The term “perception” can be
defined as the ability to derive meaning. Derived from the word “perceive”,
it refers to the ability of giving meaning to whatever is sensed by our sense
organs. It is the process through which an individual interprets ones’ sensory
impressions to give meaning to them. Schiffman defines it as “the process by
which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli into a
meaningful and coherent picture of the world.”
There is a difference between perception and
sensation.
Sensation is the ability
of our five sense organs to sense a stimulus. It is an auto reflex mechanism
(direct and immediate) of our sense organs, i.e. eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and
skin towards a stimulus in the environment. This stimulus could be anything, a
person, object, situation or thing. In terms of marketing, it could be a
product, a brand name, an advertisement or even a store. Thus sensation is the
reaction or response of a sense organ or a sensory receptor towards a stimuli.
Perception is much broader in scope. It is
complex process by which a person organizes facts around the stimuli and gives
meaning to it. The perceptual process depictsa complex and dynamic interplay of
three processes, viz., selection, organization and interpretation. The person
selects the stimuli and organizes and interprets the input received from the
sense organs, so as to give a meaning to the stimuli. Thus, for example, as a
person is caught by a new packaging of a familiar brand, he picks up other
stimuli on the package through his senses, as well as organizes other facts
from internal (memory) and external sources (dealer, packaging) etc, so as to
conclude that the package is new but the brand is old and familiar. This is
perception. While the sense organs report a change in the form of flashy
colours on the packaging, the human mind works cognitively and organizes other
information around it to give a meaning and arrive at a conclusion. This is
referred to as perception. Thus while sensation is physiological, perception is
broader and includes not only the physiological component but also the
sociological and psychological component.
While perception starts with
sensation, it ends up when meaning is given to the stimuli, through cognitive
processes. While sensation picks up bits and pieces as stimuli, the cognitive
processes involved in perception can add to/delete/modify the diverse
sensations and information. Also, while each one of us would be similar in
sensing a stimulus, the way we interpret it would be different. In other words,
sensation is similar but perception is not. This is because as far as our sense
organs are concerned, we are similar, but when it comes top the human mind and
the cognitive processes, we are all different. We have varying cognitive
capacities and capabilities; our backgrounds are diverse and psychological
processes (needs, motivation, learning, attitudes, values, etc) and
sociological factors (culture, sub-culture, social class, etc) different. So
while sensation is an objective process, perception is highly subjective.
Perception can be better
explained by understanding the nature and characteristics of perception:
1. Perception is a complex process. After a
stimulus is detected by the sense organs, the perception process comes into
play and involves the interplay of three processes, viz., selection,
organization and interpretation. It is a dynamic process.
2. It is also an intellectual process; it
involves a lot of cognitive effort. Once sensation takes place, the perception
process involves the selection, organization and interpretation of data.
3. Perception is broad in nature; it includes a
physiological component (through sensation), as well as sociological and
psychological components.
4. Perception is a subjective
process as two people may perceive the same stimuli differently. While two
persons may be exposed to the same stimuli, the manner in which they select
them, organize and interpret them is different. This is because the two are
impacted by their background, learning and experiences, motivation,
personality, cultures, values and lifestyles, social class effects etc which
may be different from each other.
The perceptual process starts when a person
is exposed to a stimulus and the sensory receptors report the same to the human
body. While the senses may be exposed to various stimuli, the human senses
select only some of these at a point of time. This is because the sense organs
have a limited capacity at a particular point of time. After the sense organs,
report a few stimuli, the perceptual process takes over. Of the stimuli that
have been detected, few are selected, organized and interpreted for meaning.
This is known as perception.
During this process of
selection, organization and interpretation, the human being is assisted by the
memory bank or the information that is stored in his long term memory. This is
known as the schema. The scheme acts as a filtering mechanism and helps select
some of the stimuli, and then interpret and organize them. The selection,
organization and interpretation by the human mind is done on the basis of i)
characteristics of the perceiver, and ii) characteristics of the situation. The
characteristics of the perceiver include learning and experiences, knowledge
and beliefs, motivation, need and involvement, attitude, personality, social
class, culture etc. All these constructs act as the bases of the schema, and
put together affect the perceptual process. The characteristics of the
situation include the time and location.
People perceive things
differently because of their characteristics and backgrounds, and because of
the different perceptual mechanisms that take place. Although we may differ in
such processes, universally speaking, the perceptual process comprises four
components, viz., input, perceptual mechanism, output and behavior. Let us have
a discussion on these.
i. Input: The input to the
perceptual process refers to the various stimuli that surround an individual
and exist in his environment. It could assume various forms, for example, it
could be another person, object, thing, or situation. The perceptual process
begins when the sensory receptors detect a stimulus in the environment, which
acts as an input to the perceptual mechanism.
ii Perceptual
mechanism: The
perceptual mechanism consists of three sub-processes, viz., selection,
organization and interpretation. Once the sense organs detect a stimulus in the
environment, a person selects, organizes and interprets it through perceptual
selectivity, perceptual organization and perceptual interpretation. Put
together, these are known as perceptual mechanisms.
