HOW DO WE

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HOW DO WE SEE THE PEOPLE AROUND US?
COMN 2111 THE PERCEPTION PROCESS
Lecture 7c
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SCHEMAS FOR SIMPLE, INTERNALLY CONSISTENT
PERCEPTIONS Reminder

• FIRST IMPRESSIONS
• THE PRIMACY EFFECT
• WE SEE PEOPLE AS UNITARY WHOLES
• WE ORGANIZE OUR PERCEPTIONS AROUND KEY TRAITS
• COLD-WARM
• PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS

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The Illusion of Beauty
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SCHEMAS LIMIT PERSON PERCEPTION

• MORE PRE-PACKAGED REALITY SCHEMAS
• IMPLICIT PERSONALITY THEORY
• JIM IS HANDSOME, TALL (FLABBY, MUSCULAR)
• ROLE NAMES AND EXPECTATIONS
• TEACHER-STUDENT, DR.-PATIENT
• CHARACTER NAMES/SCRIPTS
• GOOD FRIEND, COOL DUDE
• STEREOTYPES

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SCHEMAS LIMIT PERSON PERCEPTION

• STEREOTYPES GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT INDIVIDUALS
  BASED ON THEIR MEMBERSHIP IN A GROUP --
  PROXIMITY, RESEMBLANCE. COMMUNICATION SHORTCUT -
  BUT NOT TO UNDERSTANDING
• TELL US WHAT PEOPLE MAY SHARE NOT WHAT THEY DO
  SHARE
• DIFFERENCES WITHIN GROUPS OFTEN GREATER THAN
  BETWEEN GROUPS

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FOUR AXIOMS OF INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTION

• WE ARE HIGHLY SELECTIVE
• WE SEEK CONSISTENCY BETWEEN
• SELF-CONCEPT
• OWN BEHAVIOR
• EXTERNAL FEEDBACK DATA
• IF WE CANT ALTER CHALLENGING DATA, WE DISTORT OR
  IGNORE
• PEOPLE WILL CHANGE PERCEPTIONS IF ACTIVELY
  INVOLVED

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PERCEPTION AND EXTERNAL CONSISTENCY

• BESIDES INTERNALLY CONSISTENT PERCEPTIONS OF
  OTHERS, WE ALSO TRY TO KEEP AN
• EXTERNALLY CONSISTENT BALANCE BETWEEN PERCEPTIONS
  OF SELF, OTHER AND THINGS THAT BOTH PERCEIVE
• EXTERNAL CONSISTENCY MODEL
• I EXPECT A PERSON I LIKE TO LIKE ME
• TO LIKE THE THINGS I LIKE
• TO DISLIKE THE THINGS I DISLIKE.

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CONSISTENCY MODEL OF PERCEPTION
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CONSISTENCY MODEL OF PERCEPTION
X
P
O
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PERCEPTION AND STABILITY OVER TIME

• PERCEPTIONS OF OTHER REMAIN STABLE OVER TIME
• LIMITED NEW INFORMATION
• BE NICE

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PERCEPTION AND STABILITY OVER TIME

• SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
• WE PREDICT HOW OTHERS WILL BEHAVE
• WE ACT TOWARD THEM AS IF THAT WERE TRUE.
• THEY RESPOND APPROPRIATELY AND OUR PREDICTION
  BECOMES TRUE.
• YOU OBSERVE THE EFFECTS OF YOUR BEHAVIOR AND WHAT
  YOU SEE REAFFIRMS YOUR BELIEF.
• YOU PERCEIVE THEIR ACTIONS AS BEING CAUSED ONLY
  BY THEM -NOT BY YOUR BEHAVIOR - YOU ATTRIBUTE
  INTERNAL MOTIVATION TO THEM

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PERCEPTION STABILITY OVER TIME

• Attribution
• Process by which we try to explain motives for
  others behavior
• Self-Serving Bias
• You see your negative behavior as the consequence
  of situations. You see others negative behavior
  as internally motivated.
• Over-attribution
• Single out 1 or 2 obvious characteristics and
  attribute everything a person does to these

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INCREASING ACCURACY OF YOUR PERCEPTIONS

• DONT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS
• THIS IS A SCHEMA NOT REALITY
• AVOID ONE-CLUE CONCLUSIONS
• RESPOND WITH A HYPOTHESIS NOT A CONCLUSION -
  LOOK FOR MORE INFO
• AVOID MIND-READING
• NO MATER HOW MUCH YOU SEE YOU ARE STILL GUESSING
  - ASK ABOUT THEIR MOTIVES DONT GUESS
• DESCRIBE YOUR PERCEPTIONS
• ASK FOR CONFIRMATION OF WHAT YOU SEE/HEAR

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