Chapter 2: Social Perception

Chapter Outline
Nonverbal

Communication Attribution Theories and Errors Impression Formation and Impression Management

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2.3

Social Perception
Social Perception- process through which we seek to understand other persons What do nonverbal cues tell us? How do we explain others behavior? What types of errors bias our thinking? How do we form first impressions of others?

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

2.4

Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication- an unspoken language of expressions and body language Basic channels
facial

expressions- reveals current moods/feelings eye contact- reveals friendliness, shyness, aggression body language (position, posture, movement)reveals emotional states, status, cultural emblems touching- reveals affection, interest, dominance, caring, threat, aggression
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon 2.5

Facial Expressions and Social Thought

Cognitive
when

tuning model (Schwarz, 1990)

others smile, we sense that the current situation is safe so we process information superficially (heuristic processing) when others frown, we sense that careful thought about their words is required (systematic processing)

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

2.6

Facial Expressions and Social Cognition

2.00
Influence on Impressions

1.76
Issues Ideology

1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 -0.50 0.81

0.70 0.38 0.39

Neutral Angry Happy -0.37 Expressions Shown by Speaker

Based on data from Ottati, Terkildsen, & Hubbard, 1997

Attribution Theories
Attribution- seek to determine causes behind others behavior
Correspondent

inference- infer others traits from observing their behavior, especially. when behavior: is freely chosen
person

rallying for womens rights is feminist

who wears tie-dye shirts is free spirit

is

socially undesirable (or unusual)

teacher

yields noncommon effects (one cause only)

woman

who marries rich, stupid, ugly man is probably marrying for money
2.7

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Inferences Using Noncommon Effects

Prestigious School Clinical Program Desirable Location Lots of Requirements

Prestigious School Desirable Location Lots of Requirements

Inferences Using Noncommon Effects

Prestigious School Clinical Program Desirable Location

Prestigious School Lots of Requirements Desirable Location

Attribution Theories (cont)

Causal

attribution theory- we attribute the cause of others behavior to internal or external factors1 internal- caused by persons traits (disposition) external- caused by situation To explain others behavior we use:
consensus-

extent others behave in same way consistency- extent person always behaves this way distinctiveness- extent person acts differently in other situations
1Other

dimensions include: stable/unstable; controllable/uncontrollable

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon 2.8

Why Was Student Late?

Internal

attribution (e.g., student is lazy)

made if:
Low

consensus: no one else came in late High consistency: in the past, student has come in late Low distinctiveness: student is late to other classes External
High

attribution (e.g., more time needed between classes) made if:

consensus: other students came in late High consistency: in the past, student has come in late High distinctiveness: student is only late to this class

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

2.9

Why did student do well on exam?

Handling Multiple Causes

When

multiple causes are present the following may

occur: Discounting Principle- tendency to downplay importance of one cause if others exist
Why

is woman claiming harassment? Good Samaritan or spurned lover?

Augmenting

Principle- tendency to increase importance of one factor when behavior occurs in the presence of an inhibitory factor
Woman

claims sexual harassment even though she strongly supported the president is more believable
2.10

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Attributional Errors
Attributional

Errors

attribution error (correspondence bias)- tendency to overestimate internal causes of others behavior while ignoring external causes Actor-observer effect- tendency to attribute own behavior to external causes, but others to internal Self-serving bias- tendency to take credit for success and blame failures on the situation Western (individualistic) cultures are more susceptible to these biases than Eastern (collectivistic) cultures
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon 2.11

Fundamental

Attributional Errors (cont)

Actor-observer
differences
to

effect occurs because:

in perceptual salience

actor- the situation is most salient to observer- the actor grabs attention

difference western

in information
have no access to actors behavioral history

observers

culture- predisposes us to assume that people, not situations cause events

Self-serving
need

bias occurs because:

2.12

to protect and enhance our self-esteem

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Applications of Attribution Theory

Attribution
depressed

and Depression

persons often show a self-defeating pattern of attributions opposite of the self-serving bias
attribute

positive events to temporary, external causes attribute negative events to internal causes

cognitive therapy that reverses pattern is effective

Attribution
people

and Rape

with a strong belief in a just world (bad things happen to bad people) are more likely to blame the rape victim
2.13

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Impression Formation
Impression Formation- how we form impressions of others
central

traits (e.g., warm-cold) strongly shape the overall impression of a stranger primacy effect- information presented first often has stronger impact on impressions impressions of others consist of both exemplars (examples of specific behavior) and abstractions (mental summaries of general behavior)
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon 2.14

Impression Management
Impression Management- efforts to produce a favorable first impression Techniques include
self-enhancement boost

boost ones appeal induce positive moods in others

physical appearance, use immodesty express liking, agree with targets views

other-enhancement flattery,

if overdone, however, slime effect can occur techniques not always under conscious control
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon 2.15

Impression Accuracy
Social

perceptions of others are often accurate because:

physical

and psychological traits stem from same genetic factors psychological traits cause physical traits to develop
actions

may be reflected in our faces people are treated differently

physical people

traits cause psychological traits to develop

attractive

gradually develop the traits others expect them to have (self-fulfilling)

2.16

Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon