Perception Activity
This activity helps students realize that even without knowledge of the facts in a situation, people often believe they “know” what is going on. Furthermore, some people are more likely to perceive “the worst,” when there are, in fact, are a range of possibilities.
Identify specific circumstances that would lead to a positive perception and those that might lead to a negative perception in each of the following situations:
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1. A middle-aged man walking down the street with his arms around a teenage girl.
Positive Perception Negative Perception
Normal affection of the man to the girl A romantic affair or sexual feelings
2. A mother refusing to admit her teenage son back into her house.
Positive Perception Negative Perception
Normal punishment to deter certain behavior Cruel and inconsiderate treatment
3. An elementary school teacher criticizing a crying student in front of the entire class.
Positive Perception Negative Perception
Trying to harden up the student An uncaring teacher
4. A parent spanking a child severely in public.
Positive Perception Negative Perception
Instilling discipline in a child A cruel parent/child mistreatment
5. A man sitting calming while his four children misbehave and run “wild” on a NYC train.
Positive Perception Negative Perception
A man who gives freedom to his children A man with poor parenting style
Write a summary paragraph about your perceptions from above. Identify where your perceptions come from? Discuss what you believe is unique about perceptions and bias.
From the above cases, there will be mixed perceptions depending on the circumstances and people witnessing the events. For instance, a middle-aged man with his arms around a teenage girl will evoke the perception of normal affection especially among middle-aged people or even younger people, but for older adults, it will seem inappropriate hence the negative perception of sexual feelings. A mother refusing to admit her son into the house will be perceived as trying to punish her son by other parents while the son’s peers may see it as cruel treatment. An elementary teacher who criticizes a crying student will be perceived positively as making the student mature especially by other classmates but to some adults, it may be perceived as a bad way of addressing the student’s emotional needs. A parent who spanks her child severely in the public may be seen by other parents as a way of instilling discipline especially for unruly behavior but some younger people may perceive the action as cruel treatment. Lastly, for a man sitting calm while his children run wild, some liberal parents may see the man as a democratic parent who gives freedom to his children but for conservative parents, it may be seen as poor parenting. My perceptions come from thinking about different types of people, especially the liberal vs. the conservative and how they would think. I think perception and bias depends on how people were raised as well as their ingrained beliefs. These different belief systems lead to differences in thinking, especially in making decisions about what is right and wrong.
