SPRING SEMESTER 2021
How We Perceive Others
● Perception: ○ The process of making meaning from what we experience in the world around us ● We notice 2 experiences: ○ Physical : fatigue & congestion & we equate that to being sick ○ Environmental : wind & rain & we equate that to a storm coming ● Also apply the process to people called interpersonal perception ○ This helps us make meaning from our own & others’ behaviors
Perception is a process
● We usually think our perceptions are objective, factual reflections of the world because we analyze so fast ● The perception that we form depends on which pieces of info we want to pay attention to, how we organize them in our mind, & how we interpret their meaning. ● There are 3 stages of perception: ○ Selection ○ Organization ○ Interpretation
Selection is the first stage● Sensory experiences of hearing, seeing, & smelling cam make you to form perceptions ○ However, it’s impossible to pay attention to all of them; we engage in selection
● Selection: ○ The process by which our mind & body help us isolate certain stimuli to pay attention to ○ There are 3 characteristics to make a stimulus more likely to be selected for attention: ■ Being unusual or unexpected ■ Repetition or frequency ■ Intensity ○ Reticular formation (part of the brain): ■ Serves in helping us focus on certain stimuli
Organization is the second stage● Organization: ○ The classification of info according to its similarities to & differences from other things we know about ● To classify a stimulus: ○ Our brains apply a perceptual schema to it ■ Which is a mental framework for organizing info into constructs (categories) ● Peter Andersen researched that we use 4 types of schema: ○ Physical constructs: ■ Emphasizes appearance ○ Role constructs: ■ Emphasizes social or professional position ○ Interaction constructs: ■ Emphasizes behavior ○ Psychological constructs: ■ Emphasizes thoughts & feelings
Interpretation is the final stage- Identify a group to which we think they belong
- Recall a generalization about that group
- Apply that generalization a) ex.) we know that someone is an accountant & we recall a generalization that they have no humor; we apply to them by saying or thinking “you must not have a sense of humor” ● Stereotyping can lead to inaccurate & offensive perceptions ○ However, they are not necessarily inaccurate
● Primacy effect: ○ A principle that says that first impressions are critical because they set the tone for all future interactions ○ First impressions of someone’s communication behaviors seem to stick in or minds more than the next ones ● Psychologist Solomon Asch ○ Found that when the description of someone beings with a positive adjective, the effects of the more negative ones that follow are diminished ○ His study showed that the first info we learn about someone tends to have a stronger effect ● Recency effect: ○ A principle that says that the most recent impression we have of a person’s communication is more powerful than our earlier impressions ■ The first & last impressions are more important than the ones in- between
● Perceptual set: ○ A predisposition to perceive only what we want or expect to perceive ■ ex.) our perceptual set regarding gender guides the way we perceive,
think, & interact with newborns ○ They can affect our communication behavior ■ ex.) if the newborn is female, we speak in a softer voice ○ Also influences how we make sense of people, circumstances, & events ■ ex.) religious people may talk about healings and miracles or answers to prayers, while non-religious people may equate it to medication
Communicating & Explaining Our Perceptions
We Explain Behavior Through Attributions
● Attribution: ○ An explanation of an observed behavior, the answer to the question “Why did this happen?” ○ Tend to vary along 3 dimensions: locus, stability, & controllability
Attributions vary in locus● Locus: ○ Describes the place where the cause of a behaviors is “located,” whether within or outside ourselves ○ Internal loci: ■ Meaning they’re caused by a particular characteristic of ourselves ○ External loci: ■ Meaning they are caused by something outside ourselves ○ ex.) Boss is late for work ■ Internal attribution that we might make about them is that they have lost track of time OR they’re making us wait on purpose ■ External attribution is the traffic is heavy OR an earlier meeting they were attending has run long
Attributions vary in stability● Stability: ○ The cause of a behavior that is stable or unstable
○ The tendency to attribute other people’s behaviors to internal rather than external causes ■ ex.) A doctor seeing you for only a couple of minutes; we equate that as internal attribution thinking that they are not caring ○ Our behaviors are often responses to external forces ● Good communicators recognize the tendency to form internal attributions for people’s behaviors, but they force themselves to consider external causes
