This document discusses perception and self-concept. It explains that perception involves cognitive processes to interpret experiences and form understandings. Factors like schemas, biases, and culture can influence perception. Regarding self-concept, it describes how people develop self-esteem and self-efficacy, and manage identities through self-presentation, self-monitoring, and self-disclosure when communicating. Effective communication requires understanding how perception and self-concept vary between individuals.

1. Perceiving the Self and Others
Chapter Two
Real Communication, An Introduction By Dan O’Hair And Mary Wiemann

2. Perception...

3. Perception...
a cognitive process
interpret our experiences
come to our understandings

4. Communication
Processing
We gather, organize, and evaluate the
information we receive.

5. Schemas
Mental structures that group together
related information, help us process new
information.

6. Less Perceptive
✤ Mindlessness results in reduced cognitive
activity.
✤ Selective Perception gives us bias.
✤ Undue Influence gives greater credibility to
something than you should.

7. Attributions
✤ Personal characteristics used to explain other
people’s behaviors to understand the cause of
the behavior and justify perception.

8. Interaction Appearance Theory
✤ As we get to know people better through
positive interactions, we find them more
socially and physically attractive.

9. Interaction Appearance Theory
✤ As we get to know people better through
positive interactions, we find them more
socially and physically attractive.

10. Fundamental Attribution Error
✤ We overemphasize the internal
and underestimate the external
causes of behaviors we see.
✤ “There is something wrong with
that guy. He’s always late to
work.”
✤ “I’m always late because I have
kids.”

11. Improving Perceptions
✤ Verify your information.
✤ Be thoughtful when seeking info.
✤ Look beyond the first impression.

12. perception

13. Culture
Understanding how our cultural
differences affect perception.

14. Understanding
✤ Effective and appropriate communication
involves understanding and appreciating
people who perceive differently than us.
✤ Recognizing their uniqueness.
✤ Our background can affect how we see
others.

15. Cultural Myopia
✤ My culture and language are appropriate
and relevant in all situations.
✤ Don’t be blind from our own perceptions.

16. Stereotyping
✤ The practice of fitting individuals into
existing schemas without taking into
account their individual differences.
✤ Prejudice
✤ How do you define prejudice?
✤ Do you have any prejudices?

17. Remove Barriers
✤ Be mindful of others.
✤ People belong to many co-cultures.
✤ Learn more about others.
✤ Examine our own schemas.

18. Self
Understanding who I am in order to
communicate better.

19. Self-concepts
✤ Awareness of who we are.
✤ Thinking about our own strengths and
weaknesses.
✤ Observing our own behaviors and
reactions to others.

20. Social Comparison Theory
✤ The practice of comparing our own self-
concepts to what we like about media
figures.
✤ Influences how we think about ourselves.

21. Self-esteem
How people think about themselves can
give confidence.

22. Self-efficacy
✤ The ability to predict one’s effectiveness in
a communication situation based on self-
concept and self-esteem.
✤ Johnny Carson was one of the best at
reading his audience and reacting to
them.

23. Self-fulfilling prophecy
✤ A prediction that causes an individual to
alter his or her behavior in a way that
makes the prediction likely to occur.

24. Assessments
✤ Self-actualization is a high assessment.
✤ Self-adequacy is a satisfactory assessment.
✤ Self-denigration is a negative assessment.

25. Identities
How do we manage our identities?

26. Self-
presentation
How we present ourselves to others.

27. Self-monitoring
✤ Observing our environment and
others.
✤ We will know how to present
ourselves in a particular situation.
✤ High self-monitors-attuned to
other’s behaviors.
✤ Low self-monitors-not sensitive to
the situation and don’t feel need to
adapt.

28. Self-disclosure
✤ How we reveal ourselves to others by
sharing information.
✤ The information we reveal must be
considered important.

29. Controlled online
✤ It’s possible to edit, revise and
organize the information disclosed.
✤ We can hide things since there is no
body language or other signals.