Running head: PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION

The Connection Between Perception and Communication

Austin Hazelwood
University of Kentucky

PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION

Perception is without a doubt, an essential characteristic that each and every one of us
possesses. It is a defining factor of not only ourselves, but of all of those around us as well. But
who exactly is perception defined? Perception is the process of selectively attending and
assigning meaning to information (Gibson, 1966). This definition is relatively broad, especially
when examining the concept from a viewpoint of its relationship to the connection and
communication between individuals.
If you breakdown the denotative definition of perception, than you can begin to
understand the precise meaning of the concept. Perception is a characteristic of the human mind
that is completely unique to each individual. Not one situation, word, or work of art is
synthesized the exact same way by everyone. The attention and selection aspects of perception
can be broken down into three main areas of perception influence. Needs, interests, and
expectations, three factors that play a large role in peoples perception process. Needs is fairly
straight forward in regards to education. If we feel that something can personally provide
fulfillment or purpose for us, then we are much more likely to perceive it effectively and
efficiently. Another side of perception involves a highly individualized area known as interest.
Interest goes hand in hand with familiarity, connecting a new experience with an old one that
you found favorable, thus inclining you to pay close attention in perceiving the event that is
taking place around you. The third and final concept is that of expectations when perception is
taking place. If something has happened that is unexpected, than we are likely to not perceive
that specific moment, or at least perceive it incorrectly from how it really took place.
Communication is affected by perception in a multitude of ways. One of which that is
probably the most powerful in connection to communication is how we initially perceive others
before verbal or other more direct forms of communication has taken place. The physical

PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION

appearance of someone can affect the manner in which you communicate with them by
subconsciously having you create false notions or pretenses about that individual, simply due to
the way they look. The second concept affecting communication is the Implicit Personality
Theory. This theory examines the notion that communication towards someone will affected by
the way in which we perceive that individuals personality. Assumed similarity is the final
concept that will be examined. It correlates with how we commonly assume that just because
someone may be somewhat like us in one aspect, will be the same way in another. This can
affect communication by altering our boundaries of what we believe is relatable or appropriate to
bring up during communication.