Theories of motivation

Asst professor of psychology

SIKKY J
SOCIAL PERCEPTION
• Social perception is, that part of perception
that allows us to understand the individuals
and groups of our social world, and thus is an
element of social cognition.
• Social perception and cognition are mental
processes that help us to collect and
remember information about others, and to
make inferences and judgments based on that
information
• Social perception is defined as the study of how we form
impressions of and make inferences about other people. In
order to know about other people, we depend on
information gained from their physical appearance, and
verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Missing informations are filled in by using an implicit
personality theory: If a person is observed to have one
particular trait, we assume that he or she has other traits
related to this observed one. These assumptions help us to
categorize people and then infer additional facts and
predict behavior.
• An implicit personality theory is a type of
schema people use to group various kinds of
personality traits together. Like other
schemas, using these theories help us form
well-developed impressions of other people
quickly.
• Social perceptions are also interlinked with self-
perceptions. Both are influenced by self-motives.
Society has the desire to achieve beneficial
outcomes for the self and to maintain a positive self-
image.
• Just as you prejudge the people you come across in
society, you are being judged by them. As it is
natural for humans to want to make a good
impression on people, your selfperceptions almost
mirror other's social perceptions.
• According to David Krech and Richard S.
Crutchfield there are two major determinants
of perception,
• structural factors and
• functional factors
• By structural factors we mean those factors driving solely
from the nature of the physical stimuli and the natural
effects they evoke in the nervous system of the individual.
• Thus, for the Gestalt psychologist, perceptual
organizations are determined primarily by the
psychological events occurring in the nervous system of
the individual in direct reaction to the stimulation by the
physical objects.
• Sensory factors are independent of the perceiving
individual’s needs and personality.
• The functional factors of perceptual
organization are those, which derive primarily
from the needs, moods, past experience and
memory of the individual.
• All functional factors in perception are social
in the usual sense of the term.
• Social perception is one important component of social competence
and successful social life. Being competent in social perception
includes three domains of competence:
• (1) knowing that other people have thoughts, beliefs, emotions,
intentions, desires, and the like
• , (2) being able to “read” other people’s inner states based on their
words, behavior, facial expression and the like, and
• (3) adjusting one’s actions based on those “readings”. That is, a
socially competent person can make note of other people’s facial
expressions, tone of voice, posture, gestures, words, and the like, and
on the basis of these clues, make reasonably accurate judgments
about that person’s state of mind, emotions, and intentions.
• Socially competent people then use these inferences about other
people’s inner states to make good decisions about how to behave
socially.
• Thus socially competent people must have knowledge of
social rules, roles, routines, and scripts in their social lives.
• Furthermore, they must make use of this knowledge and of
these scripts in their decision making and acting.
• They also have a concern for other people and make it a
habit to adjust their behavior based on the needs of others.
• Researchers have confirmed the fact that first impressions
are important.
• Studies show that first impressions are easily formed,
difficult to change, and have a long-lasting influence.
 Stereotypes :

• Stereotypes are beliefs about people based on

their membership in a particular group.
Stereotypes can be positive, negative, or
neutral. Stereotypes based on gender,
ethnicity, or occupation are common in many
societies.
Stereotypes have several important functions:

• 1. They allow people to quickly process new

information about an event or person.
• 2. They organize people’s past experiences.
• 3. They help people to meaningfully assess
differences between individuals and groups.
• 4. They help people to make predictions about
other people’s behavior
 Nevertheless stereotypes can lead to
distortions of reality
• They cause people to exaggerate differences
among groups.
• b. They lead people to focus selectively on
information that agrees with the stereotype
and ignore information that disagrees with it.
• C. They tend to make people see other groups
as overly homogenous, even though people can
easily see that the groups they belong to are
heterogeneous.
• Gender stereotypes : Males are considered
more independent, dominant, aggressive,
scientific, and stable in handling crises.
Females are seen as more emotional,
sensitive, gentle, helpful, and patient.
 Communication
• communication is a vital part of human life. It
is what allows us to share thoughts, feelings,
wonderings, and knowledge with others and
also shapes our social perceptions to a great
extent.
• Though we use both verbal and nonverbal
communication, the vast majority of
communication we do is through nonverbal
channels.
Nonverbal Communication
 Nonverbal communication is powerful

