Lesson 3: Perception and the Communication Process
How the self-concept develops:
1. Communication with Others 2. Association with Groups 3. Assumed Roles 4. Self-Labels p42
self-expectations
Goals you set for yourself; how you believe you ought to behave and what you ought to accomplish. p44
intrapersonal communication
How you take in stimuli in the environment or information and make sense of it; also, thoughts and ideas that you say to yourself. p46
self-talk
Inner speech; communication with the self. p46
social comparison
Process of comparing oneself to others to measure one's worth. p43
assumed roles
Such as son or daughter, employee, parent, spouse, or student. p42
selection
The act of choosing specific stimuli in your environment to focus on. p50
attention
The act of perceiving stimuli in your environment. p50
perception
The arousal of any of your senses. p49
self-awareness
The capacity to observe and reflect on one's own mental states. p36
material self
The element of the self reflected in all the tangible things you own. p39
self-concept clarity
The extent to which beliefs about oneself are clearly and confidently identified and stable over time. p42
self-reflexiveness
The human ability to think about what you are doing while you are doing it. p42
self-fulfilling prophecy
The notion that predictions about one's future are likely to come true because one believes that they will come true. p45
closure
The perceptual process of filling in missing information. p51
reframing
The process of redefining events and experiences from a different point of view. p48
Example of Material Self
The self you reveal through your body, clothes, car, phone. p40
self
The sum of who you are as a person; your central inner force. p38
visualization
The technique of imagining that you are performing a particular task in a certain way; a method of enhancing self-esteem. p47
belief
The way in which you structure your understanding of reality - what is true and what is false. p38
indirect perception checking
Using your own perceptual abilities to seek additional information to confirm or refute your interpretations of someone's behavior. p54
self-esteem
Your assessment of your worth or value as reflected in your perception of such things as your skills, abilities, talents, and appearance. p42
social self
Your concept of self as developed through your personal, social interactions with others. p40
spiritual self
Your concept of self based on your beliefs and your sense of who you are in relationship to other forces in the universe; also includes your thoughts and introspections about your values and moral standards. p40
Example of Social Self
Your informal self interacting with friends; your formal self interacting with your professors. p40
self-concept
Your interior identity or subjective description of who you think you are. p38
self-image
Your view of yourself in a particular situation or circumstance. p38
Strategies for Enhancing Self-Esteem
1. Engage in positive self-talk 2. Visualize 3. Reframe 4. Develop Honest Relationships 5. Surround Yourself with Positive People 6. Lose Your Baggage p48
Factors Affecting Self-Esteem
1. Gender 2. Social Comparisons 3. Self-Expectations 4. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies p45
Perception Process:
1. Perception 2. Attention and Selection 3. Organization 4. Interpretation p51
Five Properties of Self-Awareness:
1. psychological, operating within a social context 2. emotional, which fuels our behavior 3. a focal point of action and control 4. flexible and multifaceted 5. spiritual
gender
A cultural construction that includes one's biological sex (male or female), psychological characteristics (femininity, masculinity, androgyny), attitudes about the sexes, and sexual orientation. p43
stereotype
A generalization applied to persons perceived to have attributes common to a particular group. p53
attitude
A learned predisposition to respond to a person, object, or idea in a favorable or unfavorable way. p38
symbolic self-awareness
A unique human ability to develop and communicate a representation of oneself to others through language. p37
value
An enduring concept of good and bad or right and wrong. p39
ascribed identity
An identity assigned to you by others. p41
avowed identity
An identity you assign to yourself and portray. p41
narcissism
An inflated view of self, especially about one's own power and importance. p46
direct perception checking
Asking someone else whether your interpretations of what you perceive are correct. p54
interpretation
Attaching meaning to what is attended to, selected, and organized. p52
Example of Spiritual Self
Belief or disbelief in a supreme being or force; regard for life in all its forms. p40
organization
Converting information into convenient, understandable, and efficient patterns that allow us to make sense of what we have observed. p50