Notes on Perceptual Processing: Selection, Organization, and Interpretation
Perceptual Processing: Selection, Organization, and Interpretation
Overview
The transcript explores how miscommunication happens through the perceptual process. It uses relatable examples (gorilla in a lecture hall, a professor’s outfit, pumpkin-wax melts, smoke detectors) to show how the same message can be received differently by different people.
Three key steps drive encoding and decoding of messages: Selection, Organization, and Interpretation. These steps operate quickly, often below conscious awareness, and are shaped by personal history, socialization, and current context.
Step 1: Selection (the pasta strainer)
Concept:
Our brains act like a pasta strainer: at any moment there is too much sensory data to attend to everything. The strainer holds onto what seems important and lets the rest drain away.
Not everything from the environment makes it through to conscious awareness.
Predictors of what passes through the strainer:
Intensity: highly intense stimuli are likely to grab attention (e.g., a strong fragrance, a rock in your shoe causing irritation, a loud siren).
Novelty: unusual or out-of-the-ordinary stimuli stand out (e.g., prom dress from 1992; something you’ve never seen before in your everyday context).
Familiarity: something that is familiar can be remembered, but it’s subjective—what’s familiar to one person might be novel to another based on background and context.
Key implications:
Selection is subjective: what passes through your pasta strainer may not pass through someone else’s.
Miscommunication can occur even before any interpretation: two people can receive different inputs from the same situation because of how their brains filter data.
Examples from the transcript:
The gorilla video: many people didn’t notice the gorilla until it danced, illustrating how movement (intensity) and focus on a task (counting basketball players) shape what’s noticed.
The wax-scent library scent: an intense, strong fragrance guarantees it will be noticed.
Everyday personal differences: a person might not notice what another person clearly sees (e.g., someone wearing a distinctive outfit or a student’s appearance).
Step 2: Organization
Concept:
After information passes selection, the brain rapidly sorts data into big categories, like a filing cabinet. The immediate split is often into safe vs. unsafe.
Safe vs. Unsafe:
This categorization is driven by past experiences and current context. Topics like math class or public speaking can trigger a sense of danger even when the actual risk is low.
Personal histories shape what is perceived as unsafe (e.g., someone who has had negative experiences with dogs may perceive any dog as unsafe).
Schemata (frameworks for interpreting new information):
New information is compared to existing mental frameworks. A change or new context may require expanding or revising these schemata.
Example from the transcript: a child’s interpretation of what a classroom looks like based on daycare/kindergarten experiences. When taken into a university space, the child notes that his mental schema of a classroom doesn’t match the new environment, prompting a reevaluation of what counts as a classroom.
Consequences of schema adjustment:
Expanding schemas helps in understanding broader contexts (moving from “this is a classroom” to recognizing college classrooms as legitimate spaces for learning).
Failure to expand schemata can reinforce stereotypes or hinder adaptation.
Social and cultural codes:
Codes come from personal history and social history (culture of origin, gender norms, occupational cues).
Coding affects how we label situations and people (e.g., distinguishing between student vs. professor in a given space, or interpreting a space as elementary school vs. college classroom).
Implications for misattribution:
Different codes can lead to misinterpretations of others’ behavior due to different contextual expectations (e.g., assuming a peer’s absence is intentional rather than due to an uncontrollable factor).
Examples from the transcript:
The kindergarten-to-professor transition story: a child’s schema of school clashes with a university setting, prompting an adjustment in what counts as a classroom.
The “codes” discussion about being perceived as a teacher vs. a student based on appearance, dress, and social cues.
Socialization effects: a husband and wife both in academia are often treated differently by others in everyday life due to gender-coded expectations and cultural stereotypes.
Important concept:
Perception is shaped by both personal and social histories; misinterpretation can arise when codes from these histories diverge between communicators.
Step 3: Interpretation (Attribution)
Concept:
After selecting and organizing information, we interpret what we’ve observed to make meaning and decide how to respond. This is the thinking, reasoning part of the process located in the prefrontal cortex.
