COMM5 Instructor Manual Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Perception of Self and Others
Goal: To understand the perception process and learn to create accurate perceptions of self
and others.
Overview: This chapter defines perception as the process of gathering sensory information
and assigning meaning to it. It looks at various states of perception, the different types of
perception, and ways to increase the accuracy level of our perceptions of ourselves and
others.
Learning Outcomes:
2-1 Describe the perception process.
2-2 Explain how self-perception is formed and maintained.
2-3 Employ communication strategies to improve self-perceptions.
2-4 Examine how we form perceptions of others.
2-5 Employ strategies to improve perceptions of others.
Key Terms:
Ableism
Ageism
Assumed similarity
Attributions
Automatic processing
Conscious processing
Discrimination
Dispositional attribution
Ethnocentrism
Forced consistency
Heterosexism
Heuristics
Ideal self-concept
Implicit personality
Theory
Impression formation
Incongruence
Independent self–
perceptions
Interdependent self-
perceptions
Perception
Perception check
Prejudice
Racism
Selective perception
Self-concept
Self-esteem
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Self-monitoring
Self-perception
Self-talk
Sexism
Situational attribution
Social construction of self
Social perception
Social presence
Stereotypes
Uncertainty reduction
Figures and Tables:
Figure 2.1 Expectations and Perceptions
Chapter Outline
I. The perception process: the process of selectively attending to sensory information and
assigning meaning to it. Your brain selects information, organizes the information, and
interprets and evaluates it.
A. Attention and selection depend upon
1. Needs
2. Interests
3. Expectation
B. Organization of stimuli takes place within the brain and may follow these principles:
1. Simplicity: we simplify verbal messages and nonverbal behaviors
2. Pattern: a set of characteristics used to differentiate some things from others
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C. Interpretation of stimuli: assigning meaning to information gathered
D. Most of the perceptual processing we do happens subconsciously. We use heuristics,
which are our short-cut rules of thumb for understanding how to perceive something
based on past experience with similar stimuli.
II. Perception of self: self-concept and self-esteem. Self concept is your self-identity. Self-
esteem is your overall evaluation of your competence and personal worthiness.
A. Forming and maintaining self-concept
1. Self-perception: unique interpretations about ourselves that we have made based
on experience
2. Whereas self-concept is our perception of our competencies and personality
traits, self-esteem is our positive or negative evaluation of those competencies
and traits.
a. Our personal experiences are critical to forming our self-concept
b. Our self-esteem can affect the types of relationships we form and with whom
B. Culture and self-perceptions
1. The influence of culture and gender on perception: background and gender will
affect your view of self, expectations, roles, and self-esteem
2. Individualistic versus collectivist cultures: individualist cultures focus more on
the individual, whereas collectivist cultures will emphasize the interdependent
nature of groups.
3. Male versus female norms: gender roles affect behavioral expectations.
4. Although cultural expectations for gender are becoming less rigid, they still have
a strong influence.
C. Accuracy of self-concept and self-esteem dependent on accuracy of our own
perceptions and how we process others’ perceptions of us
1. Incongruence: gap between our inaccurate self-perceptions and reality
2. Self-fulfilling prophecy: events that happen as the result of being foretold,
expected, or talked about
3. Filtering messages: we are prone to pay attention to messages that reinforce our
current self-image and ignore messages that contradict this image
4. Media images: visual and verbal messages we see through television, the
internet, and other media affect our perceptions. Body image is one aspect of
perception that is often negatively affected by media.
III. Self-perception and communication
A. Self-talk: the internal conversations we have with ourselves
A. How we communicate with others: how we perceive ourselves affects how we
communicate to other people. People with better self-esteem are more likely to
defend their points and stand up for themselves than those with low self-esteem
and negative self-concepts.
B. Communication apprehension: people with poor self-concepts and low self-
esteem are more likely to have higher levels of communication apprehension
than those with positive self-concepts and high self-esteem.
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B. Self-monitoring
A. Self-monitoring is the internal process of observing and regulating your own
behavior based on your analysis of the situation and others responses to you.
B. Some people self-monitor more than others and/or more effectively than others.
Still others seem unable to monitor at all.
C. We are more likely to self-monitor when we are in new situations.
C. Changing self-perceptions
A. Self-concept and self-esteem are fairly enduring characteristics, but they can be
changed
B. Improving self-perception improves how we interact with others, and improving
how we interact with others improves self-perception.
IV. Perception of others
A. Uncertainty reduction theory: the process of monitoring the social environment to learn
more about self and others.
