Selective Perception   With the development of new and continuing proliferation of traditional forms of media, the average person can be exposed to hundreds of different advertising messages each day. The customer already knows some of these messages, but most require time to decipher for meaning, accept or reject validity or just refute all together. One way an individual can cope with the constant bombardment of information and persuasion with the individual has to contend is through selection of what is perceived. Much of this selection is automatic, as new perceptions are made to fit comfortably with existing conditions (Foxall and Goldsmith, 1994).   Selective perception can be thought of as a filter that screens out "clutter" that the individual has pre-determined to be filtered out. Whether or not a subsequent screening occurs, it is quite clear that a person will not perceive all the stimuli reaching him; the perceptual process uses as a raw material the output of the attention process. It is easy to understand how problems can arise in this area. A physical entity that makes no registration in the attention centers will not be perceived (Kerby 1975). The message is lost somewhere between the message producer and intended message recipiant.   Selective perception is more involved with the individual perceptual process than just acting as a massage filter. Selective perception implies that a receiver will accept what he wants to perceive, and this depends on his past experiences and beliefs as well as his present situation or state of mind (Britt, 1978). Values, beliefs, attitudes, sociological and cultural factors all influence what we do and do not perceive.   Next