CH 04: Social Perception - How We Come to Understand Other People

What is nonverbal communication?

Communication that occurs without words, intentionally or unintentionally, through facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position, movement, touch, and eye gaze.

What are the main functions of nonverbal cues?

They help people express emotions, attitudes, and personality.

Give an example of how nonverbal cues express emotions.

Anger is shown by narrowing the eyes, lowering eyebrows, staring intently, and pressing lips into a thin line.

How do nonverbal cues communicate attitudes?

Smiles and extended eye contact can signal “I like you.”

How can nonverbal cues reveal personality traits?

Extraverts often use broad gestures and frequent changes in voice pitch/inflection.

What is facial mimicry and its connection to empathy?

People automatically mimic others’ facial expressions (e.g., happiness, sadness, disgust), which may help generate empathy.

Which factors influence how much we mimic others’ expressions?

Gender, the other person’s gender, liking for the person, and situational context.

Which gender is especially likely to mimic smiles?

Women.

What are mirror neurons and why are they important?

Brain cells that fire when we perform an action or see someone else perform it. They help us connect emotionally by simulating others’ experiences.

What did Wicker et al. (2003) discover about disgust and mirror neurons?

Feeling disgust from a smell and seeing someone else look disgusted activated the same brain region.

How can nonverbal cues substitute for words?

Gestures like the “okay” sign or drawing a finger across the throat communicate clear messages without speech.

Why are facial expressions called the “crown jewel” of nonverbal communication?

Because of their high communicativeness and long history of research (dating back to Darwin).

What did Darwin believe about facial expressions?

They are universal, species-specific, and evolutionary remnants of useful physiological reactions (e.g., wrinkling nose at bad smells).

According to Ekman & Friesen, what are the six universal emotions?

Anger, happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, and sadness.

How did Ekman and Friesen test universality of facial expressions?

They showed photos of facial expressions to the South Fore people of New Guinea and found they could accurately match them to stories.

What additional emotions have researchers proposed as universal?

Contempt, pride, embarrassment, anxiety, shame, guilt, and even pain.

How many distinct facial expressions of emotion were identified by Cordaro et al. (2018)?

22.

What challenge exists in claiming universality of facial expressions?

Recognition accuracy varies across cultures and depends on study methods (naming vs. multiple choice, context, etc.).

What did Russell & Fehr (1987) find about context and neutral faces?

Neutral faces were judged differently depending on what other expressions participants saw first (contrast effects).

How does cultural thinking style affect emotion perception?

Westerners (analytic thinkers) focus on the central figure, while East Asians (holistic thinkers) factor in group context and surroundings.

What are affect blends?

When different parts of the face display different emotions simultaneously (e.g., anger in eyes + disgust in mouth).

What are display rules?

Cultural norms that dictate which emotional expressions are appropriate to show.

How do display rules differ between collectivist and individualist cultures?

Collectivist cultures discourage strong emotions (especially negative ones), while individualist cultures encourage open expression.

How do gender norms affect emotional display?

Men are often expected to display “powerful” emotions (anger, contempt, disgust), women “powerless” emotions (fear, sadness).

What role does eye contact play in nonverbal communication?

In North America, direct gaze signals attentiveness and attractiveness, but in other cultures it can be seen as invasive or disrespectful.

How does personal space differ across cultures?

North Americans prefer ~0.5 metres of personal space, while in some cultures, close contact is normal.

What are emblems in nonverbal communication?

Gestures with clear, culturally specific meanings (e.g., “okay” sign, middle finger).

Why are emblems not universal?

Each culture develops its own emblematic gestures; some may overlap, others differ.

Overall, what can nonverbal communication reveal?

It provides many cues about emotions, attitudes, and cultural norms, shaping our impressions of others beyond words.

How quickly can humans form first impressions based on facial appearance?

In less than 100 milliseconds (1/10 of a second).

What role does nonverbal communication play in first impressions?

It is a major factor; subtle nonverbal cues shape immediate judgments of others.

Can quick impressions sometimes be accurate? Give an example.

Yes. People judged sexual orientation from facial photos at above-chance accuracy (Rule et al., 2008/2009).

Besides sexual orientation, what other traits can people sometimes detect from quick facial impressions?

Social class (Bjornsdottir & Rule, 2017).

Why do first impressions persist over time?

Because we use schemas to “fill in the blanks,” interpreting later information through the lens of our initial impressions.

At what age do children begin inferring traits from facial appearance?

As early as 3 years old (Cogsdill et al., 2014).

