Perceptions of Self & Others

8/7/2019 Perceptions of Self & Others

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Perception - The process of selectivelyattending to information and assigningmeaning to it

For each person PERCEPTION BECOMESREALITY what they see, hear and interpret isreal and considered true to that person

When perceptions are different, sharing

becomes more challenging Perception happens when your brain selects

some of the information it receives from yoursenses (sensory stimuli), organizes theinformation, and then interprets its


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We are constantly barraged with

sensory stimuli, yet we focus our

attention on relatively little of it

Just like how we have multiple channels ontelevision but choose to watch our favorites;multiple radio stations to choose from; cerealsto choose from; even in our choice of paperfor office needs certain things about thepaper may catch our attention and that willbe what we tend to focus on in our search


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Needs We are likely to pay attention toinformation that meets our biological &psychological needs Your brain communicates intrapersonally by asking

questions like Will what I learn here help me in school,at work, in my own life?

Interests We are likely to pay attention toinformation that pertains to ourinterests The boss may drone on and on at the company

meetings, but as soon as you hear him speak aboutvacation or pay changes you may instantly startlistening intently

Expectations We are likely to see what we expectto see and miss information that violates ourexpectations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3SErzcezmU


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We use the selection process to reduce thenumber of stimuli we process, though theamount we attend to at any moment is

vast Our brains arrange these stimuli so that they

make sense according to organizingprinciples such as simplicity and pattern

Simplicity When we choose to attend to

complex stimuli our brain simplifies the stimuli

into some more commonly recognized form


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Pattern - A set of characteristics used todifferentiate some things from others

We tend to find patterns that that help usorganize and respond to information. Whatpattern did you find?


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As the brain receives selects - organizes

information from the senses, it also has to

interpret it by assigning meaning to it

Such as when you see numbers in certainformats you may interpret them a certainway

x 11 8 80 A birth date

x 616 794 3445 A phone #

x 54914 A zip code

x 4495 3820 2040 5843 A credit card #

x 645 81 2398 A social security #


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Self-Concept Your Self-Identity. The mentalimage you have about your skills, abilities,

knowledge, competencies, and personality Self-Esteem Your overall evaluation of your

competence and personal worthiness. In

short, your positive or negative evaluation of

your self-concept These are the 2 perceptions of self that have

the greatest impact on how wecommunicate


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Our self-concept is our identity, it is whowe thinkwe really are

Self-concept is based on personalexperiences and others reactions andresponses to us Personal Experiences

x Positive experiences shape our Self-Concept inpositive ways

x Negative experiences shape our Self-Conceptin a negative way and have a lasting effecton us


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_GTQwv7BeU

Other peoples comments serve to validate,reinforce, or alter our perception of whom and whatwe are

Comments from people we respect have anespecially powerful affect on our self-concept

Immediate praise is more powerful than delayedpraise

Self-

Concept forms early in life, our families reactionsshape our self-conceptboth good and bad!

Sometimes families do real damage to a membersSelf-Concepts. Pointing blame, name-calling, andrepeatedly pointing out anothers shortcomings areespecially damaging


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Self-Esteem is rooted in our values and develops

over time as a result of our experiences

Self-esteem is not just how well or poorly we do

things, but also the importance or value we place onwhat we do well or poorly

High Self-Esteem requires both perception ofhaving characteristics and a belief that thecharacteristic is valuable

Self-Esteem can affect the types of relationships we

form and who we form them with

People with low self-esteem tend to be committed to

partners who feel they are less favorable


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Culture has a strong influence on theSelf-Perception process

Individualistic Cultures like the US careabout self-concept, self-esteem, self-image. People tend to think1st of what isbest forthemselves

Collectivist Cultures like China regardgroups and social norms to be moreimportant than individuals. People areexpected to be interdependent and seethemselves as part of a group


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Men and Women are socialized to viewthemselves differently and value who they arebased on whether their characteristics orbehaviors correspond to or challenge the

characteristics or behaviors expected of their sexin their culture

Norms for what it means to be feminine ormasculine inevitably influence our self-perceptions Girls want to play with dolls, Boys want to play cars

Today in the US the definitions of appropriatecharacteristics and behaviors for males andfemales are becoming less rigid, but do still exist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTij4txO8Uk


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Self-concept and Self-esteem are enduring characteristicsbut they can be changed

Contradictions to your current self-perception can lead

you to slowly change it; however, profound changes inyour social environment can seem to expedite the process

Therapy & Self-help techniques can assist when we wantto alter our self-concept and improve our self-esteem

Self-esteem is important in communication because itaffects with whom we choose to form relationships with,how we interact with them, how we participate in small

groups, and how comfortable we feel when we are calledon to present a speech

Improving your perception of self will improve how you

interact with others and improvinghow you interact withothers will improve your self-perception!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWzbIVwGd1E


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Accuracy of our self-concept & self-esteem dependson the accuracy of our own perceptions and howwe process others perceptions of us

If we are overly attentive to successful & positiveresponses, our self-concept and self-esteem maybecome inflated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRDfiVP4eM&playne

xt=1&list=PLFD5FA4B91E243BFB Do you know anyone like this? How is it to communicate

with them?

