PERCEPTION: THE BUSINESS OF CREATING MEANING

1. All scientific observations are open to question because scientists may see what they expect to see rather than what's there. That is, even scientists may be susceptible to
perceptual set:
A tendency to see what we expect to see.
•         To see how powerful perceptual set can be, watch this short video. Warning: Do not try what the man on the video does. It is illegal!
•         This 14-second video is a magical example of perceptual set
2. Asking people what they see may be more useful for finding out how they think (what perceptual hypotheses they have) than for finding out about the world. What happens if we give people a blank card and ask them what they see? What they tell us may help us understand how they think--consciously or unconsciously--about the world. People are actually given a blank card in projective tests like the Rorschach inkblot test and the TAT (Thematic Apperception Test). If you don't know what those tests are, below are Wikkipedia links to
the
• Rorschach inkblot test
• TAT
3. Eyewitnesses who are sure of what they saw are not much more likely to be right than eyewitnesses who are not sure of what they saw. Because there is little correlation between an observer's confidence and an observer's accuracy, saying "I'm sure I'm right" shouldn't be a convincing argument that your perception is accurate.
4. Don't assume that you are accurately interpreting what other people are saying or doing. Instead, engage in active listening (focusing entirely on understanding what the person is trying to say and showing that you are trying to understand by giving the person your full attention, by giving lots of nonverbal feedback (e.g., nodding, eye-contact), and by repeating, paraphrasing, and summarizing what the person said) while also engaging in perception checking (asking the person whether your interpretation of what they are saying or doing is correct).

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