MODULE 3- SOCIAL PERCEPTION

Social perceptieon refers to the first stages in which people process information in order to
determine another individual’s or group’s mindset and intentions/ these early stages help us
interpret each other’s actions so that additional information can be quickly inferred in order to
predict behaviour. Social perceptions can influence an individual’s behaviours and attitudes.
The social schemas are the mental representations that influence how we perceive others,
influence how we process and interpret information, influence what we remember because we
attend to things that are consistent with out schemas and can also lead to errors in judging others.

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC CHANNELS

nonverbal communication—an unspo- ken language of

● facial expressions,
● eye contact, and
● Body language
● touching.

Nonverbal communication is the behaviour which is relatively irrepressible that is its difficult to
control, so that even when others try to conceal their inner feelings from us, these often leak out
in many ways through nonverbal cues. The information conveyed by such cues and our efforts to
interpret this input, are often described by the term nonverbal communication. Some of the basic
channels of nonverbal communication are-
- Facial expressions- reveals current moods/feelings
- Eye contact- reveals friendliness, shyness, aggression
- Body language- position, posture, movement, reveals emotional states, status, cultural
emblems.
- Touching- reveals affection, interest, dominance, caring, threat, aggression

1) FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
It has been said from long back and has been followed since that the face is the image of the soul
which means that human feelings and emotions are often reflected in the face and can be read
there in specific expressions. It appears that five different basic emotions can be represented
clearly on the human face which are anger, fear, happiness, sadness and disgust. It is also
important to realise that not only five emotions but a combination of emotions can be seen on the
faces. It has been found that certain facial expressions—smiles, frowns, and other signs of
sadness) occur, and are recognized as representing basic underlying emotions (e.g., happiness,
anger, sadness) in many different cultures. But it seems reasonable to conclude that some facial
expressions provide clear signals of underlying emotional states, and are recognized as doing so
all over the world. Cultural differences certainly do exist with respect to the precise meaning of
facial expressions, but unlike spoken languages, they do not seem to require much in the way of
translation.

2) EYE CONTACT
It has been rightly said that eyes are the windows to the soul. This means that we as humans
learn much about other feelings from their eyes. For example- we can interpret a high level of
gazing from another as a sign of liking or friendliness and in contrast If others avoid eye contact
with us, we may conclude that they are unfriendly and don’t like us or are simply shy. While a
high level of eye contact with others is usually interpreted as a sign of liking or positive
feelings, there is one exception to this general rule. If another person gazes at us
continuously and maintains such contact regardless of what we do, he or she can be
said to be staring. A stare is often interpreted as a sign of anger or hostility—as in cold
stare —and most people find this particular nonverbal cue disturbing.

3) BODY LANGUAGE
Body language is another very important nonverbal cue as it often reveals others emotional
states. Example Large numbers of movements especially the ones in which one part of the body
does something to another part like rubbing, scratching, touching often means an emotional
arousal. The greater the frequency of such behaviour, the higher the level of arousal or
nervousness. More specific information about others’ feelings is often provided by gestures.
These fall into several categories, but perhaps the most important are emblems—body
movements carrying specific meanings in a given culture.

4) TOUCHING
Touch is considered as a nonverbal communication cue because it solely depends on the factors
like touch can suggest affection, sexual interest, dominance, caring, or even aggression. Despite
such complexities, existing evidence indicates that when touching is considered appropriate, it
often produces positive reactions in the person being touched. One acceptable way in which
people in many different cultures touch strangers is through handshaking. “Pop psychology” and
even books on etiquette (e.g., Vanderbilt, 1957) suggest that handshakes reveal much about other
people—for Example , their personalities— and that a firm handshake can make the person seen
extraverted and openness to experience, and make more favorable first impressions. In sum,
touching can serve as another source of nonverbal communication, and when it is appropriate
(as, for example, in handshakes in cultures that view this as an appropriate means of greeting
others), it can induce positive reactions. If it is viewed as inappropriate, however, it can
encourage negative perceptions of the person doing the touching.

Others-
5) PARALINGUISTICS
Paralinguistic refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. This includes
factors like tone of voice, loudness, inflection and pitch. There is a powerful effect that the tone
of the voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners
might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might
convey disapproval and lack of interest.

