01 Perception and Misperception

8/12/2019 01 Perception and Misperception

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Lesson 1Perception and Misperception

English Reading for International Affairs

By Daniel LinAssistant Professor

Department of International Affairs,

Wenzao rs!line ni"ersity of Lang!ages



Basic Concepts



1# Who is Ro$ert A$elson%

&# What is the 'old War%



Vocabulary



1# a$s!rd (a$s!rd!s, )o!t of t!ne, foolish* in Lati

n+

&# am$ig!o!s (am$i o!s+

-# ass!me (ad s!m+

.# $ias ($iais, )side/ays* in 0ld rench+

2# cogniti"e (cogni ti"e+

3# comprehension (com prehendere, )to catch

hold of, seize* in Latin+



1# conciliation (conciliare, )to $ring together* in L

atin, e#g#, co!ncil+

&# conse4!ence (con se4!, sec! ence+

-# contradict (contra dict+

.# con"ince (con "incere, )to con4!er* in Lati

n+2# criticism (crit ism+

3# del"e (delfan, )to dig* in 0ld English+



1# demonstrate (de monstrare, )to point o!t* in

Latin+

&# determine (de term+

-# distortion (dis tor4!ere, )to t/ist* in Latin++

.# di"erge (dis "erg, "ert, "ers+

2# e"idence (e5 "is, "id ence+

3# e5cl!sion (e5 cl!s, cl!d, cl!a!s ion+



1# e5periment (e5 peri ment+

&# ga!ge ()ascertain $y e5act meas!rements* in

Anglo6rench+

-# imp!te (in p!tare, )rec7on, clear !p, trim, pr

!ne, settle* in Latin+

.# incenti"e (in cen, can, chan, )to sing* i"e+2# inference (in fer ence+

3# inhi$it (in ha$it, hi$it+



1# intelligent (inter legere, )choose, pic7 o!t, read* in Lati

n+

&# la$oratory (la$or ate ory+

-# literat!re (litera, )letter* in Latin ate !re+

.# manifest (man, mani, man! fest+

2# manip!lation (man, mani, man!, manip!l, ate, ion+

3# mediocre (medi!s, )middle, mean, inferior* in Latin+





1# rectify (rect, )correct+ fy+

&# refrain (re frain, fren, )restrain*+

-# re"eal (re "eil+

.# rigoro!s (rig, )stiff* o!s+

2# scope (scope+

3# so"ereign (s!per reign+



1# s!spicio!s (s!$ spect o!s+

&# sympathy (syl, sym, syn pathy+

-# "aria$le ("ari a$le+



The Reading



-63

• What are the causes and consequences

of misperception% What kinds of percept!

al errors commonly occ!r in decision6ma7i

ng% 8o/ are beliefs a$o!t politics and images of other actors formed and altered%

8o/ do decision-makers dra/ inferences

from information, especially information that co!ld $e seen as contradicting their o/

n "ie/s%



3611

• 9hese questions ha"e not $een ade4!

ately disc!ssed $y specialists in either psy

chology or international relations# 9he latt

er ha"e ass!med that decision6ma7ers !s!ally percei"e the /orld 4!ite acc!rately a

nd that those misperceptions that do occ!r

can only $e treated as random accidents#



1161-

• 9his book see7s to demonstrate that this

"ie/ is incorrect# Perceptions of the /orld

and of other actors di"erge from reality in

patterns that /e can detect and for reasons that /e can !nderstand#



1-613

• We can find $oth misperceptions that are

common to di"erse 7inds of people and im

portant differences in perceptions that can

$e e5plained /itho!t del"ing too deeply into indi"id!als: psyches#



1361;

• 9his knowledge can $e !sed not only to e

5plain specific decisions $!t also to acco!

nt for patterns of interaction and to impro"

e o!r general !nderstanding of international relations#





163

• irst, more attention is paid to emotional t

han to cogniti"e factors# Wishf!l thinking,

defense mechanisms, and other moti"ate

d distortions of reality are foc!sed on to the relati"e e5cl!sion of the pro$lem of ho

/ e"en a perfectly !nemotional and caref!

l person /o!ld go a$o!t dra/ing inferences from highly am$ig!o!s e"idence in a co

nf!sing and conf!sed /orld#



36@

• As Ro$ert A$elson has noted, )there are p

lenty of cold: cogniti"e factors /hich prod

!ce inacc!rate /orld6"ie/s#*



;61&

• econd, almost all the data s!pporting the

theories are deri"ed from la$oratory e5peri

ments# Whether these settings and the

manipulations that are employed reealprocesses that are at work in the real w

orld is hard to determine#



1&612

• E"en harder to ga!ge is whether the influ

ences discoered in the laboratory are

strong enough to make themseles felt!