• 60% of all communication is nonverbal

(Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall,1989)
 DIFFERENT CHANNELS OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION :
• Nonverbal communication is one of the many interesting
topics studied by social psychology. Social psychologists
view it as an essential element of social perception.
• Although there are many other forms of nonverbal
communication, the term usually means conveying
thoughts and/or feelings without words using body
language or sounds as the medium.
• Nonverbal communication can be defined as the way in
which people communicate, intentionally or
unintentionally, without words.
• The main channels of nonverbal
communication are
• facial expressions
• eye contact- gazes and stares
• Body language-gestures, postures, body
movements.
• touching.
 Facial Expression
• This makes up the largest proportion of
nonverbal communication. Large amounts of
information can be conveyed through a smile
or frown. The facial expressions for happiness,
sadness, anger, and fear are similar across
cultures throughout the world.
• Gazes and Stares:Eye contact as a non-verbal cue
• Ancient poets described the “Eyes as windows to
the soul”
• High eye contact to a person
usually indicates the sign of liking
or positive feeling.
• Staring –A form of eye contact in
which one person continues to
gaze steadily at another regardless
of what the recipient does.
• Looking, staring, and blinking are all
considered types of eye gaze. Looking at
another person can indicate a range of
emotions including hostility, interest, or
attraction. – Eye behaviors- plays a role in
several important types of relational
interaction.
 Body language-gestures, postures, body
movements.
• Body languages are Cues provided by the position, posture,
and movement of others bodies or body parts.
• Gestures are body movements carrying specific meanings.
Common gestures include pointing, waving, and using
fingers, etc. You can tell a person's attitude by the way they
walk or by the way they stand. Same goes for gestures.
• A person’s posture and movement can also convey a great
deal of information.
• Arm crossing or leg-crossing conveys different meanings
depending on the context and the person interpreting them.
• Body language is very subtle, and may not be very definitive.
 Touching
• Most intimate nonverbal cue.
• Touching—reveals affection, interest,
dominance, caring, threat and aggression.
There are 7 types of nonverbal behavior

• Proxemics
• Haptics
• Chronemics
• Kinesics
• Artifacts
• Vocalics or Paralanguage
• Environment
 PROXEMICS (distance)
• Different cultures have different comfort levels of
distance
• As children grow older and become less dependent
on parents they require more space
• Men tend to take up more space than women
Example: When you go to the movies with someone of
the opposite sex who usually gets the armrest?
Edward T. Hall’s 4 levels of distance
• Intimate: 0 to 18 inches
• personal: 18 inches to 4 feet
• social: 4 to 10 feet
• public: 10 feet to infinity
 HAPTICS (touch)
The power of touch:
• A (1997) study found that strangers that were
touched were more likely to return change left in a
phone booth(Klienke)
• A (1992) study found that food servers who used
touch received larger tips (Hornick)
• Library study (1976) found that students who were
slightly touched by clerk while checking out library
books evaluated the library much more favorably
than those who were not touched.
 CHRONEMICS (time)

How is time used to communicate?

