CHAPTER 2: Perception and Communication
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying the topics in this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Recognize that perception is made up of a series of steps in which we select, organize,
and interpret information to create meaning.
3. Explain how our background and previous experiences shape the way we organize
information.
5. Provide examples of the reciprocal relationship between your perceptions and your use of
social media.
6. Apply this chapter’s guidelines to improve the accuracy of your perceptions.
MINDTAP ENGAGEMENT QUESTION
The first student activity in Chapter 2 asks students a polling question where they are presented
with a set of answer choices. One point is awarded regardless of what answer they choose. The
question is designed to reveal beliefs or assumptions about a chapter-specific topic. As an
instructor, you can view your classes’ responses as a pie chart within MindTap and discuss the
results in class, if you choose. This chapter’s question is:
When the perceptions of you and a friend differ, how do you determine who is correct?
a. I assume my perceptions are right.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Human perception concerns how we make sense of the world and what happens in it.
Perception is intricately intertwined with communication and is an active process of
selecting, organizing, and interpreting people, objects, events, situations, and activities.
A. Selection of stimuli is the first step in perception.
2. Our perceptions are influenced by how well we sense things.
4. We may deliberately influence what we notice (self-indication).
6. Our expectations influence what we notice (self-fulfilling prophecy).
7. Selective perception explains why it is dangerous to use social media while
driving.
B. Organization of stimuli helps us to make sense of it. Constructivism is a theory that
says we organize and interpret experience by applying four types of cognitive
structures called schemata.
2. Personal constructs are mental yardsticks or descriptions that allow us to position
people and situations along bipolar dimensions of judgment.
4. Scripts are guides to actions based on what we’ve experienced and observed.
C. Interpretation is the subjective process of explaining perceptions to assign meaning to
them.
1. Attributions are explanations of why things happen and why people act the way
they do. Attributions have four dimensions.
a. Locus attributes what a person does to either internal factors or external
2. The self-serving bias says that we tend to construct attributions that serve our
personal interests. This bias can distort our perceptions. Like many human
tendencies, the self-serving bias is influenced by culture.
II. Influences on Perception
A. Physiology influences our perceptions because people differ in their sensory abilities
and physiologies.
1. Senses influence our perception.
3. Age influences perception.
B. Culture influences our perception in powerful ways.
2. Modern Western culture influences our perceptions.
a. For example, the emphasis on technology influences perception in Western
cultures like the United States.
b. Our individuality influences our perceptions.
c. The culture in which we live can affect how we interpret visual stimuli.
C. Social and professional roles that others communicate to us influence our perceptions.
D. Cognitive abilities shape our perceptions.
1. Cognitive complexity refers to the number of different knowledge schemata used
to organize and interpret people and situations.
2. Person-centered perception is the ability to perceive another as a unique and
distinct individual.
a. Person-centered perception reflects cognitive complexity because it entails
abstract thinking and a broad range of schemata.
III. Digital Media and Perception
A. Our choices of social media shape our perceptions of events, issues, and people.
B. Membership in social communities affects what we say and post on social media.
IV. Guidelines for Effective Perception
A. Perceptions, communication, and abstraction
1. Words crystallize perceptions, or when we name feelings and thoughts, we create
ways to describe them and think about them.
3. Communication is based on a process of abstracting from complex stimuli; our
perceptions are not equivalent to the complex realities upon which they are based.
B. Five guidelines for enhancing competence
1. Recognize that all perceptions are subjective.
3. Check perceptions with others to understand other people and relationships.
4. Distinguish between facts and inferences.
5. Monitor the self-serving bias to avoid distorted perceptions of ourselves and
others.
You can also search for these terms directly in MindTap to find them in the Reader. Students can
use flashcards in MindTap to study key concepts.
KEY TERMS PAGE IN TEXT
Attributions 31
Cognitive complexity 36
Constructivism 28
Culture 34
Empathy 38
Interpretation 31
Mind reading 40
Perception 26
Personal constructs 29
Person-centered perception 37
Prototype 28
Schemata 28
Scripts 30
Self-fulfilling prophecy 28
Self-serving bias 32
Standpoint theory 35
Stereotypes 29
ACTIVITIES
1. What’s in a Face?
2. Selective Perception
The goal of this activity is to make students aware of how selectively they perceive and how
much of “raw reality” they usually don’t notice.
Tell students you want to help them perceive the classroom more fully than they have so far by
3. How I See You
The purpose of this activity is to provide students with a concrete understanding of how they use
cognitive schemata to organize their perceptions of others.
Begin the exercise with a brief review of the four kinds of cognitive schemata: prototypes,
constructs, stereotypes, and scripts. Then create small discussion groups in which students are
4. Stereotyping Exercise
In this exercise, students reveal their perceptions of how others stereotype groups to which they
1. First, ask the class to develop a list of groups, to which they belong or do not belong, that
are stereotyped by others. Be patient here; immediately, you will get the obvious groups
2. Next, ask students to identify with the groups on the board. This step involves grouping
students into the categories on the board for the purpose of discussion. Each class
3. Ask your groups to meet to consider how they are perceived incorrectly (stereotyped) by
4. Ask the groups to report back to the class. End the activity with a discussion about
5. What Happened?
This exercise is designed to help students think about attributions and how they affect our
explanations of how people act. Divide the class into groups of four to six and ask them to read
the following scenario about the break-up of Jill and Bob using the dimensions of attribution
theory (locus, stability, scope/specificity, and responsibility).
It all started when Bob had gotten tickets to a major concert in town. He had spent about $200
for each ticket and had planned a great evening for both of them. Bob liked to spend money on
Jill even though he really could not afford it and was running up huge debts on his credit card.
