978-0134202037 Chapter 3 Soluotion Manual

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Chapter 3: Interpersonal Communication and Perception

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

3.1 Define perception, and explain the three stages of interpersonal perception.

3.2 List and describe the strategies we use to form impressions of others.

3.3 List and describe the strategies we use to interpret the behavior of others.

3.4 Identify the eight factors that distort the accuracy of interpersonal perception.

3.5 Identify and apply five suggestions for improving interpersonal perception.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Understanding Interpersonal Perception

Learning Objective 3.1: Define perception, and explain the three stages of interpersonal

perception.

A. To understand perception, we must begin by understanding the difference between

perception and interpersonal perception, as well as differences between passive

perception and active perception.

1. Perception is the process of experiencing your world and making sense out of what

you experience.

2. Interpersonal perception is the process by which you decide what people are like

and give meaning to their actions.

3. Passive perception occurs without conscious effort, simply in response to one’s

surroundings.

4. Active perception occurs because you seek out specific information through

intentional observation and questioning.

B. Stage 1: Selecting

1. During the selection stage, we attempt to simplify the stimuli that flood in through

our senses.

2. We Perceive and Remember Selectively

a. Four principles of selection frame the process of how we select what we see, hear,

and experience.

b. Directing our attention to specific stimuli and consequently ignoring others is

called selective perception.

c. Selective attention is the process of focusing on specific stimuli.

d. Selective exposure is our tendency to put ourselves in situations that reinforce our

attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors.

e. Selective recall occurs when we remember things we want to remember and

forget or repress things that are unpleasant, uncomfortable, or unimportant to us.

3. We Thin Slice

a. Thin slicing is using a small sample of someone’s behavior and then generalizing

as to what the person may be like, based on the brief information you have

observed.

b. There is evidence that women are better at interpreting nonverbal cues than men

are.

C. Stage 2: Organizing

1. We Create Categories

a. After we select stimuli to attend to, we start to categorize, organizing them into

convenient, understandable, and efficient patterns that allow us to make sense of

what we have observed; we superimpose a familiar structure over the information

we select.

b. People also search for and apply patterns to their perceptions of other people.

2. We Link Categories

a. The way we link information depends partly on the way we punctuate it or how

we make sense out of stimuli by grouping, dividing, organizing, separating, and

categorizing information.

b. When it comes to punctuating relational events and behaviors, we each develop

our own separate set of standards.

3. We Seek Closure

a. Closure is the process we use to fill in missing information or gaps in what we

perceive.

b. When we have an incomplete picture of another human being, we impose a

pattern or structure, classify the person on the basis of the information we do

have, and fill in any missing information.

D. Stage 3: Interpreting

1. We attempt to make sense of the information we see and hear.

2. We interpret the meaning of verbal and nonverbal cues we experience.

II. Forming Impressions of Others

Learning Objective 3.2: List and describe the strategies we use to form impressions of

others.

A. Impressions are collections of perceptions (physical qualities, behavior, what people tell

us, and what others tell us about them, according to impression formation theory) about

others that we maintain and use to interpret their behaviors.

B. We Develop Our Own Theories About Others

1. Most people rely on an implicit personality theory—our personal set of assumptions

and expectations or patterns of qualities that we attribute to people—to understand

them, which helps us organize the vast array of information we have about people’s

personalities.

2. Constructs are bipolar qualities or continuums we use to classify people, such as

“good” or “bad,” “warm,” or “cold.”

3. Uncertainty reduction theory suggests that one of the main reasons we

communicate at all is to reduce our uncertainty about others.

C. We Form Impressions of Others Online: The Social Media Effect

1. Others evaluate you based on what you have posted on social media.

2. What others say about you on Facebook social media is more likely to have an effect

on how others perceive you than what you post.

3. Other people may also be making inferences about your popularity, personality, and

sincerity simply by noting the number of friends you have on your Facebook wall; too

few or too many friends is likely to lower your social attractiveness as perceived by

others.

