Person Perception

PERSON PERCEPTION * Refers to the different mental processes that we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people. Variables that give impact to person perception: 1. Characteristics of the person you are observing. 2. Context of the situation. 3. Own personal characteristics. Based of our impressions are: 1. Roles and social norms 2. Physical cues 3. Salience of the information Primary Effect * The first thing we find out about a person; also called “first impression” Actor – Observer Effect * We think other do things because of their personalities and we think we do things because of the situation were in. Social categorization * Classifying a person into a certain group (social category) based on something you observe about the person which in turn, affects your judgment of them. Implicit Personality Theory * A collection of beliefs and assumptions that we have about how certain traits are linked to other characteristics and behaviour. * It is use to fill up missing information on a person. SOCIAL PERCEPTION * Refers to the processes through which we use available information to form impressions of others, to assess what they are like. * It allows people to understand the individuals and groups of their social world. Social Perception are also interlinked with Self-Perception. Both are influenced by self-motives. Two Major Determinants of Perception: 1. Structural Factors Those factors driving solely from the nature of physical stimuli and the natural effects they evoke on the nervous system of the individual. 2. Functional Factors Derive primary from an individual’s needs, moods, past experiences and memory. Whatever perception is being observed is a function of both sets of factors because neither set operates alone. How do we form impression of others?