Social cognition: Personal perception

Social cognition

How we interpret, analyse, remember and use information to make judgements about others in difference social situations

Person perception

The different mental processes used to understand and form impressions of other people

Directly

Provided from the person we are judging

Indirectly

Through hearing about the person we are judging from another person or souce

Example of a direct conclusion

Through observing the person or interacting with them

Example of a indirect conclusion

Through a friend or reading about someone online

The halo effect

A cognitive bias in which the impression we form about one quality of a person influences our beliefs and expectations about the person in other qualities

Non-verbal communication

Our impressions of people are influenced by the information conveyed through non-verbal communication

Body language

An expression of behaviour that enables us to make often quick and accurate judgement about others

Eye contact - cultural differences

People from western cultural tend to seek eye contact when they speak to someone, whereas in some asian cultures, making direct eye contact may be considered rude and confrontational.

Facial expressions

Used to communicate emotions regardless of their cultural background