and felt in the same way! when they areintermi"ed with the other powerful ari

ables that affect political decision-maki

ng#



1261C

• or e5ample, "ery fe/ e"periments gi"e t

he s!$=ects incenti"es to percei"e acc!rat

ely, yet this is the prime concern of decisi

on6ma7ers#



1@6&<

• 9hird, a strong policy bias per"ades most

of the analysisthe element of conflict of i

nterest is played do/n in international rela

tions in general and in the 'old War in partic!lar#



&16-

• o!rth, and related to the last point, the structure

of the international system and the dangers and opp

ort!nities pec!liar to this setting are often o"erloo7e

d or mis!nderstood# As a res!lt of these fo!r /ea7n

esses, this literature contains a great deal of )o"er6

psychologizing* e5planations, !s!ally highly critical

of the decision6ma7er, in"ol"ing many psychological

"aria$les are gi"en for $eha"ior that can $e e5plaine

d more con"incingly $y political analysis#



-6C

• More specifically, there >are? little compre

hension of the conse4!ences of the lac7

of a so"ereign in the international realm an

d little analysis of the reasons /hy e"en highly rational decision6ma7ers often concl!

de that they m!st $e e5tremely s!spicio!s

and mistr!stf!l#



C61<

• 9hese biases also lead psychologists to a

nalyze only the "ie/s of those statesmen

/ith /hom they ha"e little sympathy and t

o refrain from !sing their theories to treat the policy preferences of those /ith /hom t

hey agree#



1<61.

• 9h!s images and reasoning dra/n from t

he )hard line* approach to foreign policy ar

e e5amined to sho/ the operation of emoti

onal infl!ences and cogniti"e processes that inhi$its intelligent decision6ma7ing, $!t

arguments and $elief systems that s!pp

ort conciliation are ne"er analyzed in these terms#



1261;

• As gra"e as these defects are, they are le

ss tro!$ling and less hard to rectify than th

e fifthF most psychological theories, and es

pecially those that ha"e $een applied to international relations, do not acco!nt for th

e /ays that highly intelligent people thin7

a$o!t pro$lems that are cr!cial to them#



1;6&<

• And few of the e5periments that pro"ide th

e $!l7 of the empirical e"idence for the the

ories ha"e $een directed to this 4!estion#



&<6&.

• Rather, theories a$o!t the formation and

change of $eliefs ha"e $een constr!cted a

ro!nd $eliefs that are relati"ely !nimportan

t to the person, a$o!t /hich he has little information, and for /hich the conse4!ence

s of $eing right or /rong are only minor#



&.6&3

• 0ne reason for this is that the desire to co

nstr!ct theories that are rigoro!s and parsi

monio!s has meant that only simple $elief

s can $e analyzed#



&36.

• Altho!gh this may $e the $est /ay to prod

!ce theories that e"ent!ally /ill $e a$le to

e5plain comple5 thin7ing, there is little rea

son to e5pect that at their present stage ofde"elopment s!ch theories /ill pro"ide m!

ch assistance in !nderstanding the /ays t

hat competent people go a$o!t ma7ing important decisions#



.61<

• 9h!s #belson admits that a significant criticism

of the theory that he co6a!thored and that often

has $een applied to foreign policy decision6ma7

ing is that )it gi"es too little scope to the possi$ilities of h!man tho!ght, e"en as practiced $y m