B. We engage in a variety of processes to form our perceptions about others. Researchers
call these processes impression formation
1. Physical appearance: the first thing we notice about other people is how they look
2. Implicit personality theories: assumptions people have developed about which
physical characteristics and personality traits or behaviors are associated with
another
3. Assumed similarity: we form impressions about others by assuming that someone
who shares one characteristic with us also shares others
C. Making Attributions
1. Attributions are reasons we give for our own and others’ behavior.
2. Situational Attribution is a reason beyond our control.
3. Dispositional Attribution is under our control.
D. Social presence is the sense of being “there” with another person in a particular moment
in time
E. As we work to reduce uncertainty, we also must be careful to reduce perceptual
inaccuracies
1. Selective perception is the perceptual distortion that arises from paying attention
only to what we expect to see or hear and ignoring what we don’t expect
2. Forced consistency is the inaccurate attempt to make several perceptions about
another person agree with each other
3. Prejudice: a rigid attitude that is based on group membership and predisposes an
individual to feel, think, or act in a negative way toward another person or group.
Prejudices are based on stereotypes, which are exaggerated or oversimplified
generalizations used to describe a group.
4. Discrimination: a negative action toward a social group or its members on account of
group membership
5. Racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism are various form
of prejudice
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VI. Communication and perception of others
A. To assess the accuracy of your perceptions, do the following:
1. Question the accuracy of your perceptions; don’t just assume you’re correct
2. Choose to use conscious processing as you get to know people
3. Seek out more information to verify perceptions
4. Realize that perceptions change over time
5. Seek clarification by perception checking
Technology Resources
Fighting Words with Words
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/lesson.cfm?lpid=351&sid=4 Learn
how to identify the sweeping generalizations behind stereotypes and how to use balancing
statements to counteract them with this Coverdell World Wise Schools activity. Coverdell
World Wise Schools seeks to foster student inquiry about the world and others and began as
a correspondence “match” program between Peace Corps Volunteers and U.S. school
students.
Identity in Cyberspace
http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/identitymanage.html With the advent of the Internet
and anonymity it affords, we now create roles that are quite different from our offline roles.
Read about five interlocking factors that are useful in understanding how people manage
identities in cyberspace.
Real Self-Esteem?
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/esteem.html Read this provocative article about self-
esteem by Dr. Richard O’Connor, “Self-Esteem: In a Culture Where Winning Is Everything
and Losing Is Shameful.” What points does O’Connor make? How does his conclusion
coincide with what you have observed?
Self-Esteem Model
http://www.coping.org/selfesteem/model.htm The Web site Coping.org is the home of
onsite manuals for coping with a variety of life’s stressors, including the Model of Self–
Esteem. This site provides information about self-esteem and offers suggestions for
improving one’s self-esteem.
Perception Management
http://changingminds.org/techniques/propaganda/six_tools_perception_management.htm
In their excellent ‘War and Anti-War’, Alvin and Heidi Toffler describe six methods that are
used in wartime propaganda (and sometimes in other circumstances). These principles,
toned down perhaps, can be used in more everyday propaganda situations.
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Movies
Movies and movie clips can be used to help students grasp concepts. Clips can be shown in
class, or movies can be assigned as homework. Following the movie clips, ask students
written or oral questions. These questions should address pertinent concepts, thereby
actively engaging students in discussion.
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
Rated: R (sex, language, some drug references)
Synopsis: This film is based on the true story of teenage transgendered Brandon Teena
and his relationship with a small-town girl Lana. Brandon leads a life of duplicity as he
masks his biological identity, seeking social acceptance and love through drugs and petty
crime. Both Brandon and Lana engage in self-discovery and grow to learn about fear,
prejudice, and homophobia.
Questions for discussion
1. How to Brandon and Lana’s self-concepts and self-esteem change over the course of the
film?
2. What do Brandon and Lana do to help change the way their friends and family perceive
them? Is it successful and how do you know?
3. What risks does each character take by being with the other? What aspects of their
lives affect these different risks?
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Rated: R (Profanity, mature themes)
Synopsis: The Breakfast Club is the story of a group of high school students in Saturday
detention. The school athlete, Ms. Popularity, class geek, school misfit, and rebellious teen
are all present. As they talk, they peel back their personal stereotypes and are surprised
that despite their differing social roles, they all suffer from the same problems. At the end of
the day each teen leaves the school transformed from lessons learned.
Questions for discussion
1. What visual images are used to stereotype the characters throughout the movie?
2. What examples can you find of characters having low self-esteem? Characters
experiencing incongruence? Characters filtering messages?
3. What lessons have the characters learned about self-concept and stereotyping by the
end of the movie?
4. Discuss the social construction of the self for each character. How does each student
change over the course of the film? How do the social constructions of the self at the
beginning differ from those at the end?
5. What were the stakes and risks for each character and what does each character
ultimately gain by taking these risks?
The Wedding Banquet (1993)
Rated: NR (Mature themes, sexual situations, brief nudity)
Synopsis: A romantic comedy about a young New Yorker of Taiwanese descent, Wai-Tung,
who is feeling pressure from his parents to marry and raise a family. Rather than tell his
parents that he is gay, he organizes a “wedding of convenience” with his Chinese neighbor,
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Wei-Wei, who is in desperate need of a green card. This light, funny film is actually a
deceptively perceptive look at cultural, sexual, and generational differences.