6) PROXEMICS (avoidabele)
People often refer to their need for personal space, which is also an important type of nonverbal
communication. The amount of distance we need and the amount of space we perceive s
belonging to us is influenced by a number of factors which include social norms, cultural
expectations, situational factors, personality characteristics, and the level of familiarity. The
amount of personal space needed when having a casual conversation with another person usually
varies between 18 inches to four feet. On the other hand, the personal distance needed when
speaking to a crowd of people is around 10 to 12 feet.

7) HAPTICS
Communicating through touch is another important nonverbal behaviour. There has been a
substantial amount of research on the importance of touch in infancy and early childhood. Harry
Harlow's classic monkey study demonstrated how deprived touch and contact impedes
development. Baby monkeys raised by wire mothers experienced permanent deficits in
behavior and social interaction. Touch can be used to communicate affection, familiarity,
sympathy, and other emotions.

SCENT-

research indicates that even subtle cues relating to others’ body chemistry can be revealing. For instance,
research by Miller and Maner (2010) indi- cates that changes in women’s internal chemistry occurring
during the menstrual cycle can be transmitted to others (especially, perhaps, men) through subtle
olfactory cues—changes in the aromas emitted by their bodies.

FACIAL FEEDBACK HYPOTHESIS

The hypothesis that sensory information provided to the brain from facial muscle movements is a
major determinant of intra psychic feeling states, such as fear, anger, joy, contempt, and so on.
This idea was introduced by Charles Darwin and developed by Silvan S. Tomkins and Carroll E.
Izard. The best example of this theory is easy to perform. Go to the mirror and smile. Keep
smiling...keep smiling! Even if you were in a bad mood before, you are likely to lighten up and
maybe even start laughing! (This is much more fun to try than scowling!).

DECEPTION
With careful attention to both nonverbal and verbal cues that can reveal the fact that others are
trying to deceive us. With respect to nonverbal cues, the following information has been found to
be very helpful.
1. micro expressions: these are fleeting facial expressions lasting only a few tenths of a
second. Such reactions appear on the face very quickly after an emotion-provoking event
and are difficult to suppress. As a result, they can be very revealing about others’ true
feelings or emotions.
2. Inter channel discrepancies: A second nonverbal cue revealing of deception is known
as inter channel discrepancies. (The term channel refers to type of nonverbal cues; for
instance, facial expressions are one channel, body movements are another.) These are
inconsistencies between nonverbal cues from different basic channels. These result from
the fact that people who are lying often find it difficult to control all these channels at
once. For instance, they may manage their facial expressions well, but may have
difficulty looking you in the eye as they tell their lie.
3. Eye contact: Efforts at deception are often revealed by certain aspects of eye contact.
People who are lying often blink more often and show pupils that are more dilated than
people who are telling the truth. They may also show an unusually low level of eye
contact or—surprisingly—an unusually high one as they attempt to fake being honest by
looking others right in the eye
1. Exaggerated facial expressions: Finally, people who are lying sometimes show
exaggerated facial expressions. They may smile more—or more broadly—than usual or
may show greater sorrow than is typical in a given situation. A prime example: someone
says no to a request you’ve made and then shows exaggerated regret. This is a good sign
that the reasons the person has supplied for saying “no” may not be true.

In addition to these nonverbal cues, other signs of deception are sometimes present in nonverbal
aspects of what people actually say, or in the words they choose. When people are lying, the
pitch of their voices often rises—especially when they are highly motivated to lie. Similarly, they
often take longer to begin—to respond to a question or describe events. And they may show a
greater tendency to start sentences, stop them, and begin again. In other words, certain aspects of
people’s linguistic style can be revealing of deception. In sum, through careful attention to
nonverbal cues and to various aspects of the way people speak (e.g., the pitch of their voices), we
can often tell when others are lying—or merely trying to hide their feelings from us.
Short for facial n deception-

he facial feedback hypothesis suggests that we not only show what we feel in our facial expressions, but these
expressions influence our emotional states.

If we pay careful attention to certain nonverbal cues, we can recognize efforts at deception by others—even if these
people are from a culture other than our own.

Whether emotions are perceived as “inside” people or largely between them seems to depend on cultural factors.