The Role That Perception Plays Psychology Essay

The Role That Perception Plays Psychology Essay To a great extent, our behavior is fashioned by our perceptions, personalities, emotions and experiences. In this essay, the role that perception plays in affecting the way that we see the world and its impact on our work related behaviors will be examined. Perception is the process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson). Perception and reality however can be two entirely different things and in addition to this, the perceptions of two or several different people will very rarely be the same even when reflecting back on the same incident or event. It can therefore be argued that the accuracy of ones interpretation of a given situation will determine the effectiveness of their response to it and essentially, the outcome. This is why perception is an essential factor to be considered when examining Organizational Behavior. More often than not a manager is rated differently by his or her subordinates. The importance of taking perception into consideration in an organization cannot be overlooked by the managers themselves. The way a manger perceives an employee within an organization should not be influenced by their stature or position as with different situations for which perceptions have to be primarily based as closely as possible on solid facts. The below table depicts significant mean differences of perception between supervisors and their subordinates on a scale from 1-5. On these grounds, three distinct factors that contribute to perceptual differences and the perceptual process among people at work arise: The Perceiver (Factors of influence: past experiences, needs or motives, personality, values and attitudes). The Situation or Setting (Factors of influence: physical, social, and organizational). The Perceived or Object/Target (Factors of influence: characteristics of the perceived person, object, or event, such as contrast, intensity, figure/ground separation, size, motion, and repetition or novelty). It must not however be overlooked that although these factors help in shaping the perception of individuals, they may also sometimes distort such perceptions. Fig 2 (Kondalkar 2007, p.117) THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS There are several stages that determine a subjects perception and reaction as a result of processing information; these information processing stages are best depicted in the following figure. The information-processing stages are divided into information attention and selection; organization of information; information interpretation; and information retrieval. Fig 3 (Schermerhorn,, Grant Osborn 2002, p.32) Our senses are repeatedly overloaded with too much information to process, unless our minds are selective in what to absorb and what to overlook we would quickly become debilitated as a result of this overload of information. Much of this mental sieving is done consciously and the perceiver is full-aware that they are processing information. This function of the mind is referred to by Schermerhorn, Grant Osborn as selective screening. On the other hand, this selective screening process can take place sub-consciously without the awareness of the perceiver. When the mind is functioning like this, it is normally whilst performing a task such as walking and talking on ones mobile phone at the same time, in other words, walking devoid of consciously thinking of the act walking. The ability of the mind to slip out of this sub-conscious state is there in event of a non-routine occurrence, however if not done quickly enough an accident can occur. Despite selective screening taking place in the attention stage, it is still necessary for this information to be organized in such a way that it can be retrieved efficiently. Cognitive frameworks known as schemas help us achieve this by acquiring knowledge through experience. A self schema is created by ones self awareness and is rooted around their appearance, behavior and personality. A person schema refers to the way by which one tends to categorize others based on prominent features normally regarding such demographic characteristics as gender, age, able-bodiedness, and racial and ethnic groups; this is commonly referred to as stereotyping or prototyping. Once this stereotype is created it is then stored in the long term memory for future reference. Once formed a stereotype may be difficult to change and will tend to last a long time (Schermerhorn,, Grant Osborn). On this note it can be said that our tendency to create stereotypes can be attributed to our memories oversimplifying of processed information in order to prevent overloading. A script schema is the mental acquisition of the necessary steps which need to be taken in order to complete a given task (based on experience), such as a manager running a meeting. Finally, person in situation schemas are combinational and are built around people (self and person schemas) and events (script schemas). As is made apparent in the above figure, schemas have a powerful impact on the organizational and other stages of the perception process. Schemas are primarily automatic and sub-conscious responses that free up space in order to maximize ones mental capacity for controlled processing. From the moment that ones mind is drawn in by a stimulus and this information has been processed the next course of action is to expose the underlying reasons behind it. This is otherwise known as interpretation. This method of deduction applied the same situation by two different people will not necessarily lead to the same interpretation. To utilize information stored in ones memory it has to be retrieved. This is depicted by the retrieval step in the above figure. From time to time all of us have difficulty with the recollection of stored information in our memories, more precisely, our memories tend to crumble and only provide us with partial bits of the information we are attempting to recall. Schemas play an important role in this as they make it difficult for us to remember traits or characteristics not relatable to ourselves. PERCEPTUAL DISTORTIONS It should now be clear that varying viewpoints in perception result in different people seeing different things and consequently attaching different meanings to the same stimuli. When examining the dynamic between the perceiver and the other subject, the accuracy of interpersonal perception and judgments made can be influenced by factors such as the nature of the relationship between the two parties, the order and amount of information received by the perceiver and the overall extent of interaction. There are five main features that can lead to perceptual problems: Stereotyping Stereotyping is the tendency that people have to attach positive or negative labels on others based around their own personalized process of