Module III: Social Perception

Social perception
Nonverbal communication- Facial expressions, Gazes, Stares, Body language, Touching. Deception
and Microexpressions
Attribution: Theories of Attribution – Heider, Jones and Davis, Kelly, Shaver, Weiner.
Basic sources of attribution errors
Applications of Attribution theory in understanding depression and prejudice
Impression formation (Definition)
Impression management- tactics

Social perception
Social perception is the process through which we seek to know and understand other people. It
includes the ways in which we attempt to understand other people. We use many different sources
of information in our efforts to understand others. It is one of the most basic and important aspects
of social life.

We try to understand the other person’s current feelings, moods and emotions—how they are
feeling right now, often provided by nonverbal cues involving facial expressions, eye contact, body
language.

We attempt to understand the more lasting causes behind others’ behavior—the reasons why they
have acted in certain ways—motives, intentions and traits.

Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal Communication is the communication between individuals that relies on an unspoken
language of facial expressions, eye contact, body language, touching, scent.

Nonverbal cues are provided by changes in their facial expressions, eye contact, posture, body
movements, and other expressive actions. As per De Paulo et al. (2003), non-verbal communication
is relatively irrepressible—difficult to control—so that even when others try to conceal their inner
feelings from us, these often “leak out” in many ways through nonverbal cues. The information
conveyed by such cues, and our efforts to interpret this input, are often described by the term
nonverbal communication.

Basic channels of non-verbal communication

 Facial expressions—reveal current moods/feelings

 Eye contact—indicates positive feelings (except staring)
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  Body language (position, posture, movements)—reveals emotional states, cultural emblems
 Touching—suggests affection, sexual interest, dominance, caring, aggression
 Body scent/Fragrance

Facial Expressions
Facial expressions act as clues to others emotions.Roman orator Cicero said, “Face is the image of
the soul”. Human feelings and emotions are often reflected in the face and can be read there in
specific expressions. It is possible to learn much about others’ current moods and feelings from
their facial expressions.

There are six different basic emotions on the human face: anger, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise
and disgust. Emotions occur in various combinations. ( Eg.surprise + fear)

Facial expressions reflect individual’s underlying emotions. Different facial movements are
accompanied by changes in physiological activities.

Studies conducted in many different cultures suggest that human beings all over the world tend to
show highly similar facial expressions. Recent studies indicate that our judgement about others’
emotion through facial expressions are also affected by the context in which facial expressions
occur and situational cues.

Facial feedback hypothesis (Laird, 1984): There is a close link between the facial expressions we
show and our internal feelings. We not only show what we feel in our facial expressions, but these
expressions influence our emotional states.

Eye Contact
Eye contact is often referred to as “windows to the soul”. We do often learn much about others’
feelings from their eyes. We interpret a high level of gazing from another as a sign of liking or
friendliness. While a high level of eye contact with others is usually interpreted as a sign of liking or
positive feelings, there is one exception to this general rule. If another person gazes at us
continuously and maintains such contact regardless of what we do, she or he can be said to be
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staring. Staring is a form of eye contact in which one person continues to gaze steadily at another
regardless of what the recipient does. In fact, we may quickly terminate social interaction with
someone who stares at us and may even leave the scene. This is one reason by experts on ‘road
rage’- highly aggressive driving motorists, sometimes followed by actual assaults- recommended
that drivers avoid eye contact with people who are disobeying traffic laws and rules of the road.
Apparently, such persons, who are already in a highly excitable state, interpret anything
approaching a stare from another driver as an aggressive act and react accordingly.

Body language
Body language includes the cues provided by the position, posture and movement of others’ bodies
or body parts.

Our current moods or emotions are often reflected in the position, posture and movement of our
bodies, in which, provide us with useful information about others. Body language often reveals
others’ emotional states. Large numbers of movements – especially ones in which one part of the
body does something to another part, suggest emotional arousal. Large scale body movements or
postures can sometimes provide important information about others’ emotions, and even about
their apparent traits.

More specific information about others feelings is often provided by gestures. The gestures fall into
several categories, but perhaps the most important are emblems-body movements carrying specific
meaning in a given culture.

