Topic 2: Perception and Communication Flashcards
The process of becoming aware of objects and events from the senses.
Perception
Perception in which your mind selects, organizes, and interprets that which you sense.
Active perception
Your uniquely constructed meaning attributed to sensed stimuli.
Subjective perception
The idea that your past experiences lead you to see the world in a way that is difficult to change; your initial perceptions persist
Perceptual Constancy
The part an individual plays in a group; an individual’s function or expected behavior.
Role
A system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of a society use to cope with one another and with their world.
Culture
A group whose beliefs or behaviors distinguish it from the larger culture of which it is part and with which it shares numerous similarities.
Co-Culture
You engage in three separate activities during perception:
Selection, Organization and Interpretation
Name 4 types of selectivity:
Selective exposure, selective attention, selective perception and selective retention.
The tendency to expose yourself to information that reinforces rather than contradicts, your beliefs or opinions.
Selective Exposure
The tendency, when you expose yourself to information and ideas, to focus on certain cues and ignore others.
Selective Attention
The tendency to see, hear and believe only what you want to see, hear and believe.
Selective Perception
The tendency to remember better the things that reinforce your beliefs rather than those that oppose them.
Selective Retention
The focal point of your attention.
Figure
The background against which your focused attention occurs.
Ground
The tendency to fill in missing information in order to complete an otherwise incomplete figure or statement.
Closure
The principle that objects physically close to each other will be perceived as a unit or group.
Proximity
The principle that elements are grouped together because they share attributes such as size, color, or shape.
Similarity
Perception that involves a blend of internal states and external stimuli.
Interpretive Perception
________ occurs when we offer an oversimplified or standardized image of a person because of her or his group membership.
Stereotyping
The prejudgments that we make before we know any relevant facts or circumstances about a person or an event.
Prejudice
Name 3 steps of perceptual checking
- You describe to the other person the behavior - including the verbal and nonverbal cues - that you observed.
- You suggest plausible interpretations.
- You see clarification, explanation, or amplification.
The most common context of communication.
Intrapersonal communication
The process in which the self develops through the messages and feedback received from others.
Symbolic Interactionism
The act of assigning meaning to the stimuli we have selected and organized
Interpretation
Physiological limits on our view of the world
Perceptual filters
A choice about what we will focus our attention on
Selection
The way we view ourselves and our world
Perception
The shared beliefs, traditions, social relationships, and view of the world among a group of people
Culture
Focusing on certain aspects of our environment and filtering out others
Selective Attention
The arrangement of stimuli we take in through our senses
Organization
The tendency to see what we expect to see
Psychological Sets
Events or situations that occur because we expect them to occur
Self-fulfilling prophecy
How well we like or value ourselves
Self-Esteem
Messages about ourselves we get from others
Reflected appraisals
Our view of how we measure up against others in certain areas of our life
Social comparisons
Nonverbal cues are the method by which we form first impressions.
True/False
True
Perceived traits are the same as the character traits other people possess.
True/False
False
The judgments we make about physical attractiveness are based partly on our culture.
True/False
True
First impressions are brief ideas we have about a person; they don’t last long.
True/False
False
Is this a perceptual Error?
Good grandparents like to babysit their grandchildren.
True/False
True
Is this a perceptual Error?
Everyone knows that most attorneys are sharks.
True/False
True
Is this a perceptual Error?
I threw out your magazines; I assumed you wouldn’t want to keep them.
True/False
True
Is this a perceptual Error?
I wouldn’t do that if I were you
True/False
True
Is this a perceptual Error?
Anyone in my shoes would have done the same thing!
True/False
True
The way in which we view ourselves and our world.
Perception
The three-step method by which we make sense of our world.
Perceptual process
A choice we make about what aspects of our environment we focus our attention on.
Selection
Groups of individuals who interact and cooperate with one another in a structured way for a shared purpose.
Organization
The act of assigning meaning to the stimuli we have selected and organized.
Interpretation
The choice we make to focus attention on a specific sound or word.
Selective Attention
A physiological limit on our view of the world.
Perceptual filter
The tendency to see what we expect to see.
Psychological Set
The shared beliefs, traditions, social relationships, and view of the world among a group of people.
