The document discusses how our perceptions shape our reality and how we can miss important things if we only perceive at a surface level. It provides the example of Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in the world, performing anonymously in a Washington D.C. subway station but generating little notice from passersby. The document then examines the perception process, how we select, organize, and interpret information based on our experiences and states of mind. It stresses the importance of reality testing by comparing perceptions with others in order to recognize when our perceptions may not reflect an accurate reality.
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Our perception is our reality crit thinking
1. Our Perception is Our Reality
By
Lisa Polydoros
Speech 104
Professor Marteney
2. There is more to life
than what we perceive
On a cold January morning in 2007, a man played a violin in a
busy Washington D.C. subway station during rush hour.
Passersby stopped to watch for a minute, if that, and
then some threw change into his violin case as a tip.
After he was done playing, there was no applause,
he just walked away quietly with the $32 he
had made from tips for 45 minutes of playing.
No one had noticed him leaving.
If you had seen this, what would you think? That he is a
homeless man trying to earn some money, right?
So did everyone else. But, in fact
3. it was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians
in the world.
AND he had just played 2 days earlier in a
sold-out Boston theatre with tickets costing about
$100 each.
AND he was playing a piece by Bach that is
one of the most intricate pieces of music ever
written.
AND the violin he was using was worth $3.5
4. Consider this
What else might we be missing everyday?
My Perception, is my REALITY. Your perception
is your REALITY.
We either place value on things to give them
value, or do not place value on things and then
they have no value.
5. What is YOUR
Perception?
No 2 people perceive the same situation exactly
the same way
We each take different meanings from different
environmental messages everyday
We each use the perception process to
accomplish this
6. The Perception
Process
First we select data from the environment using
our senses and filter out the rest
Second we sort the information by organizing and
prioritizing according to our uniquely individual past
experiences
Third we interpret the data by assigning meaning
to it based on our past experience
7. Recognizing
Data:
We recognize data:
Psychologically by our mood and state of
mind
Physically by our physical condition
(senses, age, health, fatigue, hunger, etc.)
9. Factors that Influence
how we interpret data
Formal learning teaches us the socially correct
view of our environment.
Experiences are informal learning occurrences.
Expectations are perceptions that we expect to
conform to.
Closure is making sense out of data and filling in
missing information if necessary.
Selective Perception is using heuristics as
mental shortcuts to interpret the environment.
Patterning uses new perceptions to reinforce our
current reality to avoid cognitive dissonance.
10. Reality
Testing
Reality Testing is necessary to narrow the
differences in perceptions between people.
It is necessary to realize that each persons
interpretation of a perception is not fact.
11. Reality
Testing
Communication narrows the gap between
peoples perceptions.
comparing realities lets us know if our perceptions
are reasonable
examining a variety of realities might lead to the
discovery of a more accurate reality
reevaluate your data if your reality cannot be
validated by others
be sure to compare realities with a variety of
people, not just those who are like-minded
12. Reality
Testing
Become a better listener
Empathetic listeners can recreate anothers
perspective by putting themselves in their position
Deliberative listening is for gathering information
and content
13. Stasi
s
We all want a reality we are comfortable with
Stasis is a reality on a particular subject
it is the absence of change in one more realities for an
extended period of time
it is the existing state of things
it is physical and/or emotional contentment
it is our comfort zone
We perceive the world according to our stasis
We defend our reality as being the most accurate