social perception. The meaning of the concept of "perception

Perception (this word means "perception" in Latin) is a cognitive process of active direct display by a person of various objects, phenomena, events and situations. If such knowledge is directed to social objects and effects, then such a phenomenon is called social perception. Various mechanisms of social perception can be observed daily in everyday life.

Description

Mentions of such a psychological phenomenon as perception met even in the ancient world. A great contribution to the development of this concept was made by philosophers, physicists, physiologists and even artists. But the greatest value is attached to this concept in psychology.

Perception is the most important mental function of cognition, manifested in the form of a complex process of obtaining and transforming sensory information. Thanks to perception, the individual makes up an integral image of the object that affects the analyzers. In other words, perception is a form of sensory display. This phenomenon includes such characteristics as the identification of individual features, the correct extraction of information, the formation and accuracy of a sensory image.

Perception is always associated with attention, logical thinking, memory. It always depends on motivation and has a certain emotional coloring. The properties of any kind of perception include structure, objectivity, apperception, contextuality and meaningfulness.

The study of this phenomenon is intensively carried out not only by representatives of various branches of psychology, but also by physiologists, cybernetics, and other scientists. In their differential studies, they widely use methods such as experiment, modeling, observation, and empirical analysis.

Understanding what the functions, structure, and mechanisms of social perception are is not only of general, but also of practical importance for psychology. This phenomenon plays an important role in the creation of information systems, in artistic design, in sports, teaching and many other areas of human activity.

Factors

Perceptual factors are both internal and external. External factors include intensity, size, novelty, contrast, repetition, movement, and recognition.

Internal factors include:


Interaction with society through perception

Another concept widely used in psychology and related sciences is such a variety of our perception as social perception. This is the name given to the evaluation and understanding by a person of other people and himself, as well as other social objects. Such objects may include various groups, social communities. This term appeared in 1947, and was introduced by psychologist D. Bruner. The appearance of this concept in psychology allowed scientists to look at the tasks and problems of human perception in a completely different way.

People are social beings. Throughout life, any person contacts with other people a huge number of times, forming a variety of interpersonal relationships. Separate groups of people also form close bonds. Therefore, each person is the subject of a huge number of very different relationships.

A positive or negative attitude towards other people directly depends on our perception, as well as on how we evaluate our communication partners. Usually, during communication, we first evaluate the appearance, and then the behavior of the partner. As a result of this assessment, a certain attitude is formed in us, preliminary assumptions are made about the psychological qualities of the interlocutor.

Social perception can manifest itself in several forms. So, in most cases, social perception is called the perception by the person himself. Any individual perceives himself, as well as his or someone else's grouping. There is also perception by group members. This includes perception within the boundaries of one's community or members of a foreign group. The third type of social perception is group perception. The group can perceive both its own person and members of a foreign community. The last type of social perception considers the perception of one group of another group.

The very process of such perception can be represented as an evaluation activity. We evaluate the psychological characteristics of a person, his appearance, actions and deeds. As a result, we form a certain opinion about the observed, form a clear idea of ​​its possible behavioral reactions.

Mechanisms

Perception is always a process of predicting the feelings and actions of people around. For a complete understanding of this process, knowledge of the features of the functioning of its mechanisms is required.

The mechanisms of social perception are shown in the following table:

NameDefinitionExamples
StereotypingA persistent image or idea of ​​people, phenomena, which is characteristic of all representatives of one social groupMany believe that the Germans are terrible pedants, the military are straightforward, and beautiful people are often narcissistic.
IdentificationIntuitive identification and cognition of a person or group in situations of direct or indirect communication. In this case, there is a comparison or comparison of the internal states of the partnersPeople make assumptions about the state of the psyche of a partner, trying to mentally become him
EmpathyEmotional empathy with others, the ability to understand another person through the provision of emotional support and getting used to his experiencesThis mechanism is considered a necessary condition for the successful work of psychotherapists, doctors and teachers.
ReflectionSelf-knowledge through interaction with another person. It becomes possible due to the ability of the individual to imagine how the communication partner sees him.Imagine a dialogue between hypothetical Sasha and Petya. At least 6 "roles" participate in such communication: Sasha, as he is; Sasha, as he sees himself; Sasha as Petya sees him. And these same roles from Petya
attractionKnowledge of another person, based on a persistent positive feeling. Thanks to attraction, people not only learn to understand a communication partner, but also form rich emotional relationships.Psychologists distinguish such types of this perceptual mechanism: love, sympathy and friendship.
Causal attributionThis is the process of predicting the actions and feelings of the people around. Without understanding something, a person begins to attribute his behavior,Not understanding something, a person begins to attribute his behavior, feelings, personality traits, motives to other people.

The peculiarity of interpersonal cognition is that it takes into account not only a variety of physical features, but also behavioral features. If the subject of such perception actively participates in communication, then he establishes a coordinated interaction with the partner. Therefore, social perception is highly dependent on the motives, emotions, opinions, prejudices, attitudes and preferences of both partners. In social perception, there is necessarily also a subjective evaluation of another person.

