“Once you label me, you negate
me.” –Soren Kierkegaard
Perception
 The
ongoing process of making
meaning from the things we experience
in our environment
 Interpersonal
Perception
 When we apply perception process to
people and relationships
Perception is a Process
•
Selection—first step of process
• The process in which mind and body help you
choose certain stimuli to attend to.
•
Three Characteristics of Selection
• 1. Stimulus is unusual or unexpected—which
makes it stand out
• 2. Repetition—how frequently we’re exposed to a
stimulus
• 3. Intensity of stimulus affects how much we
notice it
Perception is a Process
•
Organization--second step
• Helps us make sense of info by using
constructs
• Constructs:
• Physical—appearance, objective & subjective
• Role—social or professional position
• Interaction—a person’s behavior
• Psychological—a person’s thoughts and
feelings
Perception is a Process
•
Interpretation—third step
•
Three phases of interpretation
• 1. Your personal experience with the person
• 2. Your knowledge of the person
• 3. Your relationship with the person
Influences on Perceptual
Accuracy

Physiological states and traits
 Physiology—mechanical and biochemical ways
our bodies work
 States—conditions that are temporary
 Traits—conditions that are ongoing

Culture and co-culture
 Cultural values and norms
 Co-culture we belong to (more in Ch. 2)
Influences on Perceptual
Accuracy

Social roles
 Set of behaviors that are expected of a
person in a particular social situation
Fundamental Force in Perception:
Stereotyping
Stereotyping


Generalizations about a group or category of
people that can have powerful influences on how
we perceive those people
Stereotyping

Process of Stereotyping
1. Identify the group
2. Recall a generalization about the group
3. Apply the generalization to that person
Fundamental Forces in Perception

The Primacy Effect—first impressions

The Recency Effect—recent impressions

Perceptual Set—predisposition to perceive
only what we want or expect

Egocentrism—lack the ability to take another
person’s perspective
Perceptual Forces

Positivity Bias—we pay the most
attention to positive information

Negativity Bias--tendency to weigh
negative information more heavily than
positive
How we Explain What We
Perceive
Attribution Theory
Ways we Attribute (answer “Why?”):
○ Locus—where the cause of behavior is
located—could be inside us or outside
○ Stability—is the cause stable, unstable,
permanent, semi-permanent, or easily
changed?
Explain What We Perceive
 Controllability
– 8 attributes of
Rudeness
Chart on page 126
 Refers to the concept of stability

Attribution Errors

Self-serving Bias

We attribute our successes to internal causes but
failures to external causes

Fundamental Attribution Error

We attribute other people’s behavior to internal, not
external, causes

Overattribution

We single out a few characteristics about a person and
attribute her/his behavior to those characteristics
Improving Perceptual Abilities

Be Mindful of Your
Perceptions
 Know yourself and your
biases
 Focus on the other
person’s characteristics
 Consider the context
Improving Perceptual Abilities

Check your Perceptions
 Separate interpretations from
facts
 Generate alternative
perceptions
 Engage in perception-checking
behaviors
 Revise your perceptions as
needed