Who Cares About Perception
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You should! Your perception creates your view of reality. Your perception is what forges your natural strengths and determines how you show up in the world. It’s what drives your relationships, influencing who the people are you enjoy and the ones you can’t stand!
Studying the link between perception, natural strengths, and behavior is the cornerstone of the work Gary and I do. That’s why we created Perceptual Style Theory over 30 years ago.
The way perception works is really fascinating.
Perception is a complex process your brain uses to create meaning by contextualizing the input from your five senses, your innate biases, and your life experiences. And this process happens moment by moment, in the blink of an eye!
Although we all rely on sensory information and past experience, Although we all rely on sensory information and past experience, the meaning we create can be very different. Let’s look at the three “steps” of perception in a bit more detail to highlight how those differences happen:
Step 1: Your Five Senses
Your five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) send signals to your brain, and your brain combines them into a contextual message.
Step 2: Your Innate Biases
Your innate biases kick in to create meaning from the data that your senses received. Within Perceptual Style Theory, innate biases describe natural predispositions that influence what we notice and prioritize. The type of biases we are talking about have to do with behaviors, not beliefs. Innate biases are our brain’s way of helping us instantaneously decide what’s important, what deserves our attention, and what takes priority. They are shortcuts our brain uses to quickly make judgments and decisions on the information received from our senses.
Perceptual Style Theory describes characteristic patterns of innate bias associated with each Perceptual Style. They are in alignment with how you make meaning of the world. Within Perceptual Style Theory, your innate biases help shape the context you create from sensory information. That context provides you with a starting point for action.
Innate bias is a gift. Rather than being born with a blank slate for a brain, we each have predispositions that jump-start our understanding and allow us to take action.
Perception doesn’t stop with input from your senses and filtering by your innate biases. There’s one more step.
Step 3: Your Life Experience
Life experience plays a critical role in perception because it influences how we interpret and evaluate new information. Our brain takes in the information from our senses, filters it with the context of our innate biases, and then checks the perception against what we’ve known to be true for ourselves in the past.
If we’ve had similar experiences before, it may flavor our perception of the current moment. If nothing in our memory is relevant, then our brain takes note of the current perception and stores it to build on later.
How Perception Grows and Solidifies
Perception is fascinating, as it both grows and solidifies over time. It solidifies through repetition. It grows as you gain new life experiences and awareness. The more solidified your perception becomes, the more you will believe that the way you see the world is the only and correct way.
The more open you are to new life experiences and points of view different from your own, the more your perception will grow.
It’s your choice based on how much emphasis you put on the life experience validation. You can choose to be “set in your ways” or to be open to new options (or a combination of those two extremes). The more open you are to understanding perceptual views that are different from your own, the more you will be open to accepting differences between you and others in your life.
Perception defines your view of reality. It helps you make meaning of the world around you. That’s pretty profound.
The next time someone sees a situation differently than you do, consider what might be shaping their perspective. What are they noticing that you may have overlooked? What experiences might influence their interpretation? Becoming more curious about those differences can open the door to better communication, stronger relationships, and a deeper understanding of yourself and others.
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About Lynda-Ross
Lynda-Ross Vega is a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. She specializes in helping corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals with interpersonal communications, team dynamics, personal development, and navigating change. Lynda-Ross is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary behavioral psychology theory and assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their natural strengths and build the life and career they dream of.
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