Chapter 2: Communication and Perception

Question 1

the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information.

Answer 1

Perception

Question 2

the first part of the perception process, in which we focus our attention on certain incoming sensory information

Answer 2

Selecting

Question 3

the degree to which something attracts our attention in a particular context

Answer 3

Salience

Question 4

the second part of the perception process, in which we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned cognitive patterns. Three ways we sort things into patterns are by using proximity, similarity, and difference

Answer 4

Organizing

Question 5

the third part of the perception process in which we assign meaning to our experiences using mental structures called schemata

Answer 5

Interpretation

Question 6

databases of stored, related information that we use to interpret new experiences

Answer 6

Schemata

Question 7

the explanations we create for others’ behavior

Answer 7

Attribution

Question 8

connect the cause of behaviors to personal aspects such as personality traits

Answer 8

Internal attributions

Question 9

connect the cause of behaviors to situational factors

Answer 9

External attributions

Question 10

our tendency to explain others’ behaviors using internal rather than external attributions

Answer 10

Fundamental attribution error

Question 11

the perceptual error through which we attribute the causes of our successes to internal personal factors while attributing our failures to external factors beyond our control

Answer 11

Self-serving bias

Question 12

an ongoing negotiation of learned and patterned beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors

Answer 12

Culture

Question 13

a person’s general way of thinking, feeling, and behaving based on underlying motivations and impulses

Answer 13

Personality

Question 14

extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness

Answer 14

The Big Five personality traits

Question 15

the overall idea of who a person thinks they are

Answer 15

Self-concept

Question 16

we see ourselves reflected in other people’s reactions to us and then form our self-concept based on how we believe other people see us

Answer 16

Looking glass self

Question 17

we describe and evaluate ourselves in terms of how we compare to other people

Answer 17

Social comparison theory

Question 18

the judgments and evaluations we make about our self-concept

Answer 18

Self-esteem

Question 19

a state of self- and other-monitoring that informs later reflection on communication interactions

Answer 19

Mindfulness

Question 20

thought and action patterns in which a person’s false belief triggers a behavior that makes the initial false belief actually or seemingly come true

Answer 20

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 21

sets of beliefs that we develop about groups, which we then apply to individuals from that group

Answer 21

Stereotypes

Question 22

negative feelings or attitudes toward people based on their identity or identities

Answer 22

Prejudice

Question 23

a strategy to help us monitor our reactions to and perceptions about people and communication

Answer 23

Perception checking