Chp 3: Perception and the Self

BOOK: pgs. 33-46

PDF: pgs. 43-56

Perception

A cognitive (selective) process through which we interpret our experiences and come to our own unique understandings.
The process by which we make sense of our world.
Process of establishing meaning
Three stages:
- Selection
- Organization
- Interpretation

Selection

5 senses allow us to experience the world (sight, hear, smell, taste, touch)
We “choose” certain stimuli over others
Reasons for choices
- Unusual stimuli (professor at the gym)
- Mundane but repeated (same bird in the yard)
- Intense stimuli (loud noise)

Organization

Once we are stimulated, need to organize
Put things into schemas, or create new ones
For example,
- Hear someone talking (stimuli/section)
- Is it familiar or unfamiliar?
- Pleasant or annoying?

Interpretation

Finally provide meaning to the stimuli
Do I want to know more?
How do I feel about what they are saying?
Do I like listening to them?
Interpretations are influenced by many factors
- Past experience
- Ideologies
- Gender perspective
- “Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” - Les Brown

Perceptions based on the appearance of self and others, stereotyping

What Mirror Meditation Can Teach You by Tara Well (2019)
Why You Think You’re Ugly by Melissa Butler (2018) - Tedx Detroit

Perception and Attributions

External attributions
- Assume others’ behaviors are due to situational variables
  - He’s late because of traffic
  - She did poorly on the exam because it was tricky.
  - Shelly thinks that everything that happens to her is because of factors beyond her control.
Internal attributions
- Assume others’ behaviors are due to interpersonal variables
  - He’s late because he doesn’t care
  - She did poorly on the quiz because she doesn’t try.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Understanding situational factors when making attributions about behaviors of ourselves and others and overestimating interpersonal factors
Overestimating internal variables, and
Underestimating external variables
If your friend doesn’t call…
- She is ignoring me and doesn’t care if I get upset
- VERSUS, her phone ran out of charge.

“We judge others by their actions, and ourselves by our intentions.” - Stephen Covey

Influences on Perception

Physiological states and traits
- Physiological state: the temporary condition of the body
  - Affect our ability to interact successfully with people because they change our perceptions of the actions and statements of others, as well as the environments in which we find ourselves
- Physiological traits: permanent enduring physical conditions that impact us throughout our lives
  - Rely on our senses and manifest in a variety of different ways
Culture(s), social media
- Culture and social media play a significant role in how we perceive things, more so than what we recognize
Psychological influences
- Stereotyping allows us to function when we initially meet someone. The problem is that we hold tight to these rigid expectations and act as if they’re true.
- We must adjust our assumptions when we encounter someone whose a part of the group for which we have a stereotype but who doesn’t conform to all parts of the stereotype.
- Stereotyping can lead us to perceive what we expect but also to notice things we don’t necessarily expect.
Primary effect (first impressions are lasting)
- Psychologist Solomon Asch found that when people are evaluated favorably at first, they’re more likely to be seen in a good light going forward, with the impact of later negative information about that person diminishing. On the other hand, if someone sets a negative first impression, positive information that is shared later is likely to be weighed less heavily or discounted altogether.
Recency effect (most recent impression)
- Important when we consider how we leave interactions
- Consider how you would end a job interview, for example.
- A firm handshake, leaving a business card or resume, and following up with a quick thank you note are all ways to leave a lasting recent impression on your prospective employer.
Positivity bias - when someone sees the world through rose-colored glasses
Negativity bias - when we focus our efforts on picking out negative information or qualities in a person or situation
Egocentrism
- When we’re completely focused on ourselves
- We tend to believe the people around us do, see, and experience things in the same manner we do.
- We tend to see things happening as directly related to ourselves, thus we see people acting in particular ways toward us because we think they either really like us, or perhaps they are out to get us.

