Module 2 - You and Your Audience Flashcards
What is perception?
the process of making meaning from what we experience in the world around us
What is interpersonal perception?
applying the process of perception to people to make meaning out of our and others’ behavior
What are the 3 stages of perception?
Selection, Organization, and Interpretation
What is selection?
the process of paying attention to a stimulus
What is salience?
How much a stimulus grabs our attention (highly salient = catching attention, low salience = doesn’t catch attention)
What factors contribute to salience?
(1) Expected or not; (2) Stimulating; (3) Meets needs/interests
What is organization?
Mentally organizing stimulus into categories
What 3 characteristics do we organize stimulus by?
(1) Similarities; (2) Differences; (3) Proximity
What is interpretation?
Making meaning out of the stimulus based on notions/schema (schemata is the singular) like filing cabinets
What are schemata?
Mental frameworks that we use for organizing and interpreting information
What 3 things affect our perceptions of people?
(1) experience with the person; (2) knowledge of the person; (3) closeness with the person
What are the 4 types of perceptual schema that we use to classify info we notice about others?
(1) physical constructs; (2) role constructs; (3) interaction constructs; (4) psychological constructs
What are physical constructs?
Looks, physical appearance
What are role constructs?
Their role in your life (friend, coach, parent, etc.)
What are interaction constructs
Their behaviors and what they mean
What are psychological constructs?
Their thoughts, emotions, etc.
What is misperception?
Misunderstanding/misinterpreting something
What factors influence perception accuracy?
Culture, stereotypes, primacy and recency effects, perceptual sets
What is culture?
A community with a shared way of life, customs, norms, beliefs, symbols, language, etc.
What is co-culture?
Smaller groups within cultures that have a shared similarity (ex. Warrior fans)
How does culture influence perception?
Might not understand someone else’s culture and misinterpret their behaviors, intentions, etc.
What are stereotypes?
Generalizations about a group that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others (can be problematic)
What is the 3 part process of stereotyping someone/something?
(1) schema/perception; (2) recall schema; (3) apply generalization to new person/thing
How do stereotypes influence perception?
Can lead to inaccurate /offensive perceptions of others
What is the Primacy Effect?
The idea that the first impression leaves the strongest impact and sets the tone for future interactions
What is the Recency Effect?
The idea that the most recent interaction leaves the strongest impression
What are perceptual sets?
Predispositions to perceive only what we want/expect; bias (ex. broccoli tasted bad once, don’t think broccoli dishes will taste good)
What are attributions?
Explanations of an observed behavior (use to help us perceive world around us)
What are the 3 dimensions of attributiosn?
(1) Locus; (2) Stability; (3) Controllability
What is locus?
Where the cause of the behavior is located (internal vs. external locus)
What is the difference between internal and external locus?
Internal is doing things because you want to; external is doing things because of another thing is making you
What is stability?
Whether the cause is stable or unstable (happens consistently or not once)
What is controllability?
Whether the cause was in our control or not
What is the Self-Serving Bias?
Tendency to attribute successes to personal, internal causes, but failures to external causes
What is Fundamental Attribution Error?
Attributing other people’s behavior to internal rather than external causes
What is self-concept?
Identity; composed of stable perceptions of who you are
What is looking glass self?
Part of how we see ourselves is through how others see us
What 3 ways does self-concept influence communication?
(1) self monitoring; (2) self-fulfilling prophecy; (3) self-esteem
What is self monitoring?
Being aware of how you look/sound to others (high monitoring = care a lot; low monitoring = don’t care a lot)
What is Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
Making predictions about the future and then fulfilling those predictions
What is Self-Esteem?
Subjective evaluation of your value and worth as a person