D. We Emphasize What Comes First: The Primacy Effect

1. When we form impressions of others, we pay more attention to our first impressions.

2. The tendency to pay greater attention to the first piece of information we receive is

called the primacy effect.

3. Predicted outcomes value theory (POV) suggests that we make predictions about

the future of a relationship based on our initial interactions with the people we meet;

this supports the primacy effect.

4. When we first meet someone, we use our early knowledge (primacy effect) to help us

make decisions about whether to continue or diminish the relationship.

E. We Emphasize What Comes Last: The Recency Effect

1. When we place heavy emphasis on the most recent information we observe, the

recency effect has occurred.

2. The last impression or communication we receive may be the cause of the perceptions

we form.

F. We Generalize Positive Qualities to Others: The Halo Effect

1. Categorizing people as those we “like” often creates a halo effect, in which we

attribute a variety of positive qualities to them without personally confirming the

existence of these qualities.

2. When you add a “halo” to your impression of a person, you then apply to that person

those qualities from your implicit personality theory that applies to people you like.

G. We Generalize Negative Qualities to Others: The Horn Effect

1. The horn effect involves attributing a variety of negative qualities to people simply

because we do not like them.

2. Research suggests that during periods of conflict in our relationships, we are more

likely to attribute negative behaviors to our feuding partner than we are to ourselves.

3. Infante and Rancer observed that some people have a tendency to see the worst in

others, which causes them to lash out and be verbally aggressive.

4. Some people may interpret any negative feedback as a personal attack.

III. Interpreting the Behavior of Others

Learning Objective 3.3: List and describe the strategies we use to interpret the behavior of

others.

A. We Attribute Motives to Others’ Behavior: Attribution Theory

1. Attribution theory explains how we ascribe specific motives and causes to the

behaviors of others.

a. We attempt to apply common sense to our observations to understand what others

do.

b. We attempt to explain people’s motives for their actions through the most credible

explanation.

2. Causal attribution theory identifies three potential causes for any person’s action:

circumstance, a stimulus, or the person herself or himself.

a. Attributing the behavior to circumstance means you believe the person acted a

certain way because the situation leaves no choice.

b. Attributing the behavior to the stimulus means you believe the person acted in

response to an incentive.

c. Attributing the behavior to the person means you believe there is a quality about

the person that caused the behavior.

B. We Use Our Own Point of Reference About Power: Standpoint Theory

1. Standpoint theory explains that a person’s social position, power, or cultural

background influences how the person perceives the behavior of others; where you

stand influences what you see.

2. Standpoint theory explains why people with differing cultural backgrounds have

different perceptions of others’ behavior.

C. We Draw on Our Own Cultural Background: Intercultural Communication Theory

1. Culture is a learned system of knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, values, and

norms, shared by a group of people.

2. Culture elements include: material culture, social institutions, belief systems,

aesthetics, and language.

3. Researchers have found that stereotyping—making rigid judgments of others based

on a small bit of information—is rampant in many cultures.

In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion

Relating to Diverse Others: The Power of Being Other-Oriented

This feature highlights the importance of being other-oriented to show more empathy and

understanding to people from diverse backgrounds. Use the four questions in this feature as a

starting point for a class discussion about applying aspects of standpoint theory to students’

personal lives.

IV. Identifying Barriers to Accurate Interpersonal Perception

Learning Objective 3.4: Identify the eight factors that distort the accuracy of interpersonal

perception.

A. We Stereotype

1. To stereotype is to attribute a set of qualities to a person because of a person’s

membership in some category.

2. We allow our preexisting rigid explanations about others to influence our perceptions.

3. When we stereotype others, we overgeneralize, or treat small amounts of information

as if they were highly representative.

B. We Ignore Information

1. People sometimes do not focus on important information, because they give too much

weight to information that is obvious and superficial.

2. Often, we are unaware that others are making biased attributions, because they do not

express them openly.

3. At other times, we can tell by the way others react to us and treat us.

4. Researchers have found that we hold what are called implicit attitudes that affect how

we perceive others.