ediocre thin7ers, and, on the other side of the s

ame coin, that it imp!tes the dra/ing of certain

# # # concl!sions /hich are manifestly a$s!rd $yany standard#*



$rammar Concept



'ontent Words

• Are /ords

– that ha"e meaning#

– /e /o!ld loo7 !p in a dictionary, s!ch as Glam

p,G Gcomp!ter,G Gdro"e#G

– An open class

– He/ content /ords are constantly added to the

English lang!age old content /ords constantly

lea"e the lang!age as they $ecome o$solete#



More a$o!t 'ontent Words

• Pro"ide meaning, content

• Add prefi5es or s!ffi5es to change meanin

g or !se• Identifia$le thro!gh signal /ords in senten

ces

• Additions and deletion as lang!age changes



o!r Parts of peech of 'ontent Words

• Le"el 1

– Ho!ns

–

er$s• Le"el &

– Ad=ecti"es

– Ad"er$s



Ho!ns

• A no!n is a )a person, place, thing, or idea

#*

•

o, child is a no!n $eca!se it refers to1# A person

&# A place

-# A thing

.# An idea



Democracy is a no!n $eca!se it refers to

1# A person

&# A place

-# A thing

.# An idea



inding Ho!ns

• $y signal /ords

– DeterminerF the tea some tea our tea this te

a Joe’s tea

– Ad=ecti"eF good tea tasty tea delicious tea savory tea flavorful tea fine tea

• By /ord orderF JJJJJ lo"ed JJJJJ#

•

By s!ffi5 Ks or KesF $oo7s, fo5es• By apostropheF a $oo7:s pages, t/enty st!dents:

essays



Ho!ns 'an Be

• 'ommon no!nsF school, $!siness, person

• Proper no!nsF 9aipei, ncle oe

• 'o!nta$leF one dog, t/o dogs

• Hon6co!nta$leF s!gar, gas, /ater

• 'oncretenessF comp!ter, fingernail

• A$stractnessF peace, friendship



o, Peter 9sai is

1# A common no!n

&# A proper no!n

-# A co!nta$le no!n.# A non6co!nta$le no!n



!nctions of Ho!ns

• As a s!$=ect

• As an o$=ect of prep

osition• As a direct o$=ect

• As a retained o$=ect

• As an indirect o$=ect

• As a s!$=ecti"e com

plement• As an o$=ecti"e com

plement

• As an appositi"e



As a !$=ect

• A no!n or prono!n partnered /ith a predicate "

er$#

• Hancy ate some coo7ies# 9he s!$=ect )Hancy*

1# Is renamed or descri$ed after a "er$ of $eing or a l

in7ing "er$

&# Is acted !pon /ith a passi"e "er$

-# Does an action /ith an action "er$

.# E5ists /ith a "er$ of $eing



As an 0$=ect of Preposition

• A no!n or a prono!n ans/ering )/hom* or )/hat*

after a preposition

• Hancy ate some coo7ies and chic7en /ith her fri

ends# Which no!n is an o$=ect of preposition%1# Hancy

&# 'oo7ies

-# 'hic7en

.# riends



As a Direct 0$=ect

• A no!n or a prono!n )recei"es* or is the )o$=ect*

of the action

• Hancy ga"e her friends and her teachers some c

oo7ies# Which no!n is the direct o$=ect of the action "er$ )ga"e*%

1# 9eachers

&# riends-# Hancy

.# 'oo7ies



As a Retained 0$=ect

• A no!n or a prono!n ans/ering )/hom* or )/hat*

after a passi"e "er$

• !dy and Mary /ere a/arded the first prize on D

ecem$er 12, &<<;# Which no!n is the retained o$=ect %

1# !dy

&# Mary-# Prize

.# Decem$er



As an Indirect 0$=ect• A no!n or a prono!n ans/ering )to /hom/hat

* or )for /hom/hat* after an action "er$#• It al/ays precedes a direct o$=ect and ne"er ha

s the /ord )to* or )for* stated#

• Daniel ga"e Da"id and 9om the hammer # Whi

ch no!n is the indirect o$=ect %

1# Daniel

&# 8ammer

-# Da"id.# 9om



As a !$=ect 'omplement

• A no!n or a prono!n or an ad=ecti"e that renames or descri$es (e4!als+ the s!$=ect after a "er$ of$eing or a lin7ing "er$#

•

!dy and Mary $ecame coo7s after passing the e5amination# Which no!n is the s!$=ect complement%

