Perception & Self

CMN:201
Session: 7
Date: 7th October 2018
 What is Perception?( from last session)
• Perception is the processing, interpreting, selecting and organizing of
information. Perception's effect on the communication process is all
about how the same message can be interpreted differently by
different people. Different types of perception are:
Active Perception: Perception in which your mind selects organizes
and interprets which you sense
 Subjective Perception: Your uniquely constructed meaning
attributed to sensed stimuli ( could be related to your view of life,
opinion, judgment personal experiences)
 What occurs in Perception? ( from last
session)
Different stages of perception are :
Selection
Organization
Interpretation
 (Today’s Session)
Perceptual Errors
What errors do we make in our perceptions?

Stereotyping: A hasty generalization about a group based on a

judgment about an individual from that group. We stereotype people
based on age, race, occupation, etc
We practically insist that our stereotypes are correct and we see what
we want to see
Our stereotypes of people from different groups are often negative
It can lead to prejudice which interferes with accurate perceptions
and can lead to discrimination
 Perceptual Errors
First Impressions: An initial opinion about people upon meeting them
Are powerful and may lead errors in assessment of others
Can be affected by specific situations or circumstances and maybe
inaccurate
We may cling on to first impressions
Perceptual checking is an important skill: A process of describing
interpreting and verifying that helps us understand another person and
his/her message more accurately (see pg:54)
Knowing about the Self in Communication
• Who you are and how you perceive yourself greatly affects the
communication process therefore
• Of all elements in communication knowing the self is most important
• What you know about yourself includes your past present and future
• Personal identity influences perception
• Your awareness about yourself develops your communication and
perception skills
• Learning more about ourselves influences perception (read pgs 55-59)
• It is important to understand self concept, self awareness, self esteem, and
self disclosure in the communication process
 Self Concept
Self concept is your image of who you are and can be developed by:
1.Others’ Images of You
2.Comparison with others
3.Cultural Teachings (parents, teachers, media)
4.Your own interpretations and evaluations
 Self Awareness
The more you understand yourself the more you will be able to
control your thoughts and behaviors. It can be explained by The
four selves:
The Open Self: All that you know about yourself and others know
about you, example: name age, gender, religious beliefs.
The Blind Self: Information about yourself that others know but
you don’t
The Unknown Self: Represents those parts of yourself about
which neither you nor others know
The Hidden Self: All you know about yourself but keep hidden
from others for example, a deep dark secret
JOHARI WINDOW
 Growing in Self Awareness
Dialogue with yourself: take the Who am I? test
Listen: to comments and feedback
Reduce your blind self: actively seek information
See you different selves: Visualize how you are seen
by others
Increase your Open self : when you reveal yourself
you know more about yourself
 Self Esteem
• Self Esteem refers to the way you feel about yourself for example
how much you like yourself or value yourself, it maybe influenced by
groups, culture
• Building self esteem:
Attack your Self destructive Beliefs
Engage in Self Affirmation
Seek out nurturing people
Work in projects that will result in success
 Self Disclosure
Communication in which you reveal information about yourself.
Factors Influencing Self Disclosure are:
•Yourself: age, extroverted personality, gender roles
•Your listeners: likely to occur between people who like and trust each
other than those who don’t. Relationship with listener also influences
self disclosure. Usually occurs in small groups than in large groups, non
competitive environments
•Your topic: likely to disclose some topics that are favorable
information, the more negative the topic the less likely that one will
disclose
 Rewards of Self Disclosure
• Self knowledge: one may improve self knowledge, for
example therapy
• Coping Abilities: may help deal with problems, for example
revealing a deep dark secret
• Communication Efficiency: Essential to know one another,
improves communication, you understand the messages
better as you know the other person better
• Relational Depth: helpful for establishing meaningful
relationships
 The Dangers of Self Disclosure
• Personal & Social Rejection: Sometimes when you disclose
information to someone the person may reject you for example being
rejected by parents and best friends
• Material Loss: self disclosure of negative habits such as drug addiction
or alcoholism may lead to material loss
• Intrapersonal Difficulties: When reactions are not as expected, when
one is rejected instead of supported, when someone ignores you