Week2 : Seeing & Perception

 Q. What is perception and why is it different from seeing?

 “Perception may be regarded as information which is taken in by the senses, processed by the brain, stored in memory and produces some form of physical or mental response” (Richard Ellis & Ann McClintock, 1990, p.1). According to this definition, people perceive things by the help of the senses. Every people have different types of perception because they perceive differently. For example, the image below shows that the blocks look as it is different in color. However, the blocks are the same in color. Here is a link to a video for this example. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=YOKrdmUwiUM&playnext=1&list=PL1592E3F1D3C81425&feature=results_video. (Retrieved: 05/09/2012).

Figure 1

These senses of vision, hearing, feeling or touching, taste and smell helps people in having the knowledge to perceive. For example, a blindfolded person can use their senses to perceive what they hear, smell or touch. This is because the brain has the knowledge or a storing space in the memory about the things people have seen, heard, touch and also smell before. Therefore, it will not be hard for people to identify the things even if they are blindfolded. However, the culture determines how people perceive things they see. As an example, Muslim people are forbidden to touch dogs and pigs. But, in the western countries, the dogs and pigs can be a pet for them as a part of their family. Another example, from the picture below, it shows the difference between seeing and perceiving. This picture below shows the glass is half filled with water and another way to perceive this image is the glass is half empty. If a person just sees this image, that person would say it is just a glass filled with water.

Figure 2

There are many ways to perceive just one image. This picture below shows that the perception of a person can change.

Figure 3

When a person looks at the picture above, that person may think that the man holding his large pants means that the man has lost weight. However, the caption below can change the perception of the viewer of this image.

Another word for perception is “paradigm”. “A paradigm is the way you see something, your point of view, frame of reference or belief” (Sean Covey, 2004, p.13). Thus, the difference between seeing and perceiving is that, when people see something, it is limited by using the eyes and the brain which are the biological properties. It is clearly different from perceiving, because when people perceive, they can use their five senses. For example, when a person is blindfolded, they cannot see the things around them by using the eyes. Whereas, if a person perceive, they can feel what they touch, they can hear sounds or voices, they can taste using their tongue and they can smell using their nose even though they are blindfolded.

In conclusion, perceiving and seeing are not the same. Seeing only involves the biological properties of a person. Seeing is just like looking at an image without adapting any feelings or ideas towards it. The way people see things are affected by what they know and believe. When people see, they can only see what they have studied, what they have seen before. Whereas, perceiving is more than just seeing, it includes the ideas and the feelings of a person towards that image according to their culture, knowledge and backgrounds. Adler & Rodman (1994) stated that, “Culture provides a perceptual filter that influences the way we interpret even the most simple events” (Adler & Rodman, 1994, p.37). The pictures below shows examples for perception and culture or backgrounds and knowledge are shown below:

Figure 4

Figure 5

The color red could be perceived as anger, hot, Chinese cultures, and also bloods. Whereas, green shows peace, clean, environmental, saving the earth, recycling and Islam. Lastly, when people perceive, they can see what is unseen by others, hear what is not heard and know what is unknown.

Reference

Adler, R.B. & Rodman, G. (5^th ed.). (1994), Understanding Human Communication, p.37, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., USA

Covey, S. (2004), the 7 habits of highly effective teenagers, p. 13-18, Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, Great Britain

Ellis, R. & McClintock, A. (1990), If You Take My Meaning: Theory into practice in human communication, p.1, Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. USA