1# !dy

&# Mary

-# 'oo7s

.# E5amination



As an 0$=ect 'omplement

• A no!n or a prono!n or an ad=ecti"e that ren

ames or descri$es (e4!als+ the direct o$=ect

• We consider !dy the $est coo7 in to/n# W

hich no!n is the o$=ect complement %

1# We

&# !dy

-# 'oo7

.# 9o/n



As an Appositi"e

• A no!n or a prono!n that renames another no!n#

• !dy, the $est coo7 in to/n, is specialized in ren

ch c!isine# Which no!n is the appositi"e%

1# !dy

&# 'oo7

-# 9o/n

.# '!isine



er$s

• Words that sho/ action or state of $eing#

• 'an $e identified

–

$y their position in a sentence# – H0H JJJJJJJ

– 98ERE JJJJJJ H0H

–

By prefi5es and s!ffi5es – ignify, characteri%e, irrigate, s/eeten

– Besto/, dethrone, enco!rage



er$ Phrase

• 9he main "er$ together /ith all its a!5iliaries (h

elping "er$s+

• A!5iliary "er$s al/ays precede the main "er$#

– Inflected a!5iliary "er$sF $e, ha"e, do

– Modal a!5iliaries

– PresentF /ill, shall, can, may

– PastF /o!ld, sho!ld, co!ld, might

– Ho tenseF m!st



9hree 9ypes of er$s

• Action "er$s

– 9ransiti"e "er$s

–

Intransiti"e "er$s• er$s of $eing

• Lin7ing "er$s



Action er$s

• Word sho/s an action, either physical or m

ental#

• Which sentence consists of an action "er$%

1# 9he pasta is tasty#

&# mith /ill al/ays $e my friend#

-# ane is /earing good clothes#.# Pa!l /as a/ay last /ee7#

$ f i



er$s of Being

• Be6"er$s, sho/ing a state of an e5istence

• Which sentence consists of a "er$ of $eing

%

1# !dy catches a cold#

&# mith /ill al/ays $e my friend#

-# ane imagines that she /ill $ecome the chiefengineer#

.# Pa!l stayed !p late last night#

i 7i $



Lin7ing er$s

• Word lin7s a s!$=ect /ith its complement#

• Which sentence consists of a lin7ing "er$

%

1# Pa!l $ecame a physician#

&# mith is strange#

-# Daniel has $een here for a /ee7#

.# he has $een ta7ing the test for ho!rs#

9 iti $ I t iti $



9ransiti"e er$s "s# Intransiti"e er$s

• A transiti"e "er$ is follo/ed $y a direct o$=ect

• An intransiti"e "er$ is H09 follo/ed $y a dire

ct o$=ect

• In late afternoon, Daniel often sleeps lightly f

or an ho!r# What "er$ is )sleeps*%

1# 9ransiti"e "er$#

&# Intransiti"e "er$#

D l f A i $



ome D!el6form Action er$s

• Bill finally left the co!ntry#

• Bill finally left#

•

What "er$ is )left* for the first sentence%1# 9ransiti"e "er$#

&# Intransiti"e "er$#

-# Both

.# Don:t 7no/#



9hree Moods of er$s

• Indicati"eF states

a fact, as7s a 4!

estion, or e5clai

ms#

– ane arri"ed this

morning#

• Imperati"eF gi"esa command

– Eat yo!r spinach#

• !$=!ncti"eF

– indicates a sit!ation contrar

y to fact#

– I /o!ldn:t do that if I /ere yo!#

– ho/s a /ish, desire, or de

mand in a nominal clause

$eginning /ith that – he s!ggested that he see a den

tist immediately#

he demanded that o here on time



he demanded that yo! JJJ here on time

#

1# to $e

&# $e

-# are

.# /ere



Ad= ti



Ad=ecti"es

• Words descri$ing no!ns or prono!ns#

• 0ften recogniza$le $y their s!ffi5es

– amous, sensational , hopeful , pr!dent , persona

ble, selfish

• 9ypically ans/er

– What 7indF beautiful /oman, studious st!dents

– Which oneF this girl, my dog

– 8o/ manyF two h!ndred dollars

P iti f Ad= ti



Positions of Ad=ecti"es

• s!ally placed $efore the no!n

– 9he tall man has the easiest assignment#

• ollo/ing the no!n

– Daniel, firm and untouched , /ent on his lect!re#

• ollo/ing a "er$ of $eing or a lin7ing "er$

–

ane is cold and achy # – ane feels cold and achy #

'omparati"e and !perlati"e orms



'omparati"e and !perlati"e orms

• Which sentence is not correct%

1# 8arold is a tall man#

&# 9oday is less cold than yesterday#

-# 9oday is not colder than yesterday#

.# 8arold:s girlfriend is taller than all of her frien

ds#

Ad $



Ad"er$s

• Words

– Descri$e "er$s

–

Ans/ers any o the follo/ing 4!estions a$o!t "er$s

– 8o/% When% Where% Why%

•

0ften identifia$le $y Kly – Hicely, dro/sily, happily

Ad"er$sF the Most Mo"ea$le Part of pe



Ad"er$sF the Most Mo"ea$le Part of pe

ech

• o, /hich of the follo/ing sentence has t

he farthest verb-adverb distance%

1# he hid the 7ey near$y#

&# We /ill !se the ne/ soft/are tomorro/#

-# 8erman easily lifted the $ase$all#

.# lo/ly ane clim$ed the ladder#



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01 Perception and Misperception