Final answer:
An individual's personal communication field is shaped by their perception, which is influenced by unique personal and societal factors. Perception dictates how we interpret sensory information, leading to diverse perspectives based on one's background and experiences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The size and shape of an individual's personal communication field are defined by the individual's perception. Perception is a complex process influenced by the person's unique experiences, personality, expectations, and societal factors such as language and symbols. For instance, the Gestalt principle of figure-ground relationship highlights how our minds choose to segregate visual inputs into the 'figure,' which is the focus, and the 'ground,' the background. However, what is perceived as figure and ground can change based on subjective factors, which in turn shapes how we interpret sensory information.
Our perceptual set, an important concept in social psychology, is built upon perceptual hypotheses—these are the guesses we make while processing sensory information. Factors such as personality traits, previous experiences, and societal roles, like those of an optometrist or a hair stylist in a crowd, shape our perception, leading to varied interpretations of the same figure. Each viewpoint contributes to a more comprehensive understanding, but individually, it is shaped by one's personal perception.