5. Categorizing individuals is not an inherently bad thing to do, but it is harmful to hang

onto an inflexible image of another person in the face of contradictory information.

In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion

#communicationandtechnology: The SIDE Model: Forming Stereotypes Online

This feature explains the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE), which says

that people are more likely to reduce someone to a stereotype—or, to use a technical term, to

deindividuate them—online because we have fewer cues to help us develop a clear impression.

Findings from two research studies are presented. Use the three questions in the research

implications section to start a class discussion about how students can counter tendencies to

oversimplify and stereotype others online.

C. We Impose Consistency

1. We overestimate the consistency and constancy of others’ behaviors, ignoring

fluctuations.

2. As intimacy develops in relationships, we interact with our partners in varying

circumstances that provide a more complete picture of our behavior.

D. We Focus on the Negative

1. We focus on the negative, giving more weight to negative information than to

positive information.

2. We have a tendency to focus on the negative information for others and for ourselves.

E. We Blame Others, Assuming They Have Control

1. People are more likely to believe that others are to blame when things go wrong than

to believe that the problem was beyond their control.

2. The fundamental attribution error occurs when we think that a person’s behavior is

influenced by his or her actions and choices rather than by external causes.

3. You can enhance the quality of your relationships when you own up to making

perceptual errors.

F. We Avoid Responsibility

1. People are more likely to save face by believing that they are not the cause of a

problem; people assume that other people or events are more than likely the source of

problems or events that may put them in an unfavorable light.

2. Self-serving bias occurs when we perceive our own behavior as more positive than

others’ behavior.

In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion

Improving Your Communication Skills

Assuming the Best or the Worst About Others: Identifying Alternative Explanations

This feature expands on the fundamental attribution error and asks students to consider whether

they give others the benefit of the doubt or assume the worst about others intentions. Use the

bulleted points to have students think about the first explanation that comes to mind if the

scenario were to happen to them. Additional reflection questions about the fundamental

attribution error are also provided.

V. Improving Interpersonal Perception Skills

Learning Objective 3.5: Identify and apply five suggestions for improving interpersonal

perception.

A. Be Aware of Your Personal Perception Barriers

1. Identify the perception barriers that you fall prey to most often.

2. Being aware of perception barriers and minimize their impact during interactions with

others.

B. Be Mindful of the Behaviors That Create Meaning for You

1. Mindful is being conscious of what you are doing, thinking, and sensing at any given

moment.

2. Try to find one new thing to identify and observe when you are interacting with other

people.

C. Link Details with the Big Picture

1. Keep the big picture in mind when looking for clues about another person.

2. Look and listen for cues that can help you better understand the other person.

D. Become Aware of Others’ Perceptions of You

1. Seek out as much feedback from others about what you are doing right and wrong.

2. The strongest relationships are those in which both partners are willing to share their

perceptions and be receptive to the perceptions of others.

E. Check Your Perceptions

1. Indirect perception checking involves seeking additional information through passive

perception to either confirm or refute your interpretations.

2. Direct perception checking involves asking straight out if your interpretations of a

perception are correct.

F. Become Other-Oriented

1. The key to becoming other-oriented is by showing empathy and social decentering.

2. Gather as much knowledge about the circumstances that are affecting the other person

as possible.

3. Gather as much knowledge about the other person as possible.

In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion

Communication and Emotion: How to Perceive the Emotions of Others More Accurately

This feature presents information about how to improve perception of others’ emotions by using

perception checking. Use these bulleted points as a starting point for a class discussion on

strategies that help with improving perception checking.

In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion

Applying an Other-Orientation to Interpersonal Perception

This feature points out several questions to help students become more other-oriented. Have

students identify different interactions that they will encounter in which being other-oriented is

particularly important (e.g., asking someone on a date, attending a job interview). Use the

questions in this feature for a class discussion on how students can be more other-oriented in

different situations.

