Chapter 3- Perceiving Others and Ourselves

Question 1

3 stages of perception

Answer 1

• selection
• organization
• interpretation
• perception a process, a 3 stage process

Question 2

selection

Answer 2

• 1st stage of perception
• what we choose to pay attention to
• three things that affect what we pay attention to:
• something unusual
• repeated stimuli
• intense stimuli- strong smells, bright colors

Question 3

organization

Answer 3

• 2nd stage of perception
• how we classify the stimulus
• physical constructs- direct observations, physical
• role constructs- hierarchal, social roles
• interaction constructs- behavior
• psychological constructs- peoples feelings

Question 4

interpretation

Answer 4

• 3rd stage of perception
• what meaning we assign to the stimulus
• ex. someone looks disheveled -> maybe they didnt sleep

Question 5

how we perceive others

Answer 5

• although perception has stages, the perception process is not linear
• there is no order to the stages -> circular
• selection, organization, and interpretation all overlap
• each stage can affect the others

Question 6

influences on perception

Answer 6

• cultures and co-cultures
• stereotypes- we remember things that support our stereotypes -> selective memory bias
• primacy and recency effects- first impressions or most recent interaction
• perceptual sets- things you chose to pay attention to that support your perceptions -> selective memory bias

Question 7

attributions

Answer 7

• the explanations we give for our own and others behaviors
• vary according to 3 factors:
• locus- where the behavior occurs
• stability- something that happens frequently
• controllability- can it be controlled
• ex. party next door and you do bad on a test -> you did bad bc of the party and didnt get sleep -> explains your behavior -> uncontrolled, unstable,

Question 8

self-serving bias

Answer 8

• an attribution error that assumes the following:
• our successes are earned and deserved
• our failures are not our fault
• ex. assuming you didnt get the job bc they dont like you
• blaming other people when things go wrong

Question 9

fundamental attribution error

Answer 9

• an attribution error that assumes the following:
• others behaviors are due to internal causes (not external)
• the reason someone else is in a bad position is bc of their own personality (not external things)
• not cutting them slack like we do for ourselves

Question 10

self concept

Answer 10

• reflects your stable ideas about who you are
• self concept is your identity
• multifaceted
• partly subjective
• we manage our self concepts through self monitoring
• self fulfilling prophecies reinforce our self concept

Question 11

perceptions

Answer 11

• formed by
• background
• interactions with others
• beliefs
• experiences
• can be accurate or inaccurate
• a process

Question 12

locus

Answer 12

• behavior located within ourselves
• where the behavior happens
• characteristic of yourself (internal loci)
• characteristic of someone else (external loci)
• ex. someone who is organized (characteristic) -> internal loci
• external loci- something out of our control -> how someone acts towards you -> traffic accident

Question 13

stability

Answer 13

• unstable cause- party, accident
• stable cause- traffic
• is it something that happens frequently or infrequently

Question 14

controllability

Answer 14

-can we control it or is it out of our control

Question 15

Johari window

Answer 15

• there are some things that inform ourselves/identity that are internal but some are external
• open area- what you know or chose to reveal to other people -> subjective 77
• hidden area- what you know about yourself but choose not to reveal
• blind area- what others know about you, but you dont recognize in yourself
• unknown area- dimensions of yourself that no one known

Question 16

self concepts are partly subjective

Answer 16

• objective aspects are based on facts: height, hair color, age, occupation
• subjective aspects are based on opinions or evaluations: honesty, sense of humor, intelligence, talent

Question 17

self monitoring

Answer 17

• we manage our self concepts through self monitoring
• we are aware of how we look, sound, and affect others
• tendency towards self monitoring ranges along a continuum from high to low

Question 18

self fulfilling prophecies

Answer 18

• can reinforce our self concept
• we have expectations based on how we perceive ourselves and others
• our expectations prompt us to act in specific ways
• those actions bring about the outcomes we expected
• our self concepts are therefore reinforced
• we look for things that support our self concept
• surround urself with people/act in a way that support ur self concept

Question 19

self esteem

Answer 19

• your subjective evaluation of your value and worth as a person
• high self esteem helps us communicate and build relationships
• high self esteem may also promote aggression and sexual risk taking
• risk takers

Question 20

high self esteem

Answer 20

tends to be a high self monitor

Question 21

image

Answer 21

• management means adjusting our behavior to project a desired image
• image management is collaborative
• we manage multiple identities
• we manage multiple identities online
• image management is complex

Question 22

face

Answer 22

• goffman says our desired public image is our face
• behavior we use to project that image to others is our facework
• ex. what we decide to post is facework

Question 23

3 face needs

Answer 23

• 3 needs we constantly try to manage
• fellowship face- how we make friends, relationships
• autonomy face- independent, control
• competence face- respected, talented, knowledgeable

Question 24

face-threatening acts

Answer 24

• behaviors that threaten our face needs
• face threats are common in many socially marginalized populations
• ex. parent taking away car -> affects autonomy face
• ex. not being accepted by a club -> threatens fellowship face
• socially marginalized groups deal with face threats