Perception

Perception: Meaning, Definition,
Principles and Factors Affecting in

Perception
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Perception: Meaning, Definition, Principles and Factors
Affecting in Perception!
Everyday different stimuli around us will be stimulating our sense
organs. Many of these stimuli are received by our sense organs and are
converted into sensations.
These sensations are transmitted to the concerned parts of brain.
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In turn the brain will interpret these sensations. It is only after such
interpretation we understand what the stimulus is.
Hence in understanding the world around us, attention occurs first,

followed by sensation and finally interpretation by brain.
This process of ‘interpretation of stimulus is known as perception’. So

perception involves two processes: sensation interpretation. But
interpretation of any stimulus requires past experience also. For
example, a child who has not seen an elephant earlier either in photo
or directly cannot identify that animal, whereas another child who has
seen earlier will identify the animal easily.
Hence, perception may be defined as “a process of interpretation of a

present stimulus on the basis of past experience”.
Perception is not as simple as said here. It is an integrated approach. It

is a synthetic process where different physiological and psychological
processes are involved. For example, the accuracy of sense organs,
clarity of sensations, mental set of an individual, etc. Otherwise our
perception may go wrong.
Principles of Perceptual Organisation:

William James American psychologist has said if we understand the
world as it appears to us, it will be a big booming- buzzing confusion.
Hence, we do not see the things as they appear, but we see them as we
want, i.e. more meaningfully.
In perceptual process we select a particular stimulus with our

attention and interpret it. In the same way whenever it is necessary
many discrete stimuli in our visual field are organised into a form and
perceived more meaningfully than they appear.
This phenomenon was well explained by Gestalt psychologists. They

believed that the brain creates a coherent perceptual experience by
perceiving a stimulus as a whole than perceiving discrete entities. This
is more meaningfully stated in the gestalt principle as ‘the whole is
better than sum total of its parts’. This is explained under many sub-
principles of perception.
Figure-ground Relationship:
According to this principle any figure can be perceived more
meaningfully in a background and that figure cannot be separated
from that background. For example, letters written with a white chalk
piece are perceived clearly in the background of a blackboard.
In the Figure 3.2, two faces can be seen in the background of a white
colour. So also the white background can be perceived as a vessel in
the background of two faces.
Grouping of Stimuli in Perceptual Organisation

As said above, according to gestalt principle, the objects can be
perceived meaningfully when they are grouped together. There are
some principles which are followed by us in order to make our
perception more meaningful.
They are as follows:

a. Proximity:
Proximity means nearness. The objects which are nearer to each other
can be perceived meaningfully by grouping them. For example, the
word ‘Man’, here though the letters are discrete, when grouped
together gives some meaning. The stars in the Figure 3.3 which are
nearer to each other are perceived together as groups/single figure.
b. Similarity:
Stimuli need not be nearer to each other for perception. If there is
similarity in these objects, they are grouped together and perceived,
even if they are away. For example, in this Figure 3.4 grouping will be
done according to similarity, i.e. all circles, squares and triangles are
grouped separately.
c. Continuity:
Any stimulus which extends in the same direction or shape will be
perceived as a whole Figure 3.5A and B. For example, (A) in this figure
though the curved line is broken, it is perceived as a continuous line,
so also straight line is not seen with semicircles but as a continuous
line (B) the dots are perceived as existing in the same line of direction
continuously.
d. Closure:
When a stimulus is presented with gaps, the human tendency is to
perceive that figure as complete one by filling the gaps psychologically.
For example, in the Figure 3.6, the gaps are filled psychologically and
perceived as letters M and A, circle and a rectangle.
e. Symmetry:
Objects which are having symmetrical shape are perceived as groups.
For example, the brackets of different shapes shown in the Figure 3.7
perceived meaningfully, because they are grouped together and
perceived as brackets.
Perceptual Constancy:
This refers to stableness in perception. We have a tendency to perceive
the objects as relatively stable and unchanging in shape and size,
inspite of a change in the image that we receive.
For example, when we see a person from 5′ distance, the size of the
image in our eyes differs from the image of the same person from 100′
distance.
Even then we perceive him as the same person. When we see people
and houses from the top of hill, the images will be very small like
Lillyputs. But we do not get confused by this. We perceive them
correctly according to their actual size.
Perceptual constancy depends upon several factors like past

experience, expectancy, habits, motivations, cognitive styles, learning,
imagination, etc.
Types of perceptual constancy:

There are different types of perceptual constancies. They are shape
and size, brightness and colour, size constancy, etc.
Depth Perception:
Ability of a person to perceive the distance is known as depth
perception. This is very important ability to judge the distance
between us and other people, objects and vehicles moving particularly
when we are on roads. This is also known as third dimension. The
other two dimensions are left and right, and above and below.
Cues:
Depth perception is possible due to certain cues. These cues help us to
understand the distance between one person and the other person or
object.
These are of two types:

a. Monocular cues:
These are the cues that can operate when only one eye is looking.
Some of such cues are:
Linear perspective:
The distances separating the images of far objects appear to be
smaller. For example, imagine that you are standing between railway
tracks and looking off into the distance. It appears that the tracks
would seem to run closer and closer together at the other end.
Aerial perspective:
The nearer objects appear clearer than the distant objects. For
example, a hill in far of distance appears farther away because the
details do not seem clearly.
Interposition:
When one object obstructs our view of another, the front one appears
nearer than the partly covered one. For example, in the Figure 3.8—
the hill which appears full is definitely nearer than the partly seen.
Gradient structure:
A gradient is a continuous change in something- a change without
abrupt transitions. Usually the regions closer to the observer have a
coarse texture and many details. As the distance increases, the texture
becomes finer and finer.
This happens very gradually and gives a cue about the depth or
distance. In Figure 3.9 the structures which are nearer appear larger
than the distant one which appear smaller as the move away.
There are some other monocular cues also viz., movement, shadow,
etc.
b. Binocular cues:
Sometimes the depth can be perceived when both eyes are used. This
is called binocular cue. There are 2 binocular cues:
1. Retinal disparity:
The image of the object which falls on both the retinas differs.
Disparity will be more when the object is closer than when it is far
away. Depending upon the correspondence between the distance and
the amount of disparity, the depth can be perceived.
2. Convergence or divergence of eyeballs:

When the object moves nearer and nearer to our eyes, our eyeballs
converge, and as the object moves away from us the eyeballs diverge.
This process acts as a binocular cue to perceive the depth.
Perception of Movement:
When a particular object appears in different places at different times
we understand that the object is in movement. This process is called
perception of movement. Such an ability to perceive movement is
gained from birth itself as a natural process.
This is a most important ability. It is only by this ability the organism

can understand the world around and can perceive the dangers /
threats in the movement, so that it can easily escape from such
dangers.
Apparent motion:
Sometimes we perceive that the objects are moving. In fact the objects
are stationary, i.e. they will not be moving. Hence the perception of an
object which is not moving, as an object moving is an illusion. For
example, when we are moving fast in a bus, the trees, plants and other
non-moving objects appear to move in the opposite direction.
In the same way, even the movements of figures in a film appear to

move, though they remain without movement. Since moving pictures
are taken continuously and the film reel is run very fast, it produces a
movement feeling called stroboscopic motion or phi phenomenon.
Factors Affecting Perception:

There are individual differences in perceptual abilities. Two people
may perceive the same stimulus differently.
The factors affecting the perceptions of people are:

a. Perceptual learning:
Based on past experiences or any special training that we get, every
one of us learns to emphasise some sensory inputs and to ignore
others. For example, a person who has got training in some occupation
like artistry or other skilled jobs can perform better than other
untrained people. Experience is the best teacher for such perceptual
skills.
For example, blind people identify the people by their voice or by

sounds of their footsteps.
b. Mental set:
Set refers to preparedness or readiness to receive some sensory input.
Such expectancy keeps the individual prepared with good attention
and concentration. For example, when we are expecting the arrival of a
train, we listen to its horn or sound even if there is a lot of noise
disturbance.
c. Motives and needs:

Our motives and needs will definitely influence our perception. For
example, a hungry person is motivated to recognise only the food
items among other articles. His attention cannot be directed towards
other things until his motive is satisfied.
d. Cognitive styles:
People are said to differ in the ways they characteristically process the
information. Every individual will have his or her own way of
understanding the situation. It is said that the people who are flexible
will have good attention and they are less affected by interfering
influences and to be less dominated by internal needs and motives
than or people at the constricted end.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP):