categorization and perceived similarities. This perception is normally centered on what is expected, in this respect, by the perceiver. As mentioned earlier on, stereotyping or prototyping is the minds way of simplifying its intake of stimuli in order to prevent overloading itself (a form of selective screening). The perceiver will tend to place the subject into a preconceived group in which they feel that they best fit. Therefore questionable pre-judgments are formed. Despite the fact that this process condenses information stored in the memory, some extremely negative implications arise which can lead to situations of bigotry or bias. At the workplace, stereotyping can have negative effects on an employee as a negative preconception will normally have the capability to stick and as a result stigmatize and hinder the subjects career. The Halo Effect The Halo Effect occurs when one single characteristic of a person or situation is used by the perceiver to create an overall image or impression. This effect triggers the shutting out of any other relevant characteristics. A specific negative impact of The Halo Effect is what Mullins refers to as perceptual blindness, more specifically this is when rash judgments are made and other important stimuli are simply overlooked as a result of utilizing only what is readily available at that instance. Another phenomenon known as the Rusty Halo Effect exists; this is where general judgments are made on what can be justified and isolated incidents and a person subjected to this can be wrongfully branded as something that they are not. Perceptual Defense Perceptual Defense is a mechanism that surfaces when someone unknowingly or knowingly filters out specific parameters from a given situation that they may find threatening or intimidating. This inadvertently leads to people selectively striking from their minds information that does not support their opinions or points if view. Projection Perception is distorted by feelings and emotions. Projection can result from people overemphasizing undesirable traits that they see in others, whilst at the same time; refuse to see such traits in themselves. Projection also implies attributing or projecting ones own feelings, motives or characteristics to other people (Mullins). This implies that people will tend to be more favorable towards others who seem to be more relatable to them in terms of character, emotional state or momentary state of mind. According to Freud, projection is a means by which we protect ourselves from acknowledging that we possess undesirable traits and assign them in exaggerated amounts to other people. The Self Fulfilling Prophecy This phenomenon arises when a person or situation is hijacked by the misconception of the perceiver or perceivers and consequently ends up becoming that very delusion. This can be attributed to peoples strong desire to validate their own perceptions whilst disregarding the actual reality of the situation. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT In certain situations, we all attempt to depict our attitudes, personality and competence to others by putting particular emphasis on the way that we physically present ourselves. A job interview is a common example of this; which is referred to as impression management. In the forming of an impression, more emphasis is put on some bits of information than others. It has been proven through research that truly first impressions count, this is formally known as the primacy effect. Interestingly enough, it has also been proven that a negative impression is less likely to change than a positive one. DISTORTION MANAGEMENT In a healthy working environment, the collective perceptual process, at some level should be regulated or supervised. This responsibility, known as distortion management, falls to the managers and supervisors of an organization. A manager who successfully practices distortion management should willfully balance conscious and sub-conscious (automatic and controlled) information processing at the attention and selection stage (refer to Fig 3). Responsibilities of theirs such as performance assessment and clear communication require conscious information processing which will potentially be a hindrance to other job responsibilities. Together with this, managers should strive toward seeking out disconfirming information (concerning previous deductions that they have reached in assessing a subordinate or situation) that will help level out their typical perception of information, thereby avoiding bias. Particular care has to be taken when considering the range of schemas and stereotypes at the information organizing stage. A manager should make a point to expand on his/her schemas and even consider replacing them all together with more precise or wholesome ones. Additionally they should acknowledge that the retrieval stage of the memory can be imprecise. With this in mind a manager should never rely too much on schemas and sensitivity toward perceptual distortions should be ever-present. ATTRIBUTION THEORY The attribution theory focuses on how people attempt to understand the causes of a certain event, assess responsibility for the outcomes of the event and evaluate the personal qualities of the people involved in the event. There are internal and external attributions that can be linked to causes of behavior. Internal causes are within the control of the individual, whereas external causes are variables within a persons environment. There are several factors that can influence internal and external attributions these include: Distinctiveness: consistency of a persons behavior across situations. Consensus: likelihood of others responding in a similar way. Consistency: whether an individual responds the same way across time. In addition to these three influences, two errors have an impact on internal versus external determination: The fundamental attribution error: This applies to the evaluation of someone elses behavior whereby success is attributed to situational factors and failure to personal factors. The self-serving bias: This applies to the evaluation of ones own behavior, where success is attributed to personal factors and failure to situational factors. CONCLUSION All problems encountered throughout the course of this paper point directly toward the massive degree of bias which lurks within the perceptual process. Both personally and professionally, people strive to exist in a world ruled by certainty, more specifically their own certainty and it is our individual perceptual systems that oversee this. The underlying absurdity behind all of this is that it is this very idea that is our downfall; as this system is overrun with errors and bias at the same time. And although we are conscious of this and attempt to rectify these glitches, we are essentially working against our perceptual system in its natural state.