What is the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype?

The belief that physically attractive people also possess other positive traits, such as kindness and sincerity, and will be more successful.

What did Dion & Dion (1987) find when showing photos of attractive vs. unattractive individuals at the Ontario Science Centre?

Attractive people were rated as kinder, more considerate, and predicted to have more life success.

What impression do bearded men create compared to clean-shaven men?

They are seen as more trustworthy (Bakmazian, 2014).

According to Frimer & Sinclair (2016), how are moral heroes often depicted in portraits, and what effect does this have?

Looking upward and to the viewer’s right, which increases ratings of warmth, pride, future orientation, and perceived moral heroism.

What is an implicit personality theory?

A schema about which traits go together; we infer unknown traits from a few known ones.

What consistent findings were reported by Zeigler-Hill & colleagues about low self-esteem?

People described with low self-esteem are attributed fewer positive personality traits and expected to have less success.

What stereotype is often associated with shyness?

Shy people are assumed to be less intelligent, though this is not true (Paulhus & Morgan, 1997).

How can implicit personality theories have harmful effects?

They can unfairly bias judgments, reduce liking, lower expected success, and even put people at risk in sexual health decisions.

How does culture influence implicit personality theories?

Different cultures develop distinct schemas about which traits go together, shaping how people form impressions.

How do Western vs. Chinese cultures differ in implicit personality schemas?

Western cultures have an “artistic personality type” (creative, intense, temperamental), while China has the “shi gú” type (worldly, family-oriented, socially skilled, reserved).

Do people consciously apply implicit personality theories and first impression cues?

No, decoding nonverbal behaviors and applying implicit theories often happens automatically and outside of awareness.

What is the main question causal attribution tries to answer?

The “why” question—why people behave the way they do.

Why are nonverbal cues and first impressions not always reliable indicators of someone’s true thoughts or feelings?

Because they can be ambiguous; people may exaggerate, be polite, or even lie.

What is attribution theory?

The study of how we infer the causes of our own and other people’s behaviour.

Who is considered the father of attribution theory?

Fritz Heider.

What was Heider’s concept of “naive psychology”?

The idea that people act like amateur scientists, piecing together information to form reasonable explanations for behaviour.

What are the two main types of attributions according to Heider?

Internal (dispositional) and external (situational).

Give an example of an internal attribution.

Assuming a father yells at his daughter because of poor parenting skills or a bad temper.

Give an example of an external attribution.

Assuming the father yells because his daughter stepped into the street without looking.

How can the type of attribution we make affect our impression of a person?

• Internal attribution → negative impression (blame personality).

• External attribution → neutral impression (blame situation).

How do happy spouses usually explain their partner’s positive and negative behaviours?

Positive = internal causes (partner is generous/kind).
Negative = external causes (stress, bad day).

How do distressed spouses usually explain their partner’s behaviours?

Positive = external causes (trying to impress others).
Negative = internal causes (self-centred, mean).

What can this negative attributional style do to relationships?

It worsens conflict and harms relationship health.

What was Harold Kelley’s main contribution to attribution theory?

The covariation model—people examine multiple instances of behaviour across time, place, and context to determine its cause.

What does “covariation” mean in Kelley’s theory?

Observing how behaviour changes across different times, places, and people.

What are the three types of information in the covariation model?

Consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency.

What is consensus information?

Whether other people behave the same way toward the same stimulus.

What is distinctiveness information?

Whether the actor behaves the same way toward different stimuli (i.e., do they act this way with everyone, or just one person?).

What is consistency information?

Whether the actor behaves the same way toward the same stimulus over time.

When are people most likely to make an internal attribution?

Low consensus, low distinctiveness, high consistency (e.g., boss yells at many employees, only he yells at Hannah, and he always yells at Hannah).

When are people most likely to make an external attribution?

High consensus, high distinctiveness, high consistency (e.g., everyone yells at Hannah, boss never yells at anyone else, and he always yells at Hannah).

What happens when consistency is low?

People assume something unusual is happening in the situation (special external attribution).

Do people actually use Kelley’s model rationally?

Sometimes, but research shows they rely more on distinctiveness and consistency than on consensus, and they often work with incomplete information.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

The tendency to overestimate internal causes of behaviour and underestimate situational influences.

What is another name for the FAE?

The correspondence bias.

Why is the FAE considered “fundamental”?

Because it is pervasive, deeply ingrained, and happens even when situational influences are obvious.

Classic example of FAE (Jones & Harris, 1967)?

