CHAPTER 1PERCEPTION A Theoretical Perspective The word Perception comes from the Latin words perception, percipio, meaning “receiving, collecting, action of taking possession, apprehension with the mind or senses”. In psychology, philosophy and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. In biology, perception is understood as “the mental interpretation of physical sensations produced by stimuli from the outside word”. Here ‘mental interpretation’ has been interpreted as a process of constructing an internal model of the environment. Perception as per businessdictionary.com, definition of perception is the “Process by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them. Though necessarily based on incomplete and unverified (or unreliable) information perception is ‘the reality’ and guides human behavior in general” 1.1 Definition of Perception According to Dr. Shirley Telles, Shreevidya Nagesh and Naveen K. V. Shirley Telles, Ph.D., the word ‘perception’, known by Sanskrit terms as, ‘pratyakna’ and ‘aparokna’, where ‘pratyakna’ denotes a ‘pramana’ and leads to direct and valid knowledge, exists from Vedic age. In many of our ancient texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali and 9 intensity. present moods / wants / desires and expectations. They have tried to clarify perceptions as personal perceptions and general perceptions. Tubbs & Stylvia Mors “Perception is an active process as one selectively perceives. Nation (MacMillan) perception is not only made of stimulus variables that make up our 10 . knowledge of the others circumstances. Benjomin. “perceptions are the processes that determine how humans interpret their surroundings”. Six factors which enhance selectivity are background. Christopher Knapper in their book titled “the Perception of People and Events” published by John Willey & Sons. perception is one of the methods of knowledge from sensory experience. Jack R. concreteness. Forgus and Melamed have defined perception as “the process of information extraction” (1976). organizes and interprets what one experiences. extensity. J. Warr. Roy Hoppkins.many schools of yoga. contrast. up to the transcendental perception of ultimate reality claimed by great mystics and seers of the world.” The Perceptions have been analyzed by Peter B. velocity and impressivity. According to Steward L.” According to D. Forgus and Melamed based their description of perception on cognitive structures and according to them. Scott & Baydon “Perception is a selective process as eye is capable of sensing much more data then the brain is capable of processing. which man shares with the lowest living beings. Interpretations are based on the perceivers past experiences. They felt that the behavior of individuals is determined by the way they perceive each other and this behavior gets affected by the general perceptions which may be direct or which may be indirect. As per Ludy T. assumptions about human behavior. Therefore. According to it. etc. According to Encyclopedia Britannica Gestalt psychologist and other psychologists have propounded the theory of perception of relations and according to which the perception is relativistic rather than absolute. an object has no perceived size except when it is compared with another object. textures.like sounds.perceptual environment . shapes. 11 . Thus perception is a result of stimulus variables and organismic variables. but other variables too which reside within the perceiver and are usually labeled organismic variables. colours. exposure or any other interaction. it can be concluded that perception is the interpretation of stimuli as established by relating it to earlier perceptual sets which may be by way of experience. convictions or views of individuals on matters or issues of widespread or public interest and concern”. Public Opinion Holt Reinhart & Winston has defined opinion as belief or conviction more verifiable and stronger in intensity than mere hunch or impression but less valid and stronger than truly verifiable or positive knowledge. common cultural base and various mechanical means of communication. public opinion may be defined as “beliefs. interest or event.W. may designate any loose association of individuals held together by common interests. These are given as under: W. divided in their ideas and engaged in discussion. amorphous and relatively unstructured association. Some definitions of ‘public opinion’ have been compiled by Ulrich Strauss. It lacks formal institutionalization and is transitory.1. Thus public is a heterogeneous / unstructured group of individuals held together due to an issue. As per Herbert Blumer the term public is used to refer to a group of people confronted by an issue. Robinson defines ‘Public’ as any group of people who have a common interest. Keeping in mind the difference between fact and opinion. New York. Willoughby speaks of the Sovereignty of Public Opinion and the power which Lieber (Political Ethics) defines as “the sense and sentiment 12 .2 Perception and Public Opinion Public ‘Public’ according to Hold Reinhart & Winston. Thus there is a difference between a fact and an opinion. In the second