Perception

Perception is a process by which we give meaning to our environment by organizing and interpreting sensory impressions.

It is also the process that is used to select, organize, and interpret information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. Perceptions affect consumers' actual behvior. It depends not only on physical stimuli, but also on the stimuli’s relationship to surrounding environment and on conditions. One person might perceive a fast-talking salesperson as aggressive and insincere; another, as intelligent and helpful. Each will respond to the salesperson differently. People emerge with different perceptions of the same object because of three perceptual processes; selective attention, selective distortion, and selective retention.