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4. Polk is pronounced with the l silent. Folk is pronounced like coke, a silent l. The white of an
egg is pronounced:
5. Join all nine dots with four straight lines. Do not lift your pencil from the paper or retrace any
lines.
6. A man has a window that measures 12″ x 12″ but does not let in enough light. So he saws
around the window and has a window that measures 12″ x 12″ but lets in exactly twice as much
light. What did he do?
7. Write the word proof on the lines below:
8. A man has drowned in the middle of a lake, which is almost twenty feet deep, and is lying at
the bottom of the lake. He did not swim there; nor was he carried. How did he get to the middle
of the lake and drown?
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Answers to Perception Test
1. Start at the bottom right-hand corner and read vertically from the bottom to the top: “This is the way
2. Any interpretation is acceptable: the pairs of lines are parallel, their length differs, they are
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Activity 1.10 FAST THINKING
Objective: Students should be able to realize that individual differences in perception
exist due to different factors—physiological, past experiences, present feelings, or
circumstances.
Procedure: This brief activity is best used as an introduction to perceptual differences.
Indicate to students that they are to write down what word, words, or phrases
immediately come to mind when one of the following simple terms is mentioned.
Debriefing: This activity illustrates the concept of perceptual constancy. In addition, the
students should be better able to understand the activities of selection, organization,
and interpretation that constitute the process of perception.
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Activity 1.11 PERCEPTION OF PERSONS
Objective: Students should be able to identify factors by which we categorize others in
forming first impressions; to discuss the accuracy of our perceptions of others; and to
discuss the degree to which people’s perceptions of another person agree.
Procedure: This is a relatively threatening assignment for some, and it must be
performed by groups of students. Divide the students into groups of three or four. Have
each group observe a different person outside the classroom. Ask each group to decide
The students should bring the results of their experiment to the next class meeting and
discuss which cues seemed to be most important in their perception of others, the
accuracy of their observations, and the amount of agreement within the group about the
characteristics of others.
Debriefing: This activity illustrates the process of perceiving others; can be used to
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Activity 1.12 DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SEE
Objective: Students should be able to observe and understand that people have
different perceptions of one another and the impact these differences have on
interpersonal relationships.
Procedure: Circulate the adjective list below, and divide the class into groups of three
students. First, students should circle adjectives that best describe themselves. Then,
Adjectives: conservative, friendly, outgoing, controversial, skeptical, eclectic, easygoing,
nervous, affluent, intelligent, apprehensive, eager, risky, confident, jovial, flirtatious,
stylish, precise, shrewd.
Debriefing: This activity underscores the importance of recognizing interpersonal
qualities in other people and realizing that these qualities often play a vital role in
accurately perceiving them.
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Activity 1.13 SELECTIVE ATTENTION
Objective: Students should be able to identify ways in which selective attention helps to
create order in our perception of stimuli and explain how selective attention affects our
perception of others.
Procedure: After a discussion of how perception involves all five senses, have the
students focus on one sense at a time and describe what they perceive. Start with sight.
Indicate how we can see large objects, whole objects, and minute parts of objects. Then
After identifying a reasonable number of perceptions, discuss the factors that determine
which stimuli we tend to focus on—for example, information that fulfills our needs,
startling stimuli, familiar cues, and unusual stimuli.
Debriefing: This activity illustrates the nature of selective attention, can be used to
introduce factors that affect individual perception, and relates well to factors that affect
active listening.
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Activity 1.14 SELECTIVE RETENTION
Objective: Students should be able to define selective retention and identify the factors
that affect it.
Procedure: Instruct the students to number a piece of paper from one to ten. Tell them
that you will write ten words on the board. They will then be given two seconds to study
the words, after which they will write down as many of the words as they can remember.
Have them close their eyes while you write the following ten three-letter words on the
board.
many remembered each word. The most remembered will probably be dog, lap, boy,
and sex; and almost everyone will remember sex. As a variation, use the following list
of words and nonsense syllables:
retention. In the variation, sex and kkk are remembered best because of their familiarity
and because of the differences between those letters and the nonsense syllables that
compose the rest of the list.
Debriefing: This activity illustrates selective attention and retention and may also be
used to illustrate the arbitrary nature of symbols. That is, why do some symbols have
more impact than others? Why do some symbols convey meaning, while others do not?
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Activity 1.15 STEREOTYPICAL THINKING
Objective: Students should be able to understand how their perception process
operates in stereotyping others.
Procedure: Divide the class into two groups. Distribute the following list of individuals
and situations to students. Have students determine and role-play how two (or more)
individuals respond to the same situation.
