Research paper
Prejudice can also refer to unfounded beliefs and may include “any unreasonable attitude hat is unusually resistant to rational influence. ” Gordon All port defined prejudice as a “feeling favorable or unfavorable, toward a person or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual experience. Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. This process includes the perception of select stimuli that pass through our perceptual filters, are organized into our existing structures and patterns, and are then interpreted based on previous experiences.
Although perception is a largely cognitive and psychological process, how we perceive the people and objects around us affects our communication. We respond differently to an object or person that we perceive favorably than we do to something we find unfavorable. But how do we filter through the mass amounts of incoming information, organize it, and make meaning from what makes it through our perceptual filters and into our social realities? Words are unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation that functions as a principal carrier of meaning.
Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking notations, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes black;bird; from black; bird;. Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages. Communication Media Limitations People communicate using a variety of means in addition to in-person speech.
People may communicate over the phone, via email or through written correspondence, each of which lacks certain elements of in-person communication that convey vital information. Telephone conversations do not include body language, for example, which can cause listeners to singletree speakers’ true meanings. Email lacks both body language and voice tone, as another example, which can cause sarcastic or humorous messages to seem hostile or cynical. Skilled communicators know how to adapt their messages to transmit effectively within each medium’s unique limitations.
Cultural Perspectives People from diverse cultures can experience difficulty in understanding each other’s perspectives. Cultural colloquialisms and local phrases often derive their meaning from strictly local traditions and understandings, which can be completely irrelevant to people from other cultures. The American phrase knock it out of the park” may convey meaning to fellow Americans and baseball fans worldwide, for example, but it might not mean anything to a Dutch businessperson.
Skilled communicators overcome this barrier by understanding when colloquialisms are called for, and when more straightforward language is more Biases Preconceived notions, prejudices and other ingrained biases can hamper effective communication, causing listeners to unknowingly use selective hearing and selective retention to screen out statements that contradict their pre-conceived ideas. Contradicting a prejudice or bias during communication an cause listeners to doubt speakers’ credibility, and can divert conversations into confrontational side-bars.
