This work is devoted to a very current theme about communication that is affected by perception. In my opinion, it is one of the most important issues today, and people should pay more attention to this very theme. Communication is the most significant part of every culture’s life, which cannot be separated from it. It is written the role of culture and perception in communication.
I am very interested in this topic because studying culture motivates and inspires me to learn foreign languages. I can easily read their books and watch their movie in the original language. It helps me to explore their nature and to find out more about their attitudes towards different things like culture studying.
Perception has been defined as the process by which we interpret sensory data. It comes to us through our five senses [1]. Modern psychology has shown perception to be a complex process, rather different from the naïve view that many people held a century ago. And some of the most striking evidence for the influence of cultural expectations on perception comes from research on binocular rivalry [2]
Understanding the culture in related to communication is very helpful. For example, it helps us to understand historical differences between different groups of people with different values, beliefs, customs, traditions and lifestyles. It will teach us how to treat different cultures and to understand each other. That is why it is very important in today to study. I think that knowing how to communicate with different people, we can show them the best sides of our culture and make a good impression on them. Moreover, it helps us to adapt to a new place or new society that are different from yours. It will be easy for you to adapt to a foreign culture if you are familiar with their habits, lifestyles, traditions and values.
How does perception, shaped by culture, affect communication?
Our perception can be influenced in a different way, by external factors that surround us. Every day we get millions of information from surrounding world and each of us perceive them in our own way. Most of them can affect our mind and understanding by several elements, which we do not tend to pay attention to.
The first thing that affects our perception is physical elements. For example, by differentiating colors around us, we accept different messages. When we see yellow color somewhere, we understand that it means caution and try to be more careful. However in some cultures yellow is the color of happiness and joy. In some cultures, green color reflects luck, while in the other, it means jealousy. That shows the difference of perception of colors in different cultures that formed for years and decades. Furthermore, there are learned elements which also influence our perception. They are closely related to culture, habits and understanding of people. We can learn many things about various cultures while communicating them, and; thus, it can influence the way we communicate with others.
Every day we communicate with numerous different people that we know and do not know. It is considered as our way of life. We cannot imagine our life without communication. It became a part of our life, which help us to get food, to earn money, to work, and even just to stay alive we communicate with each other. By communicating with others, we learn new things, find out the world, to explore the surrounding environment and receive different messages from it. Communication is considered as understanding the world, people and other things, which surround us. Moreover, by communicating we can affect other people’s thoughts and their perception. Also, it is a way of showing our culture, attitudes and values. We all know that communication and culture have an enormous effect on each other. Culture plays and important role in forming the manner of communication. It greatly affects the way we talk and act. According to Hall, culture is everything that people created. He affirms a culture is communication, and communication is culture. The way we communicate reflects our culture.
Moreover, learning cultures plays a significant role in studying languages. It helps us to find out more about the country. “Far from being simply a technique of communication, it is itself a way of directing the perception of its speakers and it promotes for them habitual modes of analyzing experience into significant categories. And to the extent that languages differ markedly from each other, so should we expect to find significant and formidable barriers to cross-cultural communication and understanding” [3].
Annotation bibliography
- Lahlry, S. (1991). A blue print for perception training. Journal for training and development, Volume 45, Issue 8, 21-25.
This is an article regarding the theme of communication between people and perception that affects the communication. It explains the ways and methods of training perception in detail.
- Hoijer, H. (1954). Language in Culture, p94
In this book it is explicated the linguistic features and cultural implications of the value orientations. The interplay between language and culture creates infinite discursive possibilities and multi-dimensional and ever changing human experiences.
- Gamble, T.K. & Gamble, M. (1996). Communication works, Fifth Edition.
Written for the introductory communication course, Communication Works presents communication principles, interpersonal communication, group communication, and public speaking in an engaging and highly interactive manner. Its use of questions in the narrative, margins, boxes, and captions support instructors, who prefer to lead a discussion-oriented and engaging course.
- Clark, R.W. & Clinton, B. (1994). Effective Speech Communication, Third Edition
This book focuses on the practical steps worship leaders can take to communicate successfully. He shows how to speak phrases, how to understand the meaning of gesture, how to help the congregation respond more vigorously and effectively.
- Beebe, S. A. & Masterson, J. T (1997) Communication in small group, Fifth Edition. New York: Longman 48
Known for its wealth of practical, relevant, and up-to-date information, Communicating in Small Groups balances the principles of small group communication with real world applications. With an emphasis on real world examples, technology, and ethical collaboration, it helps students enhance their performance in groups and teams, while giving them insight in to why group and team members communicate as they do.
- Giri, V.N. (2002). Effects of gender role on communication style. International Journal of Communication, 12, 21-38.
The present book deals with gender role, self-disclosure, self-esteem, and communication styles. The work is ambitious and the strength of the study lies in the fact that the author has rigorously examined the role of “individual difference variables” as mediators of communication styles.
- Hall, E.T. (1959). The silent language. Garden City, NY: Doubleday
This book is about the aspects of non-verbal communication and concepts of space and time as tools for transmission of messages. Hall’s stimulating work is of interest to both the intelligent general reader and the sophisticated social scientist.
- Norton, R. (1978). Foundation of a communicator style constructs. Human Communication Research, 4, 99-112.
In this book Norton conceptualized communicator style as "the way one verbally and paraverbally interacts to signal how literal meaning should be taken, interpreted, filtered, or understood.
- Trompenaars, F. (1993). Riding the waves of culture. London: The Economist Books.
- Gudykunst, W.B., & Kim, Y.Y. (1992). Communicating with strangers. New York: McGraw-Hill.
The mentioned book provides a comprehensive overview of important theory and research in intercultural communications. Communicating with Strangers looks at the basic processes of intercultural communication and then ties those processes to the practical task of creating understanding between people with different cultures, backgrounds and communication patterns.
- Gudykunst, W.B., & Ting-Toomey, S. (1988). Culture and interpersonal communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
In this book it is examined the theoretical influence of culture on interpersonal communication. Authors provide a framework for guiding future, and for interpreting past, research in the field. Cross-cultural comparisons of interpersonal communication must be theoretically based; culture must be treated as a variable in research. This concept is presented in the first two chapters and then applied to specific areas of research.
