Perceiving the Self and Others

Perceiving the Self and Others Chapter 2

Perception • A cognitive process through which we interpret our experiences and come to our own unique understandings; its role in the communication process is crucial

Communication Processing • Means by which we gather, organize and evaluate the information we receive • Selecting information • Different conclusions • Perceptions are organized into existing memory bases called schemas

Schemas • Mental structures that put together related bits of information • As we receive information, we must make sense of it • Chunks of information form patterns • Help you understand how things work or anticipate how they should proceed

Challenges with Schema and Perception • Mindlessness • Less critical processor of information; autopilot • Perks and drawbacks associated with mindlessness • Selective perception • Succumbing to perception (biased) • Active and critical • Undue influence • Attribute greater credibility than is due

Attributions: interpreting Perceptions • Attributions: personal characteristics used to explain behavior • Fundamental attribution error: overemphasize the internal and underemphasize the external • Self-serving bias: success comes from internal factors, failure comes from external factors • Interaction appearance theory: people change their attributions of someone with interaction Self-Serving Bias

Improving Perceptions • Verify your perceptions • Don’t jump to conclusions • Be thoughtful when you seek explanations • Resist the natural tendency to fall back on the most obvious explanation • Look beyond first impressions • Delay judgment!

Perception in a Diverse World • The Cultural Context • Effective communication in today’s world requires an appreciation for diversity • How your unique background affects your perceptions • Perceptual Barriers • Successful intercultural communication requires mindfulness • Mutual understanding brings cooperation

Perceptual Barriers • Cultural Myopia • When individuals fail to consider other cultural perspectives by being blinded by their own circumstances • Nearsightedness grounded in the belief that one’s own culture is appropriate and relevant in all situations to all people • Most dangerous when the dominant group is unaware or insensitive towards the needs/values of others

Perceptual Barriers • Stereotyping • Fitting individuals into an existing schema without adjusting that schema appropriately • An impression of a group of people that is set; when you meet an individual from this group, you apply your set of perceptions of the entire group to that individual • Prejudice • Deep seeded unkindness and ill will towards a group, based on negative stereotypes and feelings of superiority Prejudice

Cognition: Perceiving ourselves • We must understand our own identity and project it • Come in a name (or nickname) • How we perceive ourselves and how we want others to perceive us • 3 major influences on our cognitions (thoughts about ourselves • Self-concept • Self-esteem • Self-efficacy

Self-Concept • Your awareness and understanding of who you are • Interpreted and influenced by your thoughts, actions, abilities, values, goals, and ideals • Developed by thinking about your strengths and weaknesses, observing your behavior in a wide variety of situations, witnessing your own reactions to situations, and watching others’ reactions to you • Behavior AND cognition make a communicator

Self-Concept • Incredible power to shape communication with others • Apprehension in certain communication situations • Willingness to interact with others • How you approach someone with a request • The reverse is also true: when you interact with them, you get impressions from them that reveal how they evaluate you as a person and as a communicator

Self-Concept • Direct Evidence • Compliments, insults, support, negative remarks • Indirect Evidence • Innuendo, gossip, subtle non-verbal cues, lack of communication • Social Comparison theory • Compare to ourselves to others as we develop our ideas about ourselves • Can influences how we think about ourselves and what we are willing to do to close the unavoidable gap

Self-Esteem • How you feel about yourself in a particular situation • Set of attitudes that people hold about their own emotions, thoughts, abilities, skills, behavior, and beliefs that fluctuate according to the situation or context • Closely associated with self-concept: must know yourself in order to have attitudes about yourself • Many researches believe self-concept forms first, then self-esteem

Self-Esteem • High self-esteem usually associated with confidence • Individuals are better able to incorporate their successes into their self-concept • Research shows people with high self-esteem are more confident in their interpersonal relationships too • Research suggests low self esteem caused by inaccurate information about themselves or mistrust in the knowledge they do possess

Self-Efficacy • Ability to predict actual success from self-concept and self-esteem; guides your choice of communication situations • Avoid situations where self-efficacy may be low • Based on (in)ability to make a good impression, people choose computer mediated communication over face-to-face interactions • High levels of self-efficacy can lead to overconfidence; need to maintain some uncertainty

Self-Efficacy • Interpreting events • How we cope with failure and success • Do the feelings snowball and build upon each other? • Or rather, are you less emotionally affected? • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Prediction that causes an individual to alter their behavior in a way that makes the prediction more likely to occur • Can be positive or negative

Assessing our Perceptions of Self • As a communicator, you are constantly assessing your competence level for strengths and weaknesses • Evaluate your expectations, execution, and outcomes in three ways • Self-actualization • Self-adequacy • Self-denigration

Self-actualization • Feelings or thoughts you get when you know that you have negotiated a communication situation as well as possible • Most positive evaluation you can make about your competence level • Self-adequacy • Assess your communication performance as sufficient or acceptable; not stellar, but good enough • Can lead to self-improvement; not always necessary • Self-denigration • Criticizing or attacking yourself • Unnecessary and unwarranted and prevents real improvement

Behavior: managing our Identities • You define yourself internally and make decisions about how to share your internal view with others • Manifested through verbal/nonverbal behaviors • Cognition and behavior play roles in the way you perceive others and the way others perceive you • Aspects of ourselves we want to share and other aspects we would rather keep private

Self-Presentation • Intentional communication designed to show elements of self for strategic purposes • Focus on self-presentation when your social identity is being evaluated • Comes in many forms: face-to-face, email, text message, or via social networking sites • Preference may exist • Asynchronous channels (email, text message, cards) are preferred when you are unsure of the reaction your will get when you present yourself

Self-Presentation • Self-monitoring: ability to watch your environment and others in it for cues as to how to present yourself in a particular situation • High self-monitors always try to portray themselves as the “right person in the right place at the right time” • Low self-monitors communicate according to their deep-seated values or beliefs • Find the right balance of self-monitoring • High self monitors will drive themselves crazy by focusing on every little thing that they do

Self-Disclosure • Revealing yourself to others by sharing information about yourself • It must be important, not easily known by others, and must be voluntary • A tool for confirming our self-concept or improving our self esteem • It is a tactic often used to obtain reassurance or comfort from a trusted friend • Sensitivity level

Perceiving the Self and Others