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University of Florida, CJC Online, Foundations of Intercultural Communication MMC5708.
“One thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element they live in” ― Marshall McLuhan.
Ivanka Trump once wrote, “Perception is more important than reality. If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true” (Fan, 2019). Does this ridiculed quote contain some truth?
We have all heard about falling in love at first sight and the importance of first impressions. Research tells us it only takes the duration of an eye blink to size up another person in terms of attractiveness and trustworthiness…for example, if someone interviewing for a job stumbles into the room, the interviewer may see them as clumsy or impaired” (Schab, 2018).
Perception is defined as the “mental interpretation of external stimuli through visual, auditory, olfactory, taste, and tactile senses” (Halverson-Wente, 2018). An individual’s perception is subjective, biased, and influenced by cultural attitudes, beliefs, values, media, and language. Humans live in an “information-saturated world, constantly inundated by physical and psychological factors” (Halverson-Wente, 2018).
Perceptual filters help humans process this information through a three-step process: 1) selection, 2) organization, and 3) interpretation.
1) Selection
Individuals consciously or unconsciously select which stimuli to give their attention to. Salience is the degree to which something attracts our attention in a particular context. For example, “a person’s identity as a Native American may become salient when they are protesting at the Columbus Day parade in Denver” (Halverson-Wente, 2018).
2) Organizing
Humans sort things into patterns. Three typical groupings are proximity, similarity, and difference. For example, while waiting for help at a register, a clerk might assume that you and the person standing beside you are together. The clerk just used a basic perceptual organizing cue: proximity.
3) Interpretation
The human perceptions of sight, hearing, feeling, smell, and taste are universal. But the meanings assigned to this perceived information are influenced by our cultural context and backgrounds. For example, Americans tend to associate the scent of perfume with cleanliness and attractiveness. But Europeans prefer a more natural body odor and complain that Americans smell “antiseptic."
With so much information to filter, how do we decide what to pay attention to, and what to ignore? Perceptual context refers to how people take in, store, and recall their experiences.
We are taught from a very young age what to pay attention to and what to ignore. "We often tend to notice only certain aspects of an object or situation while ignoring other details” (Cherry, 2020). The central question of intercultural communication is:
Why don’t we all see things the same way?
The predisposition to perceive things in a certain way is referred to as a perceptual set.
For example, when we’re driving, we have a perceptual set for seeing things on the road. But the person riding in the passenger seat experiences the drive very differently. This example illustrates how two people looking at the same world might be predisposed to take in different information depending on their perceptual set.
Another example of a perceptual set is the classic experiment: the invisible gorilla. Conducted for the first time in 1999, this experiment is still cited as a typical example of the limitations of perception. Click on the link below to test your perception skills.
The "invisible gorilla" experiment demonstrates that while looking for perceptual patterns helps us in practical ways, “the judgments we place on various patterns and categories are not natural; they are learned and culturally and contextually relative…when two people experience the same encounter differently, misunderstandings and conflict may result” (Halverson-Wente, 2018).
"Anytime you’re trying to be a leader or a CEO, you must account for the fact that what you see is going to be different than those of the people in your workforce” (Simons, 2019).
In an increasingly globalized business environment, "it is important for managers to be cognizant that employees from different backgrounds are motivated by different incentives and react differently to various management and communication styles” (Stobierski, 2021).
What can we do to improve our intercultural communication skills?
1) Do not always assume that culture is the problem. Attributing all misunderstandings or conflicts to culture can enlarge the cultural gap. For example, "when American marketing staff interacts with engineers in India, misunderstandings may be caused by the differences in perceptions between marketing and engineering rather than culture" (Anonymous, 2019).
2) Build a culture of respecting diversity. Diversity management is not the responsibility of the human resource department. Each person must understand the importance of respecting others. For example, “the United Parcel Service of America Inc. (UPS) refuses to hire a diversity officer, underlining that it is not one person’s job” (Anonymous, 2019).
3) Perception checks. One way to reduce ambiguity and facilitate the process of intercultural communication is through frequent perception checks. “Perception checks send the valuable message that you truly want to listen, observe, and then understand their communication, verbal or nonverbal. A perception check process allows those persecuted and misunderstood to express their narrative or story in a dignified, humane fashion, thus giving them an opportunity to express their felt human experience” (Halverson-Wente, 2018).
Three-Step Perception Check Step 1: Describe the behavior or situation without evaluating or judging it. “I heard you mention __________."
Step 2: Think of some possible interpretations of the behavior, being aware of attributions and other influences on the perception process. “I am wondering if ___ or ___ is the case for you?”
Step 3: Verify what happened and ask for clarification from the other person’s perspective. “Can you clarify?”
When applied to our daily lives, the concepts of perceptual context, perceptual sets, and perception checking can help us avoid mistakes, misunderstandings, and conflict. “The key to accurate perception is possessing the cultural sensitivity to convey respect, honest curiosity, and a desire to learn from and hear the story from other perspectives” (Halverson-Wente, 2018).
QUESTIONS
Is perception more important than reality?
How do perceptual sets influence your daily commute, a grocery run, or conversations with co-workers?
At first glance, I failed the "invisible gorilla" experiment. How about you?
Share your thoughts.
References
Anonymous. (2019, July 8). Effective intercultural communication. In T. Dutton (Ed.), Organizational communication anthology. Whatcom Community College. Pressbooks. Chapter 6: Intercultural Communication in Organizations – Organizational Communication Anthology (whatcom.edu)
Cherry, K. (2020, May 1). How psychology explains how expectations influence your perceptions. Verywell Mind. Perceptual Sets in Psychology (verywellmind.com)
Fan, R. (2019, September 30). Sometimes, perceptions matter more than reality [Medium]. Medium. Sometimes, Perceptions Matter More Than Reality | by Ryan Fan | Invisible Illness | Medium
Halverson-Wente, L. (2018, May 30). Perception: Developing intercultural communication competence. Pressbooks. Table of Contents - Social Sci LibreTexts
Neuliep, J. W., & Jandt, F. E. (2021). University of Florida MMC 5708 Foundations of Intercultural Communication Electronic Edition. SAGE Publications.
Schab, F. (2018, February 18). The psychology of first impressions. Six Degrees. The Psychology of First Impressions - Six Degrees (six-degrees.com)
Simons, D. (2011, March 19). TEDxUIUC Seeing the world as it isn’t [Video]. YouTube. Seeing the world as it isn't | Daniel Simons | TEDxUIUC - YouTube
Stobierski, T. (2021, August 11). How to improve cross-cultural communication in the workplace. Northeastern University Graduate Programs. How to Improve Cross-Cultural Communication in the Workplace (northeastern.edu)
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