{"id":13728,"date":"2019-08-06T07:44:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T14:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/?p=13728"},"modified":"2019-08-06T07:44:13","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T14:44:13","slug":"perception-is-not-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/perception-is-not-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Perception is NOT Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We hear it all the time, in the business world, in the political arena, in marriages, anytime there is a disagreement or conflict: \u201cPerception is reality.\u201d This aphorism is often used to justify a perception that may be objectively unjustifiable or just plain out of touch with reality. It\u2019s employed as a cudgel to beat others into accepting someone\u2019s preferred so-called reality. At a more philosophical level, this adage creates a sense of relativism (think squishiness) in circumstances that are more likely absolute (think \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-to-reason-with-flat-earthers-it-may-not-help-though-95160\">the world is flat<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Let me state with an absolute sense of reality and without any perceptual flexibility at the outset that perception is NOT reality. As I am a word guy, meaning I believe that words powerfully shape our attitudes, beliefs, and, well, perceptions, let me start off by showing why perceptions and reality are different. Here is a dictionary definition of perception:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And here is the dictionary definition of reality:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe world or the state of things as they actually exist\u2026existence that is absolute, self-sufficient, or objective, and not subject to human decisions or conventions.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Clearly, \u2018perception\u2019 and \u2018reality\u2019 have very different meanings. The former occurs entirely in the mind in which mental gymnastics can turn any belief into \u2018reality.\u2019 The other exists completely outside of the mind and can\u2019t be easily manipulated. To conflate perception with reality is to reject the Enlightenment and harken back to the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n<p>Perception is not reality, but, admittedly, perception can become <em>a person\u2019s reality<\/em> (there is a difference!) because perception has a potent influence on how we look at reality. Think of it this way. Perception acts as a lens through which we view reality. Our perceptions influence how we focus on, process, remember, interpret, understand, synthesize, decide about, and act on reality. In doing so, our tendency is to assume that how we perceive reality is an accurate representation of what reality truly is. But it\u2019s not. The problem is that the lens through which we perceive is often warped in the first place by our genetic predispositions, past experiences, prior knowledge, emotions, pre-conceived notions, self-interest, and cognitive distortions. Dr. Daniel Kahneman, the noted psychologist who received the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in economics, created a veritable cottage industry by identifying what he termed \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_cognitive_biases\">cognitive biases<\/a>, (there are 100s)\u2019 which are systematic ways in which humans create \u2018subjective social reality\u2019 that deviates from objective reality.<\/p>\n<p>I appreciate that some philosophers argue that reality doesn\u2019t actually exist, but, instead, is a subjective construction because we don\u2019t experience reality directly. Rather, we experience reality through senses that limit how we process reality. For example, humans only see a circumscribed spectrum of colors or hear a defined range of sounds. But, just because we can\u2019t perceive a dog whistle doesn\u2019t mean it doesn\u2019t exist in reality. Thankfully, we have the technology in most situations that can objectively measure reality (of course, disbelievers could argue that reading the instruments requires perception, thus \u201cproving\u201d their point that perception is reality, but let\u2019s not go there).<\/p>\n<p>A key question to ask is: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with perception diverging from reality?\u201d What if I perceive the world in a way that is out of touch with reality? As with most things in life, this question demands a nuanced answer that involves degree rather than kind. For example, there is a psychological theory that posits what are called \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Positive_illusions\">positive illusions<\/a>,\u2019 which involve holding a slightly inflated view of one\u2019s capabilities, that can have psychological and practical benefits (e.g., gives hope, enhances persistence). However, if the perception deviates too far from reality, when it shifts from mild illusion to delusion, it can be a liability (e.g., set unattainable goals, lack of preparation for a difficult task). In fact, a substantial disconnect between perception and reality can lead people to a complete inability to function (severe mental illness is an example).<\/p>\n<p>At a societal level, one immense problem arises when different individuals or constituencies develop perceptions that are so far apart is that no common ground can be found. This disconnect is exemplified in our current political climate where people of different political stripes have such diametrically opposed perceptions that it becomes impossible to orchestrate consensus or govern. The result is paralysis (think Congress) or hostility (think hate crimes). Going to extremes, a massive divide between perceptions in a country would likely lead to a slow, but steady, disintegration of the institutions that hold a society together (think dystopian themes in literature and film or, well, our world today).<\/p>\n<p>The challenge we face with our own thinking, as well as the thinking of others, is how to ensure that perceptions remain close to reality. This alignment is essential for us to live in the real world, find consensus with others, and maintain the individual, governmental, and societal structures that are necessary for life as we know it to exist. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t assume that your perceptions are reality (just <em>your<\/em> reality).<\/li>\n<li>Be respectful of others\u2019 perceptions (they may be right).<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t hold your perceptions too tightly; they may be wrong (admitting it takes courage).<\/li>\n<li>Recognize the distortions within you that may warp your perceptions (seeing them will better ground your perceptions in reality rather than the other way around).<\/li>\n<li>Challenge your perceptions (do they hold up under the microscope of reality?).<\/li>\n<li>Seek out validation from experts and credible others (don\u2019t just ask your friends because they likely have the same perceptions as you).<\/li>\n<li>Be open to modifying your perceptions if the preponderance of evidence demands it (rigidity of mind is far worse than being wrong).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, the next time someone tosses that tired trope\u2014\u201cBut perception is reality\u201d\u2014in defense of the indefensible, you stand up and tell them that it might be their perception, but it is NOT reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We hear it all the time, in the business world, in the political arena, in marriages, anytime there is a disagreement or conflict: \u201cPerception is reality.\u201d This aphorism is often used to justify a perception that may be objectively unjustifiable or just plain out of touch with reality. It\u2019s employed as a cudgel to beat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1520],"tags":[1285,1286,1287,1288,727,1289],"class_list":["post-13728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psychology","tag-delusions","tag-distortion","tag-illusions","tag-kahneman","tag-perception","tag-reality"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}