Perception and Inter-Cultural Communication

Perception and inter-cultural communication ¡°The moon is a rocky physical sphere that orbits the Earth; yet when looking at this object, many Americans often see a man in the moon, many Native Americans perceive a rabbit, Chinese claim a lady is fleeing her husband, and Samoans report a woman weaving¡±(Samovar 56). For Americans, a ¡°V¡± sign made with two fingers usually represents victory. Australians equate this gesture with a rude American gesture usually made with the middle finger. Most Asians respond negatively to white flowers because white is associated with death. For Peruvians, Iranians, and Mexicans, yellow flowers often invoke the same reaction. In these three examples, the external objects (moons, hands, flowers) were the same, yet the responses are different. The reason is perception. Perception is the means by which we make sense of our physical and social world. That is to say, it is the process by which we become aware of objects, events, and especially people and their behavior through our various senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. In this process, we meditate our information about and knowledge of our external physical and social world and thus form our own images of that world. Perception is about the way in which we think about the outside world and can therefore decide the way in which we behave and communicate with other people. In this sense, we can say that perception plays a big role in the process of communication. It not only decides our behavior, but also keeps us doing in that way. Therefore, in order to be an effective communicator, one first has to have a better understanding of perception. First, let¡¯s have a close look at the process of perception. Generally speaking, the process of perception occurs in three stages. And instead of being mutually excluded, these stages are ¡°continuous and blend into one another¡± (DeVito 33). In the first stage, sensory stimulation occurs. During the whole period, as