Interpersonal Perception Module Four

Watch This Video: 3-2

3-3 Interpersonal Perception Perception: (insight) An active process by which you become aware of what is around you Interpersonal perception: A continuous series of processes that blend into one another

Look at the following picture and write down the first thing you see. 3-4

3-5

Now check out the next one and write down the first thing you see. 3-6

3-7

The Stages of Perception Stimulation Organization Interpretation–Evaluation Memory Recall

Stage 1: Stimulation Sensory stimulation occurs Selective Attention ◦ You attend to those things that you anticipate will fulfill your needs or will prove enjoyable Selective Exposure ◦ You expose yourself to people or messages that will confirm your existing beliefs, contribute to your objectives, or prove satisfying

Stage 2: Organization Sensory stimulation is organized in the following three ways: ◦ By rules  Proximity  Similarity  contrast ◦ By mental structures  General ideas you have about people, yourself, social roles ◦ By scripts  General idea of how an event should unfold

Stage 3: Interpretation-Evaluation Sensory stimulation is interpreted/evaluated Dependent on your personal frame of reference (Harlowe et al., 2005) -your experiences, needs, wants, values, beliefs about the way things are, expectations, physical and emotional state

Stage 4: Memory Your perceptions and their interpretations – evaluations are stored so you can retrieve them later

Stage 5: Recall Sensory stimulation is held in memory and recalled. A reconstruction of what you’ve heard or seen into a whole that is meaningful to you (dependent on your schemata and script).

Perception Model Everyone uses shortcuts Shortcuts may mislead you Memory is influenced by preconceptions Memory is especially unreliable when information is ambiguous Judgments about others are often ethnocentric Stereotypes may distort perception 3-14

The Processes of Perception Implicit Personality Theories Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Primacy–Recency Consistency Stereotypes Attributions

Implicit Personality Theory Halo Effect -If you believe that a person has some positive qualities, you’re likely to infer that she/he also has other positive qualities. Reverse Halo Effect -If you know that a person has some negative qualities, you’re likely to infer that the person has other negative qualities.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy You make a prediction about a person. You act as if the prediction is true. Your behaviour causes the prediction to come true. What you see then strengthens your belief.

Primacy–Recency There’s a tendency to use early information to get a general idea about a person and to use later information to make this impression more specific. The first impression you make on others is likely to be the most important.

Consistency The tendency to maintain balance among perceptions or attitudes. The expectation that certain things go together and certain things do not For example: You would expect someone you like to possess characteristics you like. And you would expect your enemies to not have the characteristics that you like.

Read the next slide fast

A Sensory Test of Expectation Paris in the the springtime Once in a a lifetime Bird in the the hand

A Sensory Test of Expectation (cont) Paris in the the springtime Once in a a lifetime Bird in the the hand

Stereotypes are a fixed impression of a group of people may be influenced by nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that defines a group distort accurate perceptions prevent seeing someone as an individual

Stereotype the following groups: ◦ Women drivers ◦ Jocks ◦ Blacks ◦ Gays and lesbians ◦ Jews ◦ Francophones 3-24

Stereotype your best friend Stereotype a relative 3-25

Attribution The process by which we try to explain the motivation for a person’s behaviour. Self-serving bias Overattribution The fundamental attribution error

Increasing Accuracy in Perception Analyze your perceptions. Check your perceptions. Reduce uncertainty. Be culturally sensitive.