Is there any way of knowing about the world in which the information
does not come through the senses? Some people believe that is
possible. But there are some instances reported by people that they
have experienced some perceptions without the aid of their sense
organs. Psychologists have named the perception that occurs without
sensory stimulation as ‘Extrasensory perception’ (ESP).
This is otherwise known as sixth sense in common man’s view. Some

of the common phenomena in ESP are clairvoyance, telepathy,
meeting the souls, precognition, psycho-kinesis, reincarnation, etc.
Though research is going on, the researchers are unable to confirm

them, because these experiences are not repeatable for verification. In
many instances they remain as coincidences.
Errors in Perception:
As seen above perception is process of analysing and understanding a
stimulus as it is. But it may not be always possible to perceive the
stimuli as they are. Knowingly or unknowingly, we mistake the
stimulus and perceive it wrongly.
It may be due to defect in our sense organs or defective functioning of

the brain. Many times the prejudices in the individual, time of
perception, unfavourable background, lack of clarity of stimulus,
confusion, conflict in mind and such other factors are responsible for
errors in perception. There are two kinds of errors:
a. Illusion:
Illusion is a false perception. Here the person will mistake a stimulus
and perceive it wrongly. For example, in the dark, a rope is mistaken
as a snake or vice versa. The voice of an unknown person is mistaken
as a friend’s voice. A person standing at a distance who is not known
may be perceived as a known person.
Most of our illusions are visual and auditory. But illusions pertaining
to other senses are also possible. See Figure 3.10 for some of the
examples of visual illusions.
b. Hallucination:
Sometimes we come across instances where the individual perceives
some stimulus, even when it is not present. This phenomenon is
known as hallucination. The person may see an object, person, etc. or
he may listen to some voice though there are no objects and sounds in
reality.
Hallucinations pertain to all the sensations appear in people, but

visual and auditory hallucinations are more common. Usually persons
with unsound mind, emotionally disturbed, alcoholics and those who
are in confused states may experience hallucinations. However, among
abnormal people and intoxicated persons hallucinations are very
common.
In addition to these errors, there are some abnormalities in our sense

perceptions called anaesthesia (no sensation), hyperesthesia
(excessive sensitivity) and paraesthesia (distorted or wrongly localised
sensation). In these cases the tactile (skin) sensation is wrongly
perceived.
Observation and Nurse:

Good and keen observational ability is an essential characteristic of a
nurse. The most important activities of a nurse include observation of
changes in pulse, respiration, heart beat and blood pressure because
they indicate general condition of a patient. The condition of the
postoperative case, the emergency cases also require accurate
observation.
Observation involves attention and perception. The nurse should

always concentrate her attention on duties.
Distraction of attention may lead to serious consequences like death of

a patient. Attention helps to understand the problems of patient. At
the same time, accurate perception helps the nurse to have a clear
picture of the condition of the patient.
While attending the emergency cases, during operations and other
serious conditions accurate perception of the situations help the nurse
to deal with the situation in an effective manner.
6 Major Principles of Perceptual

Organisation | Perception |
Psychology
This article throws light upon the six main principles of perceptual
organisation. The principles are: 1. Closure 2. Pragnanz 3. Proximity 4.
Similarity 5. Continuity 6. Inclusiveness.
Principle # 1. Closure:
Gestalt psychologists claimed that when we receive sensations that
form an incomplete or unfinished visual image or sound, we tend to
overlook the incompleteness and perceive the image or sound as a
complete or finished unit. This tendency to fill in the gaps is referred
to as closure.
Show figure 7.2 to your friend for a brief time. The partial outlines of
the figure will be filled out and your friend might say that it is a
square, though it is not, in-fact, one. But even if it is seen as an
incomplete square it shows that your friend first saw a square and
later registered its incompleteness. This illustrates that the principle of
closure was in operation. This shows a tendency to perceive
meaningful objects.
Principle # 2. Pragnanz:
The term pragnanz indicates fullness or completeness. Gestalt
psychologists are of the view that the process of perception is dynamic
and goes on changing until we reach a stage of perceiving with
maximum meaning and completeness. Once we reach this point, the
perceived gestalt remains stable. Such a stable gestalt is called a good
gestalt.
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The perceptual process according to gestalt psychology tends to move

towards a good gestalt. This phenomenon is very obvious in the case of
children. If once they perceive something, they keep on asking
questions about it which may appear silly to an adult. Closure is one
basic mechanism which illustrates the principle of pragnanz.
The reader should not confuse between perceiving a good gestalt and
the accuracy of perception. The term good gestalt means that at that
stage the perceptual process is stable and that under given conditions
a clear figure-ground demarcation has been arrived at.
Apart from the above principles, other principles which play a role in
the organisation of perception are proximity, similarity, continuity,
etc. They explain how perception takes place in the presence of a large
number of stimuli. Perceptual organisation, under such
circumstances, is determined to a great extent by the laws of
association-similarity, continuity, etc. These principles are explained
with the aid of illustrations below.
Principle # 3. Proximity:
When objects are close to each other, the tendency is to perceive them
together rather than separately. Even if the individual items do not
have any connection with each other they will be grouped under a
single pattern or perceived as a meaningful picture (Fig. 7.3).
For instance, when the English teacher in the class questions a

student, ‘What is often?’ This is completely different from the
question, ‘What is of..ten?’Both the sentences contain the same sounds
but the way the speaker groups the sounds and where he pauses will
determine how the sounds are perceived.
Principle # 4. Similarity:
Similar elements tend to be perceived as belonging together. Stimuli
that have the same size, shape and colour tend to be perceived as parts
of the pattern as shown in Fig.7.4
Principle # 5. Continuity:
Anything which extends itself into space in the same shape, size and
colour without a break is perceived as a whole figure (Fig. 7.5). For
example, when several dots form a curved line, an individual may
perceive the figure as two different continuous lines irrespective of the
factors like proximity and similarity of the dots. Thus, the whole figure
is organised into a continuum though the dots are unconnected
(Fig.7.5).
Principle # 6. Inclusiveness:
The pattern which includes all the elements present in a given figure
will be perceived more readily than the other figures. For example, in
Fig.7.6 the hexagonal figure formed by all the dots may be perceived
more readily than the square formed by the four middle dots. Single
dots at either end act as a fence or enclosure within which all the other
elements are included.
We have here examined some of the factors which play a role in the
organisation of perception. These principles explain how perception is
often independent of characteristics of individual stimuli.
While discussing the phenomena of sensation it was mentioned
that often our perception bears very little connection to the actual
stimulus situation. We now know that this is because of the fact that
perception is a complex and active process influenced by many factors
other than stimulus characteristics.
Home ›› Perception ›› Perceptual Organisation ›› Principles of Perceptual Organisation ›› Psychology
Impression Formation | Perception |

Psychology
It is a part of human nature that we tend to form impressions of

people, things and objects. We tend to classify people as good, bad,
strong, weak, helpful, unhelpful and in fact into so many other
categories. Similarly, we form impressions about things and objects.
An excellent example of this is what is called ‘brand loyalty’.
We consider certain brands of things like soaps, toothpastes etc., to be

always good and superior than others. Thus we see that impression
formation is a basic characteristic of human nature. Some form
impressions early and some form impressions slowly.
Some tend to form their impression on the basis of their own

experiences and others tend to accept impressions from others. For
example, if I tell my close friend that a particular individual is good
and competent he is most likely to accept it.
While on the one hand all of us tend to form impressions of people

and things, there are people who, by the same logic stand to gain by
creating impressions in the minds of others who matter. A young man
appearing for an interview tries to be at his best when facing the
interview board.
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Similarly, people who want our help try to create an impression that
they have been cheated and put to undue suffering. In view of this, it is
not surprising that psychologists have taken to a serious study of
various factors which influence impression formation. The processes
are very subtle.
The interest of psychologists in undertaking sustained research and

study of impression formation can perhaps be traced to the early work
of the gestalt psychologists. Since the time gestalt psychology came out
with its theories and laws of perception, a lot of research has gone into
the various factors and processes which influence the processes of
impression formation. The principle of closure is of particular
significance. Impression formation is thus, a natural tendency when
we tend to arrive at suitable, ample and meaningful cognition.
Earlier, an attempt was made to examine some of the issues and

factors involved in perception of another person in a direct situation.
Emphasis in that context was placed on the cues used by the perceiver,
the traits and characteristics of the perceiver, the contextual and
situational conditions etc.
While the findings presented there might mostly be of theoretical

interest and also mainly related to inferences and judgements by the
perceiver on specific attributes, qualities and characteristics of the
perceived individual, in this section we move on to a different
situation.
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The Gestalt theory as we very well know, primarily rested on the

assumption that people while perceiving always look for meanings and
in this process tend to close gaps. The reader must have certainly
learnt how people even while perceiving a physical stimulus tend to
close gaps and see an incomplete square or rectangle.
It is this particular perceptual mechanism which very often underlies

the process of impression formation. Thus, a well-dressed person, with
skill of communication and good manners creates a very good
impression. The reader can see a similarity between impression
formation and stereotyping.
People form impression about other individuals or groups of people

either on the basis of limited experience or even without experience.
Thus people form impressions about occupations and many other
things. Some occupations are considered to be noble and others not.
The process of impression formation is often highly subtle, even
unconscious and is influenced by a number of factors.
Impression formation is essentially a form of person perception. The

reader no doubt, while doing a basic course in psychology must have
become familiar with the process of perception and some of the
principles governing the same. He must have come to know that very
often because of its dynamic nature, an impression is formed on the
basis of a few pieces of information. People, while forming impression
do not always depend entirely on sensory data or facts.
Formation of Impression: 3 Factors

| Perception |Psychology
This article throws light upon the three main factors that influence
formation of impression. The factors are: 1. Appearance 2. Physical
Attractiveness 3. Cognitive and Learning Styles.
Factor # 1. Appearance:
Appearance is believed to be an important factor in forming an
impression. Many among us try to put on a special appearance for
occasions where we are likely to meet people who are influential, who
have power, and can satisfy our needs and help us reach our goals. In
fact, even at an institutional level this practice has been adopted. It is
often found that people put on special clothes and an appearance to go
to a religious place even though they are far from religious.
Thus we see that clothing is a factor which influences the formation of

impression. When the author of this article was young, he used to
think that every person wearing a khadi cap was a patriot. But wisdom
dawned soon. It is possible that even today some innocent people
carry similar impressions. Many of us perceive people carrying cell
phones as very important people. The pity is this is what they want us
to do.
Factor # 2. Physical Attractiveness:

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There is a general tendency to attach everything good and desirable to

people who are beautiful and attractive. To a large extent, there is
agreement among people as to who is beautiful and who is not. Even
from the level of preschool classes, in general, beautiful and attractive
children are liked more both by teachers and even other children.
Dion in a study found that an act is perceived as less mischievous and

naughty if the child in question is attractive. Dion, Berchild & Walster,
and Cliffort & Walster found that in general even teachers rate
physically attractive children as more intelligent, notwithstanding
identical achievement records compared to some children who are not
physically attractive.
In the case of adults also, impression formation about others is
influenced by physical attractiveness. This was found by Walster &
others. According to them, college students in picking their dates for a
computer dance from photographs were mainly guided by physical
attractiveness.
This emphasis on physical attractiveness is not in consonance with the

usual claims of reader in personal discussions where they were
eloquent and swear that they value qualities like intelligence,
friendliness, sincerity, simplicity as observed by Vreland. On the other
hand, Dion, Walster & Berschild found that college students rate
physically attractive females as possessing desirable traits, thus
showing the role of physical attractiveness in impression formation.
Yet in another study Berschild, Walster & Camburg found that

physically attractive people who were rated very highly on desirable
traits later on were found not to live up to the images conjured up of
them when they were young. In many instances, in later life, they were
found to be unhappy, maladjusted, and on the whole not leading a
very wholesome life unlike what would have been expected of them if
one were to make a prediction from the virtues attributed to them.
Evidence of this type goes against the assumption held by people that
if certain traits are attributed to people they try to improve and live up
to the predictions. Mckeachie in a study found that people tended to
judge women wearing lipstick as more frivolous.
While physical appearance may be a factor in the formation of

impressions, evidence shows that physical appearance alone cannot go
too far in impression formation. Certainly there are other factors and
also the factors of the length of contact of observations.
In another study, Argyle & Mchenry found that when photographs of

people wearing glasses and not wearing glasses were exposed to
subjects for a very short duration there was a tendency for the subjects
to judge the former category to be more intelligent and smart.
But in another series of photographs which showed the same persons
involved in discussions and arguments on some specific subjects, and
also for a longer duration, the opinions changed. It appears therefore
that the greater the amount of information and more varied the
information which is available about a person, the impact of physical
appearance, attractiveness, clothing etc. appears to follow the
principle of diminishing returns.
Factor # 3. Cognitive and Learning Styles:

The reader is already familiar with the role of cognitive and learning
processes in the development of behaviour. Social perception
including person perception at any stage is influenced by the cognitive
processes which include perceptual processes and the learning
processes.
This is particularly true of adult social behaviour. It has been observed

by psychologists that people, as they grow and develop, acquire
characteristic and consistent modes of dealing with the stimuli in the
environment, both social stimuli and non-social stimuli. Considerable
research of such consistencies and individual differences has led to the
development of the concept of style.
Even early in the history of psychology attempts were made to

characterize people as global, analytic, integrative etc. In fact, such
descriptions were part of the early attempts to classify people into
different types. But while these early attempts were based on
impressionistic descriptions, more recently considerable amount of
empirical studies and analysis of individual differences in cognitive
behaviour has led to the view that given the same stimulus situation
people differ in the way they deal with them and assimilate them and
that such ways can become generalized and consistent modes
permitting very often even predictions of cognitive behaviour.
The term style has been used in a number of ways. In common sense
use the term style is used to discuss superficial and visible
characteristics of behaviour like style of talking, style of walking, style
of smiling etc. But from the point of view of psychology, the
implication of the term style goes much deeper.
It is used to describe not only superficial features but a whole lot of

thoughts, processes and approaches, consistently employed by an
individual, in transactions with reality. The apparent stylistic features
stem from whole systems of basic perceptual and thought processes
and in a way the overall basic approach a person employs to interact
with reality.
According to Guild & Garger, style is concerned with cognition. People

perceive and acquire knowledge in different ways. Style is also
involved in the process of interpretation, organization and
conceptualization of knowledge gained through the perceptual
process. People form ideas and their thought processes work
differently.
Style is also concerned with the affective processes; people have

different affective reactions, feelings and emotions and ultimately
values. Style influences the behaviour. It is but natural when
perceptual, conceptual and affective processes get integrated into a
stylistic type of organization, that behaviour should also show a
stylistic characteristic.
One may go on listing other implications of style. But this may not be
necessary. Suffice it to say that in many individuals, one finds
persistent and consistent modes of organizing and reacting to
experiences whether social or non-social irrespective of the actual
contents of experience. In a way, one may describe the style as an
integrated orientation including cognitive, affective and behavioural
components.
The acquisition of a particular style by an individual is again

influenced by socio-cultural factors, early childhood experiences and
interactions, and even the formalized educative processes. Thus one
often comes across the experience where social scientists look at a
particular social problem in a manner different from philosophers and
politicians. The artist differs from all these people. While these are
extreme instances, it is nevertheless true that even ordinary people
evolve their own styles.
One of the approaches to the study and understanding of the concept

of style, is the phenomenological approach. According to Gregore, the
phenomenological perspective on style offers the proposition that
stylistic characteristics are powerful indicators of deep underlying
psychological forces that help guide a person’s interactions with
existential realities. It gives us a way, though limited, to gain
knowledge about ourselves as complete, integrated, wholistic and
meaning-seeking human beings. It also provides a means by which we
can come to realise what impact we have and the other way.
Is it necessary to make a distinction between cognitive style and

learning style? Opinion here seems to be divided. On the one hand
some people are of the view that there is a difference between the
learning process and the cognitive process.
On the other hand Siegel & Coop view learning style as an integrated
concept that bridges the personality and the cognitive dimensions of
the individuals. Gibson on the other hand argues that learning style
and cognitive style are synonymous.
According to him learning styles are the ‘different ways in which

people process information in the course of learning’. However, it may
be stated that by virtue of its very intrinsic nature, the term ‘learning
styles’ is a comprehensive part of a broader concept of ‘cognitive style’.
From the point of view of social behaviour including social perception,
however, which very often involves socially responding to complex and
unstructured situation, the concept of cognitive styles appears to be
more appropriate compared to the more limited concept of learning
style which probably becomes more operative in a restricted and
structured situation.
Whether learning style or cognitive style, the style of an individual is

influenced by a number of factors, some developing and unfolding as a
result of an individual’s experiences during the process of growth.
Style while being relatively stable can however change over time and
that too gradually. Maturation is an important factor.
According to Dunn cognitive or learning style is influenced by

environmental factors, emotional factors, sociological factors, and
physical factors. Some of the environmental factors which affect
learning and cognitive styles at a given time are sound, light,
temperature etc.
Some of the emotional factors include motivational conditions,

tendency to persist, etc. The sociological factors that appear to affect
learning or cognitive style are the type of people with whom one reacts
in a cognitive situation, their basic social attitudes like reaction to an
authority figure, the age stratification, social structure etc. Dunn
mentions the factors like cognitive inclination, global analytic,
impulsive, reflective etc.
We shall presently be discussing a few points of differences between

perception of a person and a perception of an object.
Incidentally, sometimes other terms like social perception, social

cognition and person cognition have been employed by some writers
to mean more or less person perception. But here again we will see
that there are differences.
Basically, the term person perception means the processes and

mechanisms by which we come to know and look at other persons,
their qualities, their characteristics, their intentions, dispositions etc.
Thus, we look at one person as dependable, honest, courageous etc.
We do not attribute these qualities to a chair or a table. Of course, in

some rare instances people do describe some chair or table as lucky or
unlucky but in a lighter vein. So, person perception involves not only
responding to the physical characteristics but also the process of
making inferences about the characteristics of the person, like his
ability and interest, arriving at judgements, and making predictions
about the other person.
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These inferences and judgements in turn influence our relationship

