•Physical constructs emphasize people's appearance, causing us to notice objective characteristics such as height, age, ethnicity, and body shape, as well as subjective characteristics such as physical attractiveness.
•Role constructs emphasize people's social or professional position, so we notice that a person is a teacher, an accountant, a father, and so on.10
•Interaction constructs emphasize people's behavior, so we notice that a person is outgoing, aggressive, shy, or considerate.
•Psychological constructs emphasize people's thoughts and feelings, causing us to notice that a person is angry, self-assured, insecure, or carefree.
Many characteristics of cultures can influence our perceptions and interpretations of other people's behaviors.16 For instance, people from individualistic cultures frequently engage in more direct, overt forms of conflict communication than people from collectivistic cultures. In a conflict, then, an individualist might perceive a collectivist's communication behaviors as conveying weakness, passivity, or a lack of interest. Likewise, the collectivist may perceive the individualist's communication patterns as overly aggressive or self-centered. Those perceptions can arise even though each person is enacting his or her culturally normative communication behaviors.
Co-cultural differences can also influence perceptions of communication. Teenagers might perceive their parents' advice as outdated or irrelevant, for instance, whereas parents may perceive their teenagers' indifference to their advice as naïve.17 Liberals and conservatives may each perceive the others' communication messages as rooted in ignorance.18
Stereotypes Influence Perceptions
A stereotype is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive other people and their communication behavior.19
Stereotyping is a three-part process:
•First, we identify a group to which we believe another person belongs ("you are a man")
•Second, we recall a generalization others often make about the people in that group ("men don't know how to express their emotions").
•Finally, we apply that generalization to the person ("therefore, you must not know how to express your emotions").
is an awareness of how you look and sound and how your behavior is affecting those around you.
imagine that you've fixed up your friends Caleb and Keith to go on a blind date. As a high self-monitor, Caleb pays a great deal of attention to his clothes and grooming to make sure he looks and smells good. In contrast, as a low self-monitor, Keith doesn't spend much time thinking about those things. During their date, Caleb is aware of what he's saying, so he comes across as nice, easygoing, and funny. Keith, however, says whatever is on his mind, without considering what Caleb might think. Caleb notices if his behavior seems to make Keith uncomfortable, and he adjusts his actions accordingly. In contrast, Keith doesn't tune in to what he's doing and how he's affecting Caleb.