Critical Review of “Theology: the Basics”

Critical Review: Theology; The Basics By: Luke Knoll Survey Of Christian Beliefs Kerry Pretty Pacific Life Bible College Theology: The Basics; Critical Review As Christians we often believe certain things simply because it’s what our parents and the people around us believe. We often go about our Christian walk without ever giving thought or reason to why we believe what we do. The world of Christian Theology is a place where Christians can find answer to the ‘what and why’ of Christianity.If we are able to begin comprehending Christian Theology and the rudimental knowledge of it, then we can take it with us into more in depth books and discussions about theology, know the importance of it and how vital it is for Christians to actually know what and why they believe specific things The goal of the book Theology: The Basics is to introduce basic foundational terms of Christian Theology to those who have never studied theology before. It explains how we get doctrine and theology from the Apostle’s Creed and the technicalities found in it.The book attempts to have an unbiased approach at the ideas and theology brought up in the contents. The book can be easily summarized by looking at the flow of the chapters in the table of contents. Starting off with the basics, â€Å"What is faith? † (pg. 1) then moving into discussion on God, Creation, Jesus, Salvation, Spirit, Trinity, Church, Sacraments and finishing off with Heaven. This book thoughtfully moves and flows through some of the most thought about of topics.With each chapter the reader can dive into the meaning of these terms and if there are big intimidating words in front of their eyes they are able to refer to the glossary conveniently added in the back of the book. The tactics that McGrath uses in his book are very practical. McGrath takes a specific topic and meticulously teaches on it using both a historical and educational stand point. McGrath uses the history of the time period that the Apostle’s Creed was written in and gives historical background to add clarity on the topics he is teaching on.In doing this McGrath lets our minds have enough backstory to more easily understand the information given. After giving historical background McGrath breaks down the topic in a very clear format. When talking about Jesus (pg. 58-76) He talks about why Jesus is important â€Å"Christology†, but then he educates us by breaking down the considerably large topic of Jesus into more manageable categories such as the names of Jesus; Messiah, Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, God.After going through the names of Jesus he then educates us on other important theological discussions of Jesus like: Functional statements about Jesus, Early Christological Models, The Council of Chalcedon, The incarnation and icons, and Christ as mediator. Then after discussing the ‘meat’ of the topic he then gives us an opportunity to â€Å"Engage with a text† at the end of every topic. These texts give different examples and opinions for each topic and then McGrath gives the reader a short series of questions for individual or small group discussion about the text/topic he had given.Though McGrath did do a very good job at giving us insight on the historical background of the topics and also educated us in a very easy, elementary level on the theology, he lacked personal touch. In this I’m talking about some personal stories or experiences from his life that has helped him engage these theological terms and ideas. It was very â€Å"theological† in its approach, however the simple addition of some personal experiences might help him engage a broader and more diverse target audience.Even with that being so, the book was very well written and I enjoyed learning about the different topics about Christian Theology. This book did help me develop my own ideas of some of the terms, as it remained unbiased throughout majority of the book. One area where I think McGrath could have connected more with the reader is in the chapter discussing the Spirit. When he is discussing the term â€Å"Charism† (pg. 100) as he is discussing how it means the filling of an individual with the spirit of God.I believe that could have been a prime situation for him to give a personal testimony in attempt to connect with the reader and give additional examples. I do though understand that if McGrath were to start giving personal stories he would have to add them throughout the entirety of the text as well as change the voice of his writing all together. So even though McGrath may not be able to connect with every type of learning (as many authors cannot) he did create a great resource to be used by those of us who are just simply ‘newbies’ at theology.The books purpose as stated was to create a text in which people who did not have any knowledge of theology could come and learn about it in an easy, clear mann er. In Theology: The Basics, McGrath did an excellent job at teaching us these somewhat daunting terms and topics. He admirably took a broad tip paint brush and went over all of the basic terms that are lined out in the Apostle’s Creed.In doing so he whetted our appetite in the world of Christian Theology and he was able to give us great rudimental knowledge that we can take with us into more in depth books and discussions about theology, the importance of it and how vital it is for Christians to actually know what and why they believe specific things. Overall the book did a good job at creating a medium to pass on knowledge as well as staying unbiased to keep us unoffended if his view didn’t entirely line up with the readers.

