What best defines perception?

Perception is fundamentally about how individuals interpret and understand the information they encounter. It involves processing sensory inputs and sometimes involves decoding signals from our surroundings, which is what makes the choice that defines perception as "the process by which decoding occurs" the most accurate. This highlights the mental processes used to translate external stimuli into meaningful understanding.

The other choices do not accurately encapsulate the essence of perception. The idea of ineffective communication is too narrow and does not adequately capture the broader cognitive processes involved in perception. Quick decision-making, while related to decision-making processes, is not the same as perception, which encompasses a wider range of sensory processing and interpretation. Finally, making assumptions about others' experiences is more of a judgment based on perception rather than a definition of perception itself, as perception is primarily about how we interpret our own experiences and stimuli.