COM 203: Ch.4 Study Guide

Perception Process

• Our perception of the world around us if affected by who we are

• It is absolutely impossible to be aware of everything, no matter how attentive we might be 

• It is vital to organize our perceptions and we do so by using the 4 steps of the perception process:

What are the 4 steps of the perception process

• selection, organization, interpretation, and negotiation

Selection

• Because we are exposed to more input than we can possible manage, the first step in perception is the selection of which impressions we will attend to 

• Selection isn’t just a matter of attending to some stimuli: it also involves ignoring other cues 

• Ex: if you decide that someone is a terrific person, you may overlook his or her flaws

Factors that cause us to notice more things than others

• Stimuli that are intense often attract our attention (things that are louder, larger, or brighter stand out) 

• Repetitious stimuli also attract attention

• Attention is also frequently related to contrast or change in stimulation- unchanging people or things become less noticeable. This explains why we take wonderful people for granted when we interact with them frequently 

• Motives also determine what information we select from our environment (Ex: hungry- notice food, smells, billboards) 

Organization

• This is when our mind arranges information in some meaningful way

• Vase/twin example shows that we make sense of stimuli by noticing some data that stand out as a figure against a less striking ground 

• Communication ex: Think about how certain speech stands out from a babble of voices

Organizing Impressions

• We organize impressions by using a number of schemes called perceptual schema 

• The perceptual schemas we use shape the way we think about and communicate with others 

• Ex: if you classified a professor as friendly, you handle questions or problems better than if you classified them as mean

5 Different Schemes that we use to classify people

• Appearance: how masculine and feminine they are, short and tall, etc. 

• Social roles: student, attorney, spouse, and so on

• Interaction style: friendly, helpful, sarcastic, etc. 

• Psychological traits: curious, nervous, and insecure 

• Membership: classifying them according to the group to which they belong: political affiliation, immigration status, religious group, etc. 

Stereotyping

• After we’ve chosen an organizing scheme to classify people, we use that scheme to make generalizations and predictions about members of the group who fit the categories we use 

• When generalizations lose touch with reality, they lead to stereotyping- an exaggerated generalization associated with a categorizing system 

• While stereotypes may be based on a kernel of truth, they go beyond the facts and make claims that usually have no valid basis 

3 Characteristics of Stereotyping

1. You often categorize people on the basis of an easily recognized characteristic 

• Age is relatively simple to identify so if you see someone who appears to be in their eighties, you might quickly categorize them as “elderly”  

2. You ascribed a set of characteristics to most or all of a category. 

• Based on your limited experience with older relatives, you assume that all other people have trouble hearing and move slowly 

3. You apply the set of characteristics to any member of the group 

• When you run into an older person in the story you talk lourdes and more exaggerated 

Effects of Believing Stereotypes

• Once we buy into stereotypes, we often seek out isolated behaviors that support our inaccurate beliefs

• Stereotypes can plague interracial communication  Ex: Many blacks characterize white people as “demanding” and "manipulative" 

• They can also hamper professional relationships Ex: Gay men might not feel comfortable asking doctors about their sexual health because they assume the doctor has already made comments about them 

Important things to consider about stereotyping

• Stereotyping doesn’t always arise from bad intentions 

• In some cases, generalizations can grow from good intentions or even from trying to understand but not gathering enough information 

• One way to avoid the kinds of communication problems from stereotyping is giving yourself a chance to treat them as individuals instead of assuming they possess the same characteristics as every other member of the group to which you assign them 

• Try moving characteristics to the “background” and others to the “foreground” 

• Also note that not all aspects of a person’s identity can be decategorized and ignored 

Punctuation

• A term used to describe the determination of causes and effects in a series of interactions

• Ex: A couple began fighting and try to settle who started it. The answer depends on how the sentence is punctuated

• Differing punctuations can lead to a variety of communication problems

Interpretation

• After selecting and organizing our perceptions, we interpret/ attach meaning to the information

• Interpretation plays a role in virtually every interpersonal act

Factors that cause us to interpret an event in one way or another

• Degree of involvement with the other person- How close you are to that person

• Personal experience- What meanings have similar events held?

• Assumptions about human behavior- People generally…

• Attitudes- The attitudes we hold shape the way we make sense of others’ behavior

• Expectations- Our expectations affect how we perceive and behave around others

• Knowledge- Prior knowledge helps. Ex: if you have a friend who you know is sarcastic, them speaking sarcastic isn’t going to bother you

• Self-concept- The way you feel about yourself really makes a difference in how you see the world

• Relational satisfaction- The behavior that seems positive when you are happy with a partner might seem completely different when you are discontent with that person

Describe what type of process perception is

• It is an ongoing process and the stages can occur in differing sequences

• It is more than a solitary activity

Negotiation

• Negotiation is the process that occurs when people influence one another’s perceptions and try to achieve a shared perspective

• You can even view it as an exchange of stories or narratives

• Narratives differ, but conflict management negotiates the different perceptions of the same event

Shared Narratives

• They provide the best chance for smooth communication

• They do not have to be accurate to be powerful

Influences on Perception

• Access to Information

• Psysiological Influences

Access to Information

• We can only make sense of what we know

• When information becomes available, your perceptions of others change

• Oftentimes, we gain access to information about others when their roles overlap Ex: Seeing someone at work at a party as well