1930s Essay - 759 Words

During the 1930s American citizens witnessed a breakdown of the Democratic and free enterprise way of life. The government saw that the free enterprise system was failing. The New Deal increased the governments regulation and intervention and the economic system, thus temporarily abandoning the capitalism system and turning toward socialism to find the answer. The answer... the New Deal. Socialism is usually thought of as a form of government that advocates public ownership and public control of wealth (Britannica Jr. Encyclopedia 1980, p.231). In other words, a socialistic government wants the wealth of the nation spread out in such a way that the money is equally distributed among the countrys citizens.†¦show more content†¦With the economy at on all time low people wanted change, Roosevelts legislative program represented a new way of government for capitalism in America. Roosevelt first used the term quot;new dealquot; when he accepted the Democratic presidental nomination in 1932. He said quot;I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.quot; When Roosevelt became President on March 4, 1933, business was at a standstill and a feeling of panic hit the nation (World Book, Vol.14, p.200). Roosevelt responded with a controversial policy that rocked the nation and what our nation stood for. Roosevelts New Deal programs aimed at three Rs- relief, recovery, and reform. The government established short range goals that included relief and immediate recovery, especially in the first two years. They then set up long-range goals which included permanent recovery and reform of current abuses particuarly those that produced the boom-or-bust catastrophe (World Book, Vol.14, p.748). The Congress authorized the National Recovery Administration (NRA) in a daring attempt to simulate a nationwide comeback. This scheme was to perform immediate relief with long range recovery and reform. It was designed to assist industry, labor, and theShow MoreRelated 1930-1940 Essay1098 Words   |  5 Pages1930-1940 The 1930s brought a very turbulent time to the United States. As a result of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the nation was experiencing a severe depression. There were hard class divisions dividing the nation. People were either extremely rich or extremely poor. The middle class simply did not exist (Bondi 97). On March 4, 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office with the promise of hope and relief for struggling Americans. Roosevelt followed up his promise for help with the New DealRead MoreThe Great Depression Of The 1930s999 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Depression of the 1930s is notably one of the greatest crises of American history. During this time frame the American economy collapsed in great part because of factors such as the existence of massive wealth inequality, the dust bowl that started in the Great Plains, and the rampant business speculation of the 1920’s. These factors helped turn an awful economic depression into what would be called an all-out social c risis. Bread lines and soup kitchens became a common occurrence in AmericanRead MoreThe Great Depression Of The 1930s925 Words   |  4 PagesThe assigned readings offered an interesting and complex view of some of the diverse groups of people who were marginalized in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The primary sources shared detailed information on how Mexicans, Filipinos, and White Americas experienced hostility and inequality in California. In Resistance, Radicalism, and Repression on the Oxnard Plain, Frank Barajas discusses how beet sugar growers on the Oxnard Plain cut the wages of Mexican laborers working inRead MoreThe Great Depression Of The 1930 S832 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Depression of the 1930’s was enveloped within a rather large scheme of issues that were left to the wayside until it was to late. One indefinite issue can not be highlighted, due to the complexity and despair the occurred during this time period. The date that begun the financial meltdown was noted as â€Å"Black Tuesday†, this specific date occurred on October 29, 1929. Perhaps though, this was a day of climaxing events that exacerbated the Great Depression. The time period that preceded theRead More The Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada1305 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada The Great Depression of the 1930s is a benchmark for all depressions and recessions in the past and in the future. In the booklet The Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada , Michiel Horn gives an intellectual dissection of the events that occurred during the Great Depression. Michiel Horns approach leaves the reader with a foul taste for the Dirty Thirties. This essay will summarize Michiel Horns key points as well as discuss the ability ofRead MoreResearch Paper-Family Life 1930s833 Words   |  4 PagesFamily Life in the 1930’s As the roaring twenties captivated the lives of American families with its great profits, big business, and optimism, the thirties altered the nation’s economic dreams, values, fashion, and everyday life. After ending an abundant decade in