Lesson Three: Perceiving Others

 Lesson 3

     The third and final lesson I learned in Com 2206 involves perception. This correlates to chapter 5 of the Adler: Interplay textbook, "Perceiving Others".  Through this chapter, we learned the four main parts of perception, which include The Perception Process, Influences on Perception, Common Tendencies in Perception, and Synchronizing Our Perceptions. There are two sections of the chapter that stand out to me.

Chapter 5.1

    The first section of this chapter focuses on The Perception Process. The Perception Process starts with first and second-order realities. First-order realities "are physically observable qualities of a thing or situation." (Adler et. al). Second-order realities "involve attaching meaning to first-order things or situations" (Adler et. al). First-order realities are based on what you can see about the person you are communicating with. Second-order realities are based on what these observations mean to you. Second-order realities vary between different people as they perceive what they hear or see differently. 

There are two, in my opinion, very important steps of perception. "The first step in perception is selection, or determining which stimuli receive attention." (Adler et. al). Selection is based on intensity, repetition, and contrast or change. You use these details to determine which item requires attention first. The second is Negotiation, "the process by which communicators influence each other’s perceptions."(Adler et. al). Negotiations allow you to make final decisions after talking things through with the included parties. 

Chapter 5.4

    The fourth and final section of this chapter focuses on Synchronizing Our Perceptions. An important skill we learned in this section is perception checking. Perception Checking "provides a better way to review your assumptions and to share your interpretations" (Marie, 2018). "A complete perception check has three parts: A description of the behavior you noticed, two possible interpretations of the behavior, and A request for clarification about how to interpret the behavior." (Adler et. al) Perception checking allows you to learn what is really being said, rather than assuming your first thought is the only possible interpretation. This skill can be considered the most important in any relationship as it allows a conflict solution.

  How this affects me  

Perception is another thing I've had issues with. I am great at registering first-order realities. It's the second-order realities I struggle with. Whenever I observe something being said or done, I automatically apply meaning to it and allow it to affect my feelings and judgments surrounding the topic. Reading through this chapter showed me exactly where my issues arise and how to fix them. The best solution if have come up with is to give these instances more thought and reaffirm the issue if the issue is with someone else. 

Citations 

Adler, Ronald, B. et al. Adler: Interplay. Available from: eCampus, (15th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2020.