Chapter 2: Social Perception
Chapter Outline
Nonverbal
Communication
Attribution Theories and Errors
Impression Formation and
Impression Management
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
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 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)
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
2.6
Facial Expressions and Social
Cognition
Influence on Impressions
2.00
1.76
Issues
Ideology
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.81
0.70
0.38
0.39
0.00
-0.50
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
is
socially undesirable (or unusual)
person rallying for womens rights is feminist
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 money
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
2.7
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
Other dimensions include:
stable/unstable; controllable/uncontrollable
1
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 attribution (e.g., more time needed
between classes) made if:
High 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
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
2.10
Attributional Errors
Attributional Errors
Fundamental
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
Attributional Errors (cont)
Actor-observer effect occurs because:
differences
in perceptual salience
to actor- the situation is most salient
to observer- the actor grabs attention
difference
in information
observers have no access to actors behavioral history
western
culture- predisposes us to assume that
people, not situations cause events
Self-serving bias occurs because:
need
to protect and enhance our self-esteem
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
2.12
Applications of Attribution Theory
Attribution and Depression
depressed
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 and Rape
people
with a strong belief in a just world (bad
things happen to bad people) are more likely to
blame the rape victim
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
2.13
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 ones appeal
boost physical appearance, use immodesty
other-enhancement
induce positive moods in others
flattery, express liking, agree with targets views
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
physical
traits cause psychological traits to develop
attractive people are treated differently
people
gradually develop the traits others expect
them to have (self-fulfilling)
Baron & Byrne- Social Psychology 9/e, Allyn and Bacon
2.16
