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Файл:Бизнес поведение. Основы основ для будущих психологов = Business Behaviour. Core Essentials for Future Psychologists. Учебное пособие по английскому я
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Workshop
•> Most of us have experienced what happens when we don’t
receive the required information from the environment. Consider the
absolute threshold in the following situations? Explain why it occurs.
- A plane gradually disappears from sight.
- The initial detection of noise from an arriving train.
A common mistake of first time public speakers is to hold a press
clipping up to the audience and say, “And as you can see from this
picture…”. But only half the audience can make sense of the picture.
2.3 The Just Noticeable Difference
The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) refers to the minimum
detectable difference between two stimuli. It is a measure of the stimulus
changes in an object or event that our sensory receptors can detect. For
example, the point at which we can say that there is an increase in
brightness between two lights is the JND.
It is important to understand the concept of the JND, because it is the
means by which we become aware of changes in our environment. If the
sensory receptors had no such mechanisms, then we would fail to notice
that the welcoming smile of our audience is now a scowl; that the
interviewer’s eyes, which were initially focused intently on our face, are
now staring dreamily beyond us, out the window.
The utility of the term comes from the knowledge that the JND is a
constant ratio (Weber’s Law). That is to say, that the changes in physical
stimulus energy we recognise, are relative to the original physical
stimulus energy that we perceived.
Example:
If a person speaks in a whisper all day, then only a small increase in
volume would be needed to recognise the change. But, if a person roars at
you all day, then a large increase (or decrease) in volume would be needed
to detect the change.
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Workshop
•> Using the principles of the JND, have you got enough
information to perceive that a change has taken place? Indicate yes or
no. Give reasons.
- A person who constantly arrives at work at exactly nine and
leaves at exactly five begins to arrive at 9.15 am and leaves at 4.45 pm.
Yes
No
- A person who is constantly half an hour late arrive s on time.
Yes
No
Marketers and advertisers constantly use the JND. They spend much
time measuring changes in the perception of objects and events. It would be
a waste of money and effort for a company to offer a 20% increase in size,
volume, or weight for the same price of the product, if the customer cannot
perceive the difference between the original and the new product. If a
company wants its customers to know that its product now represents
greater value for money, then the JND of the two products needs to be
calculated.
Workshop
•> Using the JND, fill in the missing dollar value in the case study
below
Let us suppose that we survey consumers and would-be-consumers
of business suits and find that they consider a bargain as representing 20%
off the normal retail price. If we understand that a $30 discount (the JND)
on a $150 suit is a bargain, then on a $400 suit it would have to be
$............;and on a $1,000 suit, $............
Explanation:
Any amount below the constant ratio of the JND to the original
stimulus will not be seen as a bargain. Or, in other words, we will see the
original stimulus as remaining unchanged.
These examples illustrate the fact that the JND is a perceived value
existing in the minds of people.
The JND is also used by companies wishing to differentiate their
products from those of their competitors.
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Example:
Some years ago, a major soft drink company ran an advertisement
campaign on the slogan “Do the taste-test; taste the difference!” The brief
of the campaign was to demonstrate the differences between two almost
identical stimuli (colas).
Companies operating newly acquired operations and wanting to
distance themselves from the previous owners, will often fly the banner head
“Under New Management”.
The examples above demonstrate the importance of the JND in
highlighting changes between two stimuli. A company may also wish to use
the JND to mask changes in its products.
Example:
Some years ago another major soft drink company in the USA
changed the formula of their cola because of price increases in the raw
materials. The company wanted to ensure that their customers could not
taste the difference between the two products and hence the products were
market tested to establish the JND.
Changes in packaging and product size are some of the techniques
used by marketers and advertisers to highlight or mask the JND.
Workshop
•> The following statements are applications of JND. Identify
which are above or below the JND.
A person has just undergone a hair transplant.
above□below
The wrapping of a chocolate bar states that it is 10% bigger.
above□below
This car carries all the extras normally associated with European
luxury
above□below
•> Give reasons to prove your answer. Work with your partner.
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2.4 The Theory of Signal Detection
We are often placed in a situation where a stimulus (signal) is
difficult to detect against a changing and confusing environmental
background (noise).
Example:
There is one minute to go in the tied game and all your fellow
players are bellowing at once. Was that the captain's voice telling you to
take the penalty shot?
The Theory of Signal Detection maintains that perceptual biases
have a greater tendency to surface when the stimulus or signal is weak or
impoverished. We will make a decision on the nature of the signal, its
presence or otherwise, based upon our individual needs and values.
Faced with the scene in the example above, we can respond in one of
two ways: wait cautiously for the possibility that the captain will place the
ball in the hands of another or, walk up and take possession of the ball. The
Theory of Signal Detection contends that the decision we take will be
governed by the criteria of success we experienced on the day’s game. The
chance that a particular decision will be successful (a hit) or unsuccessful
(false alarm) will depend on what the individual thinks will be the
consequences of such an act.