He blamed the card company for charging so much interest and the economy, saying that he had
had taken the time to purchase these hard-to-get tickets and had a nice evening planned for both
of them. He said, “I work hard to plan nice things for us and you’re still ungrateful. All you want
to do is study! All you care about are your stupid grades! You don’t care about me!”
6. Building Perceptions
This activity helps students examine the way our perceptions affect how we see situations and
people. For this activity, you will need building blocks such as wooden or plastic interlocking
blocks.
on perceptions seen in the simulation relate to those experienced in personal and professional
situations.
PROMPTS:
Only you know that the purpose of this activity is to build two towers as high as possible
You know that something is being done with the blocks, and you are strongly against the
use of yellow blocks. You do everything you can to keep the yellow blocks from being
used. You cannot take any blocks directly out of the bag.
JOURNAL IDEAS
• What are the effects of research studies that seek to identify “the differences between men and
women” in communication? What if the studies sought to identify “similarities between men
and women” instead? Would changing the question change the results?
• Analyze the attribution patterns you use to explain a mean or disappointing behavior by a
good friend versus someone who you do not like. Analyze how differences in your feelings
about the two individuals affect your attribution tendencies.
• Same-sex marriage is a controversial and important topic in the United States right now. How
does standpoint theory help us understand the different perspectives being advanced as this
debate plays out in the public sphere?
• What ethical issues are involved in perceptions? Write about an instance where you did not
initially perceive something or someone correctly. What caused your misperception? How
would you recommend that others avoid the mistake in perception that you made?
• How do your choices of social media shape your perceptions of events, issues, and people?
How does your membership in social communities affect what you say and post on social
media?
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES
There are additional student resources in MindTap. If you have a networked computer in your
classroom and a projection system for viewing the computer screen, you can easily introduce
your students by walking them through the process for accessing the website. If you don’t have
this projection and computer equipment in your classroom, you can share the resources in this
Web Links
Website Description
URL
This site illustrates how you can use self-fulfilling
prophecy to your advantage.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology–
writers/201210/using-self-fulfilling-prophecies-your-
advantage
This is the home page of the Institute of General
Semantics.
http://www.generalsemantics.org/
Direct students to this site to find out about current
demographic and economic statistics in the United
States. Have them check the population reports for your
state by using the search bar in the right column.
http://www.census.gov/
Videos
A Tale of O, a short video by Rosabeth Moss Kantor, is a simple but effective demonstration
about the symbolic and material effects of perceiving and being perceived as someone different
from the majority. The video raises issues of how our standpoints, cognitive schemas, and
Films
Forrest Gump (1994) provides many examples of how actively humans shape their realities by
the ways they perceive and label what exists and what it means. Excerpts from this film give
Wag the Dog (1998) is a good film for critically considering the relationship of technology,
mediated communication, and our perceptions of “reality.” It is also worth considering how the
the film is lighthearted and fairly simple, it provides a launching pad for a deeper discussion
about how we can understand another’s perspective. Ask students if they think it is possible to
truly see things from another’s perspective and what steps they can take to engage in effective
perspective taking.
TEST ITEMS
Multiple Choice Items
1. Elijah goes into the library to find his friend Aimee who went there to study. He walks
through the library until he sees her and then sits down beside her. Later Elijah’s friend
Marvin comes over and says, “Hey, man, why did you ignore me when you walked right past
me a minute ago?” Elijah shakes his head, not knowing why he didn’t see Marvin. Elijah’s
failure to see Marvin when he was focusing on finding Aimee is an example of
a. noise.
b. selective perception.
c. insular listening.
d. biased perception.
e. assimilation.
2. Shelli and Lisa are talking about their favorite teachers. They each have qualities and
characteristics that they feel make the ideal teacher. What are Shelli and Lisa talking about?
a. personal constructs
b. scripts
c. prototypes
d. schemata
e. person-centeredness
3. Jason passes Greg in the residence hall lobby and says hi. Greg does not say hi back. Jason
expected Greg to say hello in return. Jason’s expectation refers to
a. personal constructs.
b. scripts.
c. prototypes.
d. schemata.
e. person-centeredness.
4. Bipolar mental yardsticks that allow us to position people and situations along dimensions of
judgment are
a. personal constructs.
b. scripts.
c. prototypes.
d. schemata.
e. person-centeredness.
5. All of the following are cognitive schemata we use to make sense of phenomena EXCEPT
a. abstraction.
b. stereotypes.
c. scripts.
d. constructs.
e. prototypes.
6. The reason Letitia yelled at me is because she is a mean person. This attribution
a. assumes an external locus of control.
b. assumes a specific explanation.
c. assumes Letitia’s yelling is not stable.
d. assumes an internal locus of control and a global explanation.
e. All of these answers are correct.
7. Janet says, “I didn’t get a job offer because the interviewer was biased and it was a nasty day.
However, Ellen didn’t get an offer because she isn’t qualified.” This is an example of
a. construct differentiation.
b. stereotyping.
c. self-serving bias.
d. internal attributions.
e. scripting.
8. Ashley grew up in a poor neighborhood with parents who struggled to pay their bills. She
was even homeless for several months as a child after her family was evicted from their
apartment. As an adult, Ashley makes enough money to live comfortably, but she has a fuller
understanding of socioeconomic class due to her experiences as a child. Ashley’s perspective
on class is an example of
a. standpoint.
b. self-serving bias.
c. person-centered perception.
d. cognitive schemata.
e. constructivism.
9. The following are all influences on perception EXCEPT
a. age.
b. sensory abilities.
c. physiologies.
d. physiological state.
e. socioeconomic status.
10. Which of the following explains why it is dangerous to use social media while driving?
a. selective perception
b. perceptual organization
c. constructivism
d. personal constructs
e. self-indication