Perception
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment.
Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. This process, "The Perception Process", includes the perception of select stimuli that pass through our perceptual filters, are organized into our existing structures and patterns, and are then interpreted based on previous experiences. Although the perception is a largely cognitive and psychological process, how we perceive the people and objects around us affects our communication. We respond differently to an object or person that we perceive favorably than we do to something we find unfavorable. But 19 how do we filter through the mass amounts of incoming information, organize it, and make meaning from what makes it through our perceptual filters and into our social realities? As we go through our daily lives we perceive all sorts of people and objects, and we often make sense of these perceptions by using previous experiences to help filter and organize the information we take in. Sometimes we encounter new or contradictory information that changes the way we think about a person, group, or object. The perceptions that we make of others and that others make of us affect how we communicate and act.
PERCEPTION PROCESS
Selecting Information We take in information through all five of our senses, but our perceptual field (the world around us) includes so many stimuli that it is impossible for our brains to process and make sense of it all. So, as information comes in through our senses, various factors influence what actually continues on through the perception process. (Susan T. Fiske and Shelley E. Taylor, Social Cognition, 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 1991).
Selecting is the first part of the perception process, in which we focus our attention on certain incoming sensory information. Think about how, out of many other possible stimuli to pay attention to, you may hear a familiar voice in the hallway, see a pair of shoes you want to buy from across the mall, or smell something cooking for dinner when you get home from work. We quickly cut through and push to the background all kinds of sights, smells, sounds, and other stimuli.
Organizing Information
Organizing is the second part of the perception process, in which we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned cognitive patterns. Three ways we sort things into patterns are by using proximity, similarity, and difference. (Stanley Coren, “Principles of Perceptual Organization and Spatial Distortion: The Gestalt Illusions,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 6, In terms of proximity, we tend to think that things that are close together go together. For example, have you ever been waiting to be helped in a business and the clerk assumes that you and the person standing beside you are together? The slightly awkward moment usually ends when you and the other person in line look at each other, then back at the clerk, and one of you explains that you are not together. Even though you may have never met that other person in your life, the clerk used a basic perceptual organizing cue to group you together because you were standing in proximity to one another. 1.Selection Interpretation 2.Organisation 20
Interpreting Information Although selecting and organizing incoming stimuli happens very quickly, and sometimes without much conscious thought, interpretation can be a much more deliberate and conscious step in the perception process. Interpretation is the third part of the perception process, in which we assign meaning to our experiences using mental structures known as schemata. Schemata are like databases of stored, related information that we use to interpret new experiences. We all have fairly complicated schemata that have developed over time as small units of information combine to make more meaningful complexes of information.
UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS
In order to lead others, we need to be able to relate to and connect with people, their motivations, needs, and aspirations and in the case of transformational or charismatic leadership, their deepest values and core beliefs. Before others are willing to be led by us, they will want to connect to something within us - something that is authentic, real, and true. This is why when we talk about leadership; we often focus on ‘authentic leadership’ or being an ‘authentic leader’. In order to be an authentic leader, we need to be a person that others can relate to. We need to know ourselves, our beliefs and values, and how they manifest in our attitudes, behaviors, and actions and in the impact that we have on others.
Directing our self-development
We need to direct our self-development so that we understand:
Our strengths so that we can deploy them;
Our weaknesses so that we can manage them; and
The qualities, skills, and behaviors that we need to develop in order to lead, motivate and inspire others
Personal Development: Developing Self Awareness
Before you can plan your personal development you need to develop your self-awareness and assess your strengths and development needs. There are several ways that you can approach this:
1. Self-assessment/questionnaires: there are many leadership skills and qualities self- assessments available
2. Formal assessment e.g. through a leadership training program in your workplace
3. Feedback and discussion with your leader or other senior stakeholders
4. 360-degree feedback
5. Working with a coach or mentor
6. Self-monitoring and reflection on your outward behavior and its observable impact; what has worked well / not so well in the past?
In all cases where you are being assessed or receiving feedback from others, try to assess yourself on the same basis at the same time.
Then answer these questions:
1. How close is your own internal view of yourself to the way that others see you?
2. What is the likely cause of any divergence of views?
3. Do you understand how outward displays of your personality, attitudes, and behavior influence others’ perceptions of you?
4. How do your personality, attitudes, and behavior impact others (e.g. their motivation, emotions, and behavior) in the workplace?
5. How would you rate your level of self-awareness? Where are your blind spots?
Finally, in order to understand yourself and your willingness to lead others you should also take a detailed look at what really drives you. What drives you will influence what you value and enjoy, your attitudes and behaviors in the workplace, and is likely to provide insight into your strengths and talents. With all of this information, you should now be able to answer the following:
1. What qualities, skills, strengths, and behaviors do I have that positively influence my ability to lead others?
2. What values, attitudes and behaviors reduce or limit my ability to connect with and lead others?
3. What qualities, skills, strengths, and behaviors do I need to develop or strengthen in order to improve my ability to lead and bring out the best in others?
What drives me as a person, and how authentically do I reflect my inner self in my observable personality and behavior?
Your Personal Development Plan
After assessing your development needs, the next step is to:
1. Set your personal development goals
2. Document the actions that you need to take in order to achieve them in a Personal Development Plan.
Set milestones to track your progress towards your development goals. You can work towards your goals either, alone or with your leader, a coach, or a mentor. You might find formal or classroom training that meets your needs, or you might focus on learning from your own experience or trialing new behaviors in set situations to see if you can achieve more effective leadership outcomes.
