Perception
Perception is an active process
of creating meaning by
selecting, organizing, and
interpreting people, objects,
events, situations, and
activities.
Selection
Qualities in the phenomena
Self-indication
Culture
Organization
Cognitive schemata
Interpretation
Attributions
Selection
• Some qualities of external phenomena draw
attention.
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They are larger, more intense, or more unusual.
Change compels attention.
Our motives and needs affect what we see and
don’t see.
Cultures also influence what we selectively
perceive.
Organization
• Constructivism

We organize and interpret experience
by applying cognitive structures
called schemata.
Cognitive Schemata
Prototype
The exemplar of a
category
Best friend
Romantic setting
Personal
Construct
Bipolar dimension by
which we assess people (a
yardstick)
Confident/not confident
Moody/not moody
Attractive/unattractive
Stereotype
Predictive generalization
based on how we perceive
the group into which we
place people
Wealthy people are
conservative.
Attractive women are
conceited.
Script
Guide to action in a
specific situation
Engage in small talk with
clerks.
Avoid major disclosures on
first dates.
Keep friends’ confidences.
Interpretation
• The subjective process of explaining
perceptions in ways that let us make
sense of them.

Attributions are explanations of why things
happen and why people act as they do.
Dimensions of Attributions
Locus
Internal
External
Stability
Stable
Unstable
Responsibility
Within
personal
control
Beyond
personal
control
Interpretation
• Attributional Errors

A self-serving bias
• Is a bias to favor ourselves and our interests
• Allows us to avoid taking responsibility for negative
actions and failures by attributing them to external
factors that are beyond personal control

The fundamental attribution error
• Involves overestimating the internal causes of
others’ undesirable behaviors and underestimating
the external causes
Influences on Perception
• Physiology—We do not all hear, see, taste
the same.
• Age—
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The older we get the more complex set of
experiences we have.
Time is different for different ages.
Age influences our perception of social life
and its problems.
Influences on Perception
• Culture consists of beliefs, values,
understandings, practices, and ways of
interpreting experience that are shared by
a number of people.
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Standpoint Theory claims that we are affected
by our culture and our location within the
culture.
Standpoints reflect power positions in social
hierarchies.
Influences on Perception
• Cognitive Abilities—how we think about
situations and people, and our personal
knowledge of others

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Cognitive complexity is the number of
constructs, how abstract they are, and how
they interact.
Person-centeredness is the ability to perceive
another as a unique individual apart from
social roles and group generalizations.
• Person-centeredness

Seeing a person not just as a member of a
group but also as a unique individual
• Empathy

The ability to feel with another person
• Some scholars argue this is difficult to achieve
• Dual Perspective

Understanding the perspective of another
while maintaining your own
Influences on Perception
• Self—What we selectively perceive and
how we organize and interpret
phenomena are shaped by many aspects of
our selves.
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Attachment style
Implicit personality theory is unspoken and
sometimes unconscious assumptions about how
various qualities fit together in human
personality.
Guidelines for Improving Perception
1. Recognize that all perceptions are partial
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
and subjective.
Avoid mindreading.
Check perceptions with others.
Distinguish between facts and inferences.
Guard against the self-serving bias.
Guard against the fundamental attribution
error.
Monitor labels.
Most Abstract
Action Avoid interacting with Andrea.
is selfish and
Judgment Andrea
immature.
is taking more than
Label Andrea
her share of time.
asks a lot of
Perception Andrea
questions during the meeting.
Total
is nervous, has
Concrete Andrea
academic difficulties, and
Reality
worries about making a good
Most Concrete
grade in the course.
Distinguish Between
Facts and Inferences
• A fact is a
statement based
on observation or
other data.
• An inference
involves an
interpretation
that goes beyond
the facts.
Identify whether each of the following
is a fact or an inference.
1. There are 50 states in the United States.
2. HIV/AIDS is caused by immoral sexual
activity.
3. Women have a maternal instinct.
4. Acid rain destroys trees.
5. Students who come to class late are
disrespectful.
6. Older students aren’t career oriented.
Experiencing Communication
in our Lives . . .
View the following video clip and
then answer the questions that
follow based on material
presented in this chapter. A
script of the scenario can be
found at the end of Chapter 2.
1. Both Jim and his parents make
attributions to explain his grades.
Describe the dimensions of Jim’s
attributions and those of his parents.
2. How can you assess the accuracy of
Jim’s attributions? What questions
could you ask him to help you decide
whether his perceptions are well
founded or biased?
You may go to your student CD that accompanies the text to
compare your answers to Julia Wood’s.