stage the issue is debated and the controversy in the mind begins to settle which helps the perceiver to take up a definite position on either side.e. to influence public policy. showing its power everywhere” and the power which “gives sense to the letter and life of the law without which the written law is a mere husk”. has three major phases i. although looks like a loosely held opinion of individuals is much more than this. It is a strong opinion of the people and with it people have come to exert their views on the decision makers”. It may be the viewpoint 13 . as per Cantril. “Public Opinion. Ganesh. if the power is exerted. In the third stage the perceiver takes a definite side. All these definitions have been summed up by Lester Markel as under “Public Opinion in a democracy is a collective viewpoint powerful enough. Public Opinion focuses on matters of political concern and that sentiments that large groups of people share are not necessarily public opinion. As per S. Elizabeth M. proposed solutions and arrival at consensus. discussion. First stage is wherein the impressions are formed which are positively or negatively reinforced by subsequent interactions. The Public Opinion.of the community necessarily irresistible. Perse in “Shaping Public Opinion” while stating that Public Opinion is something that is marked by being endorsed by a number of people (a group) states that public opinion is not the expression of narrow views of political isolates. According to Lawrence Lowell there are 4 stages by which the opinions can be formed. rise of the issue. and the fourth stage is reached when the action on the perception becomes necessary. Public opinion whether based on reality or perception can determine mass behavior. The public in a democratic society with almost universal communications is a dynamic and shifting body and not a homogenous and stable one. in the absence of an effective majority. expectations and his personal interests in the matter. every public opinion before being crystallized has to pass through various stages. i. For example. In the second stage this sentiment starts settling when he interacts with people at say his work place or while commuting to his work place or at his Coffee House and slowly these impressions further start affecting him making his sentiment a definite view. by statements of people of influence. it is the natural or the general thought or wish which an occurrence evokes. Relation between Perception and Public Opinion In layman’s terms ‘Public Opinion’ is a collective view i. the viewpoint of an effective minority”. or..e.of a majority of the people. In the third stage these views after reading further information 14 .e. in the first stage when a person reads about the event or the subject this reading arouses in his mind. the sum total of all that is thought and said on a subject or an event by a majority of people or we can say it is majority view. often swift change. In the words of James Bryce in the book ‘Public Opinion and Propaganda’ “it is what any man (not every man) says. They also arouse an expectation and certain consequences likely to follow. These sentiments or expectations are not based on any reasoning or any analysis but simply on impressions formed at the spur of the movement. sentiments of approval or disapproval which may be strong or weak depending on his earlier experience/ impression. their image and standing in a society. According to him. Its viewpoint is subject to change. The intensity depends upon the number of people it affects. Perception is the first stage of the formation of an opinion and is linked to experience. 15 . Public opinion thus is a culmination of experience.or collecting further information on the subject through various sources start crystallizing into a conviction and is accepted by the majority of the people leading to formation of a public opinion”. beliefs. convictions of an individual on matters or issues which may have public interest or concern. expectations and the general impression. person or proposal of widespread importance in a way that it affects the action of all the concerned in a particular way.e. impressions. delivery of services. expectations and public interface i. For an organization public opinion is basically a demand or an expectation and involves a phase of expression and intensity depending upon the issue concerned whether it is general or it affects a number of individuals directly or indirectly. As per this view. Public opinion regarding organizations thus gets initiated by prevailing perceptions reinforced by experience. Here individuals favour or support some definite conditions. Thus perception is the first impression which may be true or not but if allowed to settle it becomes a conviction or belief leading to formation of opinion. politicians or statesmen or the people within the organization and travel to affect the largest number of people. say. 2. The third difference between attitude and perception is more fundamental: it is implicit in the definition of perception that this only occurs in the presence of a stimulus. the utterings of professionals. Yet the more permanent