Perception and Listening (Chapter 2)

What is Perception?

Our set of beliefs concerning what is out there

• Lens through which we see the world

  • How we make sense of the world around us/make judgements

• Framed by past experiences, culture

Perception

a 3-step process: Selection, Organization, and Interpretation

Selection

Focusing your attention on a specific stimuli

• We do experience different senses at once, we only focus on one at a time; therefore selecting that stimuli

  • Ex: Times Square

Selective Exposure

choosing to engage in certain stimuli and avoid others

Selective Attention

Focusing on the most important stimuli

Selective Retention:

processing, storing and receiving information

Organization

Structuring perceptions to make sense of them

Closure

When you fill in the details of an incomplete picture

Proximity

the process of grouping stimuli that are close to each other

Similarity

Organizing stimuli based on size, shape, color, and other traits

Interpretation

When you assign meaning to your perceptions by relying on past experiences. Since it’s based on past experiences, it affects the way you interpret stimuli

Physical Attributes

Height, skin, color, body shape

Culture

Shapes our beliefs and values

Listening

The active process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or written messages

Hearing

Passive physiological process where the ear receives sound

Listening Styles

styles of listening that individuals do based on their personality, upbringing, and experiences

People-Oriented Listening

seek common interests with the speaker and are highly responsive. Interested in people’s emotions and feelings

Action-Oriented Listening

prefers error-free and concise messages. Can get easily frustrated with speakers who do not clearly articulate their message in a straightforward answer

Content-Oriented Listening

focuses on the details of the message. Tends to pick up on the facts of the story and analyze it from a critical perspective

Time-Oriented Listening

interested in brief interactions with others. Direct the length of the conversation by saying how long they have to speak (i.e. “I have 5 minutes”)

Discriminate Listening

helps us understand the meaning of a message

• Can be used to discriminate facts from opinions

• Can decipher what is an emotionally-based argument from a logically-based argument

  • Ex: Listening to how a colleague responds to a new recommendation

• Potential Pitfall: selectively listening to certain stimuli and ignoring others

Appreciative Listening

pure enjoyment of listening to stimuli

• Ex: listening to music on your phone

  • going to see a musical

• Potential Pitfall: Noise can get in the way of the enjoyment of selected stimuli

Comprehensive Listening

involves mindfully receiving and remembering new information

• Ex: a professor giving instructions to a student

• Potential Pitfall: if there are multiple messages, you need to decide which one is important. When unsure, seek feedback or paraphrase to help yourself

Critical Listening

critically assessing messages

• Ex: evaluating a salesperson for their credibility and competency when trying to sell a product

• Potential Pitfall: prejudices and biases can affect our evaluations of people

Therapeutic Listening

listening to help others

• With experience comes the ability to relate and comfort others based on their issues

  • Ex: Listening to a friend talk about their relationship

• Potential Pitfall: Understanding if the speaker wants advice or to vent

Pseudo-Listening

pretending to listen

Monopolizing

taking focus off the speaker and redirecting the conversation to you

Disconfirming

denying the speaker’s feelings

Defensive Listening

perception of a threatening environment

Selective Listening

focusing only on parts of the message

Ambushing

listening for information the receiver can use to attack the sender