PERCEPTION

Geetika Puri

What will we cover?

Definition
Process
Factors that influence
Perceptual errors

Parable - Blind Men and an Elephant

What is perception?
The organisation, identification and

interpretation of sensory information in

order to give a meaning to the
environment.
Simply put ,our brains are tricked into
seeing something which may or may not be
real.

Perception Include Information from:

Process of Perception

Perceptual Selection
Factors that play an important role at the

time of interpretation of the stimuli.

They are divided into:
External factors affecting stimuli
Internal factors affecting stimuli

External Factors are:

Nature
Location
Color
Size
Contrast
Movement
Repetition
Novelty and Familiarity

Internal Factors are:

Learning
Physiological Needs
Age Difference
Interest
Ambivalence

Perceptual Organization
Perception organization is the process by which

people group stimuli into patterns.

Factors that help in perceptual organization:
Perceptual Grouping (Also known as Gestalts
Principles)
Principle of Similarity
Principle of Proximity
Principle of Closure
Principle of Continuity
Principle of Constancy

Principle of Similarity
Principle of Similarity: The similarity principle says that

things that are physically similar are perceived as

belonging together or as forming a whole figure.
Therefore, XXOO is seen as two groups, with the XX as
one group and the OO as another group.

Principle of Proximity
Principle of Proximity: The proximity

(contiguity) principle suggests that

things that are in close proximity to
one another are perceived as
belonging together

Principle of Closure
Principle of Closure: . The closure

(mental completion) principle states

that people tend to perceive
incomplete patterns as being
complete. We tend to fill in the
blanks based on prior experiences.

Principle of Continuity
Principle of Continuity: The continuity principle (law of

good continuation) holds that people categorize stimuli

into smooth, uninterrupted, continuous forms, rather than
into discontinuous patterns.

Principle of Constancy
Principle of Constancy: Perceptual

constancy refers to our ability to see

things differently without having to
reinterpret the object's properties.
There are typically three constancies
discussed, including size, shape,
brightness.

Perceptual Errors
Stereotyping: Stereotypes are generalizations,

or assumptions, that people make about the

characteristics of all members of a group, based
on an image (often wrong) about what people in
that group are like.
Horn/Halo Effect: It is a cognitive bias that
causes you to allow one trait, either good (halo)
or bad (horns), to overshadow other traits,
behaviors, actions, or beliefs. In psychology,
horns effects and halo effects happen all the
time.

Perceptual Errors
Recency Effect: This is the principle that the most recently

presented items or experiences will most likely be remembered

best. If you hear a long list of words, it is more likely that you will
remember the words you heard last (at the end of the list) than
words that occurred in the middle. This is the recency effect.
Primacy Effect: This is the tendency for the first items
presented in a series to be remembered better or more easily, or
for them to be more influential than those presented later in the
series. If you hear a long list of words, it is more likely that you
will remember the words you heard first (at the beginning of the
list) than words that occurred in the middle. This is the primacy
effect.

Perceptual Errors
Fundamental Attribution Error: According to the

Fundamental Attribution Error, we tend to explain our own

behavior and the behavior of others by assigning
attributes to these behavior.
Self Serving Bias: The self-serving bias describes how
individuals tend to take personal credit for successes and
place blame on external factors in cases of failure. In the
case of accidents, it is not uncommon for both parties to
place responsibility elsewhere.

Perceptual Errors
Self Fulfilling Prophecy: A self-fulfilling prophecy is a

prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to

become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due
to positive feedback between belief and behavior.