- Perceptual
selection or perceptual selectivity refers to a tendency within a person to
select one or a few out of the many stimuli present in the environment; this
selectivity is based on one’s demographic, socio-cultural and psychographic
factors. A person would tend to select those stimuli that appear relevant and
attractive to him.
- Perceptual
organization refers to the process of organizing the various stimuli with other
cues around so that a whole picture can be created. In other words, the various
stimuli are organized and given a form. It is the process of organizing inputs
into a definite, coherent and interpretable structure.
- Perceptual interpretation refers to the
process of drawing in inferences out of the organized whole (of stimuli), and
giving meaning to it.
iii Output: Once the input has been
interpreted, it results in an output. This output towards the stimuli assumes
various forms, for example, in the formation of emotions and moods, feelings
and opinions, as well as attitudes and beliefs.
iv Behavior: The
resultant behavior is an outcome of the output. Based on his emotions and
moods, feelings and opinions, as well as attitudes and beliefs, a person would
enact out a behavior. This behavior is a function of and will be reflective of
such emotions and moods, feelings and opinions, as well as attitudes and
belief.
Ques 1 What is perception? What
is the difference between sensation and perception? Ans 1 The
term “perception” can be defined as the ability to derive meaning. Derived from
the word “perceive”, it refers to the ability of giving meaning to whatever is
sensed by our sense organs. It is the process through which an individual
interprets ones’ sensory impressions to give meaning to them. Schiffman defines
it as “the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets
stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world.” There is a
difference between perception and sensation.
Perception
|
Sensation
|
Perception
is much broader in scope. It is complex process by which a person organizes
facts around the stimuli and gives meaning to it. The perceptual process
depicts a complex and dynamic interplay of three processes, viz., selection,
organization and interpretation.
|
While
the sense organs report a change in the form of flashy colours on the
packaging, the human mind works cognitively and organizes other information
around it to give a meaning and arrive at a conclusion.
|
Perception
is broader and includes not only the physiological component but also the
sociological and psychological component.
|
Cognitive
processes involved in perception can add to/delete/modify the diverse
sensations and information.
|
Perception
is highly subjective.
|
Sensation is the ability of our five sense organs to sense a stimulus..
|
Human beings differ with each other with respect to perception. They perceive things .
|
It
is an auto reflex mechanism (direct and immediate) of our sense organs, i.e.
eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin towards a stimulus in the environment.
|
This
stimulus could be anything, a person, object, situation or thing. In terms of
marketing, it could be a product, a brand name, an advertisement or even a
store.
|
Thus
sensation is the reaction or response of a sense organ or a sensory receptor
towards a stimulus.Sensation is physiological in nature
|
Human beings would be similar in sensing a stimulus.
|
Sensation
picks up bits and pieces as stimuli.
Sensation is an objective process. |
Ques 2 Discuss the components of the
perceptual process.
Ans 2 The perceptual process
starts when a person is exposed to a stimulus and the sensory receptors report
the same to the human body. While the senses may be exposed to various stimuli,
the human senses select only some of these at a point of time. This is because
the sense organs have a limited capacity at a particular point of time. After
the sense organs, report a few stimuli, the perceptual process takes over. Of
the stimuli that have been detected, few are selected, organized and
interpreted for meaning. This is known as perception.
Although
we may differ in perceptual processes, universally speaking, the perceptual
process comprises four components, viz., input, perceptual mechanism, output
and behavior. Let us have a discussion on these.
i. Input: The input to the perceptual
process refers to the various stimuli that surround an individual and exist in
his environment. It could assume various forms, for example, it could be
another person, object, thing, or situation. The perceptual process begins when
the sensory receptors detect a stimulus in the environment, which acts as an
input to the perceptual mechanism.
ii Perceptual mechanism: The perceptual mechanism
consists of three sub-processes, viz., selection, organization and
interpretation. Once the sense organs detect a stimulus in the environment, a
person selects, organizes and interprets it through perceptual selectivity,
perceptual organization and perceptual interpretation. Put together, these are
known as perceptual mechanisms.
- Perceptual selection or perceptual
selectivity refers to a tendency within a person to select one or a few out of
the many stimuli present in the environment; this selectivity is based on one’s
demographic, socio-cultural and psychographic factors. A person would tend tp
select those stimuli that appear relevant and attractive to him.
- Perceptual organization refers to the process
of organizing the various stimuli with other cues around so that a whole
picture can be created. In other words, the various stimuli are organized and
given a form. It is the process of organizing inputs into a definite, coherent
and interpretable structure.
- Perceptual interpretation refers to the
process of drawing in inferences out of the organized whole (of stimuli), and
giving meaning to it.
iii Output: Once the input has been
interpreted, it results in an output. This output towards the stimuli assumes
various forms, for example, in the formation of emotions and moods, feelings
and opinions, as well as attitudes and beliefs.
iv Behavior: The
resultant behavior is an outcome of the output. Based on his emotions and
moods, feelings and opinions, as well as attitudes and beliefs, a person would
enact out a behavior. This behavior is a function of and will be reflective of
such emotions and moods, feelings and opinions, as well as attitudes and
belief.
