Perception

       What surprised me from the last class was the danger of categorization. In the past, I always grouped people I knew into different categories based on my perceptions of these people. I did not realize that categorization could be so subjective that negative consequences could happen.

        

        I sometimes make mistakes because of my perceptions of other people. I remember that when I worked at a college, my supervisor always emphasized that financial aid recipient must have a government photo ID and a student ID to pick up their checks. Other workers and I thought that only a photo ID or a student ID was needed and  the supervisor was just too picky. Then one day a student came to pick up his check with only a student ID, and I gave out the check. But later it was found that the student picking up the check stole the student ID. Because my wrong perception of the supervisor, I made a big mistake that could have been avoided

         

       Not only I have misperceptions of people, but other people often have misperceptions of me. When I met some of my friends for the first time, I did not talk that much with them, so they thought I did not like them. But later as we knew each other further, my friends realized that I did not talk much because of my personality.

         

       Changing others' misperceptions of me needs time and effort. I will try to talk more with people perceiving me wrong, so that they will understand what kind of person I really am. I also try to change people's perceptions by actions. For example, when my manager thought that I was not competent, I showed him my capability by doing excellent work at the company.