If we dwell on failures and give little value to oursuccesses, and/or only remember the criticism wereceive, our self-concept and self-esteem may bedeflated


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Incongruence the gap between our

inaccurate self-perceptions and reality

This is a problem because ourperceptions of self are more likely toaffect our behavior than our true abilities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBR0GDmVd_A


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The inaccuracy of a distorted self-perceptionis magnified through Self-fulfilling prophecies,filtering messages, and reliance on mediaimages

Self-fulfilling Prophecies A falseperception of a situation or characteristicor skill that leads to behaviors thatperpetuate that false perception as true

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wL5t8YH1Q


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A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy may be self-created orother-imposed

Self Created Prophecies Predictions you make aboutyourself. We often talk ourselves into success or failure! Self-esteem has an important effect on our self-perception

and on the prophecies we make

People with low self-esteem attribute their successes to luck,so they prophesize that they will not repeat them

People with high self-esteem see their successes as self-created so they prophesize that they WILL repeat them

Other-Imposed Prophecies have a large affect on ourperception of our self and our behavior

When bosses act as if their employees are bright andcapable, those employees buy into this expectation andperform better as a result. The same goes for bosses that actlike their employees are incompetent and stupid, thoseemployees will most certainly under-perform the others

Have you ever experienced a self-fulfilling prophecy basedon what others have said? How did that influence your self-

concept and your self-esteem?


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The way we filter what others say to us is

another way that our self-perceptions

can/may become distorted

We are prone to pay attention to

messages that reinforce our current

self-image; though messages that

contradict this image may not register If your boss tells you that you are great at

public speaking though youve never been,you may not pay attention to the compliment


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Verbal & Visual Images we see in the mediais the 3rd way in which our perceptions of selfcan become distorted

Social learning theory suggest that we striveto copy the characteristics and behaviors ofthose we perceive as Ideal Types

Persistent Media Images of violence,promiscuity, profanity, bulk-up males andpencil-thin females are all linked to distortedperceptions of self among viewers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-P-pQ_yRmA


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Ones self-concept and self-esteem will affecthow accurately we perceive ourselves, but itwill also influence our communication byallowing our Self-Perceptions to:

Moderate how we talk to ourselves

Moderate how we talk about ourselves toothers

Affect Communication Apprehension

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2oUl_6yWGw


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Self Talk The internal conversations we

have with ourselves. A lot of these are

about ourselves Positive Self-Talk is likely to be seen in

individuals with High Self-Esteem

Negative Self-Talk is likely to be seen in

individuals with Low Self-Esteem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aM

ISACsgXQ


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If we feel good about ourselves we are morelikely to communicate positively

People with higher self-esteems and healthy

perceptions will usually take credit for theirsuccesses and are more inclined to defendtheir views even in the face of opposition

Low self-esteem leaves us feeling bad aboutourselves, we then are more likely to

communicate negatively and downplay ouraccomplishments People with poor self-concept and low self-esteem

may find it easier to put themselves down than tohear the criticism from others; they are usually the 1st

to comment on their unworthiness so others dont


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One of the most unfortunate consequencesof a poor self-concept and low self-esteemis a high level of Communication

Apprehension People with a fear of speaking with others,

whether public or one-on-one, tend toengage in negative self-talk that leads to aself-fulfilling prophecy

REMEMBER: The negative self-talk that leadsto communication apprehension CAN BEreversed by replacing negative self-talkwith positive self-talk!


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Your self-concept and self-esteem are thetrue perceptions of what you think ofyourself

When we interact with others we tend tomask some of who we really think we are tomeet or violate others expectations As a result of this we tend to create different

selves to present in different situations withdifferent people

How differently you present yourself indifferent social settings/relationshipsdepends on how actively you self-monitor


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Self-Monitoring The internal process of observing,analyzing and regulating your own behavior based onyour analysis of the situation and others responses to you

Monitoring and making choices on how to act is aninternal process that others probably wont know you aredoing

Involves being sensitive to other peoples feedback andusing this information in deciding how to act and whatroles to play

People differ in when & how carefully they self-monitor Some are very cautious and always vigilant in all areas Others are careful to monitor when they perceive

themselves to be in a risky or new situation, but are lessattentive in safer relationships or situations Few people seem unable to self-monitor they tend to do

or say the wrong things because they are not payingattention to how they are coming across

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrJrw5ZZfRU


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A Role is a pattern of learned behaviors thatwe use to meet the perceived demands of aparticular context

We socially construct ourselves through theroles we enact

We begin this Self-Construction process at birthand continue it throughout our lives

Who here has a Facebook/MySpace?