Debriefing: This activity indicates that our perception of others is often based on our
ability and willingness to stereotype. Further, our interactions in our future relationships
are often determined by the stereotyping we do.
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Activity 1.16 VALUES AUCTION
Objective: Students should be able to identify the values and objectives that contribute
to their self-images and self-esteem; and to discuss the importance of commitment to
their personal goals.
Procedure: Each student is to receive an amount of “money” equivalent to the number
of months the student can expect to live. The formula is as follows: 72 years, minus the
student’s age, minus 3 if the student drinks heavily, plus 3 if the student is a woman.
Multiply the final result by 12. This final figure is the amount of money the student has
Auction Items
1. Receive straight “A”s for the rest of my college career.
3. Enjoy good health for the next forty-five years.
5. Have a better personality.
7. Make a significant contribution to the betterment of humanity.
9. Ensure that my parents will be financially secure for the rest of their lives.
11. Travel to any place of my choice, all expenses paid.
13. Be free to do whatever I want, whenever I want.
15. Have a date with a famous person of my choice. (Students must say who it is
when bidding.)
The class should summarize the results of the auction by identifying the characteristics
of the items that brought the most money, the items that produced the most spirited
bidding, and the items that no one seemed to want. They should distinguish between
short- and long-range goals, personal gain and the welfare of others, and personal
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Specifically, how much of their lives were they willing to devote to the goals they
desired? Did the bidding reflect a realistic amount of effort for attainment of the goals?
Have they begun devoting time and energy to achieving their goals?
Debriefing: This activity is designed to make the students aware of their goals, the
relative importance of their values, and how their values relate to the values of others.
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Activity 1.17 TEN STATEMENTS
Objective: Students should be able to identify positive and negative aspects of their
self-images; to describe the relationship between self-image and self-esteem; and to
discuss the factors that influence the development of self-image and self-esteem.
Procedure: After a brief discussion in which you define self-image and self-esteem,
have the students write ten words or phrases that describe themselves. When they are
Then ask the students to write up to ten positive statements about themselves, listing
things of which they are proud. Give them two minutes to complete their lists. Then, ask
them to write up to ten negative statements about themselves, listing things of which
they are not proud or that they would like to change. Again, allow two minutes. The
In most cases, the first list of ten positive statements describing a student’s self-image
consists mostly of personality traits and roles, with few descriptions of physical
characteristics. The negative list, however, usually contains more statements about the
The discussion among the class should focus on the reasons for the results that were
obtained. The factors that affect the students’ self-esteem probably include:
1. A superficial understanding of who they are; for example, they have not given a
great deal of thought to describing themselves to others.
3. They tend to focus more on their negative aspects than on their positive aspects;
for example, it is socially more acceptable to describe ourselves negatively than
it is to brag.
Debriefing: This activity illustrates the components of self-concept. The students
should become more aware of their own self-images and self-esteem, as well as of the
factors that affect the formation and maintenance of self-concept.
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Activity 1.18 HOW DO YOU BEHAVE WHEN . . .
Objective: Students should be able to describe their own behavior in relation to
different levels of self-esteem; to explain the influence of self-esteem on emotions and
Procedure: Distribute the “How Do You Behave When . . .” questionnaire that follows to
the students. They should complete the form individually and then discuss their answers
in groups of four or five.
How Do You Behave When…
Describe as specifically as you can the effect on (1) your language, (2) your facial
expression, (3) your posture and gestures, and (4) the way you dress when you are:
Nervous Carefree Cautious Friendly
The students should focus on the similarities between their answers and the answers of
the others in their group. They should also try to determine what behavior is most
affected by emotion. In other words, what behavior best indicates or betrays that they
are emotional? Conversely, the students should realize what behavior of others best
A class discussion of the relationship between emotions and self-esteem should follow.
The students should discover that a person’s self-esteem is closely related to the
Debriefing: This activity demonstrates the influence of self-esteem on emotions and,
consequently, on behavior. The activity focuses on verbal and nonverbal behavior and
may be used to illustrate the concepts discussed in later chapters. The students should
also be cognizant of the need for clarity in expression of feelings.
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Activity 1.19 OINK LIKE A PIG
Objective: Students should be able to explain the relationship between self-concept
and behavior; to identify the effect of their self-concepts on their behavior; and to
compare their perception of risky behavior with the perceptions of the other students.
Procedure: Distribute the “Oink Like a Pig” form that follows to each student. Have the
students work on it individually.
Oink Like a Pig
Assume that you are to perform each of the following tasks or activities in front of the
class. Number each of the tasks in descending order according to the degree of
embarrassment or discomfort it would cause you. Start with the most comfortable and
make it 1; the second, 2; and so on. Do not use the same number more than once.