generalized nature of an attitude allows it to persist when no stimulus is present. The acts and responses of the opinion makers upon the mass and of the mass upon them is the most crucial part of the whole process by which opinion is produced. Attitudes may have as their objects more general or abstract entities than do perceptions. There is no doubt that it affects the behavior of public and media towards organizations. communism or academic freedom but one cannot be said to perceive these in anything other than a very loose sense. the line between perception and attitude is clearly a blurred but there are three clear points of difference: 1. the first step in opinion formation can be formed by experience. Once an opinion is formed it becomes like a hardboiled egg which is very difficult to change. by the issue concerned. 16 . Warr and Christopher. Perception on the other hand is more transitory and flexible. 3. 1. One may hold an attitude concerning.3 Difference between Perception and Attitude According to Peter B. In the first place attitudes are generally taken to be relatively permanent structures which are in most instances fairly resistant to change. Perception or impression. Yet the two concepts are separate. 17 .4 Perception and Behaviour The way individuals behave with each other is clearly in part determined by the manner in which they perceive each other. In a research paper by Ki. the researchers tested a model that posits the linkages among perceptions of the organization – public relationships. attitude and behavioural intentions towards an organization. and change and development of attitude is dependent upon the way a source person and his message are perceived. This research was based on the hypotheses that public perception of a relationship affects the attitude and behavioral intentions towards the organization. According to Hammod. The nature of interaction between personal perception and interpersonal behavior is complex and is yet incompletely known. Wilkins and Todd (1966) “the way people learn to relate to others is presumably affected by their ability to learn to perceive them accurately. organizations have the perception of being monolithic and too procedural organizations. 1. It is because multi-national /private organizations have a perception of being helpful modern organization whereas Govt. Thus. There is clearly an interplay between attitude and perception. Perception is influenced by attitude.” In an organization the behavior of public dealing with it depends on its perception. Jung–Evun. perception and attitude are diverse as the former is not permanent and keeps on changing whereas the attitude is permanent in nature and resistant to change. but existence of some interaction is beyond question. the way of approach and behavior will be different. if a person approaches a Government organization and a private/multi-national organization. For example. attitude and behavior of public towards the organization. though is problematic. According to him. which are artificial. Harwood L. For an organization the formation of attitude of public is a slow process which becomes permanent when perceptions are allowed settle which may be generated through delivery of services. Evidence for these effects. Child says that the “Press is an important factor in the formation of public opinion. But there is little evidence to prove this perspective. the media influence according to sociologists Melvin De Fleur and Sandra Ball – Rokeach (1975) is 18 . the variance accounted for is typically small. Secondly strongest effects are usually relegated to laboratory settings. despite consistence findings of effects. the perceptions will match reality and thus develop the right opinion. In case of organizations. there are several reasons to expect that research underestimates media effects like models. Ganesh “The mass media communication provides information to people on number of aspects relating to public opinion of an issue and it provides solutions or it suggests solutions to an issue. One the hand. 1.” Elizabeth M. society and culture. Perse in the study ‘Do Media Have Effects’ has concluded that the media effects are grounded in the belief that mass communication has noticeable effects over individuals. Thus media performs the function of correlation and socialization to us. If the communication is steady and is in consonance with performance.5 Perception and Media According to S. theories and methods as imprecise. It also depends upon the communication patterns and the related components of the perception of the organization. We know about many of the events happening in our immediate environment not because of anything else but often because of mass media. fulfilling the mandate or any other interaction. in reality they are a ‘pot pourri-kichdi’ of various religions . Rahul. dated 29th March. According to this piece of writing even though perception about Gandhi’s (Smt. reporting whatever is known . Priyanka and Varun are three-quarters non-Hindus and only a quarter Hindu. This happens due to intense competition within the newspapers / media to break the news first. But the overall perception is that he is a Christian.such as Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi were half-Parsi and half-Hindu. Indira Gandhi & family) is that they are Hindu. which holds that there are groups in the social world who tend to react to any particular media message in similar ways.T. today media in its hurry to report first. Many times it is judgemental in its reporting as in the case of Arushi Murder and is thereby able to sway opinions creating perceptions contrary to the reality. Secondly. Media has a great influence on perception whereas the reverse is also true as media reporting whether true or untrue go with the general opinion or view point and thereby the acceptance of audiences as that is what sells. 