UNDERSTANDING OTHERS
To become a good leader it is very important to understand others and Leadership is not a one-way ‘outward’ projection; to be successful, it needs to understand and respond effectively to the needs of followers and the leadership situation. As a leader, you need the skills to monitor how well your leadership style and your behavior fit with the needs of each situation and the people you are 22 trying influence. Developing a deeper understanding of personality, attitudes, and emotions will help you understand yourself, your behavior, and your impact on others.
This will help you understand others.
The topics in this section will help you:
1. Understand the personality, including how this is likely to influence attitudes and behaviors in the workplace and the implications that this has for motivation and performance;
2. Understand attitudes and their relevance in the workplace, including how they can influence behaviors and job satisfaction
3. Understand behavior, a key determinant of our ability to succeed at work as well as to lead and motivate others
4. Improve the way that you engage with, manage and motivate people as individuals;
5. Work with others to improve their attitudes and behavior in order to improve performance.
Understanding emotions also helps us understand our response to change, and the behavior of our people during times of change. This is a very important aspect of helping people and teams cope with change and implement successful organizational change.
FORMING IMPRESSIONS OF OTHERS
Impression formation refers to the process by which individual pieces of information about another person are integrated to form a global impression of the individual (i.e. how one person perceives another person).
In social psychology, the term person perception refers to the different mental processes that we use to form impressions of other people. This includes not just how we form these impressions, but the different conclusions we make about other people based upon our impressions. Consider how often you make this kind of judgment every day. When you meet with a new co-worker, you immediately begin to develop an initial impression of this person. When you visit the grocery store after work, you might draw conclusions about the cashier who checks you out, even though you know very little about this person. This allows us to make snap judgments and decisions, but it can also lead to biased or stereotyped perceptions of other people. Let's take a closer look at how a person perception works and the impact it has on our day-to-day interactions with other people.
What Information Do We Use to Form Impressions of Others?
Obviously, person perception can be a very subjective process that can be impacted by a number of variables. Factors that can influence the impressions you form of other people include the characteristics of the person you are observing, the context of the situation, your own personal traits, and your past experiences. 23 People often form impressions of others very quickly with only minimal information. We frequently base our impressions on the roles and social norms we expect from people. For example, you might form an impression of a city bus driver based on how you would anticipate that a person in that role to behave, considering individual personality characteristics only after you have formed this initial impression.
Physical cues:
Physical cues can also play an important role. If you see a woman dressed in a professional-looking suit, you might immediately assume that she works in a formal setting, perhaps at a law firm or bank.
Salience:
The salience of the information we perceive is also important. Generally, we tend to focus on the most obvious points rather than noting background information. The more novel or obvious a factor is, the more likely we are to focus on it. If you see a woman dressed in a tailored suit and her hair styled in bright pink, you are likely to pay more attention to her unusual hairstyle than her sensible business attire.
Schemata:
It’s important to be aware of schemata because our interpretations affect our behavior. For example, if you are doing a group project for class and you perceive a group member to be shy based on your schema of how shy people communicate, you may avoid giving him presentation responsibilities in your group project because you do not think shy people make good public speakers.
Social Categorization:
One of the mental shortcuts that we use in-person perception is known as social categorization. In the social categorization process, we mentally categorize people into different groups based on common characteristics. Sometimes this process occurs consciously, but for the most part, social categorization happens automatically and unconsciously. Some of the most common grouping people use include age, gender, occupation, and race. As with many mental shortcuts, social categorization has both positive and negative aspects. One of the strengths of social categorization is that it allows people to make judgments very quickly.
Realistically, you simply do not have time to get to know each and every person you come into contact with on an individual, personal basis. Using social categorization allows you to make decisions and establish expectations of how people will behave in certain situations very quickly, which allows you to focus on other things. The problems with this technique include the fact that it can lead to errors and as well as stereotyping or even prejudice. Consider this example: Imagine that you are getting on a bus but there are only two seats available. One seat is next to a petite, silver-haired, elderly woman, the other seat is next to a burly, grim-faced man. Based on your immediate impression, you sit next to the elderly 24 woman, who unfortunately turns out to be quite skilled at picking pockets. Because of social categorization, you immediately judged the woman as harmless and the man as threatening, leading to the loss of your wallet. While social categorization can be useful at times, it can also lead to these kinds of misjudgments.
Implicit Personality Theories:
An implicit personality theory is a collection of beliefs and assumptions that we have about how certain traits are linked to other characteristics and behaviors. Once we know something about a cardinal trait, we assume that the person also exhibits other traits that are commonly linked to that key characteristic. For example, if you learn that a new co-worker is very happy, you might immediately assume that she is also friendly, kind, and generous. As with social categorization, implicit personality theories help people make judgments quickly, but they can also contribute to stereotyping and errors.
References: Bargh, J. A., Chen, M., & Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 230-244.
Consistency
consistency is a tendency to see others as unitary wholes rather than collections of disparate, inconsistent characteristics. Evaluation-we forms a coherent impression of others, perceptual errors.
Stability-
Stability is a tendency for our perceptions of other people to remain the same over time- due to unlimited information self-fulfilling prophecy-idea that perceptions may act to produce their own confirming evidence.
Self-concept
a stable set of perceptions an individual has formed about himself from the present and past observations.
Self-esteem
the degree to which the person sees himself or herself as adequate or inadequate.
Defending
when something violates our expectations, our first tendency is to respond defensively
Adapting
resolve discrepancies
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon