Ch 3. Social Perception

Question 1

Nonverbal Communication:

Define it - what does it rely on?

Answer 1

Communication between individuals that doesn't involve the spoken language - it's relatively irrepressible.
it relies on:
- facial expressions 
- eye movements
- body language (movements and posture)
- touch

Question 2

Paralanguage:

Define it - what does it include?

Answer 2

Vocal effects that communicate emotion independent from the words being expressed.

Such effects include:

• tone (attitude conveyed through sounds)
• pitch (highness to lowness of sound)
• volume
• rhythm (speed and fluency)

Question 3

The Facial-Feedback Hypothesis:

How does it perceive the relationship between our body and our emotions - What does it suggest?

Answer 3

It’s the view that facial expressions can trigger emotions
> that our actions and nonverbal behaviors influence our feelings.

it suggests that:
we only show what we feel in our expressions and that those expressions, in turn, influence how we feel.

Question 4

When are we best at detecting deception - Why?

Why are we not better at identifying deception?

Answer 4

When we’re in a negative affective state rather than a positive affective state.

A: When in a positive state we typically think heuristically and pay more attention to irrelevant cues within the environment.

B: When in a negative affect we tend to pay closer attention to the words and meaning of the message, thus using more controlled processing.

> our tendency to perceive others as truthful and our desires to be polite result in us not looking for or being reluctant to discover and report deception.

Question 5

Few nonverbal cues moderately reveal deception, what are they?

Answer 5

1. Microexpressions:
   > fleeting facial expressions lasting only a few tenths of a second.
2. Interchangeable discrepancies:
   > i.e. between facial expressions and body language.
3. Linguistic styles:
   > i.e. change in rhythm.

Question 6

List two tactics we use to increase our interpersonal attractiveness.

Answer 6

1. Self-enhancement:
   > efforts to increase our appeal to others.
2. Other-enhancement:
   > efforts to make a targeted person feel good.

Question 7

Attribution:

What is attribution and Why do we engage in it?

Answer 7

attribution is the process through which we:

• Seek to Identify the Causes of others Behaviors, and
• Gain Insight into their stable Traits and Intentions.

we engage in attributions to:
- obtain information about others traits, motives, and intentions; in efforts to understand their behavior.

Question 8

Theory of Correspondent Inferences (Joan’s and Davis; 1965):
What does it suggest?
Why can it be misleading?
Under what conditions are we most likely to infer that overt behaviors reflect stable traits?

Answer 8

it suggests that we attempt to infer whether others possess specific and stable dispositions based on their overt behavior.

> it focuses on internal factors over external causes of one’s behavior.

• when the behavior appears to be Freely Chosen,
• when the behavior yields noncommon effects, and
• when the behavior is low in social desirability or violates social norms.

Question 9

Kelley’s Covariation Theory:

What does it suggest?

Answer 9

it suggests we attempt to Answer Why people Engage in a Behavior by Attributing it to Internal, External, or Mixed factors, as a result of considering:

• consensus,
• consistency, and
• distinctiveness

Question 10

According to Kelley’s Covariation Theory, when are we most likely to attribute another’s behavior to:

a) Internal Factors
b) External Factors
c) Mixed factors

Answer 10

• when Consensus + Distinctiveness are Low and Consistency is High = attribute behavior to Internal factors.
• when Consensus + Consistency + Distinctiveness are all High = attribute behavior to External factors.
• when consensus is Low and Consistency + Distinctiveness are High = attribute behavior to both internal and external causes.

Question 11

Consensus

Answer 11

the extent to which others react to a given stimulus or event in the same manner as the person we are evaluating.

Question 12

Consistency

Answer 12

the extent to which the person we’re evaluating reacts to the stimulus or event in the same way over time.

Question 13

Distinctiveness

Answer 13

the extent to which the person we’re evaluating reacts to different stimulus or events in the same manner.

Question 14

Action Identification

Answer 14

the levels of interpretation we place on an action.

• low levels focus on the action itself (concrete).
• high levels focus on the actions ultimate goal (abstract).

Question 15

Depending on whether we view others actions as concrete or abstract, how does this affect our attributions?

Answer 15

When we view others actions concretely:
- we view their actions as having little or no meaning beyond the action itself;

• therefore, tend to make few attributions about the persons intentions or higher-order cognition.

When we view others actions abstractly:
- we view their actions as having higher meaning;

• therefore, we attribute much greater mental activity to them as a reflection of their goals, characteristics, intentions, and mind.

Question 16

The Correspondence Bias:

What is it - Why does it occur?

Answer 16

AKA: the fundamental attribution error.

Our Tendency to explain other’s actions as corresponding to their dispositions - overlooking external factors - even in the presence of clear situational causes.

Occurs because:

• Perceptual salience is high for people we observe.
• in other words, internal or Dispositional Causes are Salient whereas External ones aren’t;
• also, we have a Tendency to Assume Actions are a Reflection of underlying Character.

Question 17

When is the Correspondence Bias the strongest, why?

Answer 17

• when consensus and distinctiveness are low, and
• when we’re trying to make predictions about another’s behavior in the far future.

> this is because:
when we think about the future we think about it abstractly, therefore, we’re lead to think about other’s in terms of their traits - resulting in us overlooking external causes.

Question 18

The Actor-Observer Bias:

Describe it.

Answer 18

Our tendency to attribute:

• Our own behavior to External Factors, and
• Others behavior to Internal Dispositions.

Question 19

The Self-Serving Bias:

Describe it, why are proposed reasons for why we have such a tendency?

Answer 19

Our tendency to attribute our own Positive outcomes to Internal factors and our own Negative outcomes to External factors.

Most explanations fall under two categories:
1. Cognitive explanations:
> the cognitive model suggests that we make such attributions because we expect to succeed.

2. Motivational explanations:
   > suggests this bias stems from our need to protect and enhance our self-esteem.

Question 20

Hubris

Answer 20

related to aspects of the self-serving bias:
- a form of exaggerated self-confidence.

People who exhibit hubris often perceive themselves as the sole causes of positive outcomes.

Question 21

Determine how the 5 basic nonverbal communication channels help us judge others emotional states.

Answer 21

Paralanguage and nonverbal communication are relatively irrepressable.

> Microexpressions, Interchangeable discrepancies, and Linguistic style all showcase emotion independent from the words one is using.

using our knowledge of social norms to examine the nonverbal communication can help us interpret the nature, and appropriateness of it.

Question 22

Explain how the process of attribution helps us understand other’s behaviors.

Answer 22

We engage in attributions to obtain information about other’s traits, motives, and intentions - it’s both what people do and our interpretation of their actions that shapes our perceptions of them.

• the theory of correspondent inferences
• kelley’s covariation theory
• stability and controllability
• action identification

Sources of bias:

• correspondence bias
• actor-observer bias
• self-serving bias

Question 23

Describe why first impressions are important in forming perceptions of others.

Answer 23

Initial first impressions are mental representations that form the basis for our reactions to a person.

• its more than a summary of traits,
• leaves a lasting (+/-) effect

Thin slices are reasonably accurate for some attributes - i.e detecting threat.

Impressions can change primarily when:
- new info comes into our awareness that’s relevant to the situation being judged - which forces us to reinterpret our initial impression.

We often engage in impression management through:
self-enhancement and other-enhancement.