Questions for discussion
1. What gender, cultural, and generational roles and expectations are demonstrated in this
movie?
2. How does Wai-Tung’s partner, Simon, perceive the wedding banquet? How do you think
this affects Wai-Tung’s self-concept?
3. How do Wai-Tung’s perceptions of their son, Simon, and Wei-Wei change?
4. What stereotypes and prejudices are demonstrated in this film?
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Rated: R (Mature themes, sexual situations, nudity, language)
Synopsis: Two cowboys, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, grapple with a forbidden, secret
love. The tagline, “Love is a force of nature” refers to Ennis’ tortuous inner conflict as he
tries to reconcile his anomalous love for another man. The affair spans two decades and
examines how each man leads a double life with a wife and children, always retreating back
to mountainous Wyoming to renew his passion for the other.
Questions for discussion
1. How does each man’s perception of self change as his love for the other man grows?
2. How does the film support or upend sexual or gender stereotypes?
3. What effect does the landscape and cinematography have on the story?
4. Discuss the roles of the wives in the film and how each woman contributes to each man’s
evolving perception of self and social construction of self.
Additional movie suggestions: Save the Last Dance (2001) (perception, stereotyping,
prejudice); Billy Elliot (2000) (gender and social roles, stereotyping, prejudice); American
History X (1998) (perception, discrimination, racism, hate crimes); Akeelah and the Bee
(2006) (influences on self-concept); Crash (2004) (stereotyping); Now and Then (1999)
(perception over time, influences on self-concept) Transamerica (2005) (gender and social
roles, sexuality, stereotyping); Juno (2007) (self-concept and gender roles)
Other Media Resources
1. Implicit associations quiz: Discover your conscious and unconscious preferences to over
90 topics.
http://www.implicit.harvard.edu
2. Understanding prejudice
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/
3. Using heuristics in decision making
http://cat.xula.edu/thinker/decisions/heuristics/
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Diverse Voices
I’m Not Fat, I’m Latina
by Christy Haubegger
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” But when you are a “large” person, whether your
size enhances or detracts from your own or others’ perceptions of your beauty may depend
on your cultural group.
I recently read a newspaper article that reported that nearly 40 percent of Hispanic and
African-American women are overweight. At least I’m in good company. Because according
to even the most generous height and weight charts at the doctor’s office, I’m a good 25
pounds overweight. And I’m still looking for the panty-hose chart that has me on it
(according to Hanes, I don’t exist). But I’m happy to report that in the Latina community,
my community, I fit in.
Latinas in this country live in two worlds. People who don’t know us may think we’re fat.
At home, we’re called bien cuidadas (well cared for). I love to go dancing at Cesar’s Latin
Palace here in the Mission District of San Francisco. At this hot all-night salsa club, it’s the
curvier bodies like mine that turn heads. I’m the one on the dance floor all night while some
of my thinner friends spend more time along the walls. I wouldn’t trade my body for any of
theirs. I am proud of my hips and curves.
But I didn’t always feel this way. I remember being in high school and noticing that none
of the magazines showed bathing suits models with bodies like mine. Handsome movie
heroes were never hoping to find a chubby damsel in distress. I had plenty of attention from
Latino boys, but that wasn’t enough. Real self-esteem does not come from male attention
alone.
Later, in college, I made a trip to Mexico, and I brought back much more than sterling-
silver bargains and colorful blankets.
I remember hiking through the awesome ruins of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, that
created pyramids as large as the ones in Egypt. I loved walking through the temple
doorways, whose clearance was only 2 inches above my head, and I realized I must be a
direct descendant of those ancient priestesses for whom those doorways had originally been
built.
For the first time in my life, I was in a place where people like me were the beautiful
ones. And I began to accept, and even like, the body that I have.
Medical experts say that Latinas are twice as likely as the rest of the population to be
overweight. And yes, I know about the health problems that often accompany severe weight
problems. But most of us are not in the danger zone; we’re just bien cuidadas. Even the
researchers who found that nearly 40 percent of us are overweight noted that there is a
greater “cultural acceptance” of being overweight within Hispanic communities. But the
article also commented on the cultural-acceptance factor as if it were something
unfortunate, because it keeps Hispanic women from becoming healthier. I’m not so
convinced that we’re the ones with the problem.
If the medical experts got at the root of this so-called problem, they would probably find
that it’s part genetics and part enchiladas. Whether we’re Cuban American, Mexican
American, Puerto Rican, or Dominican, food is a central part of Hispanic culture. While our
food varies from fried plantains to tamales, what doesn’t change is its importance.
