{"id":571,"date":"2015-11-02T17:20:56","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T17:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/zelixcst110\/?post_type=chapter&p=571"},"modified":"2015-11-02T17:23:46","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T17:23:46","slug":"organizing-information","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/zelixcst110v2\/chapter\/organizing-information\/","title":{"raw":"Organizing Information","rendered":"Organizing Information"},"content":{"raw":"Organizing<\/a><\/span><\/strong> is the second part of the perception process, in which we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned cognitive patterns. Three ways we sort things into patterns are by using proximity, similarity, and difference.[footnote]Stanley Coren, \u201cPrinciples of Perceptual Organization and Spatial Distortion: The Gestalt Illusions,\u201d Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance<\/em> 6, no. 3 (1980): 404\u201312.[\/footnote]<\/span> In terms of proximity, we tend to think that things that are close together go together. For example, have you ever been waiting to be helped in a business and the clerk assumes that you and the person standing beside you are together? The slightly awkward moment usually ends when you and the other person in line look at each other, then back at the clerk, and one of you explains that you are not together. Even though you may have never met that other person in your life, the clerk used a basic perceptual organizing cue to group you together because you were standing in proximity to one another.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_573\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]\"A<\/a> Since we organize perceptual information based on proximity, a person may perceive that two people are together, just because they are standing close together in line.[\/caption]\r\n

We also group things together based on similarity. We tend to think similar-looking or similar-acting things belong together. I have two friends that I occasionally go out with, and we are all three males, around the same age, of the same race, with short hair and glasses. Aside from that, we don\u2019t really look alike, but on more than one occasion a server at a restaurant has assumed that we\u2019re brothers. Despite the fact that many of our other features are different, the salient features are organized based on similarity and the three of us are suddenly related.<\/p>\r\n

We also organize information that we take in based on difference. In this case, we assume that the item that looks or acts different from the rest doesn\u2019t belong with the group. Perceptual errors involving people and assumptions of difference can be especially awkward, if not offensive. My friend\u2019s mother, who is Vietnamese American, was attending a conference at which another attendee assumed she was a hotel worker and asked her to throw something away for her. In this case, my friend\u2019s mother was a person of color at a convention with mostly white attendees, so an impression was formed based on the other person\u2019s perception of this difference.<\/p>\r\n

These strategies for organizing information are so common that they are built into how we teach our children basic skills and how we function in our daily lives. I\u2019m sure we all had to look at pictures in grade school and determine which things went together and which thing didn\u2019t belong. If you think of the literal act of organizing something, like your desk at home or work, we follow these same strategies. If you have a bunch of papers and mail on the top of your desk, you will likely sort papers into separate piles for separate classes or put bills in a separate place than personal mail. You may have one drawer for pens, pencils, and other supplies and another drawer for files. In this case you are grouping items based on similarities and differences. You may also group things based on proximity, for example, by putting financial items like your checkbook, a calculator, and your pay stubs in one area so you can update your budget efficiently. In summary, we simplify information and look for patterns to help us more efficiently communicate and get through life.<\/p>\r\n

Simplification and categorizing based on patterns isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, without this capability we would likely not have the ability to speak, read, or engage in other complex cognitive\/behavioral functions. Our brain innately categorizes and files information and experiences away for later retrieval, and different parts of the brain are responsible for different sensory experiences. In short, it is natural for things to group together in some ways. There are differences among people, and looking for patterns helps us in many practical ways. However, the judgments we place on various patterns and categories are not natural; they are learned and culturally and contextually relative. Our perceptual patterns do become unproductive and even unethical when the judgments we associate with certain patterns are based on stereotypical or prejudicial thinking.<\/p>\r\n

We also organize interactions and interpersonal experiences based on our firsthand experiences. When two people experience the same encounter differently, misunderstandings and conflict may result. Punctuation<\/a><\/span><\/strong> refers to the structuring of information into a timeline to determine the cause (stimulus) and effect (response) of our communication interactions.[footnote]Allan L. Sillars, \u201cAttributions and Communication in Roommate Conflicts,\u201d Communication Monographs<\/em> 47, no. 3 (1980): 180\u2013200.[\/footnote]\u00a0<\/span>Applying this concept to interpersonal conflict can help us see how the perception process extends beyond the individual to the interpersonal level. This concept also helps illustrate how organization and interpretation can happen together and how interpretation can influence how we organize information and vice versa.<\/p>\r\n