Arnoff’s and colleagues’ research on ballet dancers: These researchers first identified two groups
of characters in classical ballet: ones who played a dangerous or threatening role and ones who play
warm, sympathetic roles. Then they examined examples of dancing by these characters in actual
ballets to see if they adopted a different kind of postures. Arnoff and his collegues predict that,
Dancers who played with dangerous, threatening characters would show more diagonal or angular
postures, whole dancers with warm and sympathetic characters would show rounded postures. And
their results strongly confirmed this hypothesis. These and related findings indicate that large-scale
body movements or posture can sometimes provide important information about others emotion,
and even about their apparent traits.

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Lynn and Mynier’s research on body movements and posture and movements (busy restaurants as
the setting) : In these settings, they arranged for waiters and waitresses, when taking drink orders
from customers, either to stand upright or to squat down next to the customers. Lynn and Mynier
predicted that squatting down would be interpreted as a sign of friendliness, because in that
position the waiter and waitresses would make more eye contact with customers and would be
physically closer to them.

Touching
It is the most intimate nonverbal cue. The factors to consider in touching include:
 Who does the touching?
 The nature of physical contact
 The context in which it takes place

When touching is considered acceptable, positive reactions often result. If it is perceived as a

status or power play, or if it is too prolonged or intimate, touching may evoke anger, anxiety, and
other negative reactions. Handshake is an acceptable form of touching. Firm handshake is one way
to have favorable first impression. Firmer, longer and vigorous handshake show extraversion and
openness.

Body Scent/ Fragrance

Scent also serves as a nonverbal cue, and subtle cues concerning women’s menstrual cycle can be
transmitted in this way. Fragrance can be used as another type of non-verbal cue. People often use
artificial fragrance to send each other nonverbal cues.

Recognizing Deception -The role of nonverbal cues

If we pay careful attention to certain nonverbal cues, we can recognize efforts at deception by
others- even if these persons are from cultures other than our own.

Micro expressions
These are fleeting facial expressions lasting a few tenths of a second. Such reactions appear on the
face after an emotion provoking event is difficult to suppress. One expression followed quickly by
another can be a useful sign that they are lying.

Exaggerated facial expression

Persons who are lying sometimes show exaggerated facial expression. They may smile more-
broadly-than usual or may show greater sorrow than is typical in a given situation.

Interchannel discrepancies
These are inconsistencies between nonverbal cues from different basic channels. Persons who are
lying find it difficult to control all these channels at once.
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Various eye contact
Person who are lying often blink more frequently and show pupils that are more dilated than
persons who are telling the truth. They may else show an unusually low or high level of eye
contact.

Paralanguage/ Linguistic Style

These are aspects of speech apart from the meaning of the words employed (pitch of voice).
When people lie, the pitch of their voice often rises and they tend to speak more slowly and with
less fluency.

Attribution
It is the process through which people seek to identify the causes of others’ behavior and so gain
knowledge of their stable traits and dispositions.Attribution refers to the process of understanding
and thinking about people within social situations, as one tends to try and explain the behavior of
others.
• Making inferences/assumptions/judgements about the causes of others’ behavior

Theories of attribution
5 Theories of Attribution-
How we explain the causes of other people’s behavior

1. Heider’s Naïve Psychology / Common Sense Psychology Attribution

Theory (Refer text book print out)

• Fritz Heider(1958)
3 possible explanations to the causes of behavior of others:
• Situational factors/ External
• Internal/ Dispositional/ Intentional
• Unintentional (won’t occur in future)

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 2. Jones and Davis Theory of correspondent Inference(1965)
It is the theory describing how a person use other’s behavior as a basis for inferring their
stable dispositions. It is coined by Jones and Davis in 1965. The theory is concerned with
how we decide on the basis of others’ overt actions, that they possess specific traits or
dispositions that they carry with them from situation to situation and that remain stable
over time.
– Jones and Davis’ (1965) Theory of Correspondent Inference—describes how
people use others’ behavior as a basis for inferring their stable
dispositions
– Correspondent inference between people’s behavior and their
personality.
People try to explain behavior by finding a match between the behavior they can see and
stable qualities / personality traits of the person displaying it.
When we infer others’ trait from their behavior,we accomplish three distinct tasks :We
categorize an individual’s behavior, we characterize the behavior, and we correct our
inferences about this person’s traits in the light of information about the situation in which
it has occurred.
In sum, according to this theory , we are most likely to conclude that other’s behaviour
reflects their stable traits when the behaviour:
 Is freely chosen

