Theories of Communication/Persuasion Process

o Theories of Perception o Theories of information processing & attitude change Elaboration Likelihood Model The Cognitive Response Model Category Based Evaluation Consistency Theories o Theories of learning(classical conditioning)

PERCEPTION
We can say that perception is the process through which we can realize the person, object, thing and the environment Perception is the process by which individuals organize & interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment . Perceptual information is gathered from: Sight Hearing Touch Taste Smell

Perceptual process
Throughputs

Inputs Objects Events People

Outputs Opinions Attitudes Values Feelings

Selection

Interpretation

Organization

1) Selection: many things exist in our environment but to avoid information overload
people select few information on the basis of their interests,attitudes,experiences

Factors Affecting Selection(Perceptual Selectivity)

Size: higher the size, more the chances of selecting the stimulus Intensity: loud sound, bright colours Repetition: repeated things often draw attention Familiarity: More familiar the things,more they are selected Motion: moving objects draw attention like moving train Contrast: the more the stimulus contradict with the background, more the people attract towards it

2) Organization: to give meaning to the selected input(stimulus).Following are the factors affecting organization or organization principles Figure & ground: more attention is given to the object which is kept in focus(figure) & less attention to the object kept in background(ground).For example while reading a book people notice black printed letters(figure), they pay less attention to white spaces(background) Simplification: people reduce selected information further to avoid information overload or get relevant data from it.For example while preparing for the examination students focus on certain main points of a chapter to understand it. Closure: When information is incomplete people fill up the gaps themselves on the basis of their knowledge, common sense & past experiences to make it more meaningful.For example Students are given story completion exercise Grouping: Proximity: a group of stimulus that are closer together will be perceived as a whole of parts belonging together.For example, people from UP & Bihar are intelligent Similarity: Stimulus are grouped on the basis of similarity like all the reserved natured people will be considered indifferent towards going to a party 3) Interpretation: On the basis of the organized stimulus an idea is given of what is
going on in the situation

Factors Influencing Perception

Characteristics of the Perceiver Attitudes Need & Motives Self Concept Past experience Current State of mind Characteristics of the Stimulus Size Intensity Repetition Familiarity Motion Contrast Characteristics of the Situation: favourable situation leads to favourable perception & unfavourable situation leads to unfavourable perception

Barriers to Perception
Stereotyping:Combines information based on the category or class to which a person, situation, or object belongs.For example Muslims are always perceived to be suspicious in America due to attack on World Trade Center Halo effects: Occur when one attribute of a person or situation is used to develop an overall impression of the individual or situation. For example while evaluating answer sheet examiner tends to give good marks to that answer first paragraph of which is written well.They evaluate the whole answer on the basis of starting para Selective Perception: many things exist in our environment but to avoid information overload people select few information on the basis of their interests,attitudes,experiences Projection: The assignment of ones personal attributes to other individuals. For example if a person is,by nature,suspicious of others he will project it to others & think they are suspicious of him Self-fulfilling prophecy: The tendency to create or find in another situation or individual that which one expected to find. For example if a boss perceives his subordinate to be hard working & has high expectations from him,will motivate him to do so. Distortion: Manipulate real events. For example an employee taking credit of the success of a project which is done by other. Attribution: Attribution refers to how a person explains the cause of others or his behaviour