Perception

PerceptionPerceiving the SelfPerceiving Others1PerceptionDefinition: the sensory experience of the world.SeeingHearing Tasting

22Selective AttentionDefinition: The ability to process certain of the stimuli available to us while filtering out other.Your capacity to register sensory stimuli is limitedYou choose certain aspects of the environment to pay attention to33FiltersTwo kinds:Perceptual: Actual physical and physiological limits due to human capacityLimits of our sensesPsychological set: expectancies or predispositions to respondMotivation or interestPast experiences or expectations 44Perception is an Active ProcessSelective perception: an active, sense-making process.55How is perception ACTIVE?We SELECT (stimuli that are intense, repetitious, or changing).We ORGANIZE (schema-based, expectations).We INTERPRET (assign meaning unique to perceiver).Pay attention to repetitive, provocative and seems important, vivid, changing, repetitive66Interpretation Perception is evaluatedWe try to make sense of our perceptions and draw conclusionsAttention and org Processes affect this77Self-perception (Impression Formation)Many biases in self perception.Different from those present when perceiving others.We perceive ourselves88Self ConceptDef: your relatively stable impression of yourself.Physical and psychologicalSocial interaction(feedback)99Forming impressions of selfLooking-glass self Feedback Theory: you evaluate yourself based on how you think other people perceive you or evaluate youSelf-expansion modelWe expand ourselves through relationshipsSocial comparisonWe compare ourselves with other people(Lateral comparison:compare myself to peers)

1010Forming impressions of selfSelf-esteemOur feeling of self-worthOne chief measure of self-conceptAffect by our social comparisons and our self perceptionOnly SOMEWHAT related to performanceSelf-fulfilling prophecy1111Review QuestionJT is at a party and he cant keep his eyes off of a young lady in a bright red dress dancing. She keeps mixing up her dance moves yet continues to cycle through a basic set of breaking, locking and popping. JTs attention is mostly likely focused on this young lady because: Answer: EA.her dance routine is cyclical B.she mixes up her movesC.she is wearing a vividly colored dressD.B and C are correctE.All of the above are correct

1212PerceptionAttribution and Impression Formation

13Perceiving the Social WorldHow do we understand humans and their behavior?We try to simplify the complex info we perceive.By forming impressionsMaking attributions

Often biases lead to errors in our conclusions1414AttributionDefinition: the process of assigning meaning to others behavior.We do this continuouslyWhy did my boss pass me up for that promotion?Why did the professor give us a quiz?1515BiasesSelf attribution differs from other attribution.We tend to see our own behavior as governed by the demands of a given situation but to view the same behaviors in others as governed by their disposition.Attributions differ because we focus on different informationInfo available toactor and observer is different. As a resultSometimes we focus on the person(e.g., personality).Sometimes we focus on the context or circumstances.1616Kinds of BiasesDispositional other:-Overuse of personality reasons or dispositions with others.Self-serving bias: -Tendency to overuse situational attributions with yourself.-preserves self-eseteem1717ExampleYou and your roommate both flunk a test:Self-serving: I flunked because the test was too hard and the questions were unfair.Dispositional other: My roommate flunked because hes lazy and doesnt try hard enough.What could be the effect of making this kind of attribution about your roommate?1818Another ExampleConversation with roommate -- roommate constantly interrupts What attribution might we make? How do we decide?We compare persons behavior to others and to knowledge of persons past behavior

19Forming impressions of othersFirst impressionsPrivate theory of personality (implicit personality theory)Central TraitsPrinciple of UnityThe primacy effectThe role of physical attractivenessNature vs. NurtureExpressiveness & Charisma

2020Stereotypesa generalization about a class of people, objects, or events that is widely held by a given culture.Why?-normal to categorize the world-tendency to divide into us and them-want to do little cognitive work as possible2121Effects of Stereotypes:Often carry a negative tonePerson is not perceived as an individual but as a member of a categoryWith outgroups, remember less favorable info;With in groups, remember more favorable info;-Can result in self-fulfilling prophesiesWhat about positive stereotypes?2222Variables that affect the accuracy of perceptionContext-Group opinion exerts a subtle influence on our perceptionInterpersonal sensitivity-success in decoding nonverbal behaviorPerceiver self-confidenceIntelligenceThe ability to draw inferences about people from their behaviorHigh degree of objectivity about ourselves23Review QuestionExplain and give an example of the two kinds of attributional biases that we discussed in class:

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