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 Yields distinctive, noncommon effects-Effects that can be caused by one specific factor
but not by others and is/outcome produced by a particular cause that could not be
produced by any other apparent cause.
 Low in social desirability (or unusual)

Example: Imagine that one of your friends has just gotten engaged. His future spouse is
very attractive, has a great personality, is wildly in love with your friend, and is very rich.
What can you learn about your friend from his decision to marry this woman? Not much.
There are so many good reasons that you can’t choose among them. In contrast, imagine
that your friend’s fiancé is very attractive, but that she treats him with indifference and is
known to be extremely boring; also, she is deeply in debt and known to be someone who
usually lives far beyond her means. Does the fact that your friend is marrying this woman
tell you anything about him under these conditions? Definitely. You can probably conclude
that he cares more about physical beauty than about personality or wealth. As you can see
from this example, then, we can usually learn more about others from actions on their part
that yield noncommon effects than from ones that do not.

3. Kelley’s theory of causal attribution /Covariation model ( 1972 )

Kelley‘s theory of causal attribution , is the theory interested in the question whether other’s
behaviour stem from internal or external causes .People attribute the cause of others’ behaviour to
internal or external factors.
 Internal factors are caused by person’s traits(disposition)
 External factors are caused by situations

To explain other’s behaviour the following are used:

 Consensus—the extent to which others behave in same way toward the stimulus
The consensus variable answers the question, do multiple people behave the same way in the same
situation? If the answer is yes, then consensus is high. If the answer is no, then consensus is low

 Distinctiveness—the extent to which the person responds in the same way toward
different stimuli
The distinctiveness variable, which answers the question, how unique is the behavior in this
particular situation? In other words, does this person behave the same way in all situations?

 Consistency—the extent to which the person always behaves like this way toward the
stimulus(everytime the situation occurs).

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Consistency, answers the question, how often does the behavior occur across time in this exact
situation?

Kelley’s theory of causal attribution illustrates that our knowledge of behaviour is used to make
attributions based on the consensus, consistency and distinctiveness of available information. It
looks at how such information co-varies with each other so, is there consensus (do other people
behave in the same way as individual?), consistency (has the individual behaved in the same way as
in the past, or on each occasion?) or, is there distinctiveness (where different behaviour is shown is
similar, but different circumstances)?

According to Kelley’s (1972) theory of causal attributions:

•People attribute the causes of others’ behavior to internal factors(an internal attribution)
when Consensus and distinctiveness are low, but consistency is high.

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People attribute the causes of others’ behavior to external factors(situational attribution) when
Consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness are all high.

•People attribute the causes of others’ behavior to a combination of internal and external
factors when Consensus is low, but consistency and distinctiveness are high

Eg. Condition 3
Internal & External

A student Raja, is not listening in the maths class. Other students were listening. He did not listen
to any math class. But he listen to other subjects.

Consensus- Low, Consistency- High, Distinctiveness- High

4. Shaver’s Attributional Model-1975 (Refer text book print out)

3 assumptions about human behavior:

Behavior does not occur by chance(determined & predicted)
People have a desire to understand , explain & predict the behavior of others.
Observable behavior does not always permit valid inferences about its underlying
causes.(questionable)

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5. Weiner’s attribution model- Three Dimensional Model(1979,1986)
(Refer text book print out)

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Three causal dimensions of behaviour:

• locus of control/causality (internal and external)

• stability (stable and unstable),
• controllability (controllable or uncontrollable)

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Principles related to Attribution
When multiple potential causes for behavior are present, the following may occur:

 Discounting Principle—tendency to attach less importance to one potential cause of

some behavior when other potential causes are also present
Suppose that one day, your boss stops by your desk and praises your work, telling you that you are
doing a wonderful job and that she is glad to have you working with her. She does this in front of
several employees, who all congratulate you after she leaves. For the rest of the morning, you feel
great. But then, after lunch, she calls you into her office and asks if you would be willing to take on
extra, difficult work assignment. You may conclude the reasons for his praise that she wanted to
set you up for her request to do extra work.