Students assumed authors believed what they wrote about Fidel Castro, even when told the author had no choice in their essay stance.

How does FAE affect legal outcomes?

Judges and juries make harsher sentences when they attribute crimes to internal causes (violent personality) rather than external ones (stress, trauma).

What is “blaming the victim”?

Attributing victims’ hardships to their dispositions rather than to situational factors.

Examples of blaming the victim?

• HIV/AIDS patients blamed if illness linked to controllable behaviour.

• Lung cancer patients blamed more if they continued smoking.

• Mothers of disabled children blamed if prenatal testing was available.

• Overweight individuals blamed if seen as responsible for weight.

• Lonely students blamed if loneliness seen as controllable.

Why do we fall into the FAE?

Because of perceptual salience—we focus on people (who are visible) rather than the situation (which is often hidden).

What did Taylor & Fiske’s (1975) study show?

Observers thought the person they could see better had more influence in a conversation, showing that visual salience drives attributions.

How does perceptual salience explain FAE?

We focus on people, not invisible situational forces, so we overattribute behaviour to personal dispositions.

What are self-serving attributions?

The tendency to take credit for successes (internal attributions) but blame failures on external factors beyond one’s control.

Example: How would Aman explain an A vs. a poor grade on his chemistry exam?

A = “I’m smart/good at chemistry” (internal). Poor grade = “The test was unfair/professor’s fault” (external).

What did Miller & Ross (1975) and later studies show about self-serving attributions?

People consistently make internal attributions for success and external attributions for failure.

How do athletes typically use self-serving attributions?

Wins → credit to their own ability/effort (internal); Losses → blame external factors (weather, refs, injuries, etc.).

Are experienced athletes as likely to use self-serving attributions?

No — they are less likely. They recognize losses can be their fault and wins not always due to them (Roesch & Amirkhan, 1997).

What bias occurs in group projects (Ross & Sicoly, 1979)?

People recall their own contributions more than others’, often overestimating their share.

What was found in the study of married couples’ division of responsibilities? (Ross & Sicoly, 1979)

Each spouse overestimated their contributions; combined totals often exceeded 100%.

Which cultures show the strongest self-serving bias? (Mezulis et al., 2004)

Western countries (U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand), also present in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Russia.

Which cultures show low or absent self-serving bias?

Asian cultures (Japan, India, Pacific Islands) — emphasizing modesty and group harmony.

How do Chinese students typically explain success vs. Western students?

Attribute success to teachers, parents, or situational factors, not themselves — unlike Western students who credit talent/intelligence.

How do collectivist cultures (e.g., China) explain failure compared to individualist cultures?

Collectivist → internal causes (“my fault”); Individualist → external causes (“situation’s fault”).

What are self-critical attributions and why are they common in some Asian cultures?

Opposite of self-serving; blaming oneself for failures. They foster group sympathy and strengthen interdependence (Kitayama et al., 1997).

What are defensive attributions?

Explanations that protect self-esteem by shielding us from feelings of vulnerability or mortality (e.g., blaming victims).

What is the belief in a just world? (Lerner, 1980)

The assumption that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get — bad things happen only to bad or careless people.

How do people maintain just-world beliefs when an innocent person suffers? (Hafer, 2000a)

They derogate the victim’s character or distance themselves, convincing themselves the victim “deserved it.”

What alternative way do people preserve just-world beliefs? (Anderson, Kay & Fitzsimons, 2010)

Believing good things will balance out later (e.g., unfair referee calls will “even out” over a game/season).

How can belief in randomness increase religious belief? (Kay, Moscovitch & Laurin, 2010)

When primed with “random/chance,” participants reported higher belief in God/supernatural control.

What function do just-world beliefs serve? (Hafer, 2000b)

Motivate long-term investment — believing effort will pay off makes people plan for the future.

What did Callan et al. (2010) show about linking unrelated events?

People under cognitive load were more likely to link unrelated immoral acts (affair) to accidents (car crash) to preserve just-world beliefs.

How did some groups interpret the 2008 Greyhound bus murder of Tim McLean?

A religious group claimed it was God’s punishment for Canada’s liberal stance — an extreme case of just-world reasoning.

How does just-world belief influence victim blaming in sexual assault cases?

People often blame victims (“she was flirtatious,” “invited him in”), especially those high in just-world belief.

What did research in Canada show about rape myths?

Believing rape myths (e.g., “women lie about rape”) correlates with victim blaming (Morry & Winkler, 2001; Clarke & Lawson, 2009).