Attribution (three main dimensions):
Locus: Is the behavior internal to the person (disposition) or external (situational)?
Stability: Is the behavior consistent over time, or is it a one-off event?
Control: Does the person have control over the behavior, or is it outside their control?
Examples and implications:
Smoke detectors in the speaker’s house: a recurring, controllable nuisance (batteries dying) is interpreted as a non-dangerous, manageable issue; the attribution here is to external causes and lack of control (maintenance needs) rather than a personal flaw.
Absent class scenario: when a student misses class, initial attributions may label the absence as bad or unusual; further interpretation considers whether the absence is within control, whether it’s a one-off, and whether it reflects a recurring behavior.
Misattribution can lead to unfair judgments about people’s character or intentions; for example, assuming a missing class signals laziness rather than a personal or uncontrollable situation.
Primacy and Recency effects (how order affects interpretation):
Primacy: first impressions are powerful and tend to color subsequent interpretations; they are sticky and influence how new information is read.
Recency: the most recent experiences or attributions also shape interpretation; they can be just as influential as initial impressions.
Middle information is often less memorable, making ongoing updates to perception important.
Updating perceptions:
Perceptions should be updated with new information, especially in relationships (romantic or friendships) to avoid clinging to outdated versions of people or dynamics.
People who fail to update perceptions may be more susceptible to manipulation or emotional imbalance.
Personal stories and illustrative points:
A fifth-grade teacher example: a favorable initial impression can deteriorate over time due to perceived favoritism, illustrating how perceptions evolve with new information.
The codes discussion reinforces that interpretation is deeply influenced by cultural and social context, not just personal history.
Codes, Encoding, and Decoding
Everyday life is full of codes: language, dress, behavior, facial expressions, and gestures all convey meaning.
The same space can be coded differently by different people (e.g., a space coded as a college classroom versus a middle/high school classroom).
Encoding/Decoding dynamics:
Encoding: how we express ideas (language, dress, behavior).
Decoding: how others interpret those signals.
The cultural layer:
Social histories and cultural expectations shape how we code and interpret interactions.
Examples include gendered assumptions about teaching roles and professional titles.
Takeaway:
Misunderstandings often arise from mismatched codes or mismatches in interpretation, not from the raw content of the message itself.
Putting it together: a practical model for exam prep
Remember the three steps and their metaphors:
Selection: the pasta strainer (what passes through is influenced by intensity, novelty, familiarity).
Organization: the filing cabinet (safe vs. unsafe; schemata expansion; codes).
Interpretation: attribution (locus, stability, control) and the role of primacy/recency.
Key terms to define and connect:
Perceptual process, miscommunication, selective attention, inattentional blindness (gorilla example).
Schemata and schema expansion; cultural and social codes.
Locus, Stability, Control (attribution factors).
Primacy and Recency effects.
Real-world relevance:
In relationships, work, and learning, updating perceptions is essential for fair judgment and healthy interactions.
Being mindful of your own selections and interpretations can reduce conflicts and improve communication.
Quick recap for study
Selection (pasta strainer): intensity, novelty, familiarity determine what you notice.
Organization (filing cabinet): classify as safe/unsafe; expand schemata; consider codes.
Interpretation (attribution): decide what happened (locus, stability, control) and respond; beware primacy/recency effects.
Miscommunication often arises from differences in selection, organization, or attribution rather than from the content of the message itself.
Use personal and social-context examples to practice recognizing where misperceptions originate and how to adjust.
Personal reflections prompts (for exam practice)
Describe a scenario where you misattributed someone’s behavior. Identify the locus, stability, and control assumptions you made.
Provide an example where novelty or intensity caused you to notice something that others overlooked; explain how selection differed between you and another person.
Reflect on a time you updated your initial perception of someone. What information prompted the update, and how did it change your behavior?
Explain how codes (personal or cultural) influenced your interpretation of a classroom as a student or teacher in a specific context.