The Theory of Signal Detection is an important advance on the
Absolute and Differential Thresholds models because it brings into play the
effect of the decision making process of the individual on perception. A
focus on the decision making process inevitably leads to an examination of
the individual’s needs and values.
2.5 Adaptation
A major characteristic of the sensory receptors is their ability to
adapt to stimuli that are constant and consistent. Adaptation refers to the
ability of the sensory receptor to reduce its awareness of the stimuli to
which it is continuously exposed. Hence, we ignore the familiar and attend
to that which is different.
Example:
We adapt to the monotone drone of the speaker at the weekly sales
meeting and eventually hear nothing.
The speaker, however can regain the audience's attention by
introducing something novel: e.g. changing the tone, volume, pitch, rate of
delivery of the voice, or introduce overheads to the speech.
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Maintaining customer attention is a constant challenge for marketers
and advertisers. The secret is to introduce something novel within the
bounds of the JND. If we move outside the JND the customer will not
connect the changed product with the original, and sales may be
consequently lost.
Example:
To reconcile the connection between the original and the changed
stimulus, a food company reintroduced an old black and white television
commercial of its product and colourised it for today's market.
2.6 Schemas
When we first come into contact with people and events, we have a
tendency to categorise and classify them, eg male/ female; tall/ short; loud/
quiet; courteous/ rude; weak/ strong; friendly/ unfriendly; exciting/ tedious;
valuable/ worthless etc. In other words, we perceive people and social
events as having a common set of characteristics. These sets of
characteristics are called schemas (the singular is referred to as schemata).
We derive these characteristics from our past experiences. Schemas
can be seen as a link between adaptation and perception. Each of us, in
our own unique way, will be programmed by our past experiences to view
the world in a particular way.
It is as if we view the world through a pair of glasses made up of our
past experiences. For example; ‘managers wear suits’.
Therefore, schemas are mental structures that contain general
representations of past experiences.
These schemas then serve the function of guiding our perceptual
inferences. For example, because they are not wearing suits, they cannot be
managers. While the existence of schemas allows us to have ready-made
criteria for evaluating people and social events, it can lead to perceptual
stereotyping.
Schemas, by their very nature, contain a stereotyped quality about
them. Piaget (see Topic 2) found in his studies on cognitive development in
children, that schemas must be general in nature, or open ended, to allow for
the accommodation of new experiences. A failure to perceive an event or a
person as a wholly new experience will inevitably lead to the fixated
thinking of mental set.
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2.7 Mental Set
Different personalities, needs, attitudes (schemas) and motivations
lead to unique perceptions of the same environment.
However, repeated exposure to the same environment can lead to a
sense of familiarity (adaptation). Ultimately, changes in the environment
can go unnoticed. The process of responding habitually to our
environment is known as adopting a mental set.
Example:
You achieved A Grade success throughout your school life with little
concentrated effort. Your perception is that college is of a similar standard
to school.
Unfortunately, you learn the hard way that a revised set of
perceptions befitting the new environment is required.
Due to the individual way people experience their environment, it is
difficult to change perceptions. One person’s experiences cannot be easily
imposed on another.
The key to changing the mental set lies in altering the internal states
of the person; i.e. needs, expectations, attitudes, personality and motivation.
3. Features of the Process of Perception
3.1 Selective Perception
At any given moment of our social and working life we are
bombarded by an infinite range and number of stimuli.
Example:
As you concentrate on the speaker on the telephone you are assailed
by noises from the general office area of telephones ringing, people moving
furniture, the whine and whirl of photocopiers, typewriters and computers,
yells of “hold the lift” and “don’t forget to call into Brown's”, and the
conversations and movements of your fellow workers.
What are you to focus your attention on? Do you listen enviously
to your work colleagues racing to the lift and an early lunch? Does the
call of Brown’s trigger memories of fear?
While this example captures only a fraction of the complexities of
our environment, it has not taken into account the individuals particular
emotional, cognitive and unconscious states at the time.
Is the person overly depressed about their promotional
opportunities in the company? Are they preoccupied with the thought of
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impending college examinations? Does the tone of voice on the line
dredge from the unconscious, feelings and thoughts of unmet love?
This state of affairs leaves us with a specific problem: the necessity
of having some means by which we can sort out the important features of
the environment so we can clearly focus our attention on them. Selective
perception refers to the process whereby we respond to the important
features of our environment and reduce our awareness of, or ignore,
the unimportant features.
Workshop
•> In the example above, will the brain treat simultaneously all
the features of the environment as input, or process it as distinct
perceptions?
•> Complete the scenarios below by filling the blank spaces with
one of the following terms: attend, focus, awareness
The person on the other end of the telephone line tells you that you
are to be promoted and that you are to receive a pay rise. As you have been
desperately wanting such recognition from the company for your efforts,
you will *_________ on the voice on the phone.