Culture
The fairly stable impression we have developed over time about who we are.
Self-concept
A message about ourselves we get from others.
Reflected Appraisal
Our view of how we measure up against others in certain areas of our life.
Social Comparison
Which of the following may be the result of physiological factors, past experiences and roles, cultures, and present conditions?
a. selection
b. similarity
c. self serving bias
d. differences in perception
d. differences in perception
By neglecting some stimuli and focusing on other stimuli, you are engaging in which process of perception?
a. organization
b. selection
c. classification
d. interpretation
b. selection
______ is an organizational method whereby missing information is filled in to create the appearance of a complete unit, and ______ is another organizational technique whereby elements are grouped based on their similarities in size, color and shape.
a. Closure; similarity
b. Proximity; figure and ground
c. Similarity; proximity
d. Closure; proximity
a. Closure; similarity
Perceptual constancy results because of
a. physiological factors
b. past experiences and roles
c. people’s cultures and co-cultures
d. people’s present feelings and circumstances
b. past experiences and roles
A system of shared beliefs, values, customers and behaviors is known as a
a. person
b. communicator
c. role
d. culture
d. culture
Which of the following is a perceptual error frequently made by people?
a. believing stereotypes about people who are different from themselves
b. believing other people are courageous, while they, themselves, are cowardly
c. believing that others are considerably older than themselves
d. believing that uneducated people are happier than educated people
a. believing stereotypes about people who are different from themselves
When people seek to present an ideal version of themselves, they are engaging in
a. identity management
b. active perception
c. attribution
d. selection
a. identity management
First impressions
a. generally take weeks or more to develop
b. are based on people’s sense of humor, their personality, and their religion
c. are frequently based on other people’s appearance
d. are generally accurate and therefore are lasting impressions
c. are frequently based on other people’s appearance
Our physical characteristics are unrelated to our perceptions.
True/False
False
A speech of self-introduction initially requires intrapersonal communication.
True/False
True
When you perceive nine lines as three groups, rather than nine unconnected lines, you are illustrating the concept of proximity.
True/False
True
Proximity is when we organize stimuli based on their likeness or similarity.
True/False
False
Perceptual constancy means that past experience has little effect on our perceptions.
True/False
False
In your work as a porter in a large hotel, you notice that guests seem to look right through you, don’t remember that you were the one who helped them, and don’t seem to know which porter they are supposed to tip when they check out. This experience is an example of disconfirmation of your self-concept.
True/False
True
Perception is the mental process through which we interpret that which we sense.
True/False
True
Noticing the women in the room more than the men in the room is an example of selective attention.
True/False
True
Closure is related to how we organize stimuli.
True/False
True
“No matter who sees a chair, they all see the same chair” illustrates the idea of active perception.
True/False
False
We use similarity to engage in the organization of stimuli.
True/False
True
How you perceive yourself plays a central role in communication.
True/False
True
People of different cultures tend to perceive things in the same way.
True/False
False
“Birds of a feather flock together” is an expression that illustrates the concept of closure.
True/False
False
Closure is related to how we organize stimuli.
True/False
True
Prejudices can be positive where you pre-judge that another person is “good” without any evidence.
True/False
True
Interpretive perception involves only internal stimuli.
True/False
False
Ground is what you focus on the most; figure is the context in which you see the ground.
True/False
False
The process of perception includes selection, organization and interpretation.
True/False
True
Perception is the mental process through which we interpret that which we sense.
True/False
True
How you perceive yourself plays a central role in communication.
True/False
True
Stereotypes are initially based on classifications of people.
True/False
True
Temporary conditions like fatigue, hunger or a headache can affect your perceptions.
True/False
True
Perceptual constancy means that past experience has little effect on our perceptions.
True/False
False
Prejudices and stereotypes are unrelated.
True/False
False
Prejudices interfere with our accurate perceptions of others.
True/False
True
The position adopted in the book is that everyone sees everything in his or her own unique way.
True/False
True
When you perceive nine lines as three groups, rather than nine unconnected lines, you are illustrating the concept of proximity.
True/False
True
Our physical characteristics are unrelated to our perceptions.
True/False
False
