Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 2  Perceiving the Self and Others 61

bution error makes us remember the messes while we forget all about the

quieter successes.

c Radcliffe also struggles with perceptions about child stars and worries that

everyone he meets—especially colleagues on the set—will expect him to be

spoiled and demanding. He works to replace such stereotypes with his own

cognitions: his self-concept of being a hardworking professional. The actor

says he tries to counter those perceptions by introducing himself humbly

when he meets someone new (“Hi, I’m Dan”), even though he knows that

they already know who he is. He also relies on a uniquely British brand

of self-deprecating humor that he calls the “comedy of embarrassment” to

break the ice, apologizing for not being a wizard or for growing up and

making fans feel old, and frequently mocking his own fame, his luck, or his

diminutive stature (Dominus, 2013). Finally, he makes it a point to be the

consummate professional on set, bearing in mind his father’s advice: “On a

film set there’s always somebody who’s going to be causing a delay.... Make

sure it’s never you” (Dominus, 2013, p. 28).

Activities

1. LaunchPad for Real Communication offers key term videos and encourages self-
   assessment through adaptive quizzing. Go to bedfordstmartins.com/realcomm
   to get access to:

LearningCurve

Adaptive Quizzes.

A

1L hPdf RlC i

THINGS TO TRY

Video clips that illustrate key concepts, highlighted

in teal in the Real Reference section that follows.

2. Describe how you managed an impression of yourself in a face-to-face
   interaction and a mediated one. Describe your conscious preparations for this
   impression management, and then describe the outcome. What contributed
   to your successful or unsuccessful management of self? Were the impression-
   management strategies you employed in the face-to-face interaction different
   from the mediated situation?


3. Take a look at the text of a presidential speech online at http://www.whitehouse.gov.
   After reading the complete speech, consider how the speech is characterized in
   various sources (blogs, liberal and conservative news sources, late-night comedy
   and satires). How do perceptions of the speech change from one source to an-
   other? Does your perception of the speech change as you consider the points of
   view of these various sources?


4. Think about a co-culture (age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, race,
   religion, and so on) with which you identify. Then make a list of stereotypes
   that are associated with that group. In what ways do you conform to such
   stereotypes? In what ways do you not conform? Do you identify with more
   than one culture? If so, are there any stereotypes on your list that contradict
   each other? How might intersection of these cultures (for example, being a
   white, Christian, thirty-year-old stay-at-home dad or being a fifty-year-old