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all. So, as information comes in through our senses, various factors influence what actually
continues on through the perception process (Fiske & Taylor, 1991).
The second stage is organization. We organize our world by creating categories, linking
together the categories we have created, and then seeking closure by filling in any missing gaps
in what we perceive. Psychologists call the framework we use to organize and categorize our
experiences a cognitive schema—a “mental basket” for sorting and identifying (Beebe et al.,
2019, P.63). For example, we link the categories through punctuation. Punctuation is the process
of making sense of stimuli by grouping, dividing, organizing, separating, and further
categorizing information (Watzlawick et al., 1967). Back to the scenario, the security guard used
a basic perceptual organizing cue to group James’ family with the Blackfoot people together
based on similarities, such as the color of skin, and braids on men. He tended to think similar-
looking or similar-acting things belong to James and the Blackfoot people together. He believed
that braids are not for men but for little girls which is different from his set of standards for
normal nice people. James punctuated this security guard’s abnormal behaviors and rude words
with different standards. He found this guard’s stereotype to their racial status. They punctuated
their perceptions differently.
The final stage is interpretation, in which we assign meaning to what we have observed
(Beebe et al., 2019, P.65). In which we assign meaning to our experiences using mental
structures known as schemata. Schemata are like databases of stored, related information that we
use to interpret new experiences. We all have fairly complicated schemata that have developed
over time as small units of information combine to make more meaningful complexes of
information. (Author Removed At Request Of Original Publisher, 2016). The encounter between
James and the security guard in a shopping center resulted in different interpretations. The

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