Person perception

1. Person perception Lecture 2

2. Differences between person perception and perception of physical objects Complexity of inferences • „going beyond the information given” (Jerome Bruner) • Indirect inferences (observable cues  inferences about dispositions) • Influence of affect and emotions • The perceving and the perceived are of the same kind – both humans • Source of biases or accurate perceptions • „I know that you know that I know” – the perceiving is being perceived and reacted to • Self-fulfilling prophecies • Labeling effects • Source of bias

3. What is being perceived • Appearance, skin color, gender • Nonverbal behavior • Verbal communications • Behaviors (shyness, self-confidence, anxiety, etc.)

4. Nonverbal messages • Gestures • Physical distance • Eye contact • Others (touch, intimacy of conversational content, tone of voice etc.) • Behaviors (blushing, trembling, fidgeting etc.)

5. Gestures

8. Physical distance

9. Spontaneous distance dependent on type of interaction

10. Spontaneous distance dependent on age and type of relationship

11. Spontaneous distance dependent on age and gender

12. Eye contact

13. Focusing on a face...

14. Frequency of eye contact during a conversation

15. Physical distance and amount of eye contact

16. Impression formation

17. Role of affect in impression formation

18. Robert B. Zajonc

19. Affect as basic form of cognition • Affective appraisal • Approach-avoidance • Good-bad • Cognition • True – false • The majority of categorizations are underlain by affective bi-polar categorizations (liked – disliked, positive-negative, desirable-undesirable)

20. Two types of perceptual cues • Preferenda  cues of how to feel • Discriminanda cues of how to distinguish between objects

21. Evaluation as the basic component of meaning • Charles Osgood (1957): „The measurement of meaning” • Connotation vs. denotation • Semantic differential as instrument for measurement of meaning

22. Semantic differential Father 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 good bad hard soft slow fast light heavy smooth rough

23. Future 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 good bad hard soft slow fast light heavy smooth rough

24. Love 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 good bad hard soft slow fast light heavy smooth rough

25. Poland 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 good bad hard soft slow fast light heavy smooth rough

26. Other dimensions and results of factor analysis

27. Three dimensions of meaning • Evaluation (good-bad) (50% variance) • Potency (strong-weak) • Activity (active-passive) • Potency+Activity = Dynamism • Evaluation + Dynamism = two basic dimensions of AFFECT

28. Dimensions of semantic space

29. James Russell & Albert Mehrabian – „circumplex” of affective reactions High arousal (dynamism) Fear Excitement Pleasant Unpleasant Relaxation Low arousal (dynamism) Boredom

30. High arousal hectic active exciting frenzied alive rushed exhilirating intense panicky interesting arousing tense forceful stimulating sensational uncomfortable repulsive pleasing dissatisfying unpleasant pretty unpleasant beautiful displeasing nice pleasant unstimulating pleasant serene dreary inactive restful dull peaceful calm boring idle drowsy tranquil monotoneous lazy slow After: Russell, Lanius, 1984 Low arousal

31. Affective and descriptive rules of trait inference

32. Two meanings of a social information • Affective meaning (evaluation): • Is it good or bad: • Do I like it or not? • Descriptive meaning • What does it mean?, • What property does it describe?

33. Two types of inferences • According to affective similarity • Eg. economical generous; careful  courageous • According to descriptive similarity • Eg. generous extravagant; careful  cowardly

34. Affective representation (affectively balanced structure) - + + - - + - + + - +

35. Descriptive representation (affectively imbalanced structure) + - + + - + - - - + +

36. Affective inferences used: • When little information is available • When we don’t understand the situation • Discriminanda cannot be applied • When the cognitive set is to evaluate and not to diagnose/describe • When quick decision is required • Need for approach or avoidance reaction • When the situation is emotionally involving • With lower level of cognitive development (e.g. children)

37. Descriptive inferences used: • When enough information • When looking for explanation and not evaluation • In a neutral situation that enables distancing • Higher level of cognitive devlopment, cognitive complexity

38. Trait inferences: principles and effects

39. Going beyond the information given • Effects in impression formation • halo effect, • leniency effect • Implicit theories of personality Jerome Bruner

40. Halo effect + + + + + + +

41. Leniency effect -- + + -- + -- -- +

42. Other effects in person perception • Primacy / recency • Information set effect • Evaluation effects • Polarization effect: • more extreme evaluations influence general impression more • Negativity effect: • Negative evaluations influence general impression more than positive evaluations • Positivity effect • Positive evaluations influence general impression more than negative evaluations

43. Asch study – primary vs. recency effect

45. Explanations of primacy effect • Solomon Asch: change of the information meaning dependent on the expectations created after the first information • Norman Anderson: attention declines with successive information

46. Information set effect Logarithmic function between overall evaluation and number of univalent information evaluation Number of information pieces

47. Trait inferences Implicit theories of personality

48. Solomon Asch (years 40s/50s) • Central and peripheral traits • warm vs. cold

49. List A Intelligent Skillful Industrious Warm Determined Practical Careful List B Intelligent Skillful Industrious Cold Determined Practical Careful Solomon Asch: central and peripheral traits

50. Effects of differences on the „warm- cold” dimension • generous • wise • happy • kind • humorous • sociable • popular • humane • altruistic • Imaginative No differences for the dimension: Polite - blunt