the twenties, the 1930’s brought forth pain, poverty, and hardships. Because of the stock market crash in the late 1920’s, it strongly affected families in the 1930’s in many ways. Everyday life was profoundly affected by theRead More Canada and The Great Depression of the 1930s1378 Words   |  6 Pagesideas encouraged the end of the depression. William Lyon MacKenzie King was a main contributor towards leading Canada out of the depression. When the depression started, King was still in the position of Prime Minister; so when the election of the 1930’s came, King had a new opponent. His opponents name was Richard Bennett. Bennett suggested that tariffs should be raised, and that the wealthy and stable should give to the poor; while King was campaigning for lower tariffs, attempting to help thoseRead MoreMusic in Annie in 1920-1930 Essay1541 Words   |  7 PagesMusic in Annie in 1920-1930 ​The Roaring Twenties was a decade absorbed with the growth of the music industry thanks to the radio being born in 1920 (Tyle). The excitement of the war being over brought the Roaring Twenties forth. The American people hungered for change, and the new music of the era, jazz, satisfied their great hunger (100 Favourite Songs). Jazz was a brand new type of music drastically different from anything the American people had heard before. Unfortunately, the Great DepressionRead MoreThe Role Of Media And Technology During The 1920s And 1930s1535 Words   |  7 PagesThe development of 1920s and 1930s media and technology was extremely influential upon the period of time immediately after. Media in the 1920-30s and its relevance to the years that followed, focusing on the western world. Through the journalism and writing movements during the era, new technology was exposed to the public and impacted events in the years that followed. The term technology can also apply to machinery , medicine and weaponry; however, none of them corresponded with the changes toRead MoreImpact of Great Depression on International Relations in the 1930s771 Words   |  4 PagesDepression on International Relations in the 1930s In the early 1920s the Great Depression hit. The chaos caused by the First World War was the main reason for the Great Depression. The USA had lent large amounts of money to other countries to help with their damages from the war. The loans that the USA made helped the countries to recover trade. Many countries tried to protect their industries by putting taxes on imports. In 1930 USA the biggest trading nation in the

What An Ideal Posthuman Model Of Moral Enhancement

To conclude, the efforts to use moral enhancement to further empower human virtues that help provide moral facilitation, and education of virtues is something that has already been regulated through psychiatry. Chemical and medical intervention have been a powerful regulator for those who lack self control, empathy, intelligence and positivity closer to a societal norm. Many individuals, however seem to think that they do not have all the same moral virtues that they would like. If we were to look what an ideal posthuman model of moral enhancement would go beyond being just a therapeutic solution of fixing individuals isolated flaws. Once the most obvious flaws are addressed there are still many more complex virtues that will need to be solved in order to create a more difficult perfection of character. The problem is that these more difficult virtues can be challenging to enhance in order to achieve the ideal character is a challenge for moral enhancement. The main goal of moral enh ancement should be intelligence, self control, niceness and positivity. We can see that there is already substantial evidence to prove that the medical community has already begun the process of regulating weaknesses in these four virtues. While controlling these virtues have been under way, the challenge of regulating smaller and more complex issues are the greatest challenges to successful moral enhancement. Despite the push for moral enhancement, there is a significant fear coming from theShow MoreRelatedBehavior Regulations Such As Parenting Socialization, And Education1405 Words   |  6 Pagescan all be seen as forms of human enhancement in accordance to Harris. Harris makes the an important point in asking what moral enhancement has to do with ethical knowledge, if there is a thing as technological expertise and how all of these things relate to ethics and morality? It is very hard to determine what being good means. Harris also brings up a point mentioned previously by Persson and Savulescu, and mentions that one of the founders of moral enhancement have argued that will leave the personRead MoreAldous Huxleys Brave New World1958 Words   |  8 Pagesintelligence there have been three capacities and virtues that should be targeted for moral enhancement, which are the sensitivity to the features of situations, thoughtfulness about doing what is moral, and the proper capacity for people to make proper judgments. The continued progress in the modification of learning, cognition, memory, the capabilities of decision-making will help assist the moral enhancement with these tasks. There have also been many neurochemicals that have been used to enhance