Chapter 3: Perception Flashcards
Perception
the process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and meaning to the environment.
Components of Perception
The perceiver, The target and the situation
The Perceiver
- the perceiver’s experience, needs, and emotions can affect their perceptions of a target
Perceptual defence = the tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver against unpleasant emotions
The Target
- perception involves interpretation and the addition of meaning to the target, and ambiguous targets are especially susceptible to interpretation and addition
- the perceiver does not or cannot always use all the information provided by the target
The Situation (situational context)
adds information about the target
Fast vs. Slow Thinking…
- Conscious vs. nonconscious (implicit) thought - Type I and Type II thinking
Type II thinking: Happens quickly, outside of our awareness, efficient, Implicit biases (also called unconscious biases, nonconscious biases)
Social Identity Theory (Self-Categorization)
a theory that states that people form perceptions of themselves based on their personal characteristics and memberships in social categories.
What is our self composed of?
a personal identity (interests, abilities, and traits) and
a social identity (based on our perception that we belong to various social groups, such as our gender, nationality, religion, occupation…)
prototypes
a member of a category that embodies the most typical attributes of that category
Selectivity
Perceivers do not use all available cues and focus on certain ones, which can both aid and hinder accuracy.
Common Perceptual Biases/Errors…
- Selective Perception
- Primacy/Recency Effects
- Halo/Horn Effect
- Projection Bias
- Reliance on central traits
- Implicit personality theories
- Stereotyping
Selective Perception
o Tendency to “see things” based on our own frame of reference
o often occurs with an excess of stimuli
Primacy/Recency Effects
o Tendency to rely on first/last impressions or cues
o a form of selectivity, and its lasting effects demonstrate perceptual constancy
o If you have a long list of thing you are more likely to remember things at the beginning/end of the list
Halo/Horn Effect
Rating on one trait colors ratings on other traits
Projection Bias
o Tendency to believe that others are thinking and feeling the same as we are
o Can be efficient when people share similar backgrounds or interests.
Reliance on central traits
personal characteristics of a target person that are of particular interest to a perceiver
o Example: An experienced engineer may focus on a new coworker’s intellectual capacity when forming impressions.
o Physical appearance – “beauty premium”.
Implicit personality theories
personal theories that people have about which personality characteristics go together
Example: Expecting hardworking people to also be honest or believing that people with average intelligence tend to be friendly.
Stereotyping
the tendency to generalize about people in a certain social category and ignore variations among them (Favorable and Unfavorable)
Consequences of Stereotyping
Can result in unfairness for individuals
* fewer opportunities
* unfair allocation of resources (e.g., money)
* can negatively affect how we treat individuals (may lead to self-fulfilling prophecies), etc.
Stereotyping can interfere with
- accurate selection/hiring decisions
- accurate assessment of performance
- performance management
- diversity
Perceptual Constancy
The tendency to perceive a target the same way over time or across situations
Perceptual Consistency
The tendency to select, ignore, and distort cues to create a consistent and homogeneous image of the target, often distorting contradictory cues to fit the existing image.
