Given below are two statements:

Statement I: The status of the person being perceived will greatly influence others' perception of the person.
Statement II: The visible traits of the person perceived will not influence others' perception of the person.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Correct option is C

Statement I is true. In perception, the status of a person—such as their position, role, or social standing—does influence how others perceive them. People tend to attribute greater competence, credibility, or respect to individuals with higher status (e.g., a CEO or professor), regardless of their actual behavior. This is related to the halo effect, where one positive trait (like status) leads to favorable assumptions in other areas.

Statement II is false. Visible traits such as physical appearance, dress, facial expressions, body language, and even race or gender significantly influence perception. These are often the first cues a perceiver notices and can lead to stereotyping or bias. For example, a person dressed formally may be seen as more competent, while someone with a friendly smile may be perceived as approachable.

Information Booster:

• Perception is a subjective process influenced by both internal (beliefs, experience) and external (status, appearance) factors.

• Status and visible traits can create first impressions, which are hard to change.

• Concepts like stereotyping, halo effect, and implicit bias are all linked to these perceptual influences.

• In organizational behavior, managers must be aware of these biases during recruitment, appraisal, and team building.

• Effective leaders strive to look beyond surface-level cues and assess people on objective performance.

• Perceptual selectivity means people notice and process stimuli based on prominence and expectations, often favoring visible or status-based traits.