1. Perception: what you see is what you get
Chapter topics
The Perception Process
Influences on Perception
Common Tendencies in Perception
Perception Checking
Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication

2. The Perception Process
Four Steps of the Perception Process
Selection
Organization
Interpretation
Negotiation

3. The Perception Process
Selection
What attracts your attention?
Selecting which impressions we will attend to
Stimuli that are intense often attract our attention
We’re more likely to remember:
Extremely tall or short people
An obnoxious laugh
A person who speaks loudly

4. The Perception Process
Organization
Along with selecting information, we must arrange it in some meaningful way
What do you see?
Which image stands out?
Figure 3.1 Page 84

5. The Perception Process
Organization
“Vase-Face” has a two figure relationships
How many ways can you view the boxes?
Figure 3.3 Page 85

6. The Perception Process
Organization
We classify people based on their:
Appearance
Beautiful or Ugly, Young or Old
Social Role
Student, Attorney, Wife
Interaction Style
Friendly, Helpful, Aloof
Membership
Democrat, Immigrant, Christian

7. The Perception Process
Organization
Stereotyping
After the organizational scheme has been chosen, we use that scheme to make generalizations
These generalizations lead to stereotyping
Stereotypes may be based on a small amount of truth but beyond the facts at hand usually have no valid basis

8. The Perception Process
Organization
Stereotyping
Three Characteristics
You often categorize people on the basis of an easily recognized characteristic
You ascribe a set of characteristics to most or all members of a category
You apply the set of characteristics to any member of the group

9. The Perception Process
Organization
Punctuation: The determination of causes and effects in a series of interactions
Consider the punctuation of these interactions:
“I don’t like your friend because he never has anything to say.”
“He doesn’t talk to you because you act like you don’t like him.”
“I keep talking because you interrupt so much.”
“I interrupt so much because you don’t give me the chance to say what’s on my mind.”

10. The Perception Process
Interpretation
After we organize information we interpret it in a way that makes sense to us
Interpretation plays a role in nearly every interpersonal act
Consider these scenarios:
Is a friend’s kidding a sign of affection or irritation?
Should you take an invitation to “drop by any time” literally or not?

11. The Perception Process
Interpretation
Several factors influence our interpretation of an event:
Degree of involvement with the other person
Personal experience
Assumptions about human behavior
Attitudes
Expectations
Knowledge
Self-concept

12. The Perception Process
Negotiation
Sense-making occurs between people as they influence one another’s perception
Narratives
Interpersonal acts have more than one narrative
These narratives often differ
Ask two quarreling children what they are fighting about
Shared narratives provide the best chance for smooth communication

13. Influences on Perception
Physiological Influences
Each of us perceives the work in a unique way
The Senses
How we experience our senses changes the way we interact and shape our perception
Consider these everyday situations:
“Turn down the radio! It’s going to make me go deaf.”
“It’s not too loud. If I turn it down, it will be impossible to hear it.”

14. Influences on Perception
Physiological Influences
The Senses
Scents that please some people, repel others
Temperature is subjective as well

15. Influences on Perception
Physiological Influences
Age
Older people view the world differently because they have a greater scope of experiences
Health and Fatigue
How do you experience the world:
When you are tired?
When you are sick?
When you’re hungry?
When you feel less sociable?

16. Influences on Perception
Cultural Differences
Perception is also affected by your culture
Every culture has its own world view
The range of cultural differences is wide
In Middle Eastern countries:
Personal scents play an important role in communication
In Asian cultures
Talk is perceived differently
Silence is valued
How does this differ for Western cultures?

17. Influences on Perception
Cultural Differences
Ethnocentrism
The attitude that one’s own culture is superior to others
Geography
Even ones physical location can shape the way they view the world
Consider living in a particular part of the country
What does it mean to live in the North?
What does it mean to live in the West?

18. Influences on Perception
Social Roles
Gender Roles (Sex vs. Gender)
Sex refers to biological characteristics
Gender refers to psychological dimensions of masculine and feminine behavior
Gender roles are socially approved ways that men and women are expected to behave
Androgynous Gender Role
Combines masculine and feminine traits

19. Influence on Perception
Social Roles
Occupational Roles
The kind of work we do influences our view of the world
Imagine five people taking a walk through the park
A botanist
A zoologist
A meteorologist
A psychologist
A pickpocket

20. Influence on Perception
Social Roles
Relational roles
Roles you play in relation to others
The role of parent
Does being a parent change the way you view the world?
The roles involved in romantic love
Partner, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, sweetheart
Your romantic roles can also change the way you view others

21. Common Tendencies in Perception
We Judge Ourselves More Charitably
Self-serving Bias
An attempt to convince ourselves that the positive face we show the world is true
Consider this example:
When they botch a job, it’s because they weren’t listening or weren’t trying hard enough
When we botch a job, it’s because someone didn’t explain it well enough

22. Common Tendencies in Perception
We Cling to First Impressions
Halo Effect
The tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic
We assume that others are similar to us
We are influenced by the obvious

23. Perception Checking The Skill of Perception Checking
Serious problems can arise when we treat our interpretations as matters of fact
Consider the following:
“Why are you mad at me?” (Who said you were?)
“What’s the matter with you?” (Who said anything was the matter?)
“Come on now. Tell the truth.” (Who said you were lying?)

24. Perception Checking Elements of Perception Checking
A perception check has three parts:
A description of the behavior you noticed
At least two possible interpretations of the behavior
A request for clarification about how to interpret the behavior

25. Perception Checking Example:
“You haven’t laughed much in the last couple of days.” (behavior)
“It makes me wonder whether something’s bothering you… (first interpretation)
“or whether you’re just feeling quiet.” (second interpretation)
“What’s up?” (request for clarification)

26. Perception Checking Perception Checking Considerations Completeness
A perception check doesn’t always need all parts
Nonverbal Congruency
Nonverbal behavior reflects open-mindedness
Cultural Rules
A straight forward approach may cause problems
Face Saving
Can help raise an uncomfortable topic

27. Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication
The ability to re-create another person’s perspective, to experience the world from the other’s point of view
Sympathy
Viewing another person’s situation from your point of view

28. Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication
The ability to construct a variety of frameworks for viewing an issue
Cognitive complexity:
Increases the chances of satisfying communication in a variety of contexts
Can be enhanced through training
Can help increase one’s empathy

29. Empathy, Cognitive Complexity and Communication
The Pillow Method
A quick tool for clarifying misunderstandings
Figure 3.5 Page 110