Reading Material 6　Perception

Time Concepts

The culture has a significant impact on the concepts of time.Time can either be perceived as linear (western perception)or circular (eastern perception)．Equally the orientation，or outlook，of the culture can be focused either on the past，the present or the future.

Another concept is the notion of mono-chronic and polychronic time conception.The mono-chronic time concept follows the notion of“one thing at a time”and“time is money”，while the poly-chronic concept focuses on multiple tasks are handled at one time，and time is subordinate to interpersonal relations.

The concept of“punctuality”and“scheduling”is different in various cultural surroundings.Depending on the context of the culture，the time is subordinate to the people's needs，or the people's needs subordinate to the time.For example:a lecture that is scheduled for 60 minutes will be expected to last for not much longer or shorter than that in most low context cultures.If the lecturer continues，she/he will probably be asked to finish.As observed by Victor (1992)such a behavior would be highly unlikely in a high context culture，such as Saudi Arabia.The time would be taken as subordinate to the topic，and the lecture might continue significantly beyond the scheduled time，if further discussion is required.

Space Concepts

The question of how we perceive space is equally depending of the culture.The western cultures focus their attention on objects，and neglect the space inbetween.The Japanese，on the other hand，honor the space in-between as ma.In a different system，the Hopi Indians have in their language no words for a fixed room:all objects are described in their relation to each other，but no concept of a three dimensional space exists (see E.T.Hall，1969)．

Also the way we deal with space is different.The concepts of the private space，the space orientation，the interpersonal distance and the space design.The interpersonal proxemics is discussed in more detail in the nonverbal communication section.

Personality

Personality，in psychology，is the patterns of behavior，thought，and emotion unique to an individual，and the ways they interact to help or hinder the adjustment of a person to other people and situations.A number of theories have attempted to explain human personality.In his psychoanalytic interpretation，Sigmund Freud asserted that the human mind could be divided into three significant components—the id，the ego，and the superego—which work together (or come into conflict)to shape personality.Psychoanalysis emphasizes unconscious motivations and the conflicts between primal urges and learned social mores，stressing the importance of early childhood experiences in determining mature personality.Exponents of behaviorism，such as B.F.Skinner，suggest that an individual's personality is developed through external stimuli.In the behaviorist model，personality can change significantly with a shift to a new environment.Social-learning theorists，notably Albert Bandura，also emphasized environmental influences but pointed out that these work in conjunction with forces such as memory and feelings to determine personality.Trait theories have arisen in recent years，with the object of determining aspects of personality that compel an individual to respond in a certain way to a given situation.Gordon Allport delineated three kinds of traits with varying degrees of intensity:cardinal traits，central traits，and secondary traits.Raymond Cattell used a group of obvious，surface personality traits to derive a small group of source traits，which he argued were central to personality.Objections to trait theories point out that behavior is largely situation dependent，and that such traits as“honesty”are not especially helpful in characterizing personality and behavior.Despite such objections，trait theories have been popular models for quantifying personality.Paul Costa has postulated five basic dimensions of personality—introversion-extroversion，friendly compliance-hostile noncompliance，will，neuroticism，and openness to experience—and has developed a test to measure these traits.

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers supported a humanistic approach to personality，pointing out that other approaches do not factor in people's basic goodness and the motivational factors that push them toward higher levels of functioning.Researchers offering biological approaches to personality have focused on the action of specific genes and neurotransmitters as determinants.

Psychologists may use psychological tests to determine personality.Wellknown personality tests include the Rorschach test，in which an individual is asked to look at ink blots and tell what they bring to mind;the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory，which uses a true-false questionnaire to delineate normal personality types from variants;and the Thematic Apperception Test，which employs cards featuring provocative but ambiguous scenes，asking the viewer their meaning.The American Psychiatric Association has sought to delineate personality disorders in its periodically revised and updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Motivation

Motivation，in psychology，is the intention of achieving a goal，leading to goal-directed behavior.Some human activity seems to be best explained by postulating an inner directing drive.While a drive is often considered to be an innate biological mechanism that determines the organism's activity (see instinct)，a motive is defined as an innate mechanism modified by learning .In this view human drives serve to satisfy biological needs，such as hunger，while motives serve to satisfy needs that are not directly tied to the body requirements，such as companionship.Learned motives are sometimes linked with drives;e.g.，the motivation to achieve social status is often viewed as a derivative of the sex drive.Motives are sometimes classed as deficiency motives，such as the need to remove the physiological deficiency of hunger or thirst，or abundant motives，i.e.，motives to attain greater satisfaction and stimulation.American psychologist Abraham Maslow has classified motives into five developmental levels，with the satisfaction of physiological needs most important and esteem and self-actualization needs least important.According to Maslow，the most basic needs must be satisfied before successively higher needs can emerge.Cognitive psychologists such as Albert Bandura have suggested that individual mental processes，such as beliefs，play an important role in motivation，through the expectation of certain reinforcements for certain behaviors.Studies have shown that humans and other animals are likely to seek sensory stimulation，even where there may be no foreseeable goal.In recent years，the use of various tools for brain scanning has worked toward the discovery of a neurological basis for motivation.

Thinking

The way we think equally depends，and is influenced by the culture.Maletzke (1996:63)identifies the major paradigms for thinking as:

(1)Logic and Prelogic

Most of classical Western thinking is based on the Aristotelian view of logic:analytical，linear and rational.Other cultures emphasize a more complex set of logic，which can be described as holistic，associative and affective.

(2)Inductive and Deductive

While inductive thinking evolves from the particular and evolves into a theoretical model，concepts or theories，the deductive thinking established overall concepts first，which are then proven by specific，empirical findings.Deductive thinking is usually associated with the Latin American，Arab and Eastern European cultures.

(3)Abstract and Concrete

The vision of the abstract or the concrete is another dominant model in thinking.Western cultures in particular have developed a highly abstract way of thinking，largely loose of emotions.Concrete thinking models however favor a more plastic，emotional way of thinking.

(4)Alphabetical and Analphabetic

Related to the abstract and concrete models of thinking is the concept of alphabetical and analphabetic thinking.In cultures that have a high degree of alphabetical perception，the abstract thinking is favored，as writing is in itself an abstract picture of any situation.An alphabetical communication system however favors a direct，connected to the person，time and situation approach.

Each of the concepts of thinking are，of course，interconnected.With some care，the concepts of logic，inductive，abstract and alphabetical can be associated to the Western cultural influence area，however，those are not rigid，and can probably not be applied large-scale.A particular problem would be here，for example，the shift from printed words to highly visual media，shifting thinking from abstract and alphabetical to concrete and analphabetical.

Equally the“frame of reference”is an enormously important part of thinking and perceiving.A frame of reference is the higher perspective from which a given situation is regarded，and evaluated.An example for an ideological “frame of reference”is given by Wedge who illustrates what visitors from the former Soviet Union perceived when visiting the USA:They were sure that they were monitored and that large parts of the country remained hidden from them.The fact that workers were exploited，that the USA was ruled by“socially influential circles”，that education was only available to the wealthy and that every thought was dominated by the craving for money remained the dominant thoughts about the USA.

Connected is also the believe in or rejection of magic，witchcraft and superstition，bound by the belief that certain thoughts and rituals can influence the world.While it is generally accepted in the western industrialized countries that the world is logical，clear and law-based is this view not dominant in other cultures.Such traditions as Fengshui or the difficulties in attributing telephone numbers in Japan show this.