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We are glad to welcome you, dear readers of Valery Kharlamov’s blog! The need for communication in a person is manifested almost from birth in order to ensure his successful development. Interaction with others helps him to survive, in the literal sense of the word, and, by the way, in adulthood as well. And today we will consider one of its components. To be more precise, what is the perceptual side of communication, as well as what components it consists of.
Characterization
Social perception in fact is the perception of another person through the assessment and images that we create in order to better understand him and how to treat him, interact with him.
Its main functions:
- Self-knowledge. In order to give a correct assessment and characterization of another, it is necessary to initially know yourself. Own identity, as it were, is the initial base, the foundation. Based on it, you can build assumptions about the personality of another. Also, if you correlate the provided knowledge about the character of the interlocutor in relation to yourself, then, noticing the similarities and differences, you can also discover something new, previously unknown. Let’s say resources and skills that you didn’t even know existed.
- Knowledge of the interlocutor. It allows not only to get to know him better, but also to understand what social space he is in, what kind of people he chooses …
- Establishing emotional connections. The essence of this function lies in the fact that it allows you to choose as a partner the most suitable person for the value system. Let’s say someone values loyalty and reliability, while someone cares about ease and immediacy in contact…
- Organization of teamwork. It is impossible to achieve success if you do not work together in a group, otherwise conflicts and disagreements against the background of a lack of mutual understanding will make joint activities impossible.
The structure consists of three components, such as the subject of perception, the object and, of course, the process itself.
Devices
Stereotype
A stereotype is such an abbreviated version of representations. For example, if some situation arose too often in a person’s life, then, based on the experience gained, in order to save time and resources, he, faced with something similar, in advance, anticipating further events, will give his assessment of what everything threatens or how it will end.
For example, there is a stereotype that handsome men are necessarily womanizers. And then a woman, having met an outwardly very attractive guy, will not trust him. Or in general, she doesn’t want a relationship with him, despite the fact that interest has arisen. But in fact, he can be loyal, sincere, and even shy.
Therefore, on the one hand, stereotypes are one-sided and limited, since they do not allow one to recognize reality as it is. But on the other hand, traditions, foundations and signs are formed with their help. Figuratively speaking, they divide the world into two categories, for example, white and black. Although in fact there are still a lot of other shades, and they are often mistaken, which is why even whole ethnic attitudes arise, downright a characteristic of the temperament of people from different countries.
For example, it is generally accepted that Italians are impulsive, energetic, and then, meeting a silent and apathetic resident of Italy, a person runs the risk of starting to impose an invented image on him, demanding that he conform to his ideas.
Identification
During communication, no matter how much one wants, a person compares himself with the interlocutor in order to understand about similarities and differences. Accordingly, in this way he learns about his features, capabilities and limitations.
So, in order to find out why the other person did this and not otherwise, or what he feels and what is happening to him, each of us resorts to such a technique as identification. In simple terms, he puts himself in the place of that person and thinks, how would I do in such a situation and what would happen to me?
Empathy
This is the ability to empathize, to feel a whole range of emotions in relation to other people’s life stories and situations. Emotional response allows you to understand what is currently happening in the inner world of the interlocutor. And by the way, experts often rely on the sensory zone.
The psychology of a person is such that, due to some circumstances, he “forces out” unpleasant feelings, thinking that in this way he gets rid of them. But in fact, they still remain with him, only in the background, and interfere, “freeze”, stop …
So, a specialist, thanks to sensitivity, that is, the experiences that have arisen in response, can discover what actually does not allow the fully contacted client to breathe deeply, feel harmony and joy.
Do you know how intimacy is formed? With the help of empathy, when two people understand what each had to face in life, if only because they experienced similar things. For example, someone who has dealt with depression will not discount the condition of someone who is currently trying to «get out» because they know how it is. That is why they say that they are understood without words. By the way, be careful, manipulators “catch” their victims just by “playing” on their feelings.
attraction
Subjective perception of a partner under the influence of a good attitude towards him. Have you noticed that it is much easier for you to understand those people to whom attachment has already arisen? This is how attraction manifests itself, the better the attitude towards someone, the more distinct the feeling that he is very familiar, similar, understandable and close even despite the fact that people can really know each other for only a couple of days.
This is where romantic phrases like: “We seem to have known each other all our lives and have been together, although we actually met only today,” come from.
Reflection
One of the mechanisms of self-knowledge, which includes the ability to imagine how it looks in the eyes of the interlocutor and is generally perceived by others. And very often this idea does not correspond to reality, because a person is not able to observe himself from the outside, how he behaves at some moments, how he reacts, etc.
Has it ever happened that, after listening to a dictaphone recording of your voice, you were dissatisfied with how it sounds, because it sounds completely different to you? Or, after watching the video, were you surprised by the way you move, laugh and talk?
Causal attribution
Explaining the behavior of others, and each has his own favorite, thanks to which he interprets the behavior of others. For example, the behavior of colleagues can only be viewed through the prism of resentment, as it is common to think that no one appreciates his efforts.
Attribution can be:
- Personal — in case of failure or failure, they always find the one to blame, who could just happen to be nearby and not look like that …
- Circumstantial — in this case, responsibility is shifted to circumstances and events, even the weather.
- Stimulus — the reason for the failure lies directly on the object or person with whom the misfortune happened. Well, for example, they committed violence against a girl — it was her own fault, she had to stay at home, or there was an accident — she had to be more careful …
Effects
There are mechanisms that distort adequate perception, they are also called effects or phenomena. This happens due to the fact that, not understanding something, a person begins to experience anxiety, he definitely needs to find an explanation for the behavior of others, and so on.
But, unfortunately, he is not always able to obtain the necessary information, and he is rarely directly interested in an exciting issue, because, for example, it is easier to think and dream up than to ask and find out the truth that can hurt. So, directly the effects of perception:
- Halo effect arises when, without being familiar with someone, but already owning some information about him, sometimes even focusing on gossip, an image of a person is formed in which there is little real place for him. I mean that some traits are attributed to him that are completely unusual, and through which it is then difficult for him to break through. It can also occur at the time of the formation of the first impression.
- novelty effect — this is when attention is focused on the latest information about a familiar person, and previous knowledge about him may well be depreciated. For example, in a relationship where a man has been considered caring for a long time, some event occurs and he is accused of selfishness and insensitivity, completely crossing out the past. You can find out more here.
- The phenomenon of primacy — in this case, in order to evaluate a stranger, the very first information received about him will be leading.
- Projection — attributing to another person feelings and qualities that are denied in oneself or, conversely, are not noticed. So, if you use the same description of both the character and the actions of different people, then it’s worth considering, but how applicable is this to you? For example, you can swear that everyone around is cruel and aggressive, but later find out that in fact there is a lot of anger inside. Or feel sorry for everyone in a row, actually needing someone’s support, but not being able to declare it. If you want to know more, see the article «Features of the mechanisms of psychological protection of a person’s personality.»
Conclusion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Communication is an important process consisting of several components, so that in addition to perception, there is also interaction, that is, the interaction itself, and what it happens, you can learn from the article “The main factors of the interactive side of communication in psychology”. Take care of yourself and loved ones!