and interaction with that person. In a basic sense, the perception of a
person is the same as perceiving an object as stated by Brunswick. But
in as much as we try to perceive internal characteristics like values,
attitudes, intentions, beliefs, emotions and similar internal attributes
certainly person perception is different from the perception of a
physical object.
Person perception unlike object perception involves complex

psychological mechanisms and processes in the perceiver. In person
perception we are not content with simply seeing and noting the
physical characteristics of others. We do not just say, we are seeing a
man wearing a business suit and glasses.
We go beyond these obvious features and infer about or attribute to

him underlying motives, interests, abilities and thoughts. On the
whole, we try to arrive at an overall picture, image impression or idea
of the person. This is an important and crucial difference between
person perception and object perception. Person perception involves
our own values and attitudes.
Yet another factor which makes for a qualitative difference between

person perception and object perception is that in the case of the
former, the perceiver and the perceived have several points of
similarity unlike in the perception of a physical object. This makes for
a lot of difference. In perceiving a person, the perceiver can and very
often does make use of his own past experiences in judging etc.
Social Perception and Person
Perception | Perception|
Psychology
After reading this article you will learn about social perception and
person perception.
Social Perception:
The term social perception is very freely used by psychologists. Yet it is
a very difficult term to define. Sometimes, it is used synonymously
with person perception, which may not be strictly correct. Similarly,
one can also mean that perception of any stimulus issue or event
which has either a social origin or implication, constitutes social
perception. This is a contextual approach.
On the other hand, one can also take a causal approach which means
that any act of perception, which is or is likely to be influenced by
social and cultural factors can be brought under social perception.
Defined this way, almost every act of perception may be categorized as
social perception because very often, even the perception of physical
stimuli is influenced by social factors.
All of us are familiar with the classical experiments, where rich and
poor children have been shown to differ significantly in their estimates
of the sizes of the coins. Nevertheless, while this definition may lead us
to bring within its scope a large number and variety of social facts, it
has the advantage of being more comprehensive and inclusive.
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Thus we may for the purpose of our discussion on social perception,

accept the position that any act of perception which is influenced by
social and cultural factors can be regarded as constituting social
perception, and treat the subject of person perception separately.
The study and analysis of social perception serves two functions from
the viewpoint of the psychologists. First, it helps us to understand the
role of social, cultural and experiential factors in leading to individual
and group differences in the perception of the same situation or
object, among different cultures, societies, classes and communities.
Such studies can explain the similarities of social perception within a
homogenous social group and at the same time the differences and
variations among groups.
A second and probably a more crucial point is that it has been shown
that our perceptual processes are influenced by needs, values, interests
etc. and are not just dependent on the physical characteristics of the
stimuli. The above factors, probably there are many more, lead to
selectivity in perception.
Further, these factors influence the elements in the stimulus situation

that are selected by an individual, not only for perception but also
interpretations. The perceptual process involves becoming aware of
stimuli and also the interpretations of the same.
It has been shown that at both these stages, individual and cultural.
variations play a determining role thus highlighting the role of
‘motivations’ and intentions in shaping the processes of perception.
Many of the social factors are motivational factors, are acquired and
can find satisfaction only in a social context. Thus from both these
angles we can see the influence of social and cultural factors in
perception.
Psychologists while studying social perception have extended the

meaning of the term perception to mean many processes and
behavioural events, that go beyond the traditional use of the term.
Used in the context of social perception, the process includes complex
processes like inference, judgement, categorisation etc.
In fact, many theories have been primarily concerned with the
processes of judgement, categorisation, inference etc., which normally
speaking do not strictly fall under the term perception. In one sense in
this extended use, the term perception has virtually come to be
synonymous with the term cognition. Nevertheless this extended use
of the term perception has helped to understand how different kinds
and levels of perceptual and other cognitive processes are interrelated.
Traditional psychologists for a long time held the view that the same
laws, principles, dynamics and mechanisms involved in perception of
physical objects should be adequate enough to explain what we
describe as social perception also.
But very soon this view ran into difficulties as researchers began to
generate evidence that social factors and experiences to a large extent
influence perception in a social situation and further, that socially
determined perception influences even non-social acts of behaviour.
In the classical book ‘Theories and Problems of Social Psychology’ by

Krech and Crutchfield this trend of thinking is strongly visible. This
was one of the earliest explicit attempts at bridging the gap between
perception of the non-social type and perception in the context of
social behaviour or social interaction or in other words, social
perception.
Experiments came to be conducted to study the influence of factors

like judgements and norms on perception and how these factors
affected the reliability of perception. A result of this has been an
increasing emphasis on the studies of biases, distortions, norms etc.
particularly in social situations.
But there were other views also contributing to the linking up of social
perception to perception in general. Bruner observed that ‘if
perception in general necessarily involves processes of categorisation
and also the evolving or arriving at an adequate system of
categorisation which would serve as a frame of reference or anchor
point for perceiving, judging and matching the kinds of stimuli, then
there is no reason to doubt that such a system of categorisation will
influence instances of perception of social objects, issues and events
which are more complex and both require and admit a wide and large
number of possibilities and lend themselves to more amenable
classification’.
The implication is that the phenomena of social perception like

formation of stereotypes can be subjected to categorical analysis as
ordinary sensory stimulus inputs.
From this, we can see that the term social perception has
come to include three major types of perceptual phenomena
or activities:
Firstly, it refers to the perception of people or other persons;
Secondly it also includes processes of distortion which are assumed to

result from socially determined factors like values, needs, norms,
attitudes etc.
And finally there have also been studies which could tell us more
about cognitive phenomena and the linkages and relations among
different types of cognitive processes like inference, judgement,
categorisation etc. The question of defining social perception gets
more complicated if we take into account the interests of
anthropologists like Kluckhohn in cultural differences in perception
and thought concerning even physical factors like space and time.
Person Perception:
Interests in the study of person perception probably received scientific
attention from the work of Charles Darwin. It was perhaps his
observations on the emotional behaviour of men and animals that
probably gave an impetus to the study of perceiving others.
Later, towards the early part of this century, the interest was extended
to study the processes and mechanisms involved in coming to know
the characteristics of others. Naturally this was extended to study the
possible variations and errors in judging the characteristics of others
and an analysis of the various factors which contribute to such errors.
It was expected, that by such studies we would be able to arrive at

some description or a profile of people who may be good judges of
people. Subsequently attempts were also made to study the
relationships of such perceptions to actual behaviour in relation to the
person judged. Thus attempts were made to study how far our
perceptions of another person influences our actual interaction.
Let us take a look at the various factors which are likely to influence
our perception of another person. At the outset, we may say that the
process of person perception is influenced by certain characteristics in
the perceiving person or the perceiver. Then there are factors in the
situation, or context, under which the perception of the other person
takes place.
Finally the perceptual or cognitive factors employed by a perceiver and

perhaps certain other factors also influence perceiver and perhaps
certain other factors also influence perception. Let us represent the
perceiver by the symbol ‘X’ and the perceived person by ‘Y’. Thus
characteristics of ‘X’ and characteristics of ‘Y’ and the other situational
contextual factors all come into play.
a. If one may list them, they are the characteristics and conditions of
‘Y’ like his intelligence, his emotional conditions, his intentions, his
attractiveness etc.
b. The accompaniments or concomitant characteristics.
c. The cues from ‘Y’ are behaviour cues which are available to ‘X’, cues
from the outside environment, outside the person ‘Y’, these
characteristics can be distant or proximate to ‘X’,
d. The cognitive processes involved in using these cues.
e. Similarly, the perception of judgement of ‘X’ about ‘Y’.

