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Chapter 2 Person Perception: Forming Impressions of Others Six General Principles minimal information salience context categorization enduring cognitive structures needs and goals What Information Do We Use? People often decide very quickly what others are like based on minimal information. What Information Do We Use? Roles People tend to think of others within a role context first and only then according to personality traits What Information Do We Use? Physical Cues Appearance and behavior are key determinants of our first impressions What Information Do We Use? Salience People pay attention to the figure rather than to the ground or setting The most salient cues are used most heavily Brightness, noisiness, motion, and novelty What Information Do We Use? Effects of Salience Draws attention Influences perceptions of causality Produces evaluatively extreme judgments Produce more consistency of judgment What Information Do We Use? We move very quickly from observable information (appearance & behavior) to personality trait inferences Traits are more economical to remember Trait inferences occur automatically We use implicit personality theories to infer traits from other traits What Information Do We Use? Which Traits? We tend to evaluate others along two dimensions: Competence Interpersonal qualities What Information Do We Use? Central Traits Some traits may be more central than others, that is, highly associated with many other characteristics “Warm-Cold” appears to be such a trait (Kelley, 1950) What Information Do We Use? Categorization We automatically perceive stimuli as part of a group or category What Information Do We Use? Consequences of Categorization leads to category-based social judgments (stereotyping) speeds processing time can lead to errors What Information Do We Use? The Continuum Model of Impression Formation Impressions range from stereotypic, category-based impressions to individuated impressions (dual processing) What Information Do We Use? Dual Processing We generally tend to use category-based inference because it is easy and quick We use individuated information when we are motivated to be accurate the person doesn’t fit our categories we have other reasons for wanting to know the person better What Information Do We Use? Context Effects Contrast biases judgments away from the context (sees them as different) Assimilation biases judgments in the same direction as the context (sees them as similar) What Information Do We Use? Context Effects Assimilation occurs more when people are using category-based processing Contrast occurs more when people are using individuated information Integrating Impressions We move quickly from observations of appearance and behavior to inferences about personality Integrating Impressions Negativity Effect Negative traits tend to affect impressions more than positive ones (especially negative moral traits) Positivity Bias Overall we tend to evaluate others positively Integrating Impressions We infer what others are like from what emotions they express Integrating Impressions The Averaging Principle averaging is used to combine separate pieces of information about people, some of which are positive and others of which are negative A weighted averaging model, in which traits are weighted by importance, provides the best predictions Integrating Impressions Our perceptions of others’ personal qualities undergoes a shift of meaning depending on context Integrating Impressions People tend to form evaluatively consistent impressions of others (halo effect) Integrating Impressions Resolving Inconsistencies Information that is inconsistent with other impressions may be remembered especially well However, being “cognitively busy” prevents us from thinking about inconsistent information so we forget it We may differentiate incongruent information by context Sometimes we just recognize incongruities without integrating them Integrating Impressions Schemas are organized, structured sets of cognitions including knowledge about the object, relationships among its attributes, and specific examples Integrating Impressions Schemas Person schemas Role schemas Group schemas (stereotypes) Integrating Impressions Schemas Prototypes are the abstract ideal of a schema Exemplars are particular instances of a category Integrating Impressions Schemas When we have little information about another, we use prototypes to make inferences about them When we have a little more information, we use both exemplars and prototypes When we have a great deal of information, we use more well-developed schemas as well as exemplars Motivated Person Perception Our goals and feelings about other people influence the information we gather about them Motivated Person Perception Need for accuracy about another leads to more systematic processing We remember more about another when we expect to interact with him or her Motivated Person Perception Communicating information about another leads to more evaluatively consistent impressions Motivated Person Perception When we are preoccupied we are more likely to make trait inferences Motivated Person Perception Factors influencing our reactions to others Other’s similarity to self Our prior experiences Our prior expectations Our beliefs about traits as stable or malleable Our own emotional state or mood Attribution Theory Attribution theory is the area of psychology concerned with when and how people ask “why” questions. Heider (1958) argued that we have needs to understand and to control the environment. These needs lead us to make attributions. We are especially likely to make attributions when events are negative or unexpected. Attribution Theory dispositional or internal attributions Refer to traits, attitudes, enduring internal states versus situational or external attributions Refer to aspects of the external environment, including other people Attribution Theory Correspondent Inference Theory (Jones and Davis [1965]) Assumes that we seek to make “correspondent inferences” The behavior (e.g., rude) corresponds to an underlying characteristic of the person (rude) We use information about the social context to see if we can make a correspondent inference Attribution Theory We tend to make a correspondent inference when A A A A behavior behavior behavior behavior is not socially desirable is freely chosen has a “noncommon effect” is not part of a social role Attribution Theory Noncommon Effects A student is choosing between 3 colleges You attribute their motive as the distinctive effect for that choice Harvard MA Large Exceptional $$$$ UMass MA Large Excellent $$ Amherst MA Small Excellent $$$$ Attribution Theory The Covariation Model (Kelley, 1967) says that people try to see if a particular cause and a particular effect go together across situations. Attribution Theory Consistency Consensus Is the person’s response consistent over time? Do other people have similar responses? Distinctiveness Does the person respond similarly to other similar stimuli? Attribution Theory Why did Mary laugh at the comedian? Distinctiveness Consensus Consistency Attribution High—she High— High—she Stimulus Low—she always Low—hardly Person laughs at comedians anyone else laughed High—she High Low—hardly Low—she Context didn’t laugh at anyone else —she didn’t laugh at anyone else everyone else laughed anyone else laughed always laughs at him always laughs at him rarely laughs at comedians Attribution Theory The discounting principle suggests that we are less likely to attribute an effect to a particular cause if more than one cause is likely. E.g., if a salesperson is nice to us, we don’t necessarily assume he or she is intrinsically friendly Attribution Theory By and large, research findings show that people’s inferences do follow the patterns described by the covariation and discounting principles Attribution Theory Biases in the Attribution Process Considerable research suggests that there are several prominent biases in the ways we make causal attributions Attribution Theory Fundamental Attribution Error We are more likely to attribute others’ behavior to their dispositions than to the situation they are in Attribution Theory The fundamental attribution error may occur because people make dispositional attributions automatically, and then only later use situational information to discount it. People don’t tend to get to the second step unless the contextual information is very compelling or salient Attribution Theory There are some cultural differences in attributions. People in all cultures seem to share the correspondence bias (tendency to infer behaviors as due to dispositions) But people in non-Western cultures are more likely to take situational and contextual information into account Attribution Theory The Actor-Observer Bias is that we tend to attribute other people’s behavior to their dispositions but our own to situations (Jones & Nisbett, 1972) Perceptual: actors look at the situation, observers look at actors Access to different information: actors have more background about themselves Attribution Theory False Consensus Effect We tend to see our own behavior and opinions as typical. Why? We have a biased sample of similar others among our friends Our own opinions are more accessible/salient We fail to realize that our choices reflect our construals and that others have different perceptions We are motivated to see ourselves as normal & good. Attribution Theory The Self-Serving Attributional Bias We tend to take credit for our successes but deny blame for our failures Attribution Theory The self-serving bias may actually be quite adaptive. There is more evidence that people take credit for their successes than that they deny responsibility for failures. People may accept responsibility for failure especially if it is a factor they can control. The self-serving bias is more likely in casual than in close relationships. Attribution Theory Where do Biases Come From? Cognitive shortcuts in service of efficiency Needs and motives (biases to enhance self-esteem and perceptions of control) Accuracy of Judgments Our judgments are both accurate and inaccurate. We tend to be accurate about external visible attributes. We are less accurate about inferred internal states (traits or feelings). Accuracy of Judgments Why are people’s personalities difficult to judge accurately? Lack of objective criteria People have idiosyncratic criteria for judging others They agree more about likeability than about traits Personality traits tend to predict behavior in only a limited set of circumstances Accuracy of Judgments People agree more about observable traits than about less observable ones People agree more with the person’s self-perception if they know a person well People are more accurate if the target’s behavior is not overly variable People are more accurate if they are outcome dependent on the target Accuracy of Judgments We are fairly accurate in our perception of others’ emotional states Facial expressions of emotions may be part of our evolutionary heritage Accuracy of Judgments Continuum of emotions Happiness/Joy Surprise, Amazement Fear Sadness Anger Disgust, Contempt Interest, Attentiveness We easily distinguish emotions that are at least three categories apart Accuracy of Judgments Two dimensions of emotion: Pleasantness Arousal We easily distinguish pleasant from unpleasant emotions, and arousing emotions from non-arousing ones The pleasantness dimension is easiest to distinguish Nonverbal Communication Even small amounts of nonverbal behavior can convey substantial information Channels Visible Facial expressions, gestures, posture, appearance Paralinguistic Pitch, amplitude, rate, voice quality of speech Nonverbal Communication The Visible Channel Distance Gestures Vary by culture Eye Contact Indicates friendliness Indicates interest (friendship or threat) Facial Expressions Nonverbal Communication Paralanguage Paralanguage involves variations in speech other than verbal content A simple statement can mean entirely different things depending on emphasis and inflection Nonverbal Communication The more channels of communication people have access to, the more accurate they are in judging others’ emotions. However, the verbal channel tends to be the most influential. Nonverbal Communication Are people successful or unsuccessful liars? True emotions tend to “leak” out through nonverbal channels Some nonverbal channels leak more than others because they are less controllable The body is more likely than the face to reveal deception Nonverbal Communication People are more likely to perceive a deceptive message as less truthful, but on the whole, people are not wonderful lie-detectors The Giveaways Liars blink more, hesitate more, make more speech errors, speak in higherpitched voices, and have more dilated pupils Nonverbal Communication People use nonverbal behaviors to convey intended impressions Display rules are cultural norms regarding how one conveys emotion to others Nonverbal Communication There are gender differences in the use of nonverbal behavior. Girls and women are more expressive in their display of most emotions and are more accurate interpreters of nonverbal cues Women are better at communicating happiness; Men at communicating anger Both nature and nurture seem to be involved.