Question

Discuss an example of a time when one of the six influences on perception, caused you to misperceive someone or something in a work/personal situation. what could you have done differently?

Also, discuss a time when you were misperceived by someone else and which of the influences on perception may have caused this misunderstanding. What could you do to change that misperception?

The six influences are physiology, expectations, age, culture, cognitive abilities and self.

Answer 1

I had a classmate during my school times from Pakistan. I know about Pakistan only as a terrorist country and I thought everyone from that country will be like that. I didn’t move with him closely because I had that preconceived notion. Once I had a chance to work with one of my school projects. I also had an opportunity to talk about life in Pakistan. At the end of the project, I came to know such a sweet person he was and how difficult life of people in Pakistan had become because of few terrorist groups. I could have talked with him earlier in order to understand him better.

During my school times, I used to be a slow learner and one of my teacher used to tell me that I’m good for nothing. She kept treating me differently. Years passed and I came first in my class and when she learnt it, she met me and appreciated me. She also apologized for not treating me well because of my low performance in the initial stages in the school.