OBM 210

Chapter Topics

  • The Self in Interpersonal Communication

  • Perception in Interpersonal Communication

  • Impression Formation

  • Impression Management: Goals and Strategies

Learning Objectives

  1. Define self-concept, self-awareness, and self-esteem, and identify suggestions for increasing awareness and esteem.

  2. Explain the five stages of perception and their influence on message reception.

  3. Define major impression formation processes and ways to increase perception accuracy.

  4. Explain impression management strategies for:

    • Being liked

    • Being believed

    • Excusing failures

    • Securing help

    • Hiding faults

    • Being followed

    • Confirming self-image

Perception of the Self and Others

  • Accurate perception is complex; understanding basic strategies aids in improving self and others' perceptions.

The Self in Interpersonal Communication

3.1 Fundamental Aspects

  • Self-Concept: The way you see yourself, influenced by:

    • Others’ images of you

    • Social comparisons

    • Cultural teachings

    • Personal evaluations of your thoughts and behaviors

    • Development process includes:

      1. Looking-Glass Self: Evaluation of self based on how others perceive you (Cooley, 1922).

      2. Social Comparisons: Assessing your abilities against others (Festinger, 1954).

  • Self-Awareness: The knowledge of your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, feelings, and personality tendencies. Enhanced by the Johari Window model:

    • Open Self: Known to self and others.

    • Blind Self: Known to others but not to self.

    • Hidden Self: Known to self but not to others.

    • Unknown Self: Known to neither.

  • Self-Esteem: The intrinsic value you place on yourself. Increased through:

    • Attacking self-destructive beliefs

    • Seeking affirmations

    • Surrounding yourself with nourishing individuals

    • Working towards successful projects

Perception in Interpersonal Communication

3.2 Stages of Perception

  • Perception progresses through five stages:

    1. Stimulation: Sensing external stimuli.

    2. Organization: Structuring stimuli through rules, schemata, and scripts.

    3. Interpretation–Evaluation: Giving meaning based on personal experience, desires, and beliefs.

    4. Memory: Storing interpreted stimuli.

    5. Recall: Accessing stored memory selectively.

Impression Formation

3.3 Processes and Accuracy

  • Key processes effecting impression formation include:

    • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Predictions become true based on behavior.

    • Personality Theory: Implicit associations between characteristics.

    • Perceptual Accentuation: Viewing things based on needs and expectations.

    • Primacy–Recency Effect: Impressions based on first or last information received.

    • Consistency: Expectation that traits align with each other.

    • Attribution of Control: Judging actions based on perceived control (self-serving bias, overattribution, fundamental attribution error).

  • Strategies to improve accuracy:

    • Analyze impressions logically

    • Check perceptions

    • Reduce uncertainty by gathering additional info

    • Recognize cultural sensitivities

Impression Management: Goals and Strategies

3.4 Management Strategies

  • Strategies for different goals include:

    • To Be Liked: Use affinity-seeking and politeness strategies.

    • To be Believed: Employ credibility strategies (competence, character, charisma).

    • To Excuse Failure: Utilize self-handicapping strategies.

    • To Secure Help: Implement self-deprecating strategies.

    • To Hide Faults: Practice self-monitoring strategies.

    • To Be Followed: Leverage influencing strategies.

    • To Confirm Self-Image: Engage in image-confirming strategies.

  • Ethical considerations in using impression management strategies to prevent manipulation or deceit.

Summary of Key Concepts

  • Self-concept and its sources: others' perceptions, role comparisons, cultural influences, and self-evaluation.

  • Self-awareness and self-esteem enhancement techniques.

  • Five stages of perception affect information processing in social interactions.

  • Strategies for accurate impression formation and successful management of interpersonal communication.