When several different people look at the same person, it is not unusual for each of them to see different things; when you alone observe one behavior or one person at two different times, you may see different things. The following are but some of the factors that lead to these varying perceptions:
Each person’s perceptions of others are formed by his or her own cultural conditioning, education, and personal experience.
Sometimes perceptions differ because of what we choose to observe and how we deal with what we’ve observed. It is not necessarily true that person’s perception is based on observations of a particular person. Your observations may be totally controlled by some. Your observations may be totally controlled by what others have told you about this person; or you may focus primarily on the situation or role relationship. Most people do not use the same yardstick to measure their parents, their friends, and strangers.
Sometimes we see only what we want to see what may be obverse to others because of our own needs, desires, or temporary emotional states. This is a process known as selective perception. Selective perception is obviously more difficult when contradictory information is particularly obvious, but it can be done. We can ignore the stimulus—“He’s basically a good boy, so what I saw was not shoplifting.”  We can reduce the importance of the contradictory information—“All kids get into mischief(顽皮). Taking a book from the bookstore isn’t such a big deal.” We call change the meaning of the contradictory information—“It wasn’t shoplifting because he was going to pay for it later.”..
1.While observing a particular person,        .
A.one is likely to take all aspects into consideration
B.one pays more attention to his or her advantages
C.children often differ from gownups in perception
D.one tends to choose certain cues to look for
2.Observation of the same person by two people at the same time may differ because         .
A.their yardsticks are not the same
B.either of them may be slow to catch information
C.the time for observations is not long enough
D.each of them uses different language to express his or her impressions
3.The underlined word “ignore” in Paragraph 4 means to         .
A.understand something                          B.try to do something
C.pay no attention to something                   D.know something better
4.The worst thing in selective perception is that         .
A.perceived information runs against your desire
B.facts can be totally ignored and distorted
C.importance of contradictory information can be overrated
D.the same information may not be dealt with in the same way