If you are bored with the conversation on the phone and with work in
general and feel the desire to meet with colleagues over lunch, then you
may * _____________ to the activities of the parting lunch crowd at the lift.
If the mention of Brown’s brings back memories of embarrassment
and discomfort, then you may concentrate all your mental energies
repressing these disturbing feelings and block out all * ______________ of
your immediate environment.
•> Make up your own scenarios where these terms are used
practically with the same meaning/ with some difference in their
meaning.
•> Work in small groups with your partners. Give your own
examples, vividly illustrating the subject discussed in the topic.
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It can be seen from these examples that the reason we select specific
Size
Larger objects receive greater attention than smaller
ones.
Motion
Moving objects attract greater attention than static
ones.
Contrast
Objects that stand in stark contrast to the background
receive more attention than those that are less
contrasting.
Intensity
Brighter objects receive more attention than those that
are less bright.
Repetition
Objects that are given greater exposure receive more
attention than those with less exposure
Novelty/Transfer
Objects placed in novel settings receive greater
attention than those placed in familiar settings.
features from our environment lies in the mind of the perceiver. The fact
that we perceive certain features and not others is due to the personal needs,
expectations, attitudes and motivation that the individual perceiver brings to
the environment.
Hence, it is a pointless and cruel exercise to yell at the junior clerk
“Can’t you see?”, when they do not have the same needs as the screamer
and therefore cannot see what you see.
There are a number of factors that influence our ability to perceive a
particular stimulus amongst all the other competing stimuli in the
environment.
Our perceptual attention is drawn to the physical arrangements and
properties of objects and the personal cues displayed by people.
3.1.1 Perceptual Attention and the Physical Arrangement/
Properties of Objects
The important physical arrangements and properties of objects used
by those wishing to attract our attention, such as safety managers and
advertisers, include the following:
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3.1.2 Perceptual Attention and the Personal Application
Touch
The use of touch is perceived to be а function of
intimacy and power.
Height
Taller men are seen as better achievers than shorter
men.
Gestures
A limp handshake is seen as signifying weakness.
Clothing
Inappropriate and shabby clothes are perceived as the
wardrobe of those with low social status.
Eye Contact
Eye contact is seen as a form of external control and
dominance.
Body Posture
A tense body posture is seen as indicating a submissive
attitude.
Attractiveness
This highly subjective attribute appears to be the most
important evaluative category used by people in their
perception of others.
Facial
Expressions
Successful and authoritative managers are perceived
as being able to control their emotional/facial
expressions.
Interpersonal
Space
The possession of spatial territory is seen as a sign of
power and dominance.
Paralinguistic
Areas
Loudness is perceived to be a sign of low social status.
of Physical Stimuli
We have a tendency to perceive people according to their personal
characteristics. Research has shown that our perceptions of people are
greatly influenced by specific personal cues. The major physical influences
on our perception and the general perceptual responses are listed below:
The perception of other people is far more complex than that of
inanimate objects. Social, cultural and the situational setting are factors we
take into account when perceiving other people. The previous table records,
for instance, only the generalised perceptual responses of those who
experience social life under a Western influence.
3.2 Principles of Organisation-Overview
Gestalt psychologists argue that our sensory receptors have an
innate capacity to organise data from the environment. Gestalt (meaning
whole or pattern) psychologists discovered that we do not perceive an
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infinite range of meaningless elementary bits of stimuli, like one tone of a
voice, or one ray of light, but rather we perceive whole patterns of
information. What we perceive are coherent patterns of words and shapes.
The sensory receptors do not face an environment of fragmentary
and unrelated objects and events but one of specific part-part and partwhole relationships.
Example:
According to the Gestalt argument, we don’t perceive every single
note of every single instrument in the orchestra, but rather we hear the
musical arrangement for each section as a whole piece. Our brain does not,
as it were, add up all the notes and arrive at a tune for one instrument.
Instead, we hear the brass section as a complete whole playing against the
background of the other sections; woodwind, violins, etc.
Workshop
•> Use a phrase to complete the scene below
Against the din of the office party, the loud dance music and the
shrieks, you*______ of the chief executive officer’s proposal for the new
and expanded promotion system.
•> Make up your own scene without a missing phrase to
illustrate the subject.
No doubt, in the example above, you wrote something like, you hear
everything.... And the reason is that we rank the numerous objects and
events in our environment in order of their importance to us and take out of
focus those items that are irrelevant to our needs.
We have an automatic means of organising the infinite elements
of our environment into patterns and relationships for the sensory
receptors to focus their attention on.
Example:
We perceive that the cries of joy and excitement at the office party
are not those of the threatened and terrified traveller in the late hours of a
darkened street of the city.
The Gestalt view is that we see one part of the environment against
the backdrop of other parts or part of the environment. In other words, we
organise our perceptions of the events above in terms of: cries-office party
and cries-dark street.
The features of the discoveries of the Gestalt psychologists are
known collectively as The Principles of Organisation and include the
following means of segmenting our environment:
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