Perceptions (Eric Dodge)

None of the things that we talked about relating to perceptions really surprised me. I had already heard most of these things before, so they were not surprising to hear again. But I tend to forget about how strongly perceptions influence the way that we see the world. Last class reminded me how important perceptions are to the way that different people view others.

Learning about the perceptual processes does not really change the way I think about my views and behaviors, it just made me think about them a little more. Sometimes I forget that many people behave the way that they do based on perceptions they have made, rather than actual facts they have discovered. This can upset me because I am unable to understand why someone is acting the way that they are. But when I stop and think about how a person's perceptions can affect their actions, I am better able to understand why they are acting in a specific way. I need to remember how big a role perceptions play in the way that people act. This will allow me to better understand situations where a person is acting differently than expected.

I feel like I am usually pretty good about not letting perceptions change the way I feel about someone or something. I really like to have more information about a person or thing before I make any strong judgments about them. This has worked pretty well for me because I am willing to try a lot of new things, and a lot of them turn out really well. If I let first impressions dictate the way I live my life I would have a lot fewer people to talk to, and a lot fewer things to experience.

Although I think I do not let perceptions get the best of me, I feel like there have been situations where others' perceptions of me have been harmful to me. I don't really know how people perceive me, but I have had different experiences with different groups of people. When I started taking classes for my undergraduate degree in biochemistry I think most of the other students had the wrong impression of me. Whenever I talked to them or worked in groups I felt like they were talking down to me. They acted like I was a slacker that didn't do any work. I don't know why they thought this of me, but it affected the way that they treated me. Eventually the ones that I interacted with saw that I actually worked hard and was a good team member. At this point they started to treat me differently, but only because I had shown them that their initial impression was incorrect.

The way that I handled this situation is the same way that I like to handle all situations involving wrong perceptions. I show the people the way that I really am with my actions. After that they can make judgments for themselves. This is the way that I think about the perceptions that I have as well. I let other people show me how they really are with their actions before I make any judgments about them.

Thinking about perceptions reminds me that I need to be more mindful of them. Perceptions affect the way everyone interacts, so it is important to think about them when analyzing a situation. After thinking about perceptions, I now believe that the two tables have the same surface area. But it's still hard for my eyes to understand.