 Augmenting Principle—tendency to attach greater importance to a potential cause of

behaviour if the behaviour occurs despite the presence of other, inhibitory causes
Imagine the same situation above with one difference. Your boss has a strong policy against giving
employees feedback publicly, in front of other persons. You may conclude that probably the
feedback was really motivated by a genuine desire to tell you that she is very pleased with your
work.

Some Basic Sources of Error

Attribution is subject to many potential sources of error.

 Correspondence Bias (Fundamental attribution error)—tendency to explain others’

actions as stemming from dispositions (internal) even in the presence of clear situational
causes (external). It is the tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional factors.

In short, we tend to perceive others as acting as they do because they are ‘that kind of a
person’ rather than because of the many situational factors that might have affected their
behaviour.

Supppose a man arrive at a meeting one hour late . On entering , he dropped his note on
the floor . While trying to pick them up , his glasses fall off and broke . There is a good
chance to a conclusion that he is disorganised and clumsy. But he may be late due to
delayed flight , that he dropped his notes because it is printed in slick paper .

This error is more common or stronger in individualist cultures (Eg.Western Europe, the United
States, and Canada).

 Actor-Observer Effect—tendency to attribute our own behavior mainly to situational

causes, but the behavior of others mainly to internal (dispositional) causes.

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 For example ,when we see another person trip and fall , we tend to attribute this event to
his or her clumsiness . If we trip , we are most likely to attribute this event to situational
causes , such as ice on sidewalk .

 Self-Serving Bias—tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal causes, but negative

outcomes to external causes .
Suppose a student write a term paper and got a comment to that paper “An outstanding
paper “ .Probably the person will explain the situation in terms of internal causes his high
talent , his effort and so on .

(Motivational explanation suggest that these bias(self-serving bias) stem from our need to protect
and enhance our self-esteem).

Applications of attribution theory in Depression & Prejudice

Attribution and Depression

Depressed persons often show a self-defeating pattern of attributions, which is the opposite of the
self-serving bias. They attribute negative outcomes to lasting/stable, internal causes and attribute
positive outcomes to temporary, external causes.Such depressed persons perceive that they have
little or no control over what happens to them.

Therapy for treating such persons focus on changing such attributions [stop blaming themselves for
negative outcomes] proved highly effective.

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Attribution and Prejudice: The social costs of complaining about
discrimination

• Kaiser & Miller,2001 Experiment:

The Potential Costs of Complaining: Negative Attributions about Minority persons who attribute
negative outcomes to discrimination.-Kaiser and Miller[2001]- participants downrated the
minority student for attributing his failure to prejudice/discrimination.

• Attribution theory helps explain why minority persons who are the victims of
discrimination are often reluctant to challenge it. They fear that if they attribute
negative outcomes to prejudice, they will be perceived negatively by others(chronic
complainers)

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Impression Formation
Impression Formation is the process through which we form impressions of others. A large body of
research findings indicates that first impressions really do matter. They exert important and lasting
effects on others perceptions of us.

Solomon Asch is the pioneer in the study of impression formation.

Asch’s classic research on impression formation indicated that impressions of others involve more
than simple summaries of their traits and that some traits (central traits) can influence the
interpretation of other traits.

Asch’s (1946) research on Impression Formation

Impression Formation- Our impressions of others involves more than combining individual traits.
First impressions are indeed important.

Asch gave individuals lists of traits supposedly possessed by a stranger, and then asked them to
indicate their impressions of this person by putting check marks next to traits (on a much longer
list) that they felt fit their overall impression of the stranger.