KEY TERMS

perception, LO 3.1

interpersonal perception,

LO 3.1

passive perception, LO 3.1

active perception, LO 3.1

selective perception,

LO 3.1

selective attention, LO 3.1

selective exposure, LO 3.1

selective recall, LO 3.1

thin slicing, LO 3.1

cognitive schema, LO 3.1

superimpose, LO 3.1

punctuation, LO 3.1

closure, LO 3.1

impressions, LO 3.2

impression formation

theory, LO 3.2

implicit personality theory,

LO 3.2

construct, LO 3.2

uncertainty reduction

theory, LO 3.2

primacy effect, LO 3.2

predicted outcome value

theory (POV), LO 3.2

recency effect, LO 3.2

halo effect, LO 3.2

horn effect, LO 3.2

attribution theory, LO 3.3

causal attribution theory,

LO 3.3

standpoint theory, LO 3.3

culture, LO 3.3

stereotype, LO 3.4

social identity model of

deindividuation effects

(SIDE), LO 3.4

fundamental attribution

error, LO 3.4

self-serving bias, LO 3.4

mindful, LO 3.5

indirect perception

checking, LO 3.5

direct perception checking,

LO 3.5

LECTURE TOPICS

1. When we focus on one thing, it means that we exclude others. How does this work in your

everyday life? What are the consequences? What are the benefits?

2. When you aren’t sure of your own perceptions, do you tend to use direct or indirect

perception checking? When would you consider each to be more appropriate than the other?

Explain.

3. Think of a time when you used predicted outcomes values theory in an initial interaction with

someone. Did you decide to pursue a relationship of any kind with that person? Why or why

not? If you knew them longer than that initial interaction, did your perception of them

change? Why do you think it did or did not?

GROUP IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

1. Direct Perception-Checking Role-Plays

• Ask for several pairs of volunteers or divide the entire class into pairs.

• Give each pair of students one of the following pairs of perception-checking scenarios.

• Ask students to create several lines of dialogue to enact their scenarios.

• Have pairs perform their scenarios for the class; have the class provide comments and

suggestions on the handling of each type of scenario.

Scenarios

• This morning, your boss told you that he or she wants to speak with you this afternoon

and that you need to arrive at his or her office on time. You have been wondering what

your boss meant by this and now you see an opportunity to ask your boss, before the

afternoon meeting.

• You found a bouquet of flowers at your doorstep this morning. There was no note. You

have been crazed with curiosity about the flowers. Now you run into a colleague who,

you believe, has a crush on you.

• Your significant other said that he or she would telephone you last night, but you

received no calls. Now you have an opportunity to speak with him or her, face to face.

• Yesterday was your birthday and you heard nothing from one of your closest friends.

Now you encounter this friend.

• Your instructor insisted that you promptly turn in an assignment. In addition, he or she

had been unwilling to allow you the one extra workday you had requested. It has been

two weeks since you turned in the assignment and you have not received it back. You see

your instructor in the hall.

• You just heard the end of a group conversation in which one of the participants

concluded loudly, “That sounds like some people I know,” and then looked quickly at

you. Now that person is walking away from the group, toward you.

• This morning, one of your acquaintances looked straight at you but did not respond when

you said “Hello.” Now you see this person again.

• Lately you have noticed a change in the appearance of one of your friends. He or she

looks thinner, is constantly perspiring, and trembles most of the time. What do you say to

your friend?

• A classmate of yours is looking at you every time you look in his or her direction. The

classmate does not look away, even if you stare at him or her for a long time. Now you

encounter each other outside of class.

2. Impression Formation in the Classroom

Objective: To illustrate the pervasiveness of impressions based on general physical qualities,

behaviors, and disclosed information

Directions:

1. Divide the class into pairs.

2. Instruct students to spend a few minutes getting to know their partners.

3. Provide all students with copies of the following list of variables.

4. Ask students to record their impressions of each other, according to these variables.

5. Ask them to also record the stimuli that gave rise to their impressions.

6. Carefully instruct students to refrain from speaking while recording their impressions.

7. When everyone has finished recording, have pairs share their impressions and their bases

with each other.

8. As a class, discuss the accuracy of the impressions formed. Question the speed and

confidence with which they formed those impressions.

