Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 2  Perceiving the Self and Others 39

it, and what she looks like. But other information, such

as Irina’s warm smile and easy laugh, might escape his

notice if it challenges his notion of what an “artsy” per-

son is like.

c Distorted perception. If five people watch a televised debate

between two political candidates, they will likely have five

different interpretations of what took place and what was

important. The strong supporter of one candidate may

overestimate the greatness of his candidate’s performance

and undervalue the other candidate’s arguments. In addi-

tion, we have a tendency to judge events based on vivid

information. If you pay attention to sensational news stories,

you may believe that you are at great risk of dying in a terrorist

attack in the United States, whereas you actually have a much greater

chance of being in a fatal car crash (Pomeroy, 2013).

c Undue influence. When you give greater credibility or importance to some-
thing shown or said than should be the case, you are falling victim to undue
influence. For example, corporations know that using celebrities to endorse
their products can increase sales; even though we know actress Kaley Cuoco
isn’t a mechanic or a travel agent, her fans might trust that her endorsement
of Toyota and Priceline.com signals quality. Similarly, consumers can be
influenced by buyer reviews of products, not realizing that a reviewer may
have been given free products or other inducements to produce a positive
review.

Attributions: Interpreting Your Perceptions

Our schemas help us organize the information we perceive about people, but we
also have a need to explain why people say what they do or act in certain ways.
The judgments that we make to explain behavior are known as attributions
(Jones, 1990). Consider the following exchange:

emma I’m heading over to Mark’s place to help him study for our mid-

term. He has really been struggling this semester.

caleb Well, he was never exactly a rocket scientist.

Emma might attribute Caleb’s comment to his personality (“Caleb is obnox-
ious!”) or to the situation (“Wow, something has put Caleb in a bad mood”).
When we attribute behavior to someone’s personality (or something within
the person’s control), we call that an internal attribution. When we attri-
bute it to the situation (or something outside the person’s control), that’s an
external attribution. How do we decide? If Emma considers her experience
with Caleb and remembers that he is not usually so blunt or harsh about
other people, she will likely attribute his behavior to the situation, not his
personality.

IN THE HUNGER GAMES,

players have to make sense

of evolving schemas in

order to survive, adapting to

strange creatures, changing

landscapes, and sudden rule

violations that threaten their

lives in the arena. Alessandra

Montalto/The New York Times/Redux

Think of an individual whom

you hold in very high regard,

such as a parent, a favorite

professor, a mentor, or a

media pundit. How do this

person’s opinions influence

your perceptions about

specific matters? Is this an

undue influence? Why or

why not?

AND YOU?