Chapter 3 Review

• We make sense of our interpersonal world through perception, and engage in selection, organization, and interpretation of information received from our senses.

• We interpret the meaning of communication by drawing on known information stored in our mental schemata. We make attributions regarding why people said and did certain things but sometimes fall prey to the fundamental attribution error, the actor-observer effect, or the self-serving bias.

• According to Uncertainty Reduction Theory, we commonly experience uncertainty during first encounters with new acquaintances.

• Culture and gender play major roles in shaping our perception of communication.

• Personality influences our perception of the traits we possess and how we perceive the traits of others. Implicit personality theories guide our perceptions of others’ personalities.

• When we perceive others, we form interpersonal impressions. Sometimes we create general Gestalts, which are quite often positive, thanks to the positivity bias.

• The negativity effect plays a role in shaping how we perceive information we learn about others.

• Forming strong positive or negative Gestalts sometimes leads to a halo effect or a horn effect, causing us to perceive subsequent information we learn about people in distorted ways.

• The most accurate and refined impressions of others are algebraic impressions. When we calculate our impressions based on individual traits, we’re more likely to see people as they really are and adapt our communication accordingly.

• The most common form of interpersonal impression is stereotyping.

• When you can take the perspective of others and experience empathic concern toward them, your communication becomes more sensitive and adaptive.

• Responsible perception is rooted in perception-checking, routinely questioning your perceptions and correcting errors that may lead to ineffective communication.