THE eponymous phrase, aside from being the title of Ian Fleming’s James Bond thriller (and 1981 movie) is also used for confidential documents intended only for specific individuals. The phrase can also apply to a particular bias in looking at news or gossip only as they relate to one’s reputation or position.
“Selective perception” in psychology determines how we view events, or even how we remember them. We pay attention only to details that are of interest to us directly. In any group photo, we first search out our own face among the dozens around us. And if the shot does not include us, we simply skip it.
With busy media subjects like executives, politicians, and entertainment celebrities, selective perception can be outsourced. Some entity is designated to provide a clipping service to look for news that pertains to a particular company or personality, sometimes including the competition. These items are searched and compiled for the client’s evaluation.
The term “clipping” harks back to an older time when newspapers dominated media coverage and stories were clipped with scissors and compiled in a bulging folder for the day. Now, this physical task is facilitated by the net with its search engines relying on key words to algorithmically troll (now both a verb and a noun) the stories in cyberspace. So, now the process is called “data scanning.”
Using “mentions” (or the name of a company or personality) in media coverage ensures discovery of all stories and opinions dealing with a particular subject. But does this dipping into the media landscape present an accurate view of reality? What about the trio of talents moving out of one station, typhoons coming our way, and new threats in the WPS? Those “irrelevant” topics may be off the media scan of the clippers.
Even a seldom mentioned personality can get a warped view of the media’s seeming obsession with him, as his minions pick up his seldom mentioned name here and there. He is bound to view the state of his image, often exaggerated on the negative side, by a very biased sample of news that his minions preselected.
With the multiplying blogs, tweets, self-proclaimed influencers, internet publications, and social networks piled on top of traditional media (not to mention insider info and gossip) and 24-hour news cycles, the possibility of getting mentions and clips for any subject can only rise. The shelf life of topics, no matter how earth-shaking their impact, has already dropped from the traditional 10 days to only a few hours.
The coverage of even the most insignificant news to fill up the hungry beast of curiosity seems designed to make news subjects of anyone, including someone that happens to be crossing the street when the TV crew is in the neighborhood for a man-on-the-street interview. It can then even be a cause of dismay when a company or personality continues to be unreported and ignored. (Have we become irrelevant?)
Another psychological phenomenon related to selective perception is the “spotlight illusion” where an individual imagines that everyone is looking at her all the time, maybe noticing a missing button in her blouse or her newly enhanced lips. In fact, people are seldom in any imaginary spotlight. So, what if your socks don’t match, will anybody even notice?
One challenge for the image consultant is how to restrain a client and keep him from overreacting to a story from a little-read columnist. (Most pundits will not accept such a characterization of their output.) Reacting disproportionately to a slur, whether imagined or real, can even unintentionally magnify a news item beyond its previously humdrum reception. (What is he so upset about? Have you read that story he’s so agitated about?)
Even the non-clipper is not spared the effects of selective perception. An obscure story will have been read by another and passed on to him to check on. (Did you see that item on you about to lose your job in the next board meeting?) This revelation is sure to invite some knee-jerk reaction since the informer will have embellished the tale and challenged the clueless subject to give a response on a news item which he has already missed.
Selective perception makes one lose a sense of proportion. It exaggerates the interest people have in one’s fate. Still, the other danger is ignoring public rebuke even when increasing in volume. By then, words no longer help. It becomes a matter of relevant action… or irrelevant reaction.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
