Chapter 4: Perception and Categorization Flashcards
Human perception
is an active process in which we use our sensory organs to selectively identify the existence of stimuli and then subject them to evaluation and interpretation
Perception is active and subjective
so the same sensory information may be experienced in different ways.
Active= use of sensory organs to identify, evaluate, and interpret stimuli
Subjective= influenced by factors like culture, personal experience, and expectations
Human information processing involves 3 stages, each of which can be influenced by culture:
- the selection stage:
- Categorization stage
- interpretation stage
Selection stage
here the information is received via the senses and attended to and interpreted by the brain.
Selective perception
Humans only ‘‘see’ an object unless they pay direct, focused attention to it.
Selective perception involves 3 steps
- selective exposure
- selective attention
- selective retention (recall info)
Humans share the 3 perceptual tendencies
closure, familiarity and expectations.
Perception is both a product as a process
- because representation is stored and retrievable
- because of formation of recognizable objects, thougths etc.
3 common perceptual endencies
closure: refers to human tendency to see things as cojmplete wholes instead of incomplete
familiarity: refers to people using their existing knowledge to identify what they see
expectation : refers to people seeing what they want to see and hearing what they want to hear
The Implicit Personality Theory
also has to deal with the expectation tendency: the theory states that after the first impression is formed, we tend to look for confirmation of our hypothesis of somebody/something and ignore certain inconsistent cues with that hypothesis
Categorization stage
the process of ordering the environment by grouping persons, objects and events on the basis of simila features or characteristics.
–> categorizing people by race, sex, language, skin colour, geographical location etc.
Once people are categorized,, other associated collective traits are also attributed to them
Interpretation stage
the attachment of meaning to data obtained through the sensory organs (similar to decoding in communication)
When interpreting, we tend to rely on familiar contexts and comjpare new stimuli with them in order to look for clues
Individuals tend to construct social categories
they use their own beliefs, attitudes, feeleings and behaviors as prototypes to differentiate their own group from other groups that are salient in the situation
Social identity theory
a product of social categorization is social identity formation.
Whereby individuals form identities based on memberships of social groups, gender, profession etc.
Categorization also occurs in initial (intercultural interactions
ingroups
outgrous
ingroups
also called membership groups: the groups you belong to yourself.
These groups can be voluntary or involuntary (age, race or sex)
an ingroup norms, aspirations and values shape the behavior of its members
They are characterized by some shared experiences and an anticipated shaed future
outgroups
also reffered to as non-membership groups; the groups you do not belong to yourself.
These goups can be either voluntary or involuntary
an outgroup is seen as distinct from the ingroup or sometimes standing in the way of accomplishment of the ingroups goals.
Outgoups comprise people whose welfare we are not concerned about.
Bias ingroup
attributions made about ingroup and outgoup mebers are typically biased in favour of the ingroup.
–> We also tend to see outgroups as homogeneous, and to see more vairabilkity in ingroups.
Outgroup Homogeneity Effect
the tendency to see members of outgroups as ‘‘all alike’’
When we perceive an outgroup as being similar to our goup on a valued characteristics, we are more likely to think positively about that group and to engage members in interaction.
> we tend to label members of competing outgorups with undesiable attributes while labelling ingroups with desirable qualitities.
Scope of justice
The reach of morals.
Individuals/groups within our moral boundaries are seen as deserving of the same fair, moral treatment as we deserve; this goes the other way around for individuals/groups outside these boundaries
Implicit personality theory
Describes assumed relationships among personality traits; it suggests that we organize our individual perceptions into clusters. So, when we identify someone as being intelligent for example, we also attribute to them the characteristic of being quiet and friendly.
Attribution Theory
Why do people act in a certain way?
2 attributions; namely either internal (beliefs, attitude, personality), or external (situational).
Self- serving bias
our own succes, or others failures is due to our own behavior (internal), while when you fail yourself, and others success, this is in your eyes due to situational factors (external)
Ethnocentricism
The tendency for people to see their own culture (ingroup) as the point of reference, while seeing other cultures (outgroups) as insignificant or inferior.
Higher levels of ethnocentrism can lea to stereotypes, prejudice and even racism, which are all barriers to succesful intercultural communication
Ethnocentricism is a continuum
our position on this continuum determines the distance we create when we communicate with people from other cultures or groups.
Low ethnocentrism
Reflects a desire to reduce communicative distance between ourselves and others and the use of inclusive language
High ethnocentrism
can lead to stereotypes, prejudice, etc.
Cultural relativism
the degree to which an individual judges another culture by its context.
(contrast with ethnocentrism)
To understand another culture
we need to communicate with its people and broaden our understanding of its practices and beliefs, thus enhancing our sense of cultural relativism.
Stereotypes
Preconceived beliefs about the characteristics of certain groups based on physical attributes or social status; they are simplified overgeneralizations.
- can be a conventoinal and preconceived opinion or image baed on the belief that there are attitudes, appearances o behaviors shared by all members of a certain group.
- A stereotype is often constructed from false association between 2 variables
- often from the basis of prejudice and usually employed to explain real or imagined differences, such as those due to race, gender, social class etc.
- categorization of people into groups is bsed on behavior that is are and based on extremes
Reason why stereotypes are often false
Prejudice: a negative attitude towards individuals resulting from stereotypes
Brislin suggests that prejudice serves several functions
- it is utilitarian, meaning that our prejudice may be rewarded economically or socially
2.** ego-defensive**: allows us to avoid admitting certain things about ourselves
3.** value-expressive function: **allows people to highlight the aspects of life they value, such as affiliation with particular social group
4. Knowledge function: it allows us to oganize and structure our world in ways that make sense to us and are relatively convenient.
Brislin further categorizes prejudice according to the intensity of action or response, namely:
1. Verbal abuse: often with labelling
**2. physical avoidance: ** occurs when a group of people are disliked and shunned due to religios beliefs, language system and customs.
3. discrimination: denial of opporutnities to outgroup
**4. Physical attack: ** physical punishment of targeted group
**5. Massacre: ** worst form
Racism
refers to the belief that some racial groups are superior and that other racial groups are necessarily inferior
* usually product of ignorance, fear and hatred
* often perpetruated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in society.
Xenophobia
Fear of difference.
(deeply rooted in historical, social, cultural, power inequalities in society)
Two types of racism
-
Overt racism: involves explicit expression of racist attitudes
2. Inferential racis: more subtle and involves such things as the unthinking acceptance of racial stereotypes.