You feed people you care for, and so if you’re well cared for, bien cuidada, you have
been fed well. I remember when I used to be envious of a Latina friend of mine who had
always been on the skinny side. When I confided this to her a while ago, she laughed. It
turns out that when she was growing up, she had always wanted to look more like me. She
had trouble getting dates with Latinos in high school, the same boys I dated. When she was
little, the other kids in the neighborhood even gave her a cruel nickname: la seca, “the dry
one.” I’m glad I never had any of those problems.
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Our community has always been accepting of us well-cared-for women. So why don’t we
all feel beautiful? You only have to flip through a magazine or watch a movie to realize that
beautiful for most of the United States still means tall, blond, and underfed. As much as we
try to preserve our own Latina culture, we are still the minorities here. But now we know it’s
the magazines that are wrong. I, for one, am going to do what I can to make sure that mis
hijas, my daughters, won’t grow up or feel the way I did.
Reflection questions
1. To what degree do you think these perceptions of weight for women continue to exist in
the dominant American culture?
2. What are some reasons it continues to be the norm?
3. What can we do to embrace a variety of body types as beautiful for women?
4. How can you compare your own perception of weight to society’s perception? What is
your ideal body type and why? What do you think influences these ideas?
Reprinted from Christy Haubegger, “I’m Not Fat, I’m Latina,” in Readings for Diversity and
Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Anti-Semitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism, and
Classism, eds. M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, R. Castañeda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, &
X. Zúñiga (New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 242–243.
Discussion and Assignment Ideas
I. Imagine a person with unhealthy self-esteem based on an unrealistic self-concept. What
communicative event may have contributed to such a phenomenon? How does this
incongruence affect the individual and his or her actions and interactions? What plans
could you make to alleviate the suffering and implant seeds for renewed, healthy self-
esteem?
II. Quotes: These can be used to introduce topics, question perspectives, or gain individual
opinion. Providing students with a quote and prompting them to write or reflect on their
personal feelings about the quote can help spark discussion and interest. Suggested
prompts may include “Define this concept in your own words”; “Do you agree with this
statement? Explain”; and “What text material can be used to support or refute this
idea?” “How can any or all of these quotations be applied concepts from chapter 2”;
“What might these people say to Christy Haubeggar (the female author above) or vice
versa?”
“Perception is not a simple matter of recording external reality. Instead, we actively
interact with phenomena to construct what they mean to us.”
—Julia T. Wood
I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think
I am.
—R. Bierstedt
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world
as in being able to remake ourselves.
—Gandhi
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Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens
to him.
—Aldous Huxley
Learn never to conceive a prejudice against others, because you know nothing of
them. It is bad reasoning and makes enemies of half the world.
—William Hazlitt
The self, as that which can be an object of itself, is essentially a social structure, and
it arises in social experience.
—George Herbert Mead
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have
their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His
acts being seven ages.
-William Shakespeare
III. Have you ever been stereotyped by someone? Discuss how this affected the person’s
perception of you. How did this affect your perception of them?
IV. Allow students to work in groups to discuss the roles that culture or gender play in the
self-perception process. (You may decide to have student groups pick either topic.)
A. Questions for discussion on gender: When you were a child, what gender roles if any
were established for you? Did your family have certain chores that you were
expected to perform as a boy or girl? Were you encouraged or discouraged from
playing with certain toys or activities? How did that make you feel? How has this
affected the way in which you look at gender roles today? What about your current
gender do you think was intuitive to your current gender identity?
B. Remember the definition of “culture” from chapter 1. Questions for discussion on
culture: How would you describe your culture to others? How do you celebrate this
culture? (For example, what food do you eat? What holidays do you observe? What
events are important to your culture?) Are you automatically a part of a particular
culture because of the way you dress, where you grew up, or the way in which you
speak? In other words, can you choose your culture, or does your culture choose
you? What are some stereotypes that others have of your culture? How do these
make you feel? What would you say to help people who hold that stereotype
understand your culture more accurately? Have you shunned or rejected any part of
your culture and if so, when and why?
Chapter Activities
2.1: Perception Quiz
Purpose: To teach the perception process
Time: 30 minutes
Process: Tell your students you are going to give them a pop quiz on perception. Give
them every indication that this is a real quiz. (For example, if they ask if it
counts toward their grade, tell them yes.) They will discover the true nature
of the quiz soon enough, but it will make the exercise more meaningful if they
think that this quiz will affect their class grade, even if they believe this to be
true only at first.
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Pass out a sheet of paper with the following questions. Then ask students to
exchange papers and go over the answers together as a class.
(Source: Anonymous)
1. Name the most recent year in which New Year’s Day preceded Christmas.
2. Why are 1968 pennies worth more than 1967 pennies?
3. A 10-foot rope ladder hangs over the side of a boat with the bottom rung
on the surface of the water. The rungs are one foot apart, and the tide
goes up at the rate of 6 inches per hour. How long will it be until three
rungs are covered?
