Chapter 2: Social Perception

Chapter OutlineNonverbal CommunicationAttribution Theories and ErrorsImpression Formation and Impression Management2.3Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Social PerceptionSocial Perception- process through which we seek to understand other personsWhat 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?2.4Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication- an unspoken language of expressions and body languageBasic channelsfacial expressions- reveals current moods/feelingseye contact- reveals friendliness, shyness, aggressionbody language (position, posture, movement)- reveals emotional states, status, cultural emblemstouching- reveals affection, interest, dominance, caring, threat, aggression2.5Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Facial Expressions and Social ThoughtCognitive tuning model (Schwarz, 1990)when 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)

2.6Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Facial Expressions and Social CognitionBased on data from Ottati, Terkildsen, & Hubbard, 1997

Attribution TheoriesAttribution- seek to determine causes behind others behaviorCorrespondent inference- infer others traits from observing their behavior, especially. when behavior:is freely chosenperson rallying for womens rights is feministis socially undesirable (or unusual)teacher who wears tie-dye shirts is free spirit yields noncommon effects (one cause only)woman who marries rich, stupid, ugly man is probably marrying for money2.7Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Inferences Using Noncommon EffectsPrestigious SchoolClinical ProgramDesirable LocationLots of RequirementsPrestigious School

Desirable LocationLots of Requirements

Inferences Using Noncommon EffectsPrestigious SchoolClinical ProgramDesirable LocationPrestigious SchoolLots of Requirements Desirable Location

Attribution Theories (cont)Causal attribution theory- we attribute the cause of others behavior to internal or external factors1internal- caused by persons traits (disposition)external- caused by situationTo explain others behavior we use:consensus- extent others behave in same wayconsistency- extent person always behaves this waydistinctiveness- extent person acts differently in other situations1Other dimensions include:stable/unstable; controllable/uncontrollable2.8Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Why Was Student Late?Internal attribution (e.g., student is lazy) made if:Low consensus: no one else came in lateHigh consistency: in the past, student has come in lateLow distinctiveness: student is late to other classesExternal attribution (e.g., more time needed between classes) made if:High consensus: other students came in lateHigh consistency: in the past, student has come in lateHigh distinctiveness: student is only late to this class2.9Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Why did student do well on exam?

Handling Multiple CausesWhen multiple causes are present the following may occur:Discounting Principle- tendency to downplay importance of one cause if others existWhy 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 factorWoman claims sexual harassment even though she strongly supported the president is more believable2.10Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Attributional ErrorsAttributional ErrorsFundamental attribution error (correspondence bias)- tendency to overestimate internal causes of others behavior while ignoring external causesActor-observer effect- tendency to attribute own behavior to external causes, but others to internalSelf-serving bias- tendency to take credit for success and blame failures on the situationWestern (individualistic) cultures are more susceptible to these biases than Eastern (collectivistic) cultures2.11Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Attributional Errors (cont)Actor-observer effect occurs because:differences in perceptual salienceto actor- the situation is most salient to observer- the actor grabs attentiondifference in informationobservers have no access to actors behavioral historywestern culture- predisposes us to assume that people, not situations cause eventsSelf-serving bias occurs because:need to protect and enhance our self-esteem2.12Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Applications of Attribution TheoryAttribution and Depressiondepressed persons often show a self-defeating pattern of attributions opposite of the self-serving biasattribute positive events to temporary, external causesattribute negative events to internal causescognitive therapy that reverses pattern is effectiveAttribution and Rapepeople with a strong belief in a just world (bad things happen to bad people) are more likely to blame the rape victim2.13Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

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

Impression ManagementImpression Management- efforts to produce a favorable first impressionTechniques includeself-enhancement- boost ones appealboost physical appearance, use immodestyother-enhancement- induce positive moods in othersflattery, express liking, agree with targets viewsif overdone, however, slime effect can occurtechniques not always under conscious control2.15Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

Impression AccuracySocial perceptions of others are often accurate because:physical and psychological traits stem from same genetic factorspsychological traits cause physical traits to developactions may be reflected in our facesphysical traits cause psychological traits to developattractive people are treated differentlypeople gradually develop the traits others expect them to have (self-fulfilling)2.16Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon

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