Does our perception depend on society?

In interpersonal perception, there are various gender, class, age, professional, and individual differences. It is known that young children perceive a person by appearance, paying special attention to his clothes, as well as to the presence of special paraphernalia. Students also first evaluate teachers by their appearance, but teachers perceive students by their inner qualities. Similar differences are found between leaders and subordinates.

Professional affiliation is also important for perception. For example, teachers perceive people by their ability to conduct a conversation, but, say, a coach pays attention to a person’s anatomy, as well as how he moves.

Social perception is highly dependent on the previous assessment of our object of perception. In an interesting experiment, the teaching grades of 2 groups of students were recorded. The first group consisted of "favorite", and the second - of "unloved" students. Moreover, the “favorite” children deliberately made mistakes when completing the task, while the “unloved” children solved it correctly. However, the teacher, despite this, positively assessed the "favorite" and negatively - "unloved" children. The attribution of any characteristics is always carried out according to this model: negative actions are attributed to people with a negative characteristic, and good actions are attributed to positive people.

First impression

Psychologists have found out which factors make the strongest impression in the process of the emergence of social perception. It turned out that usually people pay attention first to the hairstyle, then to the eyes, and then to the facial expression of a stranger. Therefore, if you smile cordially at your interlocutors when meeting, they will perceive you in a friendly way and will be more positively disposed.

There are 3 main factors influencing how the first opinion of each person is formed: they are attitude, attractiveness and superiority.

“Superiority” is observed when a person who is superior in some way to a particular person is rated much higher in terms of other characteristics. There is a global revision of the assessed personality. Moreover, this factor is most strongly influenced by the uncertain behavior of the observer. Therefore, in extreme
almost all people are able to trust those whom they would not have come close to before.

"Attractiveness" explains the features of perception for a partner who is attractive in terms of his external data. The error of perception here is that the externally attractive personality is often greatly overestimated by the surrounding people in terms of its social and psychological properties.

“Attitude” considers the perception of a partner depending on our attitude towards him. The perceptual error in this case is that we tend to overestimate those who treat us well or share our opinion.

How to develop perceptual skills

D. Carnegie believes that mutual strong sympathy and effective friendly communication arise due to an ordinary smile. Therefore, for the development of perceptual skills, he suggests, first of all, to learn how to smile correctly. To do this, you need to perform daily exercises specially developed by this psychologist in front of the mirror. Facial expressions give us real information about a person's experiences, so by learning to control our facial expressions, we improve our social perception skills.

To learn to distinguish between emotional manifestations and develop social perception skills, you can also use the Ekman technique. This method consists in selecting 3 zones on the human face (nose with the area around it, forehead with eyes, mouth with chin). The manifestation of 6 leading emotional states (they include joy, anger, surprise, fear, disgust and sadness) is noted in these zones, which allows each person to recognize and decipher the facial manifestations of another person. This perceptual technique has become widespread not only in ordinary situations of communication, but also in the psychotherapeutic practice of interaction with pathological personalities.

So, perception is the most complex mechanism of psychological interaction between a person and an object perceived by him. This interaction occurs under the influence of a huge number of factors. The characteristics of perception are age characteristics, a person's life experience, specific effects, as well as a variety of personal properties.

PERCEPTION

PERCEPTION

(lat. perceptio). 1) receiving, collecting, raising duties. 2) unconscious perception, a sensation related to the cause that produced it (psych. t.).

Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Chudinov A.N., 1910 .

PERCEPTION

[lat. perceptio] - psychol. perception, direct reflection of objective reality by the senses.

Dictionary of foreign words. - Komlev N.G., 2006 .

PERCEPTION

unconscious perception of any impression.

Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Pavlenkov F., 1907 .

PERCEPTION

perception in general; in a closer sense, the unconscious perception of impressions, in contrast to apperception - perception by consciousness.

A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. - Popov M., 1907 .

PERCEPTION

lat. perception. Conscious representation; collection, acceptance.

Explanation of 25,000 foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language, with the meaning of their roots. - Mikhelson A.D., 1865 .

Perception

(lat. perception) psychol. perception, direct reflection of objective reality by the senses.

New dictionary of foreign words.- by EdwART,, 2009 .

Perception

perceptions, [lat. perceptio] (philosophical). Perception.

A large dictionary of foreign words. - Publishing house "IDDK", 2007 .

Perception

And, pl. No, and. (German perception lat. perceptio understanding, perception, comprehension).
psychol. Perception, direct reflection of objective reality by the senses.
perceptual pertaining to perception.
|| Wed apperception.

Explanatory Dictionary of Foreign Words L. P. Krysina.- M: Russian language, 1998 .