9. Ask: Has your impression of the other changed as a result of this exercise?

Variables:

• Age

• Socioeconomic background

• Political affiliations or beliefs

• Hobbies or interests

• Personality characteristics

• Cultural background

• Religious preferences

• Current living arrangements (i.e., dorm, apartment, etc.)

• Major in college

• Romantic attachments

3. Perceptions of Our Environment. Lead your class through the following exercise:

Think of every piece of sensory information present in this room. Let’s begin with the

physical environment: What noises are present? What colors are present? What objects are

present? What smells? Is the temperature comfortable or unpleasant? Now, let’s move on to

the interpersonal stimuli present in the room: Do you feel tension with any other person in

the room? Is there anyone you are attracted to or drawn to in some way? Is there anyone in

the room that you have regrets about (perhaps you treated them poorly in the past)? What

stimuli in the room are you only aware of because you are participating in this exercise?

The point is that we are bombarded with a great deal of stimuli. We cannot possibly attend to

all of it, so we select some things to focus on and designate other things as unimportant or

irrelevant.

Ask students if they have ever been listening to a piece of music that they had heard many

times before . . . when they suddenly became aware of an instrument layered deep in the mix

that they had never before noticed. How did that discovery affect their appreciation or

enjoyment of the music?

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

1. Standpoint Theory: What is your social perception? Dorothy E. Smith is a standpoint

theorist often referenced in sociological theory texts. She shares some interesting thoughts

about how our perceptions color the way in which we view someone. How have students’

own experiences influenced their social perception of the world? Have students write a

reflection on how social location, privilege, education, gender, and other factors affect their

perception of the world.

2. Fundamental Attribution Errors. Before the next class, have students keep track of actions

you see other people engage in for which you COULD make a fundamental attribution error.

For an example of the fundamental attribution error at work, imagine yourself walking down

a crowded sidewalk, carrying loaded bags from shops. If someone bumps into you, you are

probably inclined to think, “What an idiot! That person has no respect for others, he clearly

saw me!” In this assessment of the person’s behavior, you may fail to consider situational

factors, like someone else bumping into that person or your failure to realize that your bags

are taking up more room than you think they are, thus forcing people to bump into you as

they try to get around you.

For each scenario, create a list of what the fundamental attribution errors might have been

and what the more likely cause of the situation may have been.

Finally, explain why you might have made the error in the first place and how you could

be sure in the future that such errors are reduced in number and in frequency.

3. Editorial Biases. Have students find a newspaper editorial and write an evaluation based on

any barriers to accurate perception illustrated in it. Finally, have students write about how

these barriers could have been overcome.

REVEL WRITING EXERCISES

Journal Writing

3.1 Journal: Perception. Describe your current environment. What is going on around you at

the moment? What are you hearing? What do you see? What can you smell? Are there other

people around? Are you perceiving other things that you are able to ignore or tune out? Explain.

3.2 Journal: Forming Impressions. Think of a recent interaction with a friend, family member,

or work colleague in which you interpreted the person’s behavior incorrectly. Did you attribute

specific motives to the person’s behavior? What led you to ascribe these motives? What was the

outcome of the exchange?

3.3 Journal: Standpoint Theory. Standpoint theory suggests that people may have power and

not always be aware that they have it. To increase your awareness of the power and influence

you have on others, describe the sources of power you possess and ways that you influence

others at school, in your family, or within your circle of friends.

3.4 Journal: Perceiving Others. What do you think contributes to the tendency to perceive

others inaccurately? How might the effects of those factors be minimized or eliminated?

3.5 Journal: Your Perceptions. If you are aware of how you are distorting your own

perceptions and attributions, should you try to change? Are people morally obligated to perceive

others accurately? Explain your reasoning.

Shared Writing: The Social Media Effect

Work with a group of your classmates and discuss some ways you form impressions of others

online. Have you ever judged people based on what photos they post on Facebook or what they

write on Twitter? Have you ever found these impressions to be misleading or inaccurate? Have

these impressions changed your online behavior?