Research in the field or person perception has by and large, centered
around the above issues and the interrelationships among them.
Some of these issues are:

1. Firstly, many researchers have tried to analyse the degree of
consistency and manifestation of the inner states and the process in
the object person who is being perceived. If these are consistent forms
of external expression of inner states, then which one among them are
made use of by the perceiver in arriving at the judgement about the
person?
2. Any perceiver in arriving at his judgement very rarely uses all the
sensory cues; some are more useful and others are less useful. In
arriving at his judgement or perception, the perceiver employs a
number of behavioural perceptual processes. Researchers have been
interested in analyzing the process and also finding out the differences
if any in the process involved in the person perception and object
perception.
3. Finally and naturally investigators have also been interested in the

degree of correctness or validity of the judgements of the perceiver
about the perceived person. If valid information on the last point can
be arrived at, then perhaps, it may be possible to train people in
observing others and arriving at judgement about them.
Unlike judging or perceiving a physical object where very few and that
too overt and physical cues guide the perception, person perception
involves multiple cues which are much more in number, more diverse
and many of them are implicit and covert. No doubt externally
observable physical cues like gestures, degrees of perceptible anxieties,
facial expression etc. are used by the perceiver, but things do not stop
there.
An actor can very well portray these things without there being a
corresponding internal state. It is because of this that real person
perception depends on the use of other types of cues which are not so
visible, dependent on the context and circumstances which differ and
which are not very consistent.
If we perceive a person as dishonest this is based not only on physical

or physiological cues, but on a number of other cues which directly or
indirectly guide our process of perceiving the individual. Moreover
perceivers may use different cues on different situations and with
different people.
If we are to understand the process of person perception, then the first

step is to understand the kinds and nature of the cues used by the
perceiver in the process of person perception. Here different
approaches can be used. For example, we can use the jury technique
and have a number of judges and take their consensus.
A little more sophisticated method is to use expert opinion. We may

also use the ‘self reports’ by the perceived in arriving at the nature of
the cues. We may on the basis of his reports try to identify the
characteristics that could have helped the perceiver.
Finally, when judgement involves complex psychological variables

even a psychometric assessment can be employed. Another possibility
open to us is to start with the present stimulus and then
experimentally study the conditions and attempt to establish
connections between these and the various forms of cognitive
judgements they generate.
It is precisely this approach which was pioneered by Heider and Jones

& Davis. This approach has emerged and evolved and resulted into
what is called the ‘Attribution Theory’. Of course, there are variations
among different psychologists who, while broadly subscribing to the
attribution approach, nevertheless advocate varying types of
attribution. These various versions have already generated
considerable amount of research and controversy.
Cues Employed in Person Perception:

Brunswick has argued that the various cues employed by the perceiver
in perceiving another person are interchangeable and a variety of cues
can be used for attributing a particular trait or quality to a perceived
individual. It is this attribution of covert disposition or trait which
plays a crucial role in the subsequent action and interaction. But even
here, some attributed dispositions and conditions perhaps, are more
important than others. Jones & Davis have discussed this elaborately
in their work ‘From Disposition to Act’.
One of the important elements which is attributed is the ‘intention’ of

the person especially those relating to the perceiver. By and large
people tend to look at the other as responsible for action or as agents
of action.
In addition, two other inferred variables appear to play a major role.

These are the general good and bad qualities on the one hand and his
power on the other. The former included qualities like sincerity,
goodness etc. and the latter include the power of the other in relation
to oneself.
To arrive at such inferences and judgements there are two broad

sources of cues of information, one being the expression, gestures and
actions of the person and the other relating to the contextual factors or
the conditions under which the behaviour occurs.
There appears to be a general agreement that the action appearances

and other features of the person, independent of the context can help
in arriving at certain inferences or inferences about dispositions. Thus,
by and large internal, emotional and mental states can be gauged from
expressions.
A number of studies have shown as reviewed by Bruner and Goguire

that broad emotional categories can thus be judged. These
characteristics of the person very often lead the judges or perceivers to
arrive at two or three possible inferences.
Similarly situational and contextual information can also be of help.

Thus, if we know that a person has just then won a prize or award,
then with this contextual information we do not even have to look at
him to infer his internal status. Thus, person behaviour as well as
‘contextual cues’, each has its importance and aids in perceiving the
other person.
However, these two sources of information interact and help in

lending reality to the judgement. The observer or the perceiver
combines these two sets of cues, those from the person and those from
the situation, and arrives at the judgement which is very often realistic
and functional.
It is here that we find that a third set of characteristics or cues enter

into the picture. The cues received from the behaviour and action of
the perceived individual and the contextual cues are sifted and
organized by the perceiver who thus emerges as the third factor. Here
we may see often that a judge works on ‘what could be the internal
state of the perceived individual’ and in this process he thinks what
would be the internal state if he were himself to be in that situation.
The judge puts himself into the shoes of the perceived individual. Most
judges assume similarity between themselves and the perceived
person, given a situation. Thus principles of similarity and empathy
contribute quite a bit in arriving at judgement. Similarly, the tendency
to attribute enduring dispositions or characteristics results in the
ascription or attribution of in variance to social or person perception.
This tendency to attribute invariance, perhaps results from the general
trend in cognitive processes to maintain and maximize ‘cognitive
balance and minimise dissonance’. Some theories known as balance
theories have emphasized this point. Thus, the perceiver arrives at an
integrated totalistic perception of a person who is perceived as being
consistently and homogeneously of a certain type-good, bad, bright,
dull, irritable, pleasant etc. It is here that what are generally referred
to as halo effect and logical effect come into operation.
The halo error or effect refers to a tendency to generalize our

judgements from a known situation to an unknown situation. Thus if
we perceive a person as an irritable individual, then this impression
may be generalized and extended to perceive him as unpleasant,
difficult to deal with etc.
On the other hand, logical error or effect is based on the perceiver’s

idea of the relationship between different characteristics. Thus, we
often believe that a person who is honest in money dealings will be
honest in the work situation also, and in view of this he will be very
punctual. These relationships in the minds of the perceiver among
various traits also contribute to the formulation of the total stable
perception.
Yet another process which comes into operation in our attempt to

understand the other person and his behaviour is the tendency to
attribute intentions or intentionality. Intentions are generally
enduring and if we can understand the intentions of the other person,
this can lead to stability and consistency of meanings.
Very often, this process comes into operation even when the objective
behaviour of the person does not warrant this. This tendency to
attribute intentions helps us to see the other person as the origin or
initiator of action. In fact, one major process in arriving at an
integrated view of the other person and his actions is the tendency to
judge whether the cause of action is located within the person, thus
making him responsible or whether the cause is outside and beyond
his control.
Thus, the location of the cause ultimately decides how the behaviour of
the other person is perceived and inferred. In view of this it is not
surprising that very often identical types of behaviour are judged as
being different and also different types of behaviour are often judged
as being similar in meaning. In fact intention is an important
component even in deciding the magnitude of an offence in court of
law.
An important feature which has not been taken much notice of is that
when continuous interactions are involved, the observer or perceiver
first tries to arrive at a baseline or minimum characteristics and
attributes of the other person and then all subsequent actions are
judged against this baseline and as deviation or variations of this.
Thus, a person who is rated as strict, if he happens to be lenient with

someone, this lenience gets a higher rating. Very often while referring
to a person’s actions we say ‘I did not expect this from him. I expected
something else’. These expectations show how a person’s actions are
judged against a basic impression formed of him earlier.
It may therefore seen that our perception of others is influenced by a

number of assumptions we make, like enduring dispositions,
intentionality, basic baseline, image etc. All these may be considered
as part of the typical implicit personality variance. Thus, these
assumptions affect our perception of other persons just as our
attitudes, conceptions and needs influence our perception of any
situation or problem or event.
The Concept of Cognitive Style:
While the concept of learning style has emerged essentially out of
phenomenological-oriented studies and researches on the process of
learning, the concept of cognitive style on the other hand has emerged
out of personality theories, personality research, research in
perception and also clinical studies.
According to Messick the term cognitive style represents an

individual’s typical ways of information processing and absorbing
information processing habits, representing the individual’s typical
mode of presenting, perceiving, thinking and problem-solving and
remembering. A style certainly gives a distinctiveness and consistency
to the individual’s cognitive behaviour. This way they almost become
similar to cognitive behaviour.
It should however be clearly noted that the cognitive style of a person

is very much independent of his abilities. While abilities deal with the
quality of the contents of cognition, the style tells us about how an
individual receives, processes and integrates information. The term
ability has an evaluative implication which is not the case with the
term style.
Attempts have been made to analyse the concept of cognitive style,

some into dimensions of perceptual styles primarily concerned with
the perception and analysis of data and formation and retention styles,
dealing with an individual’s style of problem-solving, memory process
etc.
Messick and his associates classified the dimensions under two major
categories.
The two major categories are:

(1) Stimulus reception styles and
(2) Concept formation styles.
Under the first category, are perceptual modality preferences, visual,

auditory field independence or dependence, scanning, constriction or
flexibility, tolerance for incongruous experience etc.
Under the second category Messick and his associates include speed of
concept formation, reflection vs impulsivity, early generalization vs.
gradual generalization, compartmentalization, complexity vs
simplicity and leveling vs. sharpening
It is perhaps not necessary to go into a detailed explanation of these

various categories at this point. But it may readily be seen that some of
these variations in styles of cognition can have a significant impact on
social perception and behaviour.
For example, people who are levellers tend to integrate new

experiences with past experiences and with the result do not feel upset
by unusual experiences. On the other hand, those who are sharpeners
tend to highlight even small differences and separate new experiences
from previous experiences.
The significance of this can be seen in the context of stereotype

formation. Those who are levellers tend to acquire and learn
stereotypes much faster than those who are sharpeners. The latter are
slower in acquiring and stabilizing stereotypes.
Similarly, those individuals who are faster in concept formation are
more likely to resort to stereotyped thinking and over-generalizations
than those who are slower. Then there are people who as a matter of
style are inclined to compartmentalize experiences and the
characteristics of others into rigid categories.
Such individuals again are more likely to take easy recourse to

stereotyping. A similar tendency can be discerned in those who prefer
simplicity of cognitive organization as opposed to those who have an
inclination for cognitive complexity. A person with a simple cognitive
style invariably looks for consistency, order and regularity as opposed
to the individual who is more attuned to complexity. Sometimes this
variation is also referred to as concrete vs. abstract.
Types of Cognitive Style:

One of the popular classifications of people into cognitive types has
been that of Witkin. Witkin classifies people into two broad cognitive
types, the Field Dependent and Field Independent. The two types
reflect contrasting means and modes of information processing.
While in their extreme forms, the two may appear to be contrasting,

nevertheless one can see a continuum from extreme field dependence
to field independence. In general, a person who is more field
dependent tends to be influenced by contextual factors compared to
an individual who is more field independent.
In an attempt to draw a distinction between the field

dependent type and the field independent type, Pat Berke,
Guild & Garger present the following table of
characteristics:
The implications of the above difference for social perception and
interaction are obvious, and there is no need to indulge in a lengthy
explanation of the same.
Gregore’s Phenomenological Approach:

In a phenomenological approach based on an analysis of one’s own
experience, Gregore argues that people in their cognitive and learning
styles vary on two dimensions. The first dimension varies from an
extreme concrete orientation to an extreme abstract orientation.
The second dimension varies from a sequential approach to a random

approach. Here people vary between an extremely systematic and
sequential approach at one end to a random approach on the other. In
interaction, these two dimensions help us to classify people into four
types or styles. Concrete sequential, Concrete random, and Abstract
sequential and Abstract random.
According to Gregore these respective orientations or styles certainly

reflect highly discerned motives, thought processes and attitudes. It
was also found that while many people usually operate with one or two
styles, others are more adaptable and flexible showing what he calls
‘style flex’.
In brief the descriptions of the four cognitive styles are as

follows:
(a) Concrete Sequential:
This reflects a preference for order precision, details, actual experience
etc.
(b) Abstract Random:

Abstract random orientation is marked by a preference for
emotionality, sensitivity and flexibility in time, strong relationships
with others etc.
(c) Abstract Sequential:

This style indicates a preference for intellectual process and values
logic, rational, analytical and theoretical.
(d) Concrete Random:

This style approaches the physical world including others as medium
or opportunity through which one can extend and develop one’s own
creative talents. These persons are curious and inquisitive and think
for themselves.
Kolb and his Experimental Learning Model:

According to Kolb cognitive styles vary along with two dimensions,
concrete to abstract and active to reflective. Based on these models
Guild & Garger indicate that there can be four styles of leaners. The
first type of learner who relies on concrete sensing and again is
reflective.
They raise the questions of ‘why’. They are also very much influenced
by their own personal values and integrate cognitive experiences with
their beliefs, feelings etc. This type can be called Cognitive- Reflective
(C-R). The second category who may be described as Abstract-
Reflective (A-R) are primarily oriented towards integrating experience
with what they know.
Their emphasis is on facts, accuracy, cognition and the right answers.

The third type of learner. Abstract-Active (A-A) is again primarily
oriented towards thinking and abstracting. The emphasis is on active
learning. They want to be doing and are involved. Primarily they are
pragmatic and value-oriented.
The fourth type, the Concrete-Active (C-A) rely very much on concrete
sensing and feeling. At the same time, they are active. They are
oriented towards assessing relationships and connections among the
different elements. They seek to facilitate cognitive process in others.
Thus, the phenomenological approach distinguishes different
cognitive styles, based on the general orientation and attitude of the
individual.
The implication of cognitive orientations including learning styles to

social perception is obvious. In general, the styles of people are the
same whether the learning situation is social or non-social. One can
readily see the implications of style variations in the acquisition of
stereotype, social attitudes including prejudices etc.
Further it has also been shown that such stylistic preferences are very
much related to personality types, attitudes, emotionality and values.
It is here that the stylistic variations in cognition assumes importance
particularly in social psychology.
In any programme on bringing about attitude change, the presentation

of the message and the contents certainly should take into account the
predominant stylistic orientations. Factors like bias towards concrete
or abstract, perception, analytic or wholistic bias, active or reflective
inclinations of these are to be reckoned with in planning and deciding
programme of attitude change whether in the classroom or in the
organizational set up.
Home ›› Perception ›› Psychology ›› Social Perception and Person Perception

Role of Stereotypes in Perception |
Perception | Psychology
After reading this article you will learn about the role of stereotypes in
perception.
The term stereotype means something fixed, without variations. In a

psychological sense it means a fixed way of responding to or
perceiving or judging the qualities of a group of people who shared
some common characteristics.
For example, if we believe that every person who is able to

communicate fluently in the English language should be very
intelligent, then this is an example of stereotyping. Now what is
happening here is that certain fixed ways of perceiving which have
been learnt and acquired earlier in different contexts come to control
and determine ‘person perception’ irrespective of the particular
situation and object-specific characteristics.
Thus, there are several examples of stereotyping. When the senior

author was young ‘he used to be told that people who are very short
cannot be trusted’. Similarly in some cities in the north, house owners
prefer South Indian tenants, because people from the south are
generally perceived as cleanliness-oriented, less aggressive, and pay
the rent regularly.
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Now we can see that impressions acquired earlier based on one’s own
limited experience or impressions transmitted by others and not based
on one’s Stereotypes lead us to attribute certain qualities to others.
Very often, this results in wrong perception and judgement, making us
insensitive to individual differences. But occasionally stereotypes do
provide a helpful base for perceiving and judging others. Stereotypes
can be positive or negative.
Similarly, they may influence not only our perception of other persons
but also sometimes of even physical objects. Thus, brand loyalty is an
example of a stereotype. Many people come to believe that a certain
branded tea is good and go on hunting for it. This is also an example of
stereotypes.
Some of the earliest studies on stereotypes were carried out at the

University of Michigan (Katz, Rice and others). In a very interesting
experiment, a set of photographs of people dressed in different styles
was given. The reader were told that one photo was that of a senator,
one that of a politician, one that of a bootlegger etc.
They were asked to identify which photographs represented whom.
Actually, there was no other clue and the reader should have pleaded
their inability to do what they were asked to do, but this did not
happen. Very quietly and silently they went on identifying and
matching the various photographs with various occupations and of
course most of their judgements were wrong. Subsequently when they
were asked as to what cues they have employed, they were rather
vague and referred to the dress, the type of hat a person was wearing
etc.
Differences in Person Perception |

After reading this article you will learn about the differences in person
perception.
Sex Differences:
Research investigations have indicated that there are differences
between boys and girls in person perception. It has been shown that
girls tend to describe adult figures in a less differentiated manner and
also in a more favourable light compared to boys.
Boys tend to lay emphasis on aggressiveness, non-conformity etc.,
while girls have been shown to be inclined to emphasize nurturance,
physical appearance and social behaviour. Women on the whole have
been shown to rely more on stereotyping, be less analytical, more
intuitive and more concerned with psychological attributes than men.
Women interestingly appear to depend more on visual cues compared
to men.
Individual Differences:
Besides basic and general issues in person perception, there is enough
evidence to show that there are considerable degrees of individual
differences, depending on a number of factors. Thus personal
cognitive styles appear to affect person perception as much as
perception of non-social stimulus.
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Styles like the style of integration, analytic versus global orientations,

which are perceiver characteristics do play a role. Similarly the
conception or belief we have about human nature and even personality
traits have also been found to be influential. Some concentrate on
external and physical traits while others look for internal
characteristics.
Then there are some who emphasise more on stimulus characteristics

and others on situational characteristics. Thus personal characteristics
including one’s mental sets, response sets and related conditions can
influence person perception. But the relationship between perceiver’s
characteristics and the degree of accuracy appears to be very varying
and complex. In view of this it becomes very difficult to predict who is
likely to be a better and accurate judge and who is not.
Perhaps, there is more similarity between person perception and
object perception than we thought. Many leading psychologists like
Taguiri are of the view that the recent trend of studying person
perception not in isolation but as part of psychological processes is
most welcome.
Difference between Sensation and

