What is Perceptual Selectivity???

Table of Contents

1.Perceptual Selectivity.
2.Perceptual Organization.
3.Principle of Perceptual Selection.
4.Principle of Perceptual Organization.
5.Frequently Asked Questions.

Perceptual Selectivity/Principles of Perceptual Selection:-

Environment consists of various stimuli. They are in form of objects, animals, sounds, events, vision, smell and taste etc. All stimuli confront individuals but all can't be accepted in perceptual process. Some may get accepted and remaining gets rejected.

Individual accepts that stimuli which attracts him or beneficial to him. Individual selects the stimuli which attracts him and reject other stimuli.

For example we watch some interesting video in you tube ignoring others.  Here are various factors influencing in perceptual sensitivity. They can be studied under two categories:- (i),Internal attention factors and (ii).External attention factors in perceptual selectivity.

(i).Internal attention factors in perceptual selectivity:-

The perceptual factors which exist internally within perceiver are called internal attention factors. They are cognitive in natures. These factors can be learnt after birth. These factors can be changed. Individual learns these factors from his surroundings.

(a).Motives:-

It is reason for doing something. It influences the perception. For example thirst person gives more importance to water than else.

(b).Expectations:-

It is strong belief of happening something. People see what they want to see. It influences the perception. For example People see glasses in goggles frame even if goggles are glass free.

(c).Experiences:-

Experience is knowledge of doing something in past. It helps to learn or perceive something fast.

(d).Attitudes:-

It is way of thinking or feeling about something. Attitudes influence the perceptual selectivity. If someone has negative attitude towards drinking alcohol, then he would think negative to those who drink once a week or month too.

(e).Interests:-

It is activities which we enjoy.  We perceive quickly those issues which belong to our deep interests. For example crime is perceived fast by police than plumber.

(f).Emotions:-

It is strong feeling created due to one's circumstances, mood and relationship with others. Emotions influence the perception. For example, if once we perceive one negative, then we never keep more attention to find his positive attributes.

(vi).Values:-

It is the individual ethics about right or wrong. For instance, operating porn industry is perceived good in western culture but it is perceived negatively in eastern culture.

 (iv).Personality:-

It stable set of unique characteristics of individuals. It influences the perceptual selectivity. For example: will you say day is between nights? Or night is between days? It can be said that those who see night is between days are optimists and those who see day between nights are pessimists.

 (vi).Learning:-

It is permanent change brought in behavior through experience. Previous learning helps individual to develop learning habit. So, he can perceive something than others.

 (ii).External attention factors in perceptual selectivity:-

The perceptual factors which exist externally outside perceiver are called external attention factors. These factors can be changed and learnt. Individual get these factors from his surroundings.

(a).Familiarity:-

It is state of knowing something very well.Familiarity influences on perception. For example:- we recognize our friends even in crowd so faster.

(b).Size:-

Too fat person or too thin person or too tall person or too short person is perceived so fast than others.

(c).Intensity:-

Intensity is the extreme level of power, feeling and energy. It influences extremely in perception. For instance, loud noise, strong odor, bright light will be noticed faster than low intensity.

(d).Novelty:-

Individual perceives new thing fast in comparison of others. People would quickly notice rhino walking along street.

(e).Contrast:-

It is noticeable differences. External stimuli which are against background are perceived fast. A shepherd who grazes 25 goats and 1 sheep in a day would remember the sheep first due to contrast.

(f).Motion:-

Moving objects are perceived faster than others. Due to it, television use moving text at the lower part of screen to show news even if another program is being broadcasted.

(g).Repetition:-

Repeated external stimuli are perceived faster than others. For example students can memorize lessons by revision for exam preparation.

(h).Sounds:-

Louder and frequent sound is perceived so faster than lower.

i).Time:-

Time also influences perception. Students who read at the early morning would understand easily than other time.

(j).Work Setting:-

If classroom is clean and peaceful, students learn faster.

(k).Social setting:-

Women wearing short skirt are perceived faster in eastern culture.

Perceptual Organization/Principle of Perceptual Organization:-

Perceptual organization collects and organizes information about an object in as a whole and provides meaning. It means it does not provide meaning by observing partial information about that objects, it takes as whole information.

It carefully keeps attention towards arriving information and provides meaning. This process completes with involvement of both physical and mental process. It means accuracy of organs, clarity of sensation and mental state are needed to complete process of perceptual organization. Perception is influenced by various factors. Perceptual organization says that perception does not depend mostly on features of individual stimuli. It means perception has just fewer connections with situation of stimuli in hand. Perception is complicated process and there many factors influencing perception besides features of stimuli.  The major principles of perceptual organization are such as:-

(i).Figure Ground Relationship:-

According to this principle, perception cannot be made looking just an object. Brain extracts meaning of an object by watching the relationship of object with its background.  Objects are not observed in isolation, there features must be also watched.

(ii).Perceptual constancy:-

This principle says that human try to keep perceptual stability about an object by finding permanent features of that object. They make stable perception by identifying stable size, shape, color, experience and other features.

(iii).Perceptual Grouping:-

This principle says that human mind groups many stimuli in easily identifiable patterns. Laws of perceptual grouping are such as:-

(a).Proximity:-It is nearness in space, time and relationship. The thing that is nearby time and physical location is perceived quickly and easily. For example, we are most identified with localities near our house.

(b).Similarity:- It is the state of having same features. If the things are too similar to us, we perceive it easily and quickly. For example, an army person can recognize another army person easily.

(c).Continuity:- Continuously observed things are perceived faster than others. For example: medical terminology is perceived faster by regular medical practitioner.

(d).Closure:- It is tendency of mind to see complete forms anything even if that is incomplete or partially hidden by other objects. For example: we perceive dirty double meaning sentences though spoken half.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.What is perceptual selectivity. Explain both internal and external attention factors of perceptual selectivity.
2.Explain internal and external attention factors of perceptual selectivity.
3.What is perceptual organization.
4.What are principles of perceptual selection.
5.What are principles of perceptual organization.