❖ What does it mean to you when someone is always
late?
❖ A study conducted by Burgoon (1989) found that
people who arrive 15 minutes late are considered
dynamic, but much less competent, composed and
sociable than those that arrive on time.
 KINESICS (behavior)
• Facial expressions
• Eye contact
• Body language
• Gestures
• Physical appearance
 Facial expressions
• The face is capable of conveying 250,000
expressions (Birdwhistle, 1970)
• Smiling increases sociability, likeability, and
attraction(LaFrance & Hecht, 1995)
• Food servers who smile more often earn increased
tips (Heslin & Patterson, 1982)
• Studies conducted on students caught cheating
found that students who smiled were treated with
more leniency (LaFrance & Hecht, 1995)
 Eye contact
• Successful pan handlers establish eye contact
(Beebe, 1974)
• People are more likely to comply when more
eye contact is used
• Eye contact conveys a sense of sincerity
• Eye contact establishes a connection
between persons
 Body language
• Mirroring – building rapport with others by
mimicking their nonverbal cues
• People like those who are similar or equal to them
• “Mirroring” body language facilitates compliance
• Many self-help books suggest mirroring techniques
to get people to like them
Example: The book Unlimited Power by, Anthony
Robbins
 Gestures
• Gestures can be seen as subtle or not so
subtle cues
• We use gestures to take the place of words, or
help us to increase understanding of what is
being said
 Physical Appearance
• More attractive people are judged to be happier,
more intelligent, friendlier, stronger, and kinder and
are thought to have better personalities, better jobs,
and greater marital competence (Knapp, 1992)
• Attractive people get more dates, higher grades,
higher tips, and lighter court sentences than
unattractive people (Dunn, 2000)
ARTIFACTS (Dress, Belongings, etc.)
• Material objects as an extension of oneself
• Clothing has the power to influence
• Change left in a phone booth was returned to well
dressed people 77% of the time, poorly dressed
people only 38% of the time
• Several studies show that fancy suits, uniforms and
high-status clothing are related to higher rates of
compliance.
• The situation governs appropriate dress
 VOLCALICS (Paralanguage)
• Use of voice to communicate includes
elements such as pitch, rate, pauses, volume,
tone of voice, silences, laughs, screams,
sighs, etc.
• Studies have found that people who talk louder,
faster, and more fluently are more persuasive
• Deep voices are often viewed as more credible
• Powerless style of communication (pauses, umhs,
uhs, tag questions) lowers perceptions of credibility
Functions of Nonverbal Communication

• Repeating
• Substituting
• Complementing
• Accenting
• Regulating
• Contradicting
• Deceiving
 Repeating
• The use of nonverbal behavior to say what you
are saying in words
• Emblems- are the nonverbal behaviors that
we use to display what we mean
• Example: head nods at the same time as
someone saying “yes”
 Substituting
• The use of nonverbal behaviors to say things
rather than words
• We often answer questions others ask by
responding nonverbally rather than verbally
Example: Nodding your head to answer a
question rather than saying “yes”
 Complementing
• The use of nonverbal behaviors to strengthen what is
being said with words.

• Illustrators- nonverbal behaviors that support what is

being said verbally

• Example: A friend says “I am so sorry” and at the

same time makes a sincerely sad face
 Accenting
• The way we emphasize certain words in order
to clarify what we mean.

Example: “NO!” or “No????”

 Regulating
• Nonverbal behaviors that control the flow of
the conversation, and tell us when it is our
turn to talk, or when the other person is
finished talking.
Example: while telling a story to a friend, one
may pause to allow room for comments
 Contradicting
• When people are saying one thing yet their
nonverbal behavior is telling us something
completely different.

Example: A friend says, “I am so sorry” while

smiling
Role of nonverbal cues recognizing deception

• Use nonverbal cues to cut through deception-

efforts by other person to mislead us about
their true feelings or beliefs.
• Careful attention to both verbal and nonverbal
cues that can reveal the fact that others are
trying to deceive us.
• Micro expressions
• These are fleeting facial expressions that last
only a few tenth of second
• Appear quickly on the face
• Difficult to supress
• Reveal others true feelings
• One expression followed quickly by another
can be a useful sign that they are lying.
• Interchannel discrepancies- the term channel
refers to a type of nonverbal cue; for instance,
facial expressions are one channel, and body
movements are another.
• Interchannel discrepancies are inconsistencies
among nonverbal cues from different basic
channels, and result from the fact that persons
who are lying often find it difficult to control all
of these channels at once.
• Eye contact-lying person often blink more often and
show more dialated pupils than others.
• Also seen low level eye contact.
• Exaggerated facial expressions-lying person show
exaggerated facial expressions ,smile more , greater
sorrow.
• Take longer to begin
• Greater tendency to start sentence, stop them and to
begin again.
• Trying to avoid direct attention to themselves.
Culture and the Channels of Nonverbal Communication

• Paul Ekman and his colleagues have studied the influence

of culture on the facial display of emotions. They have
concluded that display rules are particular to each culture
and dictate what kinds of emotional expressions people
are supposed to show. Eye contact and gaze are also
powerful nonverbal cues. The use of personal space is a
nonverbal behavior with wide cultural variations.
• Emblems are nonverbal gestures of the hands and arms
that have well-understood definitions within a given
culture.
 Appearance
• Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and
other factors affecting our appearance are
considered a means of nonverbal
communication.
 Gender and Nonverbal Communication :