This article will help you to differentiate between Sensation

and Perception.
J. J. Gibson maintains that sensations are cues, clues, signs,
indicators, and messages. In his view, there are no pure sensations.
According to him “sensations are occasional symptoms of
perceptions, and not causes of it.” Perception is the function of
the stimulation by the physical energy proceeding from the
environment.
R. H. Forgus defines perception as the process by which an
organization receives or extracts certain information about the
environment. G. Murphy describes perceiving as the process of
coming in terms with the environment, playing up with certain
features, and playing down with others. In brief, there is no sharp line
of demarcation between sensation and perception.
However, some of the subtle differences between sensation
and perception may be stated below:
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(1) Sensations are the integral elements in perception. They are the
simple awareness of qualities e.g., colour, sound, taste, odour, heat,
cold, etc. due to the excitation of the sense-organs and interpretation
of the meanings of sensations in the light of past experience and
awareness of objects in the environment, and of their relations to one
another.
(2) Perception is more complex than sensation. It is a fusion of

sensation with ideas.
(3) Perception involves selection of stimuli and combination of them

into a pattern. Sensation does not involves selection and combination.
(4) Perception involves the stimulation of the sense-organs,

conduction of nerve current from the sense-organs by the sensory
neurons to the sensory area of the cerebrum, and the excitation of the
association areas. But sensation does not involve the excitation of the
association area.
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Woodworth defines sensation as the first response of the brain, and

perception as the second response of the brain, because sensation is
the response of the sensory area of the cerebrum, and because
perception is the response of the association area as well as the
sensory area.
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Role of Sense Organs in Receiving
and Transferring Information to
Brain
Role of Sense Organs in Receiving and Transferring

Information to Brain !
We known that the role of brain in perceiving and evaluating the
experiences is undoubtedly crucial. But it is equally important to know
the role of sense organs in receiving the information and transferring
the same to the concerned part of brain.
It is a well known fact that the human being has five sense organs, viz.,
eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. These sense organs are the
instruments by which the mind is brought into relation with external
world. Without these sense organs no information can reach the brain.
That is the reason they are called as the ‘Gateways of knowledge’.
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In this background it may be described that,’ sensation is a process of

shifting of information from sense organs to the brain’.
Let us understand physiological process underlying in any sensation.

The sense organs are connected by sensory cranial nerves. Each sense
organ will have receptor neurons in it. When a stimulus from the
environment reaches the sense organ, the receptor neuron will receive
it and converts the same into a form of neural energy, and shift it to
the concerned part of brain through the sensory nerve. The brain will
evaluate this energy on the basis of past experiences and other
intellectual abilities and interpret it. Hence, this ‘process of shifting of
stimulus from sense organ to the brain through sensory nerve is called
sensation’.
The sense organs and sensations are as follows:
Eye- vision, Ear- audition, Nose- olfaction, Tongue- gustatory and
Skin- tactile sensation. Each of these sense organs has a distinct
function to perform, i.e. ear can only hear, eye can only see but cannot
hear and so on.
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The latest studies have shown that in addition to the above five, there
are three more sensations viz., static sensation for body balance,
kinesthetic sensation for muscular movements and organic sensation
for inner organs.
The receptors of sensory organs like eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin
are placed superficially and can receive stimuli from outside the body,
whereas the receptors in static, kinesthetic, and organic are placed in
inner portions of the organs.
They are stimulated by conditions within the organism and its cavity.
There are some receptors which are located between the internal and
external surfaces in muscles, tendons, joints, semi- circular canals and
vestibules of the ear. They give rise to kinesthetic and static
sensations.
The behaviour of the organism is directly influenced by these

sensations. In turn the sensations result only from the stimuli that
reach cortex and are consciously perceived. For good sensations,
healthy sense organs are essential. But many times we come across
people suffering from many sensory defects. These defects may be
related to stimuli, sense organs, sensory nerves or brain.
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The behaviour of the individual will be healthy if there are no

problems. On the other hand sensory defects like blindness, colour
blindness, deafness, etc. may affect the behaviour. Sometimes the
patients suffering from mental illness like conversion hysteria may
also complain of sensory problems.
Hence, it is important for the nurses to have clear knowledge of

sensations, sensory organs and the sensory defects, because when a
patient with some sensory defects approach her, she can understand
his behaviour and problems and help the patient to get a better
treatment and to lead an adjusted life.
Home ›› Organs
3. What did Weber discover about jnds with regard to weight

discrimination?
Weber's Law
E. H. Weber, in 1834, had the following insight:
The number in this example are made up; your values may vary in practice.
If you lift up and hold a weight of 2.0 kg, you will notice that it takes some effort. If
you add to this weight another 0.05 kg and lift, you may not notice any difference
between the apparent or subjective weight between the 2.0 kg and the 2.1 kg weights.
If you keep adding weight, you may find that you will only notice the difference when
the additional weight is equal to 0.2 kg. The increment threshold for detecting the
difference from a 2.0 kg weight is 0.2 kg. The just noticeable difference (jnd) is 0.2
kg.
Now start with a 5.0 kg weight. If you add weight to this, you will find that the just
noticeable difference is 0.5 kg. It takes 0.5 kg added to the 5.0 kg weight for you to
notice an apparent difference.
For the weight of magnitude, I, of 2.0 kg, the increment threshold for detecting a
difference was a I (pronounces, delta I) of 0.2 kg.
For the weight of magnitude, I = 5.0 kg, the increment threshold I = 0.5 kg.
The ratio of I/I for both instances (0.2/2.0 = 0.5/5.0 = 0.1) is the same. This
is Weber's Law.
Weber's Law states that the ratio of the increment threshold to the background
intensity is a constant. So when you are in a noisy environment you must shout to be
heard while a whisper works in a quiet room. And when you measure increment
thresholds on various intensity backgrounds, the thresholds increase in proportion to
the background.
The fraction I/I is known as the Weber fraction (aka Fechner fraction). If we
rearrange the equation to I=IK, you can see that Weber's Law predicts a linear
relationship between the increment threshold and the background intensity. Below is a
plot of some hypothetical data showing Weber's Law. The slope of the line is the
Weber fraction.
A TVI plot
Threshold Versus Intensity
sometimes called a TVR plot for thresholds
for detecting light (threshold versus radiance).
Weber's Law is not always true, but it is good as a baseline to compare performance
and as a rule-of-thumb.
On a plot of log( I) vs log I, the slope of the resulting line is one if Weber's Law
holds.
A modified version of Weber's law is as follows:
where a is a constant, usually small that represents a baseline level of activity that
must be surpassed.
Here is real data from Aguilar and Stiles (1954) plotting increment thresholds.
Each curve plots the same data in a different way using the two y-axes. See if you can
interpret the data? Where is Weber's law approximately true?
Introduction
The Difference Threshold (or "Just Noticeable Difference") is the minimum amount
by which stimulus intensity must be changed in order to produce a noticeable
variation in sensory experience.
Ernst Weber (pronouned vay-ber), a 19th century experimental psychologist, observed

that the size of the difference threshold appeared to be lawfully related to initial
stimulus magnitude. This relationship, known since as Weber's Law, can be
expressed as:
Weber's Law, more simply stated, says that the size of the just noticeable
difference (i.e., delta I) is a constant proportion of the original stimulus value. For
example: Suppose that you presented two spots of light each with an intensity of 100
units to an observer. Then you asked the observer to increase the intensity of one of
the spots until it was just noticeably brighter than the other. If the brightness needed
to yield the just noticeable difference was 110 then the observer's difference threshold
would be 10 units (i.e., delta I =110 - 100 = 10). The Weber fraction equivalent for
this difference threshold would be 0.1 (delta I/I = 10/100 = 0.1). Using Weber's Law,
one could now predict the size of the observer's difference threshold for a light spot of
any other intensity value (so long as it was not extremely dim or extremely
bright). That is, if the Weber fraction for discriminating changes in stimulus
brightness is a constant proportion equal to 0.1 then the size of the just noticeable
difference for a spot having an intensity of 1000 would be 100 (i.e., delta I = 0.1 X
1000 = 100).
Weber's Law can be applied to variety of sensory modalities (brightness, loudness,

mass, line length, etc.). The size of the Weber fraction varies across modalities but
in most cases tends to be a constant within a specific task modality.
Instructions for the Laboratory Experiments
This lab will allow the participant to measure their just noticeable difference
thresholds for the discrimination of line length using a psychophysical procedure
known as the Method of Constant Stimuli.
Method of Constant Stimuli Experiment
Objective
Choose the longer of the two line segment stimuli presented on the screen (for a given
trial). You will be asked to enter approximately 240 judgments (60 each at four
different levels of standard line size).
Sample Method of Constant Stimuli Screen
Explanation of the Stimulus Screen
The bottom of the stimulus screen displays the controls that you will be using for this
experiment. You can indicate which of the lines you judge to be longer by using the
mouse and "clicking" the appropriately labeled button. By doing so, the computer
will lock-in your judgment and automatically display the next pair of line
stimuli. [Keyboard Shortcut: You can also indicate which line segment appears longer
by using the RIGHT-ARROW and LEFT-ARROW keys. If these keys appear
unresponsive at first, try again after using the mouse once or twice.]
Results
 Once you have completed judging all of the stimulus pairings, the results will
be automatically displayed. These results summarize the percent of the time
your judgment was correct as a function of the difference in line length (for
each of the four ranges of line length examined). Save a copy of this data in
your lab notebook.
 To find your difference threshold for the four ranges of line length examined,
you must first plot the psychometric function obtained for each level of
standard stimulus line size (30, 90, 150 and 210 pixels). This is accomplished
by plotting the "percent correct judgment" on the y-axis as a function of the
"difference in line size" (delta I) on the x-axis. Once plotted, interpolate the
"difference in line size" value that yields 75% correct performance. This point
is the difference threshold.
 Once each difference threshold (delta I) has been interpolated convert it to
the Weber fraction equivalent (delta I/I).
 Plot the Weber fractions obtained at each of the four ranges of line length and
determine whether Weber's Law holds true for just noticeable differences in
line length.
Notice
Completion of this experiment requires approximately 200 responses (so both
patience and effortful attention are required).
What is psychophysics?
Psychophysics originated with the research of Gustav Fechner (1801-1887),

