Factors That Affect the Way We See the World.

As humans we live in

some combination of three worlds - the past, present and future.  All three impinge on each other in complex ways.  Psychologist Daniel Gilbert describes perception as the faculty that allows us to see the present, memory as the means of seeing the past and imagination as our capacity to see the future.  Interestingly he notes that all three see similar shortcomings that inevitably lead us to misremember the past, misperceive the present, and misimagine the future.  The key factor in all three processes is the brain's incredible power to manage the millions of bits of data encountered moment by moment. 

Memory.

Our brains are essentially data compressors that reduce the incoming perceptions to a few key features, compare those features to preexisting categories and store snapshots of the whole experience.  Thus, our memories are not full featured or faithful representations of past events.  They are constructions assembled at the time of retrieval and they are assembled from an array of sources: 1)  Partial information abstracted and stored through the original experience. 2)  Emotional feelings associated with the original event.  3)  Other bits of information already stored in the brain, but not specifically attended to the original experience.  4)  Information acquired after the experience. 5)  thoughts and feelings present at the time when the stored memory is being retrieved. 

Actually retrieving is not a very appropriate term for how we construct memory.  We fabricate memories in the weavers sense of the term, by piecing together or reweaving images of events.  Researchers know that what we remember shows as much about our present circumstances as it does our past, including our current motivations and emotional states.  Gilbert uses the term present-ism to note that our present perceptions tend to dominate both memory and imagination.  We remember in ways that fit our present circumstances, particularly or current motivations.  For example, couples whose relationships have deteriorated tend to remember the entire relationship as being an unhappy one, not just the fact that it ended badly.

Perception.   

 We also tend to misperceive (or partially perceive) present circumstances, not because our brains are trying to dupe us, but because representing everything that is happening around us in full detail would simply take too much time and tax the brains processing systems, resulting in paralysis and inability to act.  We don't realize the extent to which we see limited aspects of the whole and actually fill in other details based on knowledge structures such as stereotypes.

Imagination

Likewise, we project into the future.  Where is this relationship going?  How will I feel about my friend five years from now?  Should we continue to see each other.  Perception and memory are intertwined, each affecting the other.  When we imagine what our future will be like, the same kind of complex interaction occurs.  For example, we tend to underestimate the amount of novelty that is likely to occur in the future and overestimate how similar today the future will be, even when the future we anticipate is only a few minutes away.

In a study, students were asked to take a simple five question test and choose whether they would like to learn the correct answers or to receive a candy bar as a reward, but not learn the answers.  Those who were asked to choose before the test chose the candy bar.  Those who were given the choice after the test opted to learn the answers.  A third group did not take the test, but were asked to predict what choices they would make both before and after taking the test.  The third group consistently chose the candy bar in both cases; they were simply unable to imagine how the curiosity generated by the experience of taking the test would trump the appeal of the candy bar.

5 Ways to Keep Visitors of Your Site Coming Back

A lot of successful websites depend on returning visitors to account for a major part of their traffic. Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the more trust they have in that site. The credibility issue just melts away. Hence, keep your visitors coming back to your site with the following methods:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox

When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are providing your visitors a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers -- all of them are visitors of your site. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will come back to your site almost religiously every day.

2) Start a web log (blog)

Keep an online journal, or more commonly known as a blog, on your site and keep it updated with latest news about yourself. Human beings are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes glued to the monitor if you post fresh news frequently. You will also build up your credibility as you are proving to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

3) Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

4) Hold puzzles, quizzes and games

Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most widely known and most effective method of attracting returning visitors, but this is also the least carried out one because of the laziness of webmasters. No one will want to browse a site that looks the same over ten years, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

The Key Skills of a Public Relations Practitioner.

The skills involved with practicing public relations are centered on building relationships.  All of the public relations skills require the continuous professional development gained from a membership with a professional body.  The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) has adopted internationally recognized criteria.   Therefore, the function of a public relations practitioner is building human relationships with clients and their stakeholders.  When it comes to building relationships, there are some skills involved.

Communication skills as being critical for those practicing public relations.  They cannot get away with not having good written and oral communication skills, as well as the ability to be an effective listener and researcher.  Public relations practitioners have to embrace excellent, persuasive and correct written and oral skills if they are to succeed.  Written communication skills are essential for writing media releases and reports.  Oral communication skills are required for building relationships and communication with clients. By listening as someone speaks, the public relations practitioner can avoid misunderstandings.  Research is a key factor in helping an organization better understand their environment.

Ethical thinking is an important requirement of practicing public relations.  This is the result of three factors. 

First, public relations are responsible for the organizations compliance to ethics. For example, corporate responsibility to ethics often requires a cultural change.  Public relations practitioners often influence organizational culture with bureaucratic rules and procedures like a code of ethics.

Second, because public relations have a poor history of ethical conduct, ethics must be upheld for the greater good of the profession (Page 205).  For example, Public relations practitioners and marketers for blackcurrant drink Ribena overstated the vitamin c content in the drink.  They were caught by two teenagers who analysed the contents for a school project. 

And finally, public relations practitioners are in a position to influence their clients and employers ethical views and standpoint.  For example, they can set an example to clients and employers by constant ethic thinking.  This will provide a positive influence.

Managing relationships is another core skill needed by the public relations practitioner.  This makes management a key function.  Coordination is involved because the adjustment of action in relation to others actions is required.  Complex problem solving and the implementation of solutions are two further functions of management required when practicing public relations.  Judgement and decision making are also required because the benefits and cost must be weighed and the most appropriate action chosen.  The management of personal resources like time are essential to meet deadlines.  Both, the public relations practitioner’s own time and the time of others must be managed to ensure the public relations program goes to plan.