Chapter 2
Perception of Self and Others
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The three stages of the perception process are _______
2. Failure to recognize a misspelling in a word used in a newspaper illustrates perception that is
limited because of ______
3. Layla and Luke are twins in the U.S. Even though they grew up in the same family at the
same time, Layla grows up thinking that being successful depends a lot on being pretty and
nice, while Luke believes being successful means making a lot of money and being
independent. These differences are likely the result of _______
4. As they were walking to the corner store, Samantha and Meagan passed by a large bush.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large dog lunged at them. Meagan gasped and dropped her
books, but Samantha laughed and said, “Oh, that dumb dog always hides behind that bush.”
Samantha’s reaction was a good example of which step of the perception process?
5. Tonya believes that she is not good at sports, so much so that when she takes part in athletic
activities she is timid and performs poorly, and usually finds a way to sideline herself from the
game. This is an example of _______
6. According to your text, the self-concept can best be defined as
_______
7. Amy was traumatized as a child when she had a bad experience jumping from a diving board.
To this day, she considers herself a poor swimmer. That experience as a child has affected her
_______
8. Deon and Janet, who do not know each other, are assigned to work on a project together at
work. Deon suggests that the two have a lunch meeting together to get to know one another
before beginning the official work. Deon’s suggestion is an effort to _______
9. According to the text, our “evaluation of competence and worthiness” defines _______
10. You find your roommate Marcus singing to himself in the kitchen, and you are impressed.
“Man, Marcus, you’ve got a great voice!” Marcus looks embarrassed. “No way, you don’t need
to try to make me feel better. I know I’m terrible. I’ve never been able to sing.” And no
matter how hard you try to convince him otherwise, Marcus continues to feel worse about his
singing ability. This gap between different perceptions is known as _______
11. Individuals with low self-esteem _______
12. Lila and Sherin are sitting in their dorm room while Sherin flips through her notes. “I’m totally
going to fail this math test tomorrow,” Sherin says. The next day, Sherin takes her test and
learns that she failed it. Her performance on the test is an example of _______
13. After your first speech, four people tell you that you did a good job, and one tells you that you
looked nervous. If you focus on the comment from the person who told you that you looked
nervous and ignore the positive comments from others, this is called _______
d. self-fulfilling prophecy
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14. According to your text, what three things affect what we select to pay attention to?
15. Racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, and able-ism are examples of ______
16. Imagine that you are saying these messages to yourself: “Oh, I have that interpersonal test in
the morning. I really haven’t studied, so maybe I’ll skip it. But maybe I won’t be able to take a
make-up test. I’d better go after all and take my chances.” This is an example of which self–
perceptions?
17. Jared wants to be a professional singer/songwriter. He performs at open-mike nights,
competes in karaoke competitions, and spends the majority of his free time writing and
rehearsing. Jared is responding to his ______
18. People from collectivist cultures tend to have higher self-esteem when they view themselves
as being _______
19. When we encounter people for the first time, we often try to gain more information about
them to help make ourselves feel more comfortable. This process is called _______
20. Most people only reveal parts of our self-perceptions depending on what we deem appropriate
to the situation. This phenomenon is called
________
21. Because Dawson is a muscular, attractive male, Emily perceives him as being popular, an
average student, and a superb athlete. This best exemplifies the idea of _______
22. Mary, who always gets good grades on her speeches, writes a paper for the same class. Even
though her paper is mediocre, her teacher gives her an A. This grade may be best explained
by the concept of _______
23. How does self-concept affect communication?
24. Moussa has preconceived beliefs about people who belong to fraternities and sororities. When
he finds out that Mike belongs to a fraternity, he believes he understands Mike because he has
a pretty good idea of what frat guys tend to be like. His “understanding” is best explained by
_______
e. assumed similarity
25. When Paul, who is Jewish, finds out that his friend is Muslim, he develops a negative attitude
toward his friend. This behavior is best labeled as _______
26. Which of these statements accurately reflects stereotypes?
27. When something is a negative action toward a social group, not just a rigid or negative
attitude, then it this is _______
28. Chet asked Drew if he could borrow a book. Drew agrees and says that he will bring it to
Chet’s room by 7 p.m. that night. When Drew has not arrived by 7:30, Chet says, “I knew I
couldn’t count on him to follow through on a promise—he’s so irresponsible.” Chet’s comment
about Drew’s behavior is _______
29. To improve perception, we should _______
30. A perception check is a skill that is used to
_______
True/False Questions
1. The perception process involves attention and selection, organization of stimuli, and
interpretation of stimuli.
2. When using conscious processing we utilized short-cut rules of thumb.
3. The terms prejudice and discrimination both involve action and can be used interchangeably.
4. We are more apt to self-monitor when we are familiar with the situation.
5. Our brains attempt to simplify complex information so that we can process it quicker and
easier.
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Essay Questions
1. Identify and describe the factors that play a role in the formation of self-concept.
2. Compare and contrast stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice.
3. Give an example of a time when you used a stereotype and it turned out to be incorrect. Why
did you believe what you did? How did it affect your communication towards that person?
How did your communication change after your realized the stereotype was incorrect? Use at
least 2 terms from the chapter in your essay.
4. Describe your communication in at least two different social situations (school, home, online,
etc.) and how your communication varies in those situations. How do these variations play in
to the ‘self’ you are constructing in each situation?
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