Where does a conflict begin and end? The answer to this question depends on how the people involved in the conflict punctuate, or structure, their conflict experience. Punctuation differences can often escalate conflict, which can lead to a variety of relationship problems.[footnote]Paul Watzlawick, Janet Beavin Bavelas, and Don D. Jackson, Pragmatics of Human Communication: A Study of Interactional Patterns, Pathologies, and Paradoxes<\/em> (New York, NY: W. W. Norton, 1967), 56.[\/footnote]<\/span> For example, Linda and Joe are on a project team at work and have a deadline approaching. Linda has been working on the project over the weekend in anticipation of her meeting with Joe first thing Monday morning. She has had some questions along the way and has e-mailed Joe for clarification and input, but he hasn\u2019t responded. On Monday morning, Linda walks into the meeting room, sees Joe, and says, \u201cI\u2019ve been working on this project all weekend and needed your help. I e-mailed you three times! What were you doing?\u201d Joe responds, \u201cI had no idea you e-mailed me. I was gone all weekend on a camping trip.\u201d In this instance, the conflict started for Linda two days ago and has just started for Joe. So, for the two of them to most effectively manage this conflict, they need to communicate so that their punctuation, or where the conflict started for each one, is clear and matches up. In this example, Linda made an impression about Joe\u2019s level of commitment to the project based on an interpretation she made after selecting and organizing incoming information. Being aware of punctuation is an important part of perception checking, which we will discuss later. Let\u2019s now take a closer look at how interpretation plays into the perception process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Organizing<\/a><\/span><\/strong> is the second part of the perception process, in which we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned cognitive patterns. Three ways we sort things into patterns are by using proximity, similarity, and difference.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/span> In terms of proximity, we tend to think that things that are close together go together. For example, have you ever been waiting to be helped in a business and the clerk assumes that you and the person standing beside you are together? The slightly awkward moment usually ends when you and the other person in line look at each other, then back at the clerk, and one of you explains that you are not together. Even though you may have never met that other person in your life, the clerk used a basic perceptual organizing cue to group you together because you were standing in proximity to one another.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Since we organize perceptual information based on proximity, a person may perceive that two people are together, just because they are standing close together in line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We also group things together based on similarity. We tend to think similar-looking or similar-acting things belong together. I have two friends that I occasionally go out with, and we are all three males, around the same age, of the same race, with short hair and glasses. Aside from that, we don\u2019t really look alike, but on more than one occasion a server at a restaurant has assumed that we\u2019re brothers. Despite the fact that many of our other features are different, the salient features are organized based on similarity and the three of us are suddenly related.<\/p>\n

We also organize information that we take in based on difference. In this case, we assume that the item that looks or acts different from the rest doesn\u2019t belong with the group. Perceptual errors involving people and assumptions of difference can be especially awkward, if not offensive. My friend\u2019s mother, who is Vietnamese American, was attending a conference at which another attendee assumed she was a hotel worker and asked her to throw something away for her. In this case, my friend\u2019s mother was a person of color at a convention with mostly white attendees, so an impression was formed based on the other person\u2019s perception of this difference.<\/p>\n

These strategies for organizing information are so common that they are built into how we teach our children basic skills and how we function in our daily lives. I\u2019m sure we all had to look at pictures in grade school and determine which things went together and which thing didn\u2019t belong. If you think of the literal act of organizing something, like your desk at home or work, we follow these same strategies. If you have a bunch of papers and mail on the top of your desk, you will likely sort papers into separate piles for separate classes or put bills in a separate place than personal mail. You may have one drawer for pens, pencils, and other supplies and another drawer for files. In this case you are grouping items based on similarities and differences. You may also group things based on proximity, for example, by putting financial items like your checkbook, a calculator, and your pay stubs in one area so you can update your budget efficiently. In summary, we simplify information and look for patterns to help us more efficiently communicate and get through life.<\/p>\n

Simplification and categorizing based on patterns isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, without this capability we would likely not have the ability to speak, read, or engage in other complex cognitive\/behavioral functions. Our brain innately categorizes and files information and experiences away for later retrieval, and different parts of the brain are responsible for different sensory experiences. In short, it is natural for things to group together in some ways. There are differences among people, and looking for patterns helps us in many practical ways. However, the judgments we place on various patterns and categories are not natural; they are learned and culturally and contextually relative. Our perceptual patterns do become unproductive and even unethical when the judgments we associate with certain patterns are based on stereotypical or prejudicial thinking.<\/p>\n

We also organize interactions and interpersonal experiences based on our firsthand experiences. When two people experience the same encounter differently, misunderstandings and conflict may result. Punctuation<\/a><\/span><\/strong> refers to the structuring of information into a timeline to determine the cause (stimulus) and effect (response) of our communication interactions.[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Applying this concept to interpersonal conflict can help us see how the perception process extends beyond the individual to the interpersonal level. This concept also helps illustrate how organization and interpretation can happen together and how interpretation can influence how we organize information and vice versa.<\/p>\n

Where does a conflict begin and end? The answer to this question depends on how the people involved in the conflict punctuate, or structure, their conflict experience. Punctuation differences can often escalate conflict, which can lead to a variety of relationship problems.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/span> For example, Linda and Joe are on a project team at work and have a deadline approaching. Linda has been working on the project over the weekend in anticipation of her meeting with Joe first thing Monday morning. She has had some questions along the way and has e-mailed Joe for clarification and input, but he hasn\u2019t responded. On Monday morning, Linda walks into the meeting room, sees Joe, and says, \u201cI\u2019ve been working on this project all weekend and needed your help. I e-mailed you three times! What were you doing?\u201d Joe responds, \u201cI had no idea you e-mailed me. I was gone all weekend on a camping trip.\u201d In this instance, the conflict started for Linda two days ago and has just started for Joe. So, for the two of them to most effectively manage this conflict, they need to communicate so that their punctuation, or where the conflict started for each one, is clear and matches up. In this example, Linda made an impression about Joe\u2019s level of commitment to the project based on an interpretation she made after selecting and organizing incoming information. Being aware of punctuation is an important part of perception checking, which we will discuss later. Let\u2019s now take a closer look at how interpretation plays into the perception process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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