Managing Perceptions in a Group
Perceptions are defined by a judgment or general assumption about a person based on their actions and responses. Generally speaking, the perceptions that you have of a person are formed within the first couple seconds of seeing a person. For example, you see a girl with a nice designer bag and you automatically think that she’s “rich” or “spoiled” or when you see a guy who hangs out with a lot girls, you begin to define him as a “player” or “flirt”. When dealing in groups, monitoring your perceptions of people is very important. You don’t want to shoot down a person’s opinion because of the way he or she presents themselves. For example, a guy in your group is sitting in a chair, slouched over, and in pajamas, while the rest of the group is looking fairly presentable. Based on his appearance, most people would think that his input within the group will be ineffective, but in reality, he could possibly have the most input of your group. You want to avoid having the perceptions of your group members’ influence the way you interact with them. You have to stay open minded of their opinions and input towards the group.
Hey! I completely agree with you especially with your example. I think that just because a person does not present themselves properly it does not mean that their input means any less. When people express in the way they dress it does not mean they are any less intellectual as any other person that are present in that group. I remember when I was a kid the famous phrase would be “don’t judge a book by its cover” because just the first few expressions of a person such not being punctual or disorganize does not mean that is how they normally are for all a person knows that person is just having a bad week. Thanks for your post it does clarify my perception definition.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post about perception. The way you incorporated examples made me understand what you were trying to say even further. I completely agree with you. It’s like; don’t judge a book by its cover. I mean for some of us, we can’t help but assume that this person is this or that because of the way he/she dresses, who he/she hangs out with, etc. In fact, I have judged before, but my perception of the person was completely false. But then again there were times when I was right, but that doesn’t mean it’s right to do so. All in all, I’m with you in being open minded to everybody and everything.
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