4. What is the eleven-letter word that all Yale graduates spell incorrectly?
5. If you had only one match and entered a dark room containing an oil
lamp, some newspaper, and some kindling wood, which would you light
first?
6. A farmer had 15 sheep, and all but 8 died. How many are left?
7. Imagine you are driving a bus. When you start your trip, there are an old
lady named Johnson and a long-haired kid on the bus. At the first stop the
lady leaves and a businessman enters. At the next stop Frankie, a young
boy, enters with his little sister. Then three old ladies who have been
shopping in the mall get on. After a short trip the long-haired kid leaves
the bus and a man and lady enter. Paul and his dog, Blue, gets on, while
Frankie and his sister get off. Finally, the bus arrives at the bus station.
What is the name of the bus driver?
8. Do you say “loo-iss-vill” is the capital of Kentucky, or do you say “loo–ee–
vill” is the capital of Kentucky?
9. Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister?
10. If water going down the drain and toilet goes counter-clockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, in which
direction would a toilet go on the equator?
11. If there are 6 apples and you take away 4, how many do you have?
12. There are two coins that total 55 cents ($0.55). One of them is not a
nickel. What are the two coins?
13. An electric train is moving north at 100 mph, and a wind is blowing to the
west at 10 mph. Which way does the smoke blow?
14. Start with three coins: a penny, a nickel, and a quarter. Say, “Tommy’s
mother has three children. The first child’s name is Penny.” (Hold up the
penny while saying this.) “The second child’s name is Nick.” (Hold up the
nickel.) What is the third child’s name? (Hold up the quarter.)
15. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY
COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.
Count the F’s in the above sentence. How many F’s do you get?
Answers
2-11
Discussion: 1. What happened when you thought this was a real quiz? How did that
assumption affect the way you attended and selected, organized, and
interpreted the exercise? Why?
2. These trick questions demonstrate how our mind tends to simplify
information as we organize it. Can someone give me an example of how
they simplified a question to get it wrong?
3. How and when did your perception of these questions change? What
patterns did you notice?
4. If you did well on this quiz, could it affect your self-esteem? Why or why
not? (If it were important to you and you considered it a worthwhile
activity, then, yes, it could build or reinforce your self-esteem.)
5. A few of these questions demonstrate the role that shared language plays
in the effective perception of meaning. Can you guess which ones?
(Students may point out a few different questions. Two possible answers
are that question 11 demonstrates the ambiguous nature of the math
expression “take away,” and that question 4 demonstrates the double
meaning of the expression “spell incorrectly”—in this case, it meant that
Yale students spelled the word incorrectly but not that the word
incorrectly was misspelled.)
2.2: Self-Concept Bags
Purpose: To identify various aspects of self-concept.
Time: 40 minutes
Process: In the class session prior to this activity, instruct students to “bring
themselves to class in a bag.” That is, ask them to bring artifacts (objects)
that represent who they are. Ask students to bring three objects: one from
their past, one representing the present, and one representing the future. The
objects should fit into one bag that is also representative of their self-concept.
In groups of six, have students pull items from their bags, explaining how this
artifact came to be a part of their self-concept. Circulate around the room,
selecting representative objects to illustrate different elements of self-
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concept, including roles, personality traits, physical characteristics, and
hobbies. Following the group interaction, lead a whole class discussion using
your sample artifacts to describe components of self-concept. If time permits,
students can perform an informal speech to encourage participation and hone
public speaking skills early in the course.
2.3: Recognizing How Others Influence Our Self-Concept
Purpose: To enable students to recognize that our self-concept is formed and
maintained by how others react and respond to us. Students will understand
how positive and negative feedback influences our self-concept, especially
when feedback is given quickly.
Time: 15–20 minutes
Process: You will need a timer or a clock with a second hand for this role-play exercise.
Divide the class into pairs of two. Student 1 should start by talking for one
minute about something that he or she has accomplished and is proud of.
Student 2 should listen supportively, voicing interest and asking clarifying
questions. When the minute has passed, announce that the students should
stop speaking and switch roles, and this time Student 1 should listen while
Student 2 speaks. Once they are both finished sharing their story, give
students a few minutes to silently write a few descriptive words in their
notebook about how the feedback they received made them feel. Remember
that description is best conveyed in concrete nouns and verbs.
At this point, have students switch partners, as they will tell their stories
again but this time to a very different audience. Student 1 should once again
talk about the same topic, but this time Student 2 should listen with
disinterest, either by actively critiquing Student 1’s accomplishments or by
acting bored. Have students switch roles and repeat. After both students have
shared their stories with each other, once again give students a few minutes
to silently write in their notebooks.
Lead a discussion about how feedback affects our sense of self. Negative
feedback that communicates blame, name-calling, and repeatedly pointing
out another’s shortcomings can be damaging, while positive feedback can
give people an increased sense of self-worth. Ask students how they suggest
you might work toward creating a supportive atmosphere in this classroom.
