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PERCEPTION
WHO ARE YOU? HOW DO YOU SEE THINGS?
• Perception is the process of being aware of and understanding the world
• Form, challenge, and reinforce ideas and beliefs
• Influences how we choose to interact with others
• Massive amounts of stimuli that must be processed
SELECTION
• Perception begins with those messages we choose to focus on and respond to
• Filter out things by being selective
• We can only pay attention to a small portion of stimuli
• Sensory overload; selection helps prevent it
SELECTIVE ATTENTION
• The process of focusing on one thing, while not paying attention to anything
else
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPnCbUK3QGY
• Focusing on one event often involves ignoring events that are less expected
SELECTIVE EXPOSURE
• Exposing self to beliefs, values, and ideas that are similar to our own
• Netflix, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter
• Preference for messages that support personal positions / values (Fox News,
MSNBC)
• Mood management (movies, music, etc.)
• Communicators play a role in choosing the types of messages they receive
(ditch the negative; feel the pain)
SELECTIVE PERCEPTION
• When individuals filter what they see and hear to make it suit their own
needs, biases, or expectations
• Relevance to self (hearing your name called, car you drive, etc.)
• Focusing on anticipated messages (Smith and Hubs)
SELECTIVE MEMORY
• Information we retain from interactions
• Memory is dynamic (evolve), creative (reconstructive; bits and pieces), and social (jointly construct
memories of shared experiences)
ORGANIZATION
After stimuli is selected, we must organize them so they construct meaning.
• Schemas: mental structures developed from experience (road maps;
classification tool)
• Prototypes: best example of a category
• Stereotypes: generalizations of a category
• Interpersonal Constructs: opposing terms (friendly vs. hostile; more
complex with experience; cognitive complexity)
• Scripts: sequences of action that define situations (protocol)
COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY
• Numerous (many interpersonal contructs)
• Abstract (more generalized; better for predicting behaviors)
• Organized (links various constructs; defines along many
dimensions)
• Capable of handling contradictions / inconsistencies (prevents
oversimplification of persons and or situations; Rate My Prof)
INTERPRETATION
• Giving meaning to information
• Ambiguous situations can be interpreted various ways
INFLUENCES ON PERCEPTION
• Culture: Standpoint Theory (group affiliations impact perception)
• Media: defines what is acceptable; media literacy
• Fields of Experience: perceptual baggage
• Language: connotative meanings
SELF AND COMMUNICATION
• Self-concept: general perception of who we are; past, present and
future selves
• Possible selves: visions of what we may become
• Self-esteem: an assessment of individual worth
• Self-image: mental picture of one’s self
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
• How we internalize and use social values to guide how we see ourselves and
others; how we interact with others
• Observe and internalize others’ reactions to us
• Cooley’s looking-glass self: self arises from interpersonal interactions and
perceptions of others
• How we appear to others
• How appearance is judged
• Developing a sense of self through judgment of others
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
• Not born with a self
• We develop self through perceptions of IMPORTANT relationships
with significant others
• Generalized other: viewpoint of the entire society
• “I” is the doer, the actor, the performer; in the moment
• “Me” is the critic and judge; reflects on the actions of the “I”
RELATIONAL SELF
• Process of constantly becoming who you are as a result of relationships with
others
• People behave differently when they are with different people (cultural,
familial, social contexts)
• Communication helps each achieve a self that would otherwise not be
realized
• Communication creates identity; responsibility to interact with others so they
can achieve healthy self identity
HOW DOES THIS DRAWING REFLECT RELATIONAL
SELF?