• Women are better than men at both decoding and encoding

nonverbal behavior, with respect to whether people are telling the
truth.
• Men, however, are better at detecting lies.
• This finding can be explained by social-role theory, which claims that
sex differences in social behavior are due to society’s division of labor
between the sexes.
• Supportive evidence for this interpretation is provided by Hall (1979),
who found that women’s “nonverbal politeness” or attending to
nonverbal cues that convey what people want others to see and
ignoring nonverbal cues that leak people’s true feelings.
• It has also been found that decoding is correlated with the degree of
oppression of women in the culture.
• Thus, it is seen that nonverbal behavior is used
to express emotion, convey attitudes,
communicate personality traits, and facilitate
or modify verbal communication.
 DARWIN’S THEORY OF UNIVERSAL FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTION :
• We smile when we are happy, we frown when
angry, and we may appear tearful when sad.
• It is remarkable that relatively small movements
of the facial musculature can alter dramatically
the emotion which we display to others.
• Our ability to both make and recognize
different facial expressions is an indication of an
extremely vital social skill.
• Charles Darwin was the first to suggest that the
main facial expressions are universal.
• In “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and
Animals” (1872), he examined the facial
behaviour of nonhuman primates in order to
find out about the origins of expressions in man.
• He chose this comparison with primates for
they were the closest relatives to the ancestors
of man and had to be therefore similar to them.
• According to his belief in the principles of evolution, they could
therefore give a clue about the origins and development of facial
movements. His findings were based on his own observations as
well as on the observations of zookeepers.
• The result was that some facial expressions of nonhuman
primates are similar to those of man including the expressions of
anger, happiness and sadness.
• Although they share these expressions, they do not always have
the same function in primate and man.
• For example, is the expression of happiness in man a
development of the grimace that monkeys have used to
signalize fear.
• He provided evidence that facial expressions of
emotion are universal, i.e., that facial expressions
for specific emotions are similar in many
different cultures and that human emotional
expressions are universal -- that all humans
encode and decode expressions in the same way.
• Modern research suggests that Darwin was right
for the six major emotional expressions: anger,
happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, and sadness.
• Face—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 and aggression.
• Further, he investigated the functions of facial
expressions.
• He concluded that facial expressions in nonhuman
primates represent, like in man, feelings.
• Mimic, as a means of communication is essential for a
species in order to regulate the social interaction
within the group.
• By facial expressions and sounds, animals indicate if
they feel attracted to each other or if they feel
hostility toward each other.
• Additionally, Darwin investigated the determinants of facial
expressions and defined them along certain universal principles.
• The first is the principle of serviceable associated habits meaning
that behavior performed consciously in order to survive becomes
unconscious with a certain state of mind.
• Behavior like fleeing from an enemy is then associated with fear.
Unconscious performance develops by habit when fear or anger
arouse.
• The second principle is the principle of antithesis meaning that
when certain states of mind produce habitual, serviceable
actions, the opposite state of mind leads to a strong tendency to
produce opposite action although they are not of use.
• Although facial expressions are a prime source
of nonverbal communication, they may
sometimes be hard to interpret accurately
because people may display affect blends,
facial expressions where one part of the face
registers one emotion and another part
registers a different emotion.
• The fact that people sometimes try to appear less emotional
than they are also makes decoding difficult.
• Culture also influences emotional expression; display rules that
are unique to each culture dictate when different nonverbal
behaviors are appropriate to display.
• As Darwin observed, all humans, regardless of race, use the
same muscle contractions and facial movements for simple and
complex emotions.
• These observations lend themselves to the theory that
individuals who were better able to communicate through
expression were more likely to reproduce and pass on their
genes.
• Darwin further explored the facial expressions of
primates and other mammals to prove the
evolutionary connections between the species.
• Most notable are the similarities between humans
and primates like the similarities between the
expression of simple emotions in human and
chimpanzee infants.
• It is now known through more in-depth evolutionary
analysis that chimpanzees are the most closely
related species to humans.