PERCEPTION 1.2

PERCEPTION 1.2

'How others perceive you, is not important...How you see yourself means everything.

Do you remember these stories? Can you relate them with the theme of 'Perception'? 

[Look at the images below and try to recall the concerned stories associated with them. To see the image clearly, click on them.] 

STORY 1: 

 STORY 2: 

 STORY 3: 

 STORY 4: 

 STORY 5:

We already know that everyone has his/ her own perspective towards something because sometimes everyone tends to look at things with a different view. Maybe everyone sees things from different angle, like same story but different opinions and same case but different judgments. Same goes true with life. (see Perception 1.1) Now you can also correlate the same theme of perception with the movie 'Taare Zameen Par' where Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old boy whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class. He finds all subjects difficult, and is perceived 'dumbo' by his teachers and classmates. As a matter of fact Ishaan's internal world is rich with wonders that he is unable to convey to others.

After receiving a particularly poor academic report, Ishaan's parents sends him to a boarding school. There he sinks into a state of fear and depression. Ishaan's situation changes when a new art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), joins the school's faculty. Nikumbh's teaching style is markedly different from that of other strict predecessors, and he quickly observes that Ishaan is unhappy and contributes little to class activities. He reviews Ishaan's work and concludes that his academic shortcomings are indicative of dyslexia. Nikumbh describes dyslexia to his parents and explains that it is not a sign of low intelligence. Nikumbh attempts to improve Ishaan's reading and writing by using remedial techniques developed by dyslexia specialists; Ishaan soon develops an interest in language and mathematics, and his grades improve. And with time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself. Through this wonderful story one can realize that some of the renowned geniuses were once perceived 'zero' and scoffed at, but the world had to bow down to these 'heroes'* later.

*IF A CHILD…
• Avoids eye contact.
• Faces difficulty in mixing and playing with other children
• Doesn't indicate interest.
• Likes sameness in everyday routine, doesn't enjoy change.
• Is not responsive to normal teaching method.
• Shows extreme restlessness, hyperactivity or extreme passivity.

DO YOU KNOW THAT…
• There are around 10 million people in India with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), 80% of these are boys.
• Some children with autism do not ever develop speech, some rarely use language to communicate.
• What causes autism is not yet known; hence there is no cure.

AND THE GOOD NEWS IS…

Every child with autism can learn and progress with appropriate training and guidance. And that people with autism can accomplish greatness. Despite the challenges, many people with autism go on to achieve success, some making worldwide contributions:

a. Nobel Prize winner for Physics, Albert Einstein, b. Actress Daryl Hannah, best known for her role in movies like "Splash" and "Kill Bill," c. Musician Ladyhawke aka Pip Brown, d. Rock Star Courtney Love, e. Artist Stephen Wiltshire, f. Pianist Derek Paravicini, nicknamed the "human ipod," blind since childhood, g. Renaissance artist Michaelangelo, h. Richard Borcherds, a mathematician, Winner of the Field's Medal in 1998, equivalent of the Nobel Prize. i. Harvard President Lawrence Summers, j. Sir Isaac Newton, k. Leonardo da Vinci, l. Ludwig van Beethoven, the German composer and pianist, m. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the great musical genius.

note: 2nd April is WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY. Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects the way the brain process information, and prevents individuals from properly understanding what they see, hear, and otherwise sense, resulting in difficulties in social relationships, communication and behavior.

Perception: 

“Perceptions vary from person to person. Different people perceive different things about the same situation. But more than that, we assign different meanings to what we perceive. And the meanings might change for a certain person. One might change one's perspective or simply make things mean something else.”

'How others perceive you, is not important...How you see yourself means everything.

Meaning of Perception:

• Perception is the individual capacity or quality to explain an action, a process, a subject, an idea or anything which is naturally around us.
• Perception is an Important area of ‘Impression Management’.
• Perception is a subjective phenomenon.
• Perception builds on the background of a person, his previous experiences, his own personality, his attitude, his motives, his general idea and his interest at the very time of perception.
• Perception is the process of developing a view point while interpreting the received information.

    Concept of Perception:

• The concept of Perception is very closely related to the personality of a person.
• In an organisation, people differ in terms of physical characteristics, background and personality traits.
• Perception is described as a person’s view of reality.
• Every person perceives the world and approaches the life problems differently.

Definitions of Perception:

• “Perception may be defined as the process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking and reacting to the sensory data.”                                                               ~ Udai Pareek
• “Perception is the process of becoming aware of situations of adding meaningful associations to sensations.”                                                                                                        ~ B. Gilmer
• Perception is the immediate apprehension of an object or situation affecting any or all of the sense organs."                                                                                                       ~ Collins & Drever

Features of Perception:

• Perception is the intellectual process through which a person selects the data from the environment, organizes it and obtains meaning from it.
• Perception is the basic psychological process. The manner in which a person perceives the environment affects his behaviour.
• Perception is also a subjective process as different people may perceive the same event differently based on what particular aspects they choose to absorb and how they organize this information.

Elements of Perception:
Perception has three main elements,
1. Object or Event
2. Environment Around
3. Individual Perceiver 

Nature and Importance of Perception:

• Perception differs from the reality.
• It gives a distinguished picture of an event / object, which solely depends upon the person/ perceiver.
• This is a unique and complex psychological process.
• The same object/ situation may be interpreted in different ways by different people.
• Perception leads a person to fight with the problems and to work even in unpleasant conditions.
• So, quick and developed perception is must for a person to achieve goals effectively.

Perception Process:
1. Simple Process
2. Complex Process

Simple Process of Perception

Complex Process of Perception

(to be continued...)