Chapter 3: perceving ourselves and others Flashcards
Perception
process of making meaning from what we experience in the world around us
3 step process of perception?
- Selection
- Organization
- Interpretation
- can be in any order
How do we explain our perceptions?
Attributions: explanation for an observed behaviour
- Locus
- Stability
- Controllability
Locus
where the cause of behavior is located, either within or outside of ourselves
i. Internal loci - caused by a particular characteristic of ourselves
ii. External loci - caused by something outside ourselves
Stability
permanent, semipermanent, or not easily changed (ex: morning traffic)
i. Unstable - only occur from time to time
Controllability
cause of behavior was under that person’s control
i. Uncontrollable - cause beyond person’s control
What is selection?
Paying attention to a certain stimulus
a. Unusual - something that is unusual/unexpected/stand out
b. Repetition - something that is repeated over and over again
c. Intensity - something that’s intense (Ex: colors, sounds)
What is organization?
Categorizing information selected for attention
a. Physical construct: emphasizes people’s appearance, causing us to notice height, age, ethnicity, etc
b. Role construct: emphasizes people’s social or professional position (ex: server, professor)
c. Interaction construct: emphasizes people’s behaviour (ex: friendly, rude)
d. Psychological construct: emphasizes people’s thoughts and feelings (ex: angry, insecure)
What is interpretation?
Assigning meaning to information that has been selected for attention + organizing
a. Personal experience
b. Knowledge
c. Closeness of Relationship
What are errors that we make?
Self-serving bias and Fundamental attribution error
What is self-serving bias?
attributing successes to internal causes and failures to unstable external causes
a. We give this to people we love/care about as well (THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF SERVING BIAS AND FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR)
What is fundamental attribution error?
a. Assuming others behavior are because that’s how they are (internal), when in reality it could be something else (external)
b. Tendency to jump to internal assumptions
- EX: calling someone a jerk (internal) because they cut you off on the highway
- In reality the person may be rushing to the hospital (external)
How do we misperceive?
- Culture
- stereotypes
- primacy and recency effect
- perceptual sets
What are stereotypes?
generalization of a specific group
How do we sterotypes others?
3 steps:
1. ID- Groups - identify a group (ex: Scottish)
2. Generalization - generalize the group (ex: all Scottish people are drunks)
3. Apply it to individual - apply it to the individual in the group (ex: because professor lidke is Scottish, she is a drunk)
What is selective memory bias?
Remembering things that only relate to the stereotype (ex: professor lidke drinks Celsius, red bull, and wine. You only remember that she drinks wine - fits into stereotype that she’s a drunk because she’s Scottish)
What is primacy effect?
tendency to emphasize first impressions when forming perception
What is recency effect?
tendency to emphasize last impressions when forming perception
What are perceptual sets?
What you want/expect to perceive
What is self concept/self identity?
the set of stable perceptions a person has about who he or she is
What is self esteem?
evaluation of one’s value and worth as a person
What is high self-esteem?
happy about yourself
What is low self-esteem?
dissatisfied with your self-concept
What is image?
the way one wishes to be seen or perceived by others