___A. Oink like a pig.
___B. Walk on your hands.
___C. Walk while balancing a book on your head.
___D. Write “I love you” on the board ten times.
When the class is finished, make a class ranking for each item and list the totals on the
board. Ask if anyone will volunteer to perform any of the activities. This can be a little
risky, and you may prefer to call on a relatively uninhibited student. If no one volunteers,
ask the class to perform some of the activities in unison. For example, the entire class
may oink like a pig, or everyone may sing a song.
The class should try to ascertain similarities in the activities that were ranked as most
comfortable or most embarrassing. Important factors such as risk, self-esteem, self-
consciousness, supportiveness expected of peers, and peer pressure should be
discussed in relation to willingness to perform the tasks. If some of the students
performed some of the activities, ask if they felt as uncomfortable or as comfortable as
Debriefing: This activity illustrates the constraints imposed on our behavior by our
predictions of others’ reactions. Since self-concept is largely determined by our
perception of others’ attitudes toward us, this activity can be used to illustrate the
development and maintenance of self-esteem and self-image.
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Activity 1.20 IN THIS SITUATION I AM . . .
Objective: Students should be able to specify their personal self-images and self–
esteem in various situations; to discuss the relationship between their self-image and
their self-esteem in various situations; and to explain the concept of process as it relates
to self-concept.
Procedure: Have each student individually complete the “In This Situation I Am . . .”
form on the following page. After each student has completed the form, divide the
students into groups of four or five to discuss the responses. The groups should clarify
The discussion of this activity with the class should focus on the relationship between
the students’ self-concept and behavior in a specific situation. The students usually
notice a wide divergence of responses to the same situations. They also notice their
To illustrate the changing nature of the self even more dramatically, have the students
compare their current responses to responses they might have given last year or five
years ago. Self-concept varies not only with the situation, but also with time. The
students should realize that their self-concepts are not static and can be changed. They
Debriefing: This activity illustrates the interdependence of situational factors, self-
concept, and behavior. The process nature of self-concept is examined. Students
realize that people react differently to situations because of their self-concepts. The
activity also illustrates the acceptance of others and the factors that affect
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In This Situation, I Am …
For each of the situations listed below, identify your self-image and self-esteem by
answering the corresponding questions. It may be helpful to think of a specific
experience that illustrates each of the situations. For example, for “Party with Friends,”
think of a party you recently attended.
Family Dinner
Blind Date
Funeral
Party with
Friends
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Activity 1.21 BE TRUE TO YOURSELF
Objective: Students should be able to understand how their self determines the quality
of their daily interactions.
Procedure: Instruct students to keep a daily journal throughout the duration of this
chapter. Tell them that following significant interactions with their friends, they should
note how their self-concept was involved in those interactions. In other words, how did
the individual’s self-image and self-esteem function in the overall value of the
conversation that took place? This journal should be kept until the instructor facilitates a
Debriefing: This activity serves to point out that much of what is communicated in daily
interactions is contingent on our consciousness of our being. That is, we can determine
how valuable an interaction will be with a significant person.
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Mini Prezi PERCEPTION CHECKING
Objective: Students should be able to articulate the three main parts of perception
checking and discuss how they would go about checking their perceptions with others.
Presentation Script Information:
Look one:
• Breakdowns in mutual understanding sometimes occur because we interact with others based on
inaccurate perceptions.
• One strategy that can help you and others to avoid misunderstandings is to verify your
Look two:
• When you realize that you may be attaching faulty assumptions to what people do, the first step
in checking your perceptions is to describe to the other person the behavior that you observe.
• This step includes simply restating what you see and hear.
Look three:
• After describing behavior, the next step is to suggest a plausible interpretation for the behavior
you note that is of concern to you.
• This step involves some vulnerability on your part by bringing out into the open how you are
interpreting another person’s verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
Look four:
• The final step is to seek verification. In other words, you need to check whether the active
perceptions you are attaching to someone else’s interactions and behaviors are accurate or
inaccurate.
• When seeking verification, you ask the other person to help explain, confirm, or respond to the
perceptions you are forming about them.
• The most interesting part of this step is that we all sometimes experience internal issues (such as
not feeling well on a particular day) that sometimes impact how we interact with people in
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Look five:
• The best reason for checking your perceptions with others is that it is a simple way to increase
understanding of one another.
• I know that in my own mind I can sometimes make situations far worse by perceiving inaccurate
Look six:
• By being more open about your perceptions, and checking them when you are uncertain about
the interpretations you are forming, you can provide others a brief glimpse into your head, and
help them to better understand where you’re coming from.
Debriefing: After reviewing and discussing this brief material together you might ask