• Social media can provide new information that can affect perceptions

Physiological Influences

• We often perceive the world in unique ways because of physiological factors

• Physiological Factors Include…

• The Senses

• Health and Fatigue- sickness, stress, being overtired

• Hunger- A lack of nutrition is associated with how we interact with others

• Biological Cycles- “morning or night person”; hormonal cycles

• Psychological Challenges- some differences are rooted in neurology

Cultural Differences Impact Perception

• Every culture has their own worldview/ way of looking at the world

• Even beliefs about the very value of talk differ from one culture to another

• Ex: Western view of talk verses Asian view of talk

• Not recognizing differences can often lead to snap judgements and lead us to discriminate against others

Implicit bias

• When we stereotype people negatively based on their identities without conscious knowledge

• Ex: Treating rich vs poor different without even recognizing

Social Roles

• From the time we are born, we are indirectly taught a set of roles that we are expected to fulfill

• Roles help enable society to function smoothly and allow people to know what is expected of you

• However, having roles defined in advance can lead to wide gaps in understanding

Sex vs Gender

• Sex refers to the biological characteristics of a male or female and is typically assigned at birth

• Gender refers to the socially constructed binary dimensions of masculine and feminine behavior

Gender Roles

• Our gender identities cause us to perceive the world differently

• Gender roles are socially approved ways that people are expected to behave, typically in response to the sex they were assigned at birth

4 Psychological Sex Types

• Masculine

• Feminine

• Androgynous (combining masculine and feminine traits)

• Undifferentiated (neither masculine or feminine traits)

Occupational Roles

• The kind of work we do often influences our view of the world

• Even within the same occupational setting, the different roles that participants have can affect their perceptions

Relational Roles

• Roles include: daughter, roommate, friend, etc.

• Roles do not just define who you are, but they also affect your perception

Attribution

• Attribution is the process of explaining people’s behavior

• We attribute meaning both to our own actions and to the actions of others, but we often use different yardsticks

Common Tendencies in Perception

• We judge ourselves more charitably than we judge others

• We cling to first impressions

• We assume that others are similar to us

• We are influenced by our expectations

• We are influenced by the Obvious

We judge ourselves more charitably than we judge others

• This tendency is referred to as the self-serving bias

• When others suffer we blame the problem on their personal qualities

• When we suffer, we often blame the problem on other forces outside of ourself

We Cling to First Impressions

• We often label people according to the first impression we had of them

• This can be dangerous if the labels we attach are inaccurate

• The Halo effect is a person’s tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic Ex: physical attractiveness

• The power of first impressions is important in personal relationships

• Advice: Keep an open mind and be able to change your opinion

We assume that others are similar to us

• It is important to realize that others do not always think or feel the way that we do

• Oftentimes, assuming that similarities exist can lead to problems

We are influenced by our expectations

• Expectations don’t always lead to more positive appraisals- oftentimes we raise our expectations so high that we are disappointed with the events that occur

• Ex: We take a class and are told that the instructor is terrific. That impacts how we are going to walk into the class and yet the teacher is aweful

We are influenced by the obvious

• We often cling to what is most noticeable in situations

• Oftentimes, what is most obvious isn’t the only factor

Perception Checking

• Serious problems can arise when people treat interpretations as if they were matters of fact

• Even if your perception is correct, a dogmatic, mind reading statement can generate defensiveness Ex: What are you mad at me? (who said I was mad?)

• Perception checking is a tool to hep you understand others accurately instead of assuming that your first interpretation is correct

• The goal is mutual understanding

• Minimizing defensiveness seeks to save other’s face

Elements of Perception Checking

1. A description of the behavior you noticed

2. At least two possible interpretations of the behavior

3. A request for clarification about how to interpret the behavior

Perception Checking Considerations

• Completeness- Sometimes not all the parts are necessary in order to be effective. Even a simple question like “what’s going on” will do the job. It is necessary when the risk of sounding judgmental is the highest

• Nonverbal Congruency- perception checks succeed only if your nonverbal behavior reflects the open mindedness of your words

• Cultural Rules- Perception checking has the best chance of working within low context cultures- ones in which members are direct as possible

• Face Saving- Perception checking often raises the issue without directly threatening or attacking the other person

Empathy

• The ability to re-create another person’s perspective and experience the world from another person’s point of view

• It is impossible to experience another person’s perspective completely, but we can gain a better idea of how the world appears to them

• Humans are hard wired to empathize with others- it exists in all people

• Culture also plays a role in our ability to understand the perspective of others (individualist vs collectivistic)

Three dimensions of empathy

1. Perspective Taking An attempt to take on the viewpoint of another person

2. Emotional dimension This helps us get closer to experiencing other’s feelings (joy, sadness, fear, etc.)

3. Concern for the welfare of the other person We go beyond thinking and feeling as others do and genuinely care about their well being

Sympathy vs Empathy

• In sympathy, You view the other person’s situation from your point of view whereas with empathy you view it from the other person’s perspective

• Empathy does not require to you agree with the other person

Cognitive Complexity and Communication

• Cognitive complexity is the ability to construct a variety of frameworks for viewing an issue

• This increases the chances of satisying communication in a variety of contexts

• There is a connection between cognitive complexity and empathy

Increasing your cognitive complexity: The Pillow method

• The pillow method was named by children because it has four sides and a middle

• Pt.1: I’m right, you’re wrong- we normally take this position

• Pt. 2: You’re right, I’m wrong- chance to find flaws in your position

• Pt. 3: both right, both wrong- Acknowledge the strengths and weakness of both

• Pt. 4: The issue isn’t important- It is not as important as we think it is

• Pt. 5: There’s truth in all perspectives- Understand that they all have merit