Perception, Attribution, Diversity
Chapter 3 Perception, Attribution and Diversity
Perception – the process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and meaning to the environment people base their actions on the interpretation of reality that their perceptual system provides rather than on reality itself
Components of Perception
The perceiver
Their experience, needs and emotions can affect his or her perceptions of a target
Most important characteristic is experience
Past experiences lead the perceiver to develop expectations and those affect current perceptions
Our needs unconsciously affect our perceptions by causing us to perceive what we wish to perceive
Perceptual defence – The tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver against unpleasant emotions
The target
Perception involves interpretation and adding meaning to the target. Ambig targets are especially susceptible to interpretation and addition
The situation
Every instance on perception occurs in some situational context and this context affects what one perceives
Most important effect is that it adds information about the target
Perceiver and target may remain the same but the perception of the target will change depending on the situation
Social Identity Theory
People form perceptions of themselves based on personal characteristics and memberships in social categories – basically composed of a personal identity and a social identity
Personality identity –traits, unique personal characteristics
Social identity – social groups like gender, nationality, religion
People tend to perceive members from their own social category more positively than if they from another social category
A model of the perceptual process
According to Jerome Bruner, this is what happens
Unfamiliar target encountered
Openness to target cues
Familiar cues encountered
(social) target categorized
Cue selectivity (perceiver actively ignores/distorts cues that contradict initial categorization)
Perception – the process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and meaning to the environment people base their actions on the interpretation of reality that their perceptual system provides rather than on reality itself
Components of Perception
The perceiver
Their experience, needs and emotions can affect his or her perceptions of a target
Most important characteristic is experience
Past experiences lead the perceiver to develop expectations and those affect current perceptions
Our needs unconsciously affect our perceptions by causing us to perceive what we wish to perceive
Perceptual defence – The tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver against unpleasant emotions
The target
Perception involves interpretation and adding meaning to the target. Ambig targets are especially susceptible to interpretation and addition
The situation
Every instance on perception occurs in some situational context and this context affects what one perceives
Most important effect is that it adds information about the target
Perceiver and target may remain the same but the perception of the target will change depending on the situation
Social Identity Theory
People form perceptions of themselves based on personal characteristics and memberships in social categories – basically composed of a personal identity and a social identity
Personality identity –traits, unique personal characteristics
Social identity – social groups like gender, nationality, religion
People tend to perceive members from their own social category more positively than if they from another social category
A model of the perceptual process
According to Jerome Bruner, this is what happens
Unfamiliar target encountered
Openness to target cues
Familiar cues encountered
(social) target categorized
Cue selectivity (perceiver actively ignores/distorts cues that contradict initial categorization)