Chapter 4

4.5 Explain why ethics is relevant to the perception process.

- Perception, ethics, and communication intersect when speakers perceive and label other groups of people negatively and then use derogatory terms to refer to them. - Using such terms can reinforce and even intensify one's own as well as others' negative responses to these groups.

4.2 Describe the three processes people use to understand information collected through the senses.

People use three perceptual processes to manage the vast array of sensory data in their environments: selection, organization, and interpretation.

4.1 Explain why understanding perception is important.

Perception plays an important role in everyday communication.

4.4 Articulate how power, culture, social comparison, and historical time period influence perception.

Perception processes are affected by one's position in the power hierarchy, culture, social comparisons, historical events during one's lifetime, and social roles.

4.3 Name three individual factors that affect one's perceptual processes.

The sensory data we select to attend to, how we organize it, and the interpretations we assign are all influenced by our individual characteristics, such as physical abilities and differences, cognitive complexity, and personality and individual differences.

4.6 Identify three ways you can improve your perception skills.

You can improve your perception skills by engaging in mindfulness, separating facts from inferences, and concentrating on perception checking.