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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 superiorityPrejudic

e

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