Factors affecting perceptual selectivity and organisation

Factors affecting perceptual selectivity and organisationSource: Human Relations & Organizational Behavior Dwivedi (available in google books)Factors affecting perceptual selectivitySituational factors eg: instruction of experimenter in laboratory situationsMotivational factors(increases individuals sensitivity to those stimuli which he considers as relevant to satisfaction of his needs) eg: hunger and thirstStimulus factors/ external attention Involve intensity of stimulus, size of stimulus, change and repetition.

Stimulus factors/ external attention factorsThe amount of attention increases with the size of stimulusThe more intense the external stimulus, the more likely that it will be perceivedIndividuals attend to changing objects in their field of vision than to static objectsA repeated external stimulus attracts more attention than the one time stimuli.

Perceptual OrganizationPrimitive processes/ Structural factorsFunctional factorsPrimitive processes/Structural factorsThe central nervous system does not register the raw sensory data in passive form. It does more to them by creating a definite organization.Some organizing processes, which gives meaning to the incoming event data, appear to take place in the nervous system which are relatively free from the effects of past experience or motivational factors primitive process.5Kinds of primitive perceptual organisationGroupingClosureFigure ground effectConstancy phenomenon tendency to assign perceptual constancy to inconstant world Monocular cues give rise to distance perceptionBinocular cuesGestalt principles of organisationFunctional factorsSymbolic factorsInvolve intellectual as well as motivational factorsIntellectual factors relate to the classification of objects into existing categories of experience not influenced by emotions. eg: a teacher from archeological dept will perceive an ancient idol kept in a museum quite differently from an illiterate man.

Motivational factors- motivated tensions in the individual increases his sensitivity to those stimuli, which are relevant for the satisfaction of his motives and determines the manner in which he perceives ambiguous objects. eg: hunger has a tendency to enhance the apparent size of fud stimuliPersonality and attitudinal factorsIndividuals personal patterns of needs, interests and attitudes organize his perceptionsThreatening and taboo words cause perceptual difficulty for individuals who tend to have a mental block to these words and need more exposure to recognize them.Propensity of individuals to shut their perceptual doors to those aspects of their environment which they find unbearable perceptual distortionSocial factorsGroup effect can establish perceptual norms, which determine the manner in which people interpret their surroundingsSocial pressures or suggestions tend to restructure the individuals perceptual world

BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BEHAVIORHeredity Individual inherits a similarity to other individuals as well as a uniqueness in the form of genes and chromosomesInherits physical traits and the ability to learn and behave intellectuallyInherited traits combine with environmental factors to cause the unique pattern of adjustment of an individualBiological developmentThe growth of the individual is influenced by the functioning of the ductless glands, like pituitary, thyroid, adrenals and gonads.The extent of maturity of individual determines the limit of what he can learn and what he cannotThe childhood sensory and perceptual experiences contribute markedly towards the magnitude of maturity of sensory and perceptual abilitiesChild parent relationships considerably influence the development of an individualNervous systemNervous system integrates human behavior and personality.Integration of human behavior takes place because of the constant functioning of receptors, effectors and connectors.Human behavior ranges from simple reflex action to complex problem solving activityComponents of nervous systemSomatic system spinal and cranial nervesAutomatic system sympathetic(functions in emotional situations) and para sympathetic system(operates in routine maintenance)