who first studied the relationship between incoming physical stimuli and the
responses to them. Psychophysicists have generally used two approaches in
studying our sensitivity to stimuli around us: measuring the absolute
threshold or discovering the difference threshold. In studying the absolute
threshold using the method of constant stimuli, an experimenter will, for
example, produce an extremely faint tone which the listener cannot hear, then
gradually increase the intensity until the person can just hear it; on the next
trial, the experimenter will play a sound that is clearly heard, then reduce its
intensity until the listener can no longer hear it. Thresholds can also be
ascertained through the method of constant stimuli. In this approach, stimuli
of varying intensity are randomly presented. Although an observer's measured
threshold will change depending on methodology, this technique gives an
estimate of an individual's sensitivity.
A different psychophysical approach combines the concept of sensory abilities

with the decisions and strategies that an observer uses to maximize
performance in a difficult task. Rather than try to identify a single point for
the threshold, psychophysicists who employ the signal detection
theory have developed ways to measure an observer's sensitivity to stimuli in
ways that go beyond the simple concept of the threshold. Some psychophysical
research involves the identification of stimuli. There may be no question as to
whether we can detect a stimulus, but sometimes we cannot identify it. For
example, people can often detect odors but cannot identify them. Research in
this area has centered on determining how much information is needed to
allow a person to identify a stimulus. Identification constitutes a relatively
small part of psychophysical research, although such research has important
practical applications. For example, in the development of useful telephones,
researchers had to assess how much "noise" or unwanted sound could
accompany speech in a phone conversation so that a listener could understand
what was said—that is, identify the spoken words accurately.
A third area of psychophysics involves discrimination of different stimuli, or

difference thresholds. No two physical stimuli are absolutely identical,
although they may seem to be. The question of interest here is how large must
the difference be between two stimuli in order for us to detect it. The amount
by which two stimuli must differ in order for us to detect the difference is
referred to as the JND, or just noticeable difference. Research has
indicated that for stimuli of low intensity, we can detect a difference that is
small, as the intensity increases, we need a larger difference. Sometimes
psychophysicists use reaction time as a measure of how different two
stimuli are from one another. When two stimuli are very similar, it takes a
longer time to decide if they are different, whereas large differences lead to
fast reaction times.
Read more: Psychophysics - CONCEPTS IN PSYCHOPHYSICS - Absolute

Threshold, Just Noticeable Difference, and Stimuli - JRank
Articles http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/514/Psychophysics.html#ixzz588c
d4D4p
What is an absolute threshold?
Absolute threshold is the smallest level of energy required by an external stimulus to be

detectable by the human senses, including vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. It is more
precisely defined as the degree of intensity of a stimulus necessary to correctly detect that
stimulus 50% of the time.
5. what is a difference threshold? Be sure to indicate the operational

definition.
The difference threshold, also known as the just noticeable difference (jnd), is the
minimum difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50 percent of the time. We
experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.
What general statement can be made about
the relationship between the jnd and the starting (or
reference) value for most sensory systems? What
sensory system seems to work in a manner just the
opposite of this?
7. What is the adequate stimulus for a sensory
system?
8. What is special about the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that

we call “light” that allowed
organisms to evolve receptors for it?
9. What is meant by the term “transduction” in

reference to sensation and perception?
10. What two types of coding are available to sensory systems?
11. How does transduction occur in the visual
system?
12. How does the mechanism of transduction account for dark

adaptation?
13. How does information get from the photoreceptors to the visual
cortex?
14. What causes the blind spot?
15. Describe the differences between rods and
cones with regard to sensitivity, location, wavelength detection, and

connectivity.
16. What serious visual problem is experienced
by a large percentage of people on the island of
Pingelap?
17. Describe the two historic theories explaining
color vision. Which one is supported by negative
afterimages?
18. How does the visual system process and encode yellow light?
19. What is the figure-ground problem? What
stimulus and personal factors affect one’s solution

of this problem?
20. Describe three Gestalt laws of organization.
21. Describe bottom-up and top-down processing.
22. What three ocular cues provide information
about depth?
23. List three stimulus cues that provide depth information.
24. What retinal effect gives rise to the perception
of movement?
25. Describe the two illusory movements that we
discussed: the phi phenomenon and the autokinetic

7. What is the adequate stimulus for a sensory
system?
8. What is special about the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that

we call “light” that allowed
organisms to evolve receptors for it?
9. What is meant by the term “transduction” in
reference to sensation and perception?
10. What two types of coding are available to sensory systems?
11. How does transduction occur in the visual
system?
12. How does the mechanism of transduction account for dark
adaptation?
13. How does information get from the photoreceptors to the visual
cortex?
14. What causes the blind spot?
15. Describe the differences between rods and
cones with regard to sensitivity, location, wavelength detection, and

connectivity.
16. What serious visual problem is experienced
by a large percentage of people on the island of
Pingelap?
17. Describe the two historic theories explaining
color vision. Which one is supported by negative
afterimages?
18. How does the visual system process and encode yellow light?
19. What is the figure-ground problem? What
stimulus and personal factors affect one’s solution
of this problem?
20. Describe three Gestalt laws of organization.
21. Describe bottom-up and top-down processing.
22. What three ocular cues provide information

about depth?
23. List three stimulus cues that provide depth information.
24. What retinal effect gives rise to the perception
of movement?
25. Describe the two illusory movements that we
discussed: the phi phenomenon and the autokinetic

Perception

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Perception

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Perception: Meaning, Definition,

Principles and Factors Affecting in

These sensations are transmitted to the concerned parts of brain.

Hence in understanding the world around us, attention occurs first,

This process of ‘interpretation of stimulus is known as perception’. So

Hence, perception may be defined as “a process of interpretation of a

Perception is not as simple as said here. It is an integrated approach. It

Principles of Perceptual Organisation:

In perceptual process we select a particular stimulus with our

This phenomenon was well explained by Gestalt psychologists. They

Grouping of Stimuli in Perceptual Organisation

They are as follows:

Perceptual constancy depends upon several factors like past

Types of perceptual constancy:

These are of two types:

2. Convergence or divergence of eyeballs:

This is a most important ability. It is only by this ability the organism

In the same way, even the movements of figures in a film appear to

Factors Affecting Perception:

The factors affecting the perceptions of people are:

For example, blind people identify the people by their voice or by

c. Motives and needs:

Extrasensory Perception (ESP):

This is otherwise known as sixth sense in common man’s view. Some

Though research is going on, the researchers are unable to confirm

It may be due to defect in our sense organs or defective functioning of

Hallucinations pertain to all the sensations appear in people, but

In addition to these errors, there are some abnormalities in our sense

Observation and Nurse:

Observation involves attention and perception. The nurse should

Distraction of attention may lead to serious consequences like death of

6 Major Principles of Perceptual

The perceptual process according to gestalt psychology tends to move

For instance, when the English teacher in the class questions a

Impression Formation | Perception |

It is a part of human nature that we tend to form impressions of

We consider certain brands of things like soaps, toothpastes etc., to be

Some tend to form their impression on the basis of their own

While on the one hand all of us tend to form impressions of people

The interest of psychologists in undertaking sustained research and

Earlier, an attempt was made to examine some of the issues and

While the findings presented there might mostly be of theoretical

The Gestalt theory as we very well know, primarily rested on the

It is this particular perceptual mechanism which very often underlies

People form impression about other individuals or groups of people

Impression formation is essentially a form of person perception. The

Formation of Impression: 3 Factors

Thus we see that clothing is a factor which influences the formation of

Factor # 2. Physical Attractiveness:

There is a general tendency to attach everything good and desirable to

Dion in a study found that an act is perceived as less mischievous and

This emphasis on physical attractiveness is not in consonance with the

Yet in another study Berschild, Walster & Camburg found that

While physical appearance may be a factor in the formation of

In another study, Argyle & Mchenry found that when photographs of

Factor # 3. Cognitive and Learning Styles:

This is particularly true of adult social behaviour. It has been observed

Even early in the history of psychology attempts were made to

It is used to describe not only superficial features but a whole lot of

According to Guild & Garger, style is concerned with cognition. People

Style is also concerned with the affective processes; people have

The acquisition of a particular style by an individual is again

One of the approaches to the study and understanding of the concept