceptions with others, which involves stating how you perceive something and asking
how another person perceives it.
4. Distinguish between facts and inferences.
5. Monitor the self-serving bias, which can lead us to perceive ourselves too charitably and others too
harshly.
Guidelines for Effective Perception
46. Discuss perception, identifying and briefly explaining the three processes involved.
Perception consists of three processes: selecting, organizing, and interpreting. These processes are
overlapping, so they blend into and influence one another. They are also interactive, so each affects
the other two. First, we select what we will pay attention to in our surroundings. Next, we organize
what we’ve selectively noticed to make it meaningful to us by applying cognitive structures called
schemata. Finally, we interpret, which is the subjective process of explaining perceptions to assign