How much time and effort did you put intocreating it?

Does it reflect you or did you pick and choosewhat you would present for others to see?


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As we encounter new people or experience newsituations, most of us feel somewhat to profoundlyanxious This leaves us searching for ways to alleviate the

anxietyenter Uncertainty Reduction

Uncertainty Reduction The process of monitoring thesocial environment to learn more about self andothers

The more we learn about each other and findcommonalities, the less uncertain we are about eachother Perceptions will be reinforced, intensified or

changed as relationships develop Factors likely to influence perceptions of others

include our observations of their physicalcharacteristics & social behaviors, our interpretationof those messages, our use of stereotyping and ouremotional state


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What is yourimpression of these 2people based on

these photos alone?

How far off were your

1st Impressions?


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Today especially, potential employers canmake judgments about job applicants basedon impressions gleaned from the applicantshome pages, profiles, and even the email

address they provide Profile pictures of you upside down chugging a beer

bong will not leave others with a good impression ofyou

Status updates with profanity and disrespect towardsothers does not give people a positive perception of

you An email address such [email protected] [email protected] does not give othersa positive perception of you either


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Implicit Personality Theories Assumptionsabout which physical characteristics andpersonality traits or behaviors areassociated with one another

Halo Effect To generalize and perceivethat a person has a whole set ofcharacteristics when you have actually

observed only one characteristic, trait orbehavior

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0e73YzLK68


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It is human nature to name, label andorganize to make sense of the stimuli weencounter, so we inherently have to becareful to not Stereotype the individuals weencounter in our lives

Stereotypes are generalizations, usuallyexaggerated or oversimplified and oftenoffensive, used to describe or distinguish agroup

Because stereotypes guide what weperceive, they can lead us to pay attentionto information that confirms them andoverlook information that contradicts them


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Stereotyping can lead to prejudice

and discrimination

Prejudice A rigid attitude that is basedon group membership and predisposes

an individual to feel, think or act in a

negative way towards another person

or group Discrimination A negative action

toward a social group or its members on

account of group membership


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A final factor that affects how accurately weperceive others is our emotional state at the time ofthe interaction If your coworker is rude to you right after you have just

received a raise at work you are more likely to let yourpositive mood counter their actions possibly making anexcuse for them such as they were having a bad day

Emotional State also affects our attributions Attributions Reasons we give for others behavior Attribution Theory states that what we determine

rightly or wrongly to be the causes of others

behavior has a direct impact on our perceptions ofthem If your boss is late for work and you arent particularly fond

of him, you might attribute his lateness to him being lazy orhypocritical ; Instead if you like your boss you mayattribute his lateness to bad traffic or car trouble possibly


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Factors that influence how we perceive othersmessages include Context and Shared Language

We interpret the content and intent of a speakerbased on the Context

The better we know others, the more likely we are

to share an understanding of the context in whichour messages are sent and receivedinside jokesare a great example of this!

When both participants speak the same language,they still may not enjoy a shared language in

terms of how each one perceives specific words,visual images and nonverbal cues In other words, the sender might use a word with

which the receiver is unfamiliar, use a word that hasmultiple meanings, misuse a symbol, or use apersonal and idiosyncratic definitions of a word


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Improving perceptual accuracy is an important first step inbecoming a competent communicator. Use the followingguidelines to help you:

1. Question the accuracy of your perceptions I know what I think I saw, heard, tasted, smelled or felt, but I could be

wrong. What other information should I be aware of?

2.Seek more information to verify perception

s

If your perception is based on only one or two pieces of information, try tocollect additional information

3. Realize that your perceptions of a person will change over time When you encounter someone you havent seen for a while, you will want

to become reacquainted and let the persons current behavior form yourperceptions instead of allowing their past to affect if

4.Use the

skill of perception checking Perception Checking A message that reflects your understanding of the

meaning of another persons nonverbal behavior

One way to assess the accuracy of a perception is to verbalize it and seewhether others agree with what you see, hear, and interpret

Perception Checking calls for you to (1) watch the behavior of the otherperson, and (2) ask yourself What does that behavior mean to me? And(3) describe the behavior & put your interpretation into words to verify your

perception

Perceptions of Self & Others

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