Synonyms:

See what "PERCEPTION" is in other dictionaries:

    - (lat. perceptio representation, perception, from percipio I feel, I perceive), in modern. psychology is the same as perception. Leibniz used the term "P." to denote the vague and the unconscious. perceptions ("impressions") as opposed to ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

    PERCEPTION- (from Latin percipio I perceive), perception (see). The environment influences us in the course of our activity, and we perceive it, perceive it. Organ P., as well as the psyche in general, is our brain. P. is not an isolated process, but ... ... Big Medical Encyclopedia

    Perception, perception Dictionary of Russian synonyms. perception noun, number of synonyms: 2 perception (5) ... Synonym dictionary

    perception- (from Latin perceptio perception) the process of direct active reflection by the human cognitive sphere of external and internal objects (objects), situations, events, phenomena, etc. (see perception). Brief psychological dictionary. R … Great Psychological Encyclopedia

    - (from the Latin perceptio representation, perception), the same as perception ... Modern Encyclopedia

    - (from lat. perceptio representation perception), the same as perception. G. W. Leibniz has a vague and unconscious perception, as opposed to a clear awareness of apperception ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    PERCEPTION, perceptions, female. (lat. perceptio) (philosophical). Perception. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

    See PERCEPTION. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

    PERCEPTION- (from lat perceptio - perception). Sensory perception, the reflection of things in the mind through the senses ... A new dictionary of methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of teaching languages)

    Perception- (from the Latin perceptio representation, perception), the same as perception. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

  • Anthology of colloquial speech. Some aspects of the theory. Litota - perception. Volume 2, Kharchenko V.K. Each volume of the five-volume contains theoretical information of a general nature, and as the main array - records of colloquial remarks personally collected by the author, systematized by aspects ...
  • Anthology of colloquial speech. Some aspects of the theory. In 5 volumes. Volume 2. Litota - Perception, V. K. Kharchenko. Each volume of the five-volume book contains theoretical information of a general nature, and as the main array - records of colloquial remarks personally collected by the author, systematized by aspects ...

Perception (lat. percipere - to perceive). The first steps in the study of the process of perception were made in Antiquity, then it was reflected in philosophy, physics, and art. A special contribution to the study of the nature of perception was made by the German philosopher and physicist Gottfried Leibniz.

His theory of "small perceptions" for the first time in history explained the difference between the conscious and unconscious state of the spirit.

Under small perceptions, the researcher understood unconscious perceptions that can be realized if they are joined by a special act - apperception. Creating his theory, Leibniz tried to answer the question of the existence of a semblance of souls in inanimate nature. His innovative ideas were further developed in the writings of philosophers, as well as in psychology - thanks to Sigmund Freud.

Modern psychology assumes the following properties of perception. Objectivity. This property of perception determines the possibility of perceiving objects as having specific (and not incoherent) images. Apperception is the general influence of the human psyche. Context - attachment to circumstances. Meaningfulness - the subject is associated with a certain class. Structurality - the object is perceived as a certain structure, abstracted from sensations.

In addition, perception acts as a necessary stage of cognition, always associated (to a greater or lesser extent) with thinking, memory and attention. Perception is actively studied by modern sciences through empirical analysis and modeling, these studies are of general scientific and applied importance.

Psychological mechanisms of social perception

Perception is a Latin word meaning perception, which is used to describe cognitive processes that are closely related to the display of various life situations, phenomena or objects. In the case when such perception is directed to social spheres, the term “social perception” is used to characterize this phenomenon. Each person daily faces manifestations of social perception. Let's take a look at the various psychological mechanisms of social perception.

Perception, translated from Latin (perceptio), means "perception"

What is social perception

The concept of social perception originates from the time of the ancient world. Many philosophers and artists of that time made a significant contribution to the formation of this sphere. It should also be noted that this concept is important in the field of psychology.

Perception is one of the important functions in mental perception, which manifests itself in the form of a process that has a complex structure. Thanks to this process, a person not only receives various information from the senses, but also transforms it. The impact on various analyzers leads to the formation of integral images in the mind of the individual. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that perception is characterized as one of the forms of sensory reproduction.

Perception is based on the characteristics of individual features that help form information based on accurate sensory images.

The cognitive function under consideration is closely interconnected with skills such as memory, logical thinking and concentration. This concept depends on the strength of the influence of vital stimuli, which are endowed with an emotional color. Perception consists of structures such as meaningfulness and contextuality.

Perception is actively studied by representatives of various fields, including psychologists, cyberneticists and physiologists. During differential experiments, various techniques are used, including simulation of different situations, experiments and an empirical form of analysis. Understanding the mechanism of social perception is important in the field of practical psychology. It is this tool that acts as a foundation in the development of various systems affecting the sphere of human activity.

Social perception studies the manners of behavior between individuals with different levels of development

Influence of perceptual factors

Perceptual factors are divided into two categories: external and internal influences. Among external factors, criteria such as movement, number of repetitions, contrast, size and depth of manifestation should be distinguished. Among the internal factors, experts distinguish the following:

  1. Incentive - the motivation to achieve goals that are of high importance to the individual.
  2. Setting the perception of the individual - getting into certain life situations, a person is based on previously gained experience.
  3. Experience - various life difficulties experienced, affect the perception of the world around us.
  4. Individual characteristics of perception - depending on the type of personality (optimism or pessimism), a person perceives the same life difficulties in a positive or unfavorable light.
  5. Perception of one's own "I" - all the events taking place in a person's life