Perception and Communication Chapter 3
The Process of Human Perception Perception: the active process of creating meaning by selecting, organizing, and interpreting people, objects, events, situations and other phenomena
Selection We select to attend to certain stimuli based on a number of factors: The qualities of the phenomena Self-indication Our motives and needs Culture
Organization Constructivism – we organize and interpret experience by applying cognitive structures called schemata Prototype Personal construct Stereotype Script
Interpretation The subjective process of explaining our perceptions in ways that make sense to us Attributions Locus Stability Specificity Responsibility
Interpretation Continued Attributional Errors Self-serving bias Fundamental attribution error Fundamental attribution error
Influences On Perception Physiology Age Expectations Culture Social location Roles
Influences On Perception Continued Cognitive abilities Cognitive complexity Person-centeredness Self
Implicit Personality Theory A collection of unspoken and sometimes unconscious assumptions about how various qualities fit together in human personalities
Guidelines for Improving Perception And Communication Recognize that all perceptions are partial and subjective Avoid mind reading Check perceptions with others Distinguish between facts and inferences Guard against the self-serving bias Guard against the fundamental attribution error Monitor labels
The Ladder of Abstraction