Over the past few years, a lot of research has been conducted on intrapersonal and interpersonal perception and their contribution to individual success. Perception plays an important role in both intrapersonal and interpersonal communications. By definition, perception means the judgement and understanding gained from interaction either between two or more parties or within the person himself (Anant 2010, p. 34). This essay argues that good intrapersonal and interpersonal perception is vital in individual success both at university and at work. This topic includes motivational goal setting, accurate self-monitoring, successful coordination of actions and good interpersonal skills.

Intrapersonal perception is one of the decisive components in achieving both academic and career success. It involves understanding of a person himself, including his goals, characteristics and his own feelings. In order to have strong intrapersonal perception, two elements must exist: goal setting and self-monitoring. Goal setting is a process involves establishing a set of realistic and measurable targets achievable within a specific time. Smith (2013, p. 20) pointed out that goal setting provides an individual with a long-term vision and motivates him to work towards the respective goals. As they focus on their goals, they will demonstrate optimistic characteristics and feel motivated to strive for their goals. According to Bressler’s study (2010, p. 39), individuals with high motivation levels show a strong desire to work harder and are more willing to face challenges in order to achieve their goals. Another element that must exist for strong intrapersonal perception to be achievable is self-monitoring. Pintrich (cited in Bercher 2012, p. 26) describes self-monitoring as a process by which people monitor and adjust their efforts in order to meet the standards they set for successful performance. It aids in generating feedback on the effectiveness of their strategies and current progress towards achieving their goals. Therefore, accurate self-monitoring leads to effective time and effort management in achieving goals.

Interpersonal perception is another decisive component in achieving success both at university and at work. This involves interaction with people and how people judge each other through interaction. It is important to have a strong interpersonal perception so that one’s judgement will not be affected by bias such as gender and races as pointed by Anant (2010, p. 46). Hence, two criteria must exist in order to have strong interpersonal perception which are successful coordination of actions and good interpersonal skill. Interpersonal skill is the core component of soft skills and also known as “21st Century Skill” which means the ability to understand and communicate with each other. According to Kosmitzki and John (cited in Joseph and Lashmi 2010, p. 17), a socially intelligent person is able to understand thoughts, feelings and intentions of others such as empathy. Therefore, the person will be good at communicating with people, collaborating with them effectively and adept to different social situations easily. Coordination of actions is another fundamental part in interpersonal perception. According to Abele’s and Stasser’s study (2008, p. 576), a successful coordination of actions can be classified into two categories which are successful matching and mismatching of actions. Each of the coordination types is required depending on the situations. For example, when all team members agree to select ANZ Bank as their project research target, it is a good example of successful coordination by matching. Doing the same thing without any conflict will lead to a sense of social unity and interpersonal liking. On the other hand, successful coordination by mismatching exists when each team member does research on different areas of ANZ Bank without any disagreement. Division of tasks reduces the chance of frustration and interpersonal conflict between team members as they focus on different task. Hence, it leads to better team performance.

Intrapersonal and interpersonal perceptions are interdependent and crucial in achieving academic success in university. If a student possesses high intrapersonal and interpersonal perceptions, he can set difficult but achievable goals such as achieving high distinction average. Under a clear goal direction, he tends to be highly motivated and confident. As a self-regulated student, he will be aware of his current study progress and adjust his study strategies and time accordingly (Bercher 2012, p. 27). Synder’s study (cited in Bressler 2010, p. 39) shows that a highly motivated person will be more willing to approach others whom they do not share commonalities. The student will work hard towards his academic goals and not be afraid of interacting with someone he is not familiar with, including new classmates, lecturers and tutors. If the student is socially aware, he will be able to work with his teammates easily and achieve successful coordination within the team. In the long run, this will aid in his personal skill development such as leadership skills, public speaking and teamwork. This helps in training the student to be well-rounded.

Besides academic success, intrapersonal and interpersonal perceptions also contribute to individual success at work. Clear goal direction and strong interpersonal skill are important in career achievement. If an employee has set up clear career goals for himself such as achieving $200,000 annual income and getting promoted to managerial position, he will be motivated to work harder. Hence, he will be more willing to face challenges such as high sales targets, long working hours and overtime. Besides, high motivation will also lead to self-confidence. This will encourage him to socialize and build up connections with his colleagues and business clients. Successful coordination with colleagues will promote interpersonal liking and social unity. According to Joseph’s study (2010, p. 17), a person who is socially intelligent tend to be more mature and successful in society. Hence, the network built through social interactions will subsequently lead him to more job prospects and higher promotions. In the end, the person will be more likely to achieve his career goals and become a successful leader.

In conclusion, intrapersonal and interpersonal perception plays an important role in daily activities. This essay has illustrated that goal setting and accurate self-monitoring are key elements of intrapersonal perception. Similarly, successful coordination of action and good interpersonal skills result in accurate interpersonal perception. This explains the importance of both intrapersonal and interpersonal perception in individual success both at university and at work.

REFERENCES
1. Abele, S. & Stasser, G. 2008, ‘Coordination Success and Interpersonal Perceptions: Matching Versus Mismatching’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 576-592.
2. Bercher, D.A. 2012, ‘Self-Monitoring Tools and Student Academic Success: When Perception Matches Reality’, Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 26-32.
3. Bressler, L.A, Bressler, M.E. & Bressler M.S. 2010, ‘The Role and Relationship of Hope, Optimism and Goal Setting in Achieving Academic Success: a Study of Students Enrolled in Online Accounting Courses’, Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 37-51.
4. Anant, H. 2010, ‘Interpersonal Perceptions within Organisations: An Explanatory Study’, IUP Journal of Soft Skills, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 34-47.
5. Joseph, C. & Lashmi, S.S. 2010, ‘Social Intelligence, A Key To Success’, IUP Journal of Soft Skills, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 15-21.
6. Smith, J.L. 2013, ‘Effective Goal Setting’, Quality, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 20.