![]() It lets the other person know what stimuli you are reacting to, how you are organizing and interpreting it. The perception check recognizes the perception process. So, what is a perception check (and how does it relate to the perception process)? What was true for me when I first moved into my apartment is no longer true for me today. It’s the same stimuli but, based on the experiences I gained living downtown, I now organize and interpret it differently. Now, if someone yells under my window, I wake up, think to myself it must be sometime between 12:30 and 1:30, then roll over and go back to sleep. Soon, my perception of what went on outside Pizza Collin in the wee hours of the morning changed. I interpreted the yelling in front of Pizza Collin as a fight about to start so I called 9-1-1. We even had to call the cops a couple of times. I remember seeing drunks get over emotional and watched how the bartender and the cook would have to talk the drunk down. Based on my experiences waiting tables as a college student, I organized that yelling as a situation about to get out of control. Generally, sometime between 12:30 and 1:30 in the morning I’d hear people yelling about how much they f**king loved someone or hated someone. So, when I first moved into my downtown apartment I selected the noise coming up from the street in front of (what was then) Pizza Collin. We interpret what the stimulus means and we react to it.How you organize a stimulus might be quite different from how I organize it. We organize that stimulus based on our experiences.We select a stimulus for many reasons based on how often it happens or its intensity. Something we hear, see, smell, taste or touch. ![]() (Imagine how Sam is going to feel when he finds out Mandi only got mad at him after he asked/yelled “Why are you mad at me?”) To understand how a perception check works, we need to review the perception processĪs you may remember, the perception process helps us understand how we form our perceptions. In many cases, it saves you from a situation where you end up with your foot in your mouth. (Remember the selecting stimulus step of the Perception Process?) It allows you to determine if you are organizing the stimuli (Perception Process step 2) and perceiving the situation correctly (Perception Process step 3). It lets the other person know what it is you are reacting to that’s causing your perception. It’s a method of determining whether your perception is correct without putting the other person on defensive. In this scenario, Sam used a technique called a perception check. How would you think Mandi reacted to Sam’s question this time? Better than when he point blank asked her “Why are you mad at me?” Are you upset with me because I got my paper finished early? Or are you stressed out about getting ready for your trip this weekend? What’s going on?” You just took a sip of your coffee and started digging around for your phone. When she looks at Sam he says, “Hey, you didn’t wave to me when I walked in the door. She grabs her phone to text her roommates before she forgets. That’s when Sam looks at Mandi and says “Why are you mad at me?” Let’s replay this scenario with a twist Sam’s textbook accidentally falls out of his backpack, startling Mandi. She continues to ignore him by grabbing her phone and texting. Sam starts to sit down at the table but Mandi turns away while sipping her coffee. He knows Mandi is stressed out about the paper due at the end of the week and she seemed a little put off the other day when he mentioned he had already turned it in. It always cheers him up and makes him feel welcome. Each day they have this thing where Mandi waves him to come in and sit down with her. Sam walks in the door and tries to make eye contact with Mandi. Okay, let’s look at the same situation from Sam’s point of view She was just sitting there having a great day and suddenly her buddy Sam comes along, accuses her of being mad and basically ruins what started out to be a great day. Sam attacked her and she doesn’t understand why. That’s when Sam sits down next to her, slams his textbook on the table and says “Why are you mad at me?” Now she’s looking forward to spending the weekend with friends but remembers she needs to send her roommates a text to remind them she’ll be out of town. Mandi felt so confident she uploaded it to Canvas a day before it was due. So, instead of dreading writing the paper, she hammered it out in 30 minutes. After their conversation, Mandi got a much clearer idea what the assignment was about. She sits down in the classroom and takes a sip of her perfectly flavored latte.Īs she pulls out her books, she mentally congratulates herself for taking the time to talk to the professor. Mandi walks to class one morning thinking what a great day it is. By Terri Reddout Has something like this ever happened to you?
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