2009 titled “Perception vs. disregards ethics or any extensive investigation.e. His mother a Christian and father a Muslim. Karan Thapar in a middle in H. Similarly. The media is thus guided by : (1) Popular perceptions (2) Competitiveness within the media (3) Ensuring public acceptance by arousing curiosity i.guided by social categories perspective. sensationalization 19 . He was commenting on Obama’s first press conference where he called himself a ‘mutt’ as he happens to be half black and half white. Truth” wrote as to how perceptions can be far from reality.directly or indirectly. Many scholars have tried to establish as to how perceptions get generated in an organization. He receives information from the external world which in some way modifies his experience and behavior. But beyond statements of this order of generality there are few formulations which are universally accepted”. programmes. Ganeshan “In an organization. Graber (1996) noted that audio-visuals in the news are uniquely successful in creating a sense of reality and a sense of actually witnessing an event makes these images powerful tools for manipulating media audiences. or even by interpersonal and intrapersonal relations.6 Organizational Perception and its Components The nature of perception has been pondered by psychologists and philosophers for centuries and still there is no formally accepted definition. Organizational perceptions depend on a number of factors. 1. Effect of Audio Visual Media on Perception According to Jennings Byant. Suresh Kalmadi. As reported by Peter B.” 20 . The perception of reality to be in the right frame is as important as reality itself. Warr and Christopher Knapper “The guidelines of specification have of course long been sketched in but about the final details there is still much uncertainty. It is clear that in some sense perception involves an interaction or transaction between an individual and his environment. perceptions are generated by policies. their implementation or by the work done. delivery of services. For example image of atrocities inflicted on women or children evoke sympathy. the Chairman of Organising Committee much before he was proven guilty. The recent reporting and coverage of CWG scams created hatred for Sh. As per S. But if there is a gap between reality and perception even the reality can be belied to create an illusion far away from reality leading to unexpected public behavior. Human behavior is complex and there are no set rules or principles which can be identified that govern the behavior but there is a general belief based on experience that the behavior is regulated by certain circumstances. an individuals relationship with social stimulus objects like people and groups evaluate attitudes of attraction or repulsion. It was found that such relationship had four dimensions / components (i) Anthropomorphism i.e trustworthiness. In simple words it can be construed as creating identity where employees as well as customers identify with the organization (iv) Community Improvement meaning thereby that the organization is working for good of the community. 21 . In organizations the perception of reality may be a part of a larger whole which we cannot perceive. open and willing to invest in the relationship) which can be construed to be good customer relations (ii) Professional benefits / Expectations represent a public perception of professionalism of the organization which can be construed as image (iii) Personal commitment is wanting to maintain relationships.e. It may be having components which indirectly contribute to the whole in a big way. the way organization demonstrates positive human qualities (i. The result from this research also established that an organization’s relationship with the public is multi-dimensional. experiences. In a research study titled “Expanding the Organisation Public Relations Scale” the relationship between the service provider and customer was studied through survey. As we know. playing an important role in the perception of non-social stimuli. perception is response to stimulus. In a similar fashion perceptions also get influenced by factors such as one’s experience by learning through circumstances or by the utterings of known personalities including media. It may be linked to reality or not but it determines the opinion and behavior of stakeholders. conditions or cultures. feeling linked to the organization. etc. Similarly.