For example, in one study, participants read one of the following two lists:

intelligent-skillful-industrious-warm-determined-practical-cautious
intelligent-skillful-industrious-cold-determined-practical-cautious

The lists differ only with respect to two words: warm and cold. Thus, if people form impressions
merely by adding together individual traits, the impressions formed by people exposed to these two
lists shouldn’t differ very much. However, this was not the case. People who read the list
containing warm were much more likely to view the stranger as generous, happy, good-natured,
sociable, popular, and altruistic than were people who read the list containing cold. The words
warm and cold, Asch concluded, were central traits—ones that strongly shaped overall impressions
of the stranger and colored the other adjectives in the lists. Asch obtained additional support for
this view by substituting the words polite and blunt for warm and cold. When he did this, the two
lists yielded highly similar impressions of the stranger. So, polite and blunt it appeared were not
central traits that colored the entire impressions of the stranger. On the basis of many studies such
as this one, Asch concluded that forming impressions of others involves more than simply combining
individual traits.

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Conclusion of Asch’s experiments:

First, people had little trouble with the task. The limited nature of the information did not prevent
them from forming impressions.

Second, Asch found that the substitution of a single word could produce dramatic shifts in the
participants' impressions of the target.

Third, Asch found that some traits seemed to be more central.

Finally, as noted in the impression formation activity, Asch found that there were order effects.
Words that appeared early in the list seemed to influence the perception of words that appeared
later in the list.

How Quickly Are First Impressions Formed— and Are They Accurate?

First impressions are formed very quickly and even if based on limited information, can be
somewhat accurate.

• Thin Slices refers to small amounts of information about others we use to form first
impressions of them.
• Perceivers’ first impressions are reasonably accurate.
• People do form first impressions of others very quickly(Willis & Todorov, 2006)
• level of confidence in their own impressions, the more accurate their impressions
• Our impressions of others are often strongly shaped by our beliefs about what characteristics
go together. Individuals form impressions of others that reflect their own implicit beliefs
more than their actual traits(Gawronski, 2003)

Impression Management:The Fine Art of Looking Good

Impression Management (Self-Presentation)- efforts by individuals to produce favourable first
impressions on others .Research indicates that it does have positive effects.

Tactics of impression management:

Many techniques are used for this purpose, but most fall under two major headings:
•Self-enhancement— efforts to increase their appeal to others/ boost one’s appeal to others
•Other-enhancement— efforts to make the target person feel good in various ways/ to induce
positive moods and reactions in others

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Self enhancement

Boost one’s appearance

•Efforts to boost one’s appearance—either physical or professional. Physical appearance relates to
the attractiveness and physical appeal of the individual, while professional appearance relates to
personal grooming, appropriate dress, and personal hygiene.

•Eg. beauty aids and clothing industries - to improve both aspects of their appearance.

Boast about abilities/ Pretending to have special skills or knowledge

•Efforts to appear competent and accomplished through such steps as describing past
achievements, describing positive qualities one possesses (“I’m very easy going,” “I’m organized
and get things done on time”), taking responsibility for positive events in one’s life that occurred in
the past (“I graduated early because I really worked hard ...”), or explaining how they (the person
engaging in impression management) overcame daunting obstacles.

Several of these tactics are readily visible in online dating services/social sites/matrimonial
websites(e.g. teetotaller) and in information people post about themselves on Facebook or other
social networks, where people attempt to “look good” to others.

Other-enhancement

•ingratiation—flattering others in various ways(praise target person, his or her accomplishments,

his organization).
•expressing agreement with the target person’s views
• showing a high degree of interest in this person
• doing small favors for them
• asking for their advice and feedback in some manner
•expressing liking for them nonverbally (e.g., through high levels of eye contact, nodding in
agreement, and smiling)

•Impression management tactics are often highly successful, provided they are not overused/not
overdone[Especially in job sector (job performance rating, job promotion)]. If overused, tactics
can boomerang ,slime effect can occur.

Slime effect is a tendency to form very negative impressions of others who play up to their
superiors, but treat subordinates with disdain and contempt(“lick upward but kick downward”).

The use of such tactics is not closely related to behavior at later times,however. For instance,the
people hired for jobs because they use impression management effectively don’t necessarily
become high performing employees.

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