Perception may be defined as the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and

coherent picture of the environment in which he lives Sensation Vs Perception Sensation deals with the basic behavior of an individual, caused by his physiological functions.Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the environment in which he lives. Perceptual Selectivity Though people are exposed to several stimuli , they tend to select only a few at a given point of time, this is perceptual selectivity. Subliminal Perception : when the stimuli is so subtle that an individual may not even be conscious that he is exposed to some stimulus. Attitude A state of mind with a tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards objects, people or events. Attitudes structure can be described in terms of three components. Affective component: this involves a persons feelings / emotions about the attitude object. For example: I like public speaking. Behavioural component: the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave. For example: I will grab every opportunity to speak in public. Cognitive component: this involves a persons belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For example: I believe public speaking is important for my career. FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE Daniel Katz (1960) outlines four functional areas: Knowledge. Knowing a persons attitude helps us predict their behaviour. For example, knowing that a person is religious we can predict they will go fast on certain days. Self / Ego-expressive. The attitudes we express (1) help communicate who we are and (2) may make us feel good because we have asserted our identity. Adaptive the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group and develop similar attitudes to those they like. The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that justify actions that make us feel guilt

Values and Attitudes Values are relatively stable and enduring. If we know an individuals values, we are better able to predict a behavior in a particular situation. Values differ between generations. Values differ between regions. Values differ between cultures.

Terminal values are the end-state we hope to achieve in life. Instrumental values are means of achieving these terminal values.