Perception and the Self

Perception of self affects communication
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - living up to predictions we or others place on ourselves.
Think of the shows/films: Bridgerton, Precious, Trading Spaces, My Fair Lady)
Communication affects the sense of self
Self-concepts - the images of who we are
- NOT TRUE: they only determined by ourselves
Self-esteem
- Shaped by others
- Multifaceted
- Subjective
- Endure and change
Cognition: Self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy
Behavior: Self-presentation, self-disclosure
Feedback from others
Assessment: self-actualization, self-adequacy, self-denigration

Johari Window of Self-disclosure assignment

The open self is what you and others do not know about you. FALSE
The part of the self that only YOU know is the hidden self.
The blind self includes things that we don’t know about ourselves that others do.
The unknown self involves parts of ourselves that neither we know nor others know about.

Facework - What’s your Instagram profile?

Behaviors that (re)create positive perceptions
Fellowship face - the desire to have others like us and respect us
- Maria hopes her friends think she is a nice person.
Competence face
- Efforts to promote our expertise to others, and it manifests in professional settings or places where you want people to believe you are knowledgeable on a topic.
- When we want people---whether they’re friends, family, or colleagues--to respect us for what we do and know.
Autonomy face - when we seek to avoid others making decisions and doing things for us by being seen as capable
Face threats - behaviors that threaten identity
Image management - the process of managing many selves across contexts and relationships

Self-monitoring

Low self-monitors - do not think before speaking
High self-monitors - high awareness of how others might perceive us and our messages
Competent communicators balance spontaneity with cognizance

Improving Our Perceptions (of ourselves and others)

Verify your perceptions.
Be thoughtful when seeking explanations.
Look beyond first impressions.
Recognize your biases. (Be willing to review, revise, and update your perceptions).
Explore your own self-image and your relationships to others.
Take more time to process info, reduce uncertainty and delay response. Don’t jump to conclusions.
Don’t prevent yourself from adapting to new changes, circumstances and conclusions.
Commit to self-growth, which is a process.
“Do not be conformed by this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” - Romans 12:2A

Key Terms

Perception - the process of giving meaning to the things we notice in the world around us
Selection - the act of choosing to attend to, consciously or subconsciously, specific stimuli in the environment
Organization - the categorization of stimuli we select to pay attention to
Schemas - mental frameworks for organizing information about experiences
Expectancy violations theory - theory that we hold expectancies for what is appropriate and/or typical for a type of person
Valence of the violation - the process of evaluation that determines how we will respond to the violation
Communicator reward value - how positive or negative we feel about a person who commits a violation
Situational attribution - the assumption that another person is doing something because of factors in the environment or the situation they are in
Interpersonal attribution - the assumption that another person is doing something because of her or his character or disposition
Fundamental attribution error - the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors when evaluating someone else’s behavior
Physiological state - the temporary condition of the body
Physiological traits - permanent enduring physical conditions that impact us throughout our lives
Larks - 10% of the population who function best early in the day
Owls - 20% of the population who function best at later times of the day
Hummingbirds - 70% of the population who function well throughout the day
Stereotyping - generalizations about groups of people that are applied to individuals we believe are members of that group
Primacy effect - people are prone to emphasizing the first impression of something over any subsequent impressions when forming their perception of an event or person
Recency effect - people are prone to using their most recent experience with someone as their overriding impression of the person
Positivity bias - the tendency to highlight and overemphasize positive information and characteristics when creating an impression
Negativity bias - the tendency to focus our efforts on picking out negative information or qualities in a person or situation
Egocentric - people who are completely focused on themselves and ignorant of the needs of others
Self-concept - the image we have of who we believe we are
Johari Window - a four-quadrant model describing the different aspects of our self-concept based on what we and others know about ourselves
Facework - the behaviors we exhibit to create and maintain a positive perception of ourselves
Fellowship face - an effort to fulfill the need to have others like and respect us
Competence face - the effort to promote our expertise on subjects to others so they respect us
Autonomy face - the perception that we can do things on our own and our desire to avoid others making decisions for us
Face threats - things that threaten to damage the image we work to present to others
Image management - the process of coordinating the presentation of our self-concept with various groups in different situations