Stephanie Banks: Influences on Perception, Expectations

            A large portion of our lives is spent expecting something. To expect means to look forward to; anticipate (Merriam-Webster, 2004). In this state we are longing after what is to come and imagining what it will be like, whether pleasant or otherwise. Wood (2010) explains under the section of “Influences on Perception” that this state can cause us to pick up on certain cues and ignore others. “Our expectations affect what we notice” (Wood, 2010). As we are told about a certain person or situation we will begin to pick up on the characteristics that match what we had been told, and came to expect. This will confirm our perception of them, without taking into account the other characteristics that we have chosen to neglect. This also reflects and does a spinoff of the “self-fulfilling prophecy, which occurs when we internalize other’s expectations or judgments and then behave in ways that are consistent with those expectations or judgments.”(Wood, 2010) This is accomplished with expectations of others in that we internalize how someone else should act and then will only pick up on the characteristics which line up with what we anticipate.

            I am a person that has expectations going into any situation. A major way that this comes into play is when I am about to start a new classes at school. I will usually go to my peers to see if they have had a particular class or professor and their opinion about them. The area of expectations was quite evident in my experience with Organic Chemistry taught by Dr. Manashi Chatterjee. As I was preparing to take organic with Dr. Chatterjee I asked my friends if they had any tips for the class. The immediate response was “I hated that class, she is horrible.” I began to dread for that class to begin, since the more people I told the more that phrase was repeated. More stated “She is a horrible teacher and is hard to understand.” This did not make me excited for the class and it also decreased my expectations for how the class was going to be.  I began to expect a teacher with a horrible teaching style, who was hard to understand, as she did not grow up in the US. The first day started and she seemed nice and pleasant, giving tips for how to do well but also warning how time consuming it would be. I began to think, people must have been wrong, this shouldn’t be too bad; my expectations seem silly. As classes continued, she lived up to the original expectations I had set for her being a bad teacher, not knowing how to explain things, and bombarding super important information on you the day before a test. She met my expectations in those qualities. Looking back on it now this attitude began to affect how I learned and how I retained information. As I went in with the attitude of, “Ok this teacher is horrible, why am I even here?” my grades began to reflect that as I slowly began to respect her teaching less and less. This disrespect was shown by my posture in class, talking during class, and procrastination for the homework or even learning the material. As my expectations were low for her teaching quality, I only gave her credit when her teaching and characteristics lined up with that, not when she did well explaining a certain subject.

            This is a great theory to be aware of, as it does explain how we see different people and situations. I believe expectations were a huge role of my attitude in class and through the classwork. It is quite unlikely to be able to eliminate all expectations from any situation but being aware that expectations are involved and the impact that they have on perception can be used for good. As expectations begin to occur it could be useful to make sure that they remain positive, which would lead to more positive characteristics being able to be noticed. It would also be helpful in knowing the large influence that expectations have, so that someone could take a step back and analyze the situation away from the pre-conceived notions. The problem is that expectations will continue to occur as they have become an automatic process for humans. Knowing the impact that they carry I want to go into new situations preferably with no expectations but will settle for positive expectations, trying to find the silver lining even if it is a cloudy day. Expectations can be changed or broken in this situation by meeting with the professor one on one to be able to discuss frustrations, study habits and tips for the class. This will take you out of the expectation box you placed yourself in and will begin to take in all sides of the situation, especially the professor’s side. In doing this a door to more effective communication has been opened.

References:

Merriam-Webster. (2004). The merriam-webster dictionary. (p. 251). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Wood, J. T. (2010). Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters. (7th ed., p. 44, 73). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.