Perception Distortion In Communication

Communication that is received differently to how it was intended is caused by perception distortions. Perception distortion are factors that build the assumptions and perceptions we make of someone when we first meet. I will be discussing what three perception distortions contributed to a completely, incorrect, assumption, someone made of me.

It was my first year out of High School, I had chosen to take a gap year and travel South-East Asia, for six months. My parents were in a tough financial state of their own, Dad was out of work due to a Kidney Transplant, so I knew if I wanted to travel I would have to work hard to achieve this. I worked for six months and I was off. Communication with fellow backpackers challenged me, but was also

Knapp and Vangelsti discuss how sometimes perceptions differ because of what we chose to observe and how we process what we’ve observed (2009, Pg. 145). Because people have so many stimuli involved we naturally begin the perception process. This process is built of three main stages; “selecting, organising and interpretation” (DeVito, 2015, pg. 79). Selecting is the first step, where our attention is drawn towards what our senses capture. You select details that do and don’t fit. The organisation step is where we order and group all information coming our way using, proximity, similarity and closure. Selecting and organising happens early and very quickly, therefore not much conscious thought is applied. The Interpretation stage is much more focused and accurate. This part of the process is where we relate the stimuli to our own personal experiences to give them meaning just as Knapp and Vangelsti (2009, Pg.144) explain how perception of others differ due to constructed cultural ideas and personal differences. We pick apart stimuli that is familiar or is unsettling then create our overall perception of them and in regards to my experience, this matter relates

I don 't believe that the primacy or recency communication has a longer lasting remembrance of someone than the other. My opinion is the receiver naturally decides what they want to remember by how much the comment has affected them. Since that day he asked how I was, travelling off my parent 's money, I have always remained with the same perception of him. I was proud of the fact I saved to travel, so being questioned on this is why the recency comment affected me the most. Although, as I gain more of an understanding of perceptual distortion I need to realise that his comment may have been affected by cultural difference or the way my behaviours lead him to think a certain way of me. According to Knapp and Vangelisti (2009, pg. 156) “we will never fully know whether we base our perceptions of another on primacy or recency until we know what traits of this person are permanent or susceptible to change”. After understanding this statement, I have learnt that I can’t assume his actions/words are his permeant behaviour towards other people. In future to avoid my remembrance of someone based on just one primacy or recency, I will have a better realisation of factors that may have lead to them communicating what they did and to be patient and understanding