In the business and political world, in families, where at least occasionally there are disagreements and conflicts, we can hear the view that perception is reality. Such a statement is often used to legitimize personal perceptions that sometimes differ from reality. It's a baton we're hitting on others, choosing our personal so-called "reality," says Jim Taylor, a professor at the University of San Francisco.
Calling himself a "man of the word", he offers to begin with words. Obviously, the concepts of "perception" and "reality" have different meanings. Perception occurs in the mind, where the flexibility of thinking gives rise to beliefs and beliefs about what is happening in the objective world. And reality lives outside of our consciousness, and manipulating it is not that easy. To equate perception with it is like refusing enlightenment and rolling back to the Middle Ages, Taylor is sure.
EVERYONE LIVES IN THEIR OWN WORLD
Yes, perception is not reality, but everyone's personal perception shapes their personal reality. It plays the role of the lens through which we look at the world. Our perception influences many processes: the direction of attention, the processing of incoming information, memory, interpretation, understanding, generalization, decision making and actions that we produce.
It is understandable why we tend to regard our own perception as real reality. But this is not true. The problem is that this lens through which we look at the world is often distorted by our genetic predisposition, past experience, basic knowledge, emotions, stereotypes, our own interests, and cognitive illusions.
Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner and founder of the behavioral economy, has helped to understand the psychological processes that govern human judgment and decision-making. He highlighted the 100 so-called cognitive illusions under which people create their own reality that differs from the objective one.
If we are unable to hear the whistling of a dog, it does not mean that it is not actually given out
"I respect the philosophers who believe that reality does not exist at all, but that there are only subjective reflections of reality because we are unable to directly comprehend objective reality," writes Jim Taylor. Moreover, our ability to create our own reality is limited by feelings.
For example, a person sees only a limited color spectrum and hears sounds only at a certain frequency. But if we can't hear a dog-whistling, it doesn't mean it's not really happening. Thanks to technology, people are able to measure reality in many ways - although opponents may argue that studying the results of technical research still involves human participation and perception - this is a topic for a separate conversation.
HOW DANGEROUS IS THIS?
Taylor asks the key question: "What is wrong with the perception that deviates from reality? Indeed, what is wrong with a person perceiving the world in their own way? The answer is ambiguous and depends more on the degree and direction of distortion. For example, one of the psychological theories argues that so-called positive illusions, which reasonably overestimate a person's potential, can bring some psychological and practical benefit - in particular, to give hope and increase resilience.
However, if perception goes too far from reality and from weak illusions to serious misconceptions, it becomes a burden. Under its influence, a person may set himself unattainable goals or not carry out the necessary preparation before performing serious tasks. Essentially, a serious discrepancy between perception and reality can lead to a loss of competence, as exemplified by some mental illness.
People with different beliefs are immersed in their own reality, and a normal dialogue is almost impossible
At the social level, the following is happening. When individuals or groups have too many different realities, they cannot solve serious and urgent problems - there is simply no point of contact. This is often the case in politics: people with different beliefs are so immersed in their own reality that it is almost impossible to organize a constructive dialogue and make a single decision. The result is inaction or outright hostility and hate crimes.
On a global scale, it is still more serious: there is a huge gap in the perception of reality in different countries, all of which lead to a slow but steady disintegration of the forces that ideally should keep the world community intact. This gloomy and popular theme is reflected in movies, literature, and our modern world.
DO WHAT?
Taylor sees it as an important task to ensure that perception - our own and others' - remains close to reality. He suggests keeping a few simple tips in mind:
- Do not assume that your perception is objective reality - it is only your own "reality".
- Respect the perception of others - they may be right.
- Don't get attached to your perception - it may be wrong. It takes courage to admit it.
- Realize what your cognitive distortions can distort the real picture. Understanding the "interference" will help to better link perception to reality.
- Test your perception. Will it stand up to scrutiny through a "reality microscope"?
- Re-examine yourself by contacting experts and those you trust. But keep in mind that your close friends are likely to have similar perceptions.
- Be open to changing your perception if there are good reasons to do so. The rigidity of consciousness is much worse than wrong.
"When the next time others, defending their position, will tell you that perception is reality, answer that it is only their perception - but certainly not an objective reality", - suggests Taylor. A piece of advice that is definitely worth taking advantage of.