How We Perceive Ourselves
Self-Concept Defined
● Self-concept: ○ Our own stable perceptions about who we are; also called our identity ○ Are multifaceted & partly subjective
Self-concept is multifaceted● Define ourselves in many different ways: ○ Our name ○ Physical or social categories ○ Use of our skills or interests ○ Our relationships to other people ○ Our evaluations of ourselves ● Your self-concept has several different parts, & each of your descriptions taps into one or more of those parts ○ The self is a collection of smaller selves ● Another way to think about self-concept is to distinguish between aspects of yourself that are known to others & aspects that are known only to you ● In 1995, psychologists Joseph Luft & Harry Ingham created the Johari window ○ Is a visual representation of the self as composed of 4 separate parts ■ Open area: is characteristics known by both to the self & others ■ Hidden area: are characteristics that you know but choose not to
reveal ■ Blind area: aspects of ourselves that others see in us, but we don’t ■ Unknown area: aspects of our self-concept that are not known either to us or to others ● Can construct a different Johari window that reflects your self-concept with each of person
Self-concept is partly subjective● Subjective: ○ Means that they are based on the impressions we have of ourselves rather than on objective facts ● It’s commonly difficult for people to evaluate themselves accurately or objectively ○ Sometimes our self-assessments are unreasonably positive ○ In contrast, sometimes our judgments of ourselves are unreasonably negative ■ Especially true for people with low self-esteem ● They tend to magnify the importance of their failures ● Underestimate their abilities, & ● When they get negative feedback, they are more likely to believe it accurately reflects their worth
Awareness of the Self-concept
Self-monitoring is being self-aware● Self-monitoring: ○ Is an awareness of how you look & sound; how your behavior is affecting those around you ○ Ranges from high to low ■ High: They pay attention to how others are reacting to their own behaviors; have the ability to adjust their communication as needed ■ Low: express whatever they are thinking or feeling w/o paying attention to the impression they’re creating
■ In this sense, image management is collaborative ○ This term was coined by psychologist Dan McAdam ● If others accept the image you portray, they will tend to behave in ways that encourage that image ● However, if others don’t accept that image of you; they may treat you as less credible or as untrustworthy ○ ex.) Racheal Dolezal
● In different platforms/formats & with different people we have a personality that another person or platform may not see. ○ Especially on the internet
Image management is complex● Often complicated & may generate competing goals for our interactions with others ○ ex.) Want an advance from you boss, but also want to appear as a responsible & mature employee ● Mrya Goldschmidt, communication research, found that when people ask for favors, they often create narratives to help them to maintain their image while still being persuasive
Communication & Face Needs
Face & face needs constitute our desired public image● Sociologist Erving Goffman coined the term face : ○ Our desired public image ● And the term facework : ○ The behaviors we use to project our desired public image to others ● Our face is made up 3 different face needs : ○ Important components of our desired public image ○ They are: ■ Fellowship face: The need to have others like & accept us
● This motivates us to make friends, join clubs & social groups, etc. ■ Autonomy face: Our need to avoid being imposed on by others ● This motivates us to be in control of our time & resources; to dislike having other people make decisions for us ■ Competence face: Our need to be respected-- to have others acknowledge our abilities & intelligence ● This drives us to seek careers & hobbies that we can excel in & to avoid embarrassing situations
We are confronted with face threats● Face-threatening act: ○ An act that hinders the fulfillment of one or more of our face needs ○ ex.) applying to an internship & not getting chosen ■ This could threaten your fellowship & competence face ● Face-threatening acts often lead people to behave in ways that help them restore their face ○ ex.) saying that you didn’t want the internship anyways. ■ This statement is a defense mechanism : ● A response that minimizes the effects of a face-threatening act