WHAT’S THE CONNECTION TO PSYCHOLOGY??

• Perception is one of the oldest and most fundamental disciplines within Psychology,
dating back to at least the time of the ancient Greeks. The goal of perception
research is to understand and stimuli from the world interact with our sensory

PERCEPTION
systems.

• The Stimuli forms visual, auditory and tactile representations of the world

• Research in perception focusses on relationships between environmental events and

subjective experiences.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

• A powerful influence on how we perceive people & events.

WHAT AFFECTS OUR

• Determine the way we think &/or behave in certain situations

• Once an impression has been stamped into your brain, it can be difficult to change.

PERCEPTION??
 PERSONALITY OF THE PERCEIVER LIFE EXPERIENCES OF THE PERCEIVER

• Everyone thinks & behaves differently and there fore we all have our own unique • These teach us how to think and act toward people and events - all of us have our
mental sets of perception; we perceive things differently because we are different. own unique experiences and personal points of view

• Our personalities contribute to our expectations in life, our understanding of • Bad experience = if difficult, will make you want to avoid a similar experience in the
things/events/people & our reaction to these things/events/people. future

• Good experience = if good, you congregate to similar experiences in the future.

EXAMPLES OF BAD EXAMPLES OF GOOD

EXPERIENCES? EXPERIENCES?
 SELECTIVE MEMORY THE OBJECT OF PERCEPTION (THE OBJECT ITSELF)

• Each of us chooses, either consciously or unconsciously, to remember certain things • Certain objects in our environment naturally attract & warrant more attention than
or block other things out. other things

• Things that are unpleasant or upsetting are more often blocked out than those that • Large, noisy, moving objects tend to get noticed easier and more frequently.
are pleasant and enjoyable.
• EX: A student who walks into class late is more likely to be noticed, than a student
who walked in on time or early.

BACKGROUND AND SURROUNDINGS OF THE OBJECT

• Our surroundings during the moment we are perceiving things have an impact on
how we perceive something.

• Example: People often enjoy food more when they are in a comfortable surrounding
with people whose company they enjoy.
PICTURES TELL A STORY…
BUT WHICH STORY?
PICTURES TELL A STORY… BUT WHICH STORY?
LOOK AT THE FIRST PICTURE IN
YOUR GROUP AND DETERMINE
THE STORY.
 ARE YOU READY FOR
SOME OPTICAL ILLUSIONS?
FACES OR VASES?
THE ANSWER DEPENDS ON
WHAT YOU PERCEIVE AS THE
BACKGROUND — THE BLACK
SPACES OR THE WHITE.
PHOTOGRAPHER ZEKE
GERMAN HAS CREATED THIS
INTRIGUING COLLAGE USING
SILHOUETTES OF REAL PEOPLE.
• You probably recognized Mona Lisa right away — even upside-down. Two upside
down Monas may look strange (one perhaps stranger than the other) but turn them
right-side up and one looks normal and the other grotesque. Why the surprising
difference?

• Since an upside-down face is not familiar point of view, you may not have noticed
that one of these pictures has been altered. In the right-hand photo Mona’s eyes
and mouth have been turned around. It’s only when the photos are turned right side
up and the view is more familiar that you notice the real distortion.
 PERCEPTION

• Habit makes us fail to perceive things as they really are.

• Learning affects our perceptions by creating expectations to perceive in particular HOMEWORK

ways.

• Perception is an interpersonal phenomena RECORD WHAT YOU

DREAM ABOUT.
• No 2 people perceive the exact same things all the time

• Perceptions are culturally based

• Through feedback, we can check and see if our perceptions are similar.