2.4: Checking Perceptions
Purpose: To provide students with an opportunity to practice perception checking skills.
Time: 30 minutes
Process: For each of the following role-play situations, select three volunteers from the
class, informing them that they will be “performing” in front of their
classmates. Read each situation. Student 1 should state one perception or
inference from the situation. Student 2 should state a different perception or
inference of the situation. Student 3 should state a perception check, using
the two perceptions generated by the first two students. (For the first
situation, you may wish to model the perception check as “Student 3.”) Have
the rest of the class provide suggestions for improving the perception check.
A. Your younger sister has been very quiet lately. She spends most of her
time alone in her room and seems reluctant to talk to any family
members.
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B. Your best friend has been skipping classes frequently. This friend rarely
does homework anymore but still seems interested in socializing.
C. A member of your group for a class project seems to disagree often with
you in group meetings. This person stubbornly opposes your ideas,
interrupts you, and talks privately with other group members while you
are presenting your ideas.
Repeat this activity with various students and scenarios. Breaking students
into groups may provide more time for reflection and practice.
2.5: Stereotyping
Purpose: To demonstrate the limitations of stereotyping
Time: 20 minutes
Process: Give students a list of cultural and co-cultural groups (e.g., Americans, British
royalty, Japanese people, San Franciscans, New Yorkers, Southerners, elderly
women, blonde females, Mexicans, overweight men, Asian Americans, college
students, football players, taxi-cab drivers, professors). As you name each
group, have each student list a common stereotype of a person from that
group. Have students compare and contrast their listed stereotypes for each
group. Lead a whole class discussion about how such stereotypes were
formed (e.g., media, experience, parents, peers). This activity can also be
done orally by using pictures of various individuals and having students name
stereotypes and labels that are often associated with the individual.
2.6:Effects of Stereotyping, Labels, Self-Perception, and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Purpose: To demonstrate that stereotypes affect self-perception and behavior of the
object of stereotyping.
Adapted from: http://www.understandingprejudice.org/teach/activity/labels.htm (20 July)
Time: 45 minutes
Process: Obtain the same number of adhesive labels (e.g., of the kind for file folders)
as there are students in your class, and write a stereotypic attribute on each
label. Some examples include violent, athletic, cute, overemotional,
incompetent, good at math, lazy, untrustworthy, unclean, musical,
materialistic, diseased, unintelligent, exotic, forgetful, and frail.
Attach a label on each student’s forehead (or back) so that the label is not
visible to the wearer. Make clear that these labels are being assigned
randomly and have nothing to do with students’ actual attributes.
Then ask students to spend 15 minutes talking with each other about “future
goals.” Tell students that they should circulate in order to talk with several
different people, and that they should treat one another according to the
other person’s labeled attribute. For example, someone labeled “forgetful”
might be repeatedly reminded of the instructions.
After 15 minutes, reconvene the class and ask students to leave their labels
on for a little while longer (if the class size and furniture allows, it’s best to sit
in a circle). Then ask students to share how they felt during the exercise, how
they were treated by others, and how this treatment affected them. Students
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will often mention their discomfort not only with being stereotyped but with
treating others stereotypically.
Finally, tell students that they can now remove their labels. Then discuss
questions such as the following:
Was the label what you guessed, or were you surprised by it?
When people stereotyped you, were you able to disregard it?
Did you try to disprove the stereotype? If so, did it work?
How did you feel toward the person who was stereotyping you?
If your attribute was positive (e.g., “good at math”), how did you feel?
When stereotyping others, how easy was it to find confirming evidence?
When stereotyping others, how did you react to disconfirming evidence?
These questions offer a natural forum to discuss subtyping, self-fulfilling
prophecies, confirmation biases, belief perseverance, and other
psychological factors involved in stereotyping.
Skill Building
Perception Checking
For each of the following situations, write a well-phrased perception check.
1. When Franco comes home from the doctor’s office, you notice that he looks pale and his
shoulders are slumped. Glancing at you with a sad look, he shrugs his shoulders.
You say:
2. As you return the basketball you borrowed from Liam, you smile and say, “Thanks,
here’s your ball.” You notice Liam stiffen, grab the ball, and, turning abruptly, walk
away.
You say:
3. Natalie, who has been waiting to hear about a scholarship, dances into the room with a
huge grin on her face.
You say:
4. You see your adviser in the hall and ask her if she can meet with you on Wednesday
afternoon to discuss your schedule of classes for next term. You notice that she pauses,
frowns, sighs, turns slowly, and says, “I guess so.”
You say:
5. A teacher, you, tell a student that because she doesn’t understand the writing
assignment, you will amend it for simplification and brevity. The student says “okay,”
turns, and runs out of the room.
Compare your written responses to the guidelines for effective perception checking
discussed earlier. Edit your responses where necessary to improve them. Now say them
aloud. Do they sound “natural”? If not, revise them until they do.
