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