I know that you

believe you
understand what you
think I said, but, I
am not sure you
realize that what you
heard is not what I
meant.
“Perception refers to the interpretation of
what we take in through our senses. In
terms of optical illusions this means our
eyes.”

Simply put, our brains are tricked into

seeing something which may or may not
be real.
 The Object of Perception:
some things in our environment tend to
attract attention
 Backgrounds and Surroundings
our surroundings at the moment of
perception will affect our perceptions
 The Perceiver
we each bring unique experiences and
personal points of view to each situation
http://psycharts.com/opt_illus.html
  When you look at
the top figure,
your visual system
will organize the
elements into a
box. The box will
reverse, as in the
Necker Cube
illusion. The
elements in the
bottom figure
have terminations
and do not readily
group into a box
figure that shows
http://dragon.uml.edu/psych/box_1.html
reversals
http://psycharts.com/opt_illus.html
  M.C. Escher used
complex variations on
this illusion to
achieve some
wonderful effects like
showing
representations of
people walking in
opposite directions,
both descending. He
also joined staircases
into an appearance of
infinite
ascent/descent.
http://dragon.uml.edu/psych/stair.html
Compare the shades of red…
When you look at the figure you will see either a
vase or two faces. If you continue to look, the
figure will appear to shift to the alternative
organization
http://psycharts.com/opt_illus.html
http://psycharts.com/opt_illus.html
http://psycharts.com/opt_illus.html
 Perspective is evoked in
this image by the pattern,
and the lines on the wall
which converge on to a
common point in the
distance.

http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/optical_illusions/perspective.html &
http://www.killsometime.com/illusions/Optical-Illusion.asp?Illusion-ID=36
THE END
 The Person
• skills & abilities
• personality
• perception
• attribution
• attitudes
• values
• ethics
 The Person
• skills & abilities The Environment
• personality • organization
• perception • work group
• attribution • job
• attitudes • personal life
• values
• ethics
 The Person
• skills & abilities The Environment
• personality • organization
• perception • work group
• attribution • job
• attitudes • personal life
• values
• ethics

Behavior
 The Person
• skills & abilities The Environment
• personality • organization
• perception • work group
• attribution • job
• attitudes • personal life
• values
• ethics

Behavior
B = f(P,E)
Social Perception -
interpreting information
about another person
 Social Perception -
interpreting information
about another person

Perceiver Characteristics
• Familiarity with target
• Attitudes/Mood
• Self-Concept
• Cognitive structure
 Social Perception -
interpreting information
about another person

Perceiver Characteristics Target Characteristics

• Familiarity with target • Physical appearance
• Attitudes/Mood • Verbal communication
• Self-Concept • Nonverbal cues
• Cognitive structure • Intentions
 Social Perception -
interpreting information
about another person

Perceiver Characteristics Target Characteristics

• Familiarity with target • Physical appearance
• Attitudes/Mood • Verbal communication
• Self-Concept • Nonverbal cues
• Cognitive structure • Intentions
Situational Characteristics
• Interaction context
• Strength of situational cues
 Selective
perception
 Stereotyping Social Perception -
 First-impression interpreting information
error about another person
 Implicit
personality theory
 Self-fulfilling
prophecies
Impression Management - individuals try
to control the impression others have of
them
◦ Name dropping
◦ Appearance
◦ Self-description
◦ Flattery
◦ Favors
◦ Agreement with opinion
Attribution - explains how individuals
pinpoint the causes of the behavior of
themselves or others
Information cues for attribution
information gathering consensus
◦ consensus
◦ distinctiveness
◦ consistency
Attributions - are the reasons we we give
for our own and others behaviors.
People are motivated to
understand the causes of behavior.
Attribution theory seeks to explain
how and why people make these
causal attributions.
 Fritz Heider argued that there are two
general types of attributions that people
make:

◦Personal attributions
◦Situational attributions
 Explanations in terms of personal
characteristics. For example:
◦ “The baby must be a happy baby.”
 Other examples:
◦ “He scored well on the exam
because he is smart.”
◦ “She tripped because she is clumsy.”
 Explanations in terms of situational
factors. For example:
◦ “Someone must have just played
with the baby .”
 Other examples:
◦ “He scored well because it was an
easy test.”
◦ “She tripped because a squirrel ran
in front of her.”
 As much as we wish our
minds (and the process of
perception) were perfect, they
are not
◦ Ask the police at a crime scene
or ex-lovers reflecting on “what
went wrong”
 Some of our mistakes,
however, are due to our
“biological brain” playing
tricks on us (below the level of Life After Politics
consciousness)
 If we know what they are, we
can prevent them!
 A) First Impressions of others
◦ 1st impressions overwhelm 2nd & 3rd
 They tend to taint the rest of the interaction (for the
better or worse)
◦ Dougherty (1994) Job Interview Research
 Start strong is what matters!!
 B) Negative Impressions of others
◦ When people are aware of both positive and
negative qualities, we tend to be more
influenced by the negative
◦ “Bob is handsome, hardworking, intelligent and
honest. He’s also conceited”
 Did you keep Bob’s negative quality in perspective?
4 to 1 ratio!
◦ Kellermann (1989) Study:
 Interviewers were likely to reject candidates who
revealed any negative info
 A) We select the first (positive or
negative) “obvious” or “dominant”
characteristic of a person
◦ Physical appearance, weight, personality,
wealth, clothing, regional accent, race,
large nose, glasses, nice shoes, etc.
 B) We then assign “accompanying”
positive or negative traits to that
person (that they have not earned)
◦ Halo--Attractive People: smart, happy,
rich, honest
◦ Devil--Unattractive People: dumb, poor,
dishonest
 C) Problem: We unfairly punish some
while rewarding others simply due to
one dominant trait we happen to
notice
 The mind likes consistency, simplicity, &
balance. Any information that could
“disrupt the peace” is seen as dangerous.
Ergo, the brain tries to restore balance:
◦ A. Selective Exposure
 We attend to messages that are in accord with
our already-held attitudes (conservative talk
radio)
 And avoid dissonance from other ideas
◦ B. Selective Retention
 We remember what is consistent with pre-
existing attitudes and interests
◦ C. Selective Perception
 We mentally recast messages so that they are
inline with our beliefs and attitudes
 Classic Study by Allport and Postman in 1945
 The mind privileges things that
come first and last in a set, list, or
encounter
◦ Job Interviews (never get stuck in the
middle)
◦ Beauty Pageants & Talent Contests
e.g. Greek Sing (statistics show
bookends are more likely win)
◦ Spelling Lists (the top & bottom are
easy)
◦ Movies (intros & conclusions stay
with us)
◦ Human Encounters (see pitfall #1)
 We alter our interpretations to favor
ourselves & to “cheat” others:
 Your Test Grade:
◦ When we do well, it is because of internal
factors
 I worked hard--I’m smart
◦ When we do poorly, it is because of external
factors
 Your professor hates you
 Others Test Grade:
◦ When others do well, it is because of external
factors
 They got lucky--They were given special
treatment
◦ When others do bad, it is because of internal
factors
 Rating Ourselves:
◦ 1) 95% of men believe = 50%
athletic
◦ 2) 90% of Americans believe =
50% attractive
◦ 3) American High School
students believe = Best at
Math & Science

The joys of parenthood

 Perception defined
 Influences of perception
 Four stages of perception
 Pitfalls to accurate perception
The Fundamental Attributon Error

is that we overestimate the power

of the person and underestimate
the power of the situation.
 The situation is not salient when people make
attributions for the behavior of others, but
the situation is salient when making
attributions for one’s own behavior.
 Thus, people are more inclined to take the
situation into account when explaining their
own behavior.
 People do not make objective situational /
personal attributions for their own behavior,
though.
 They tend to attribute their successes to
dispositional factors, and their failures to
situational factors.
 For example: “I did well on the test because
I am smart,” or “I did poor on the test
because I didn’t get enough sleep.
 Kelley argued that people take three factors
into account when making a personal vs.
situational attribution:
◦ Consistency: Is the baby always smiling?
◦ Distinctiveness: Are there occasions on which the
baby doesn’t smile?
◦ Consensus: Do all babies smile?
 If consistency is high, and distinctiveness
/ consensus are low, then a personal
attribution is more likely:
◦ “The baby is always smiling, never displays
other emotions (like crying), and this is not
typical of babies in general. Therefore, this
baby must have a happy disposition.”
 If consistency is high, and distinctiveness
/ consensus are also high, then a
situational attribution is more likely.
◦ “The baby is always smiling when tickled, but
displays different emotions in other
circumstances. Smiling when tickled is typical
of all babies. Therefore, this baby is smiling
because it was tickled”