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Journal Assignments
A. Self and Other Perceptions of Self
List ten words to describe how you perceive yourself. Include a variety of types of
descriptors: roles, skills, physical attributes, personality characteristics, and so on. Have a
family member, close friend, and acquaintance list ten words to describe how they perceive
you. Analyze the differences and similarities between the lists.
B. How Did I Get This Way?
Describe the five most significant situations, events, or experiences that have shaped your
current self-concept in writing. Write descriptively and sensually, using sensory language to
portray smells, sights, tastes, touches, etc. Pretend you are basically a video camera
recording everything around you.
C. Culture and Self-Esteem
Imagine that you live in a present or historical culture that values age over youth and the
group over the individual. Speculate about how your life would be different in this culture
than it is now. If your culture emphasizes those values, imagine you live in a culture that
values youth over age and the individual over the group. Write a reflection about the
differences in culture and how that would affect you. What do these values indicate about
group or individual self-concept or perception of others?
D. Self-monitoring
Think back to a time when you were in a new situation. It could be your first day of high
school or the first day of your first job. How did you use self-monitoring to help yourself feel
more comfortable in this new situation? What feedback or cues did you receive to learn the
“ground rules” of this new context? How did you apply this lesson to your future
encounters?
E. Forming Impressions
List five or six scenarios in which some kind of interpersonal conflict emerges. An example
of one is: You and a friend are running to make the subway. You make it and are happy,
entering the train smiling, while the friend standing outside on the platform looks
bewildered and sad. You have eye contact for several seconds. Make two columns and in
one list attributions the friend gives to you and then in the other column, list those that you
have of the friend. Label the attributions situational or dispositional. Write about what you
could do to reduce uncertainty?
*Students have access to these journal assignments on tear-out cards at the back of their
textbooks.
What Would You Do? Assignment
A Question of Ethics
UniConCo, a multinational construction company, successfully bid to build a new minor
league stadium in a Midwestern city with little diversity. Miguel Hernandez was assigned as
the assistant project manager, and he moved his family of seven to town. He quickly joined
the local chamber of commerce, affiliated with the local Rotary group, and was feeling
accepted and integrated. One day Hernandez was working at his desk when he accidentally
overheard a group of local Anglo construction workers who were on the project talking
about their Mexican- American coworkers. Hernandez was discouraged to hear the negative
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stereotypes being used. The degree of expressed hatred was clearly beyond what he was
used to. He was further upset when he recognized several of the voices as belonging to men
he fought to hire.
A bit shaken, Hernandez returned to his office. He had a problem. He recognized his
workers’ prejudices, but he wasn’t sure how to change them. Moreover, he wanted to
establish good work relationships with his Anglo workers for the sake of the company, but
he also wanted to create a good working atmosphere for the other Latino workers who
would soon be moving to town to work on the project. What could Hernandez do?
Devise a plan for Hernandez. How could he use his social perceptions to address the
problem in a way that is within ethical interpersonal communication guidelines? How might
Hernandez be able to quash stereotypes and finish the job?
PopComm!
Marketing Self-Concept Individuality
In 2005 it was “I am what I am.” In 2007 it was “There are two people in everyone.” And in
2008 it was “Your move.” Recognize the campaigns? Each was part of Reebok’s global effort
to position itself as the brand that “celebrates individuality, and supports those who choose
to do things their way”. All three campaigns used celebrity endorsers—from sports figures to
hip hop artists—to convince young consumers to make Reebok their brand.
Using celebrities to endorse a product is nothing new. For years advertisers have
used celebrities because they know that doing so is effective at persuading consumer
buying. Research has found that when we see the celebrity as “like us” or like how we would
like to believe we are, we listen and are persuaded. In other words, when the celebrity’s
image fits our self-concept or our ideal self-concept, then we choose the same product that
the celebrity uses. So world-class sports figures, musicians, and other pop culture icons
appear in commercials in order to sell the product to those of us who identify with the
celebrity.
Recently, marketers have expanded this approach by paying celebrities to be seen in
public wearing or using their products. If we think that we are savvy and not susceptible to
overt advertisements, we may be persuaded by seeing a celebrity with whom we identify
using particular product in a situation that appears more real. Tiger Woods usually wears
clothes with Nike’s logo. But he doesn’t buy those clothes; they are given to him and he has
to wear them as part of his multimillion-dollar endorsement contract. Nevertheless, today
countless young men and women sport attire adorned with the distinctive Nike swoosh.
What makes the Reebok campaigns different, however, is that the ads suggest that
people wear a Reebok product not because they identify with the celebrity but because they
are asserting their individuality. In a telephone interview with USA Today, tennis star Andy
Roddick, who appeared in Reebok’s 2005 “I am what I am” commercials, explained, “Every
other sporting goods commercial is about buying the shoe to become something you’re not.
This is about being yourself” (McCarthy, 2005). In the same article, rapper 50 Cent, another
celebrity featured in this campaign, said, “The experiences I have been through in my life
have shaped my character. The Reebok ads are just another opportunity for me to express
myself. Love it or hate it, I am what I am.”
The “I am what I am” campaign depicted celebrities’ comfort with their self-images
and called on consumers to be comfortable with who they are. In contrast, the “There are
two people in everyone” campaign was designed to convince people to embrace their
individuality. Print, video, and web-based ads showcased two distinctively different sides of
an endorser’s personality. Not only did the campaign use the typical advertising media, but
it also included a Web site (www.2ineveryone.com) where visitors could view and interact
with the videos of celebrities by identifying the two people inside of them: “Each one of us is
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made up of different ideas, passions, and interests. We believe it’s time to stop glorifying
extremes. We don’t need to be defined by one thing. We’re free to embrace the 2 people
inside of us. So tell us, what 2 are you?” This campaign’s message is “Wear Reebok
products and embrace your duality.”
Although the success of most celebrity endorsements depends on consumers
identifying with some aspect of the celebrity’s image, Reebok is positioning its celebrity
marketing on “celebrating the distinct qualities that make people who they are—their unique
points of view, their individual style, and their remarkable talents and accomplishments”. So
when you wear Reebok products, you’re not saying that you think you’re like Allen Iverson
or Yao Ming. Instead, you’re saying that, like Allen or Yao, “I am what I am.” An interesting
way to sell shoes, don’t you think?
Sources:
Reebok marketing. (n.d.).
Retrieved from:
http://corporate.reebok.com/en/about_reebok/faq_section/marketing/default.asp; Reebok’s
positioning. (n.d.). About Reebok.
Retrieved from:
http://corporate.reebok.com/en/about_reebok/default.asp; Reebok Your Move campaign
[Video fi le]. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK_5TwmvuWo
Experiential Assignments
Who Am I?
This activity will help you assess how your self-concept aligns with how other people see
you.
First ask, How do I see myself? List the skills, abilities, knowledge, competencies, and
personality characteristics that describe how you see yourself. To generate this list, try
completing these sentences: “I am skilled at . . . ,” “I have the ability to . . . ,” “I know
things about . . . ,” “I am competent at doing . . . ,” and “One part of my personality is that
I am . . . .” List as many characteristics in each category as you can think of. What you
have developed is an inventory of your self-concept.
Second ask, How do others see me? List the skills, abilities, and so on that describe how
you think others see you by completing these sentences: “Other people believe I am skilled
at . . . ,” “Other people believe I have the ability to . . . ,” “Other people believe I know
things about . . . ,” “Other people believe I am competent at doing . . . ,” and “One part of
my personality is that other people believe I am . . . .”
Compare your two lists. How are they similar? Where are they different? Do you
understand why they differ? After you have thought about each, write a paragraph titled
“Who I Am, and How I Know This.”
Monitor Your Enacted Roles (see handout below)
For three days, record your roles in various situations such as “lunch with a best friend” or
“meeting professor about a class project.” Describe the roles you chose to enact in each
setting such as student, friend, or customer.
At the conclusion of this three-day observation period, analyze what you observed. To
what extent does your role behavior change across situations? What factors seem to trigger
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you to enact a particular role? Are there certain roles that you take on more than others?
Are there roles you need to modify? Are there roles you are reluctant to enact that would
help you be a more effective communicator? How satisfied are you with the roles you took?
With which are you most and least pleased?
Write a paragraph explaining what you have learned.
A Speech of Introduction about You
Listen to a speech of introduction that a classmate will give about you. How do you feel
about what was said? Did anything the speaker said embarrass you? On a scale of 1 to 10,
rate how pleased you were to be introduced as you were. What did you like about what the
speaker said about you? What did you dislike? Do you think that the other members of the
class have an accurate perception of who you are based on what the speaker said about
you? Why or why not? Is there anything the speaker did not know about you that, if he or
she had included it in the speech, would have helped the speaker to do a better job? If you
could go back and have your get-acquainted conversation with the speaker again, what
would you do or say differently to help the speaker do a better job of presenting you as you
would like others to know you? How does all of this relate to the concept of self-monitoring?
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Experimental Assignment Handouts
Monitor Your Enacted Roles
For three days, record your roles in various situations such as “lunch with a best friend” or
“meeting professor about a class project.” Describe the roles you chose to enact in each
setting such as student, friend, or customer.
At the conclusion of this three-day observation period, analyze what you observed. To
what extent does your role behavior change across situations? What factors seem to trigger
you to enact a particular role? Are there certain roles that you take on more than others?
Are there roles you need to modify? Are there roles you are reluctant to enact that would
help you be a more effective communicator? How satisfied are you with the roles you took?
With which are you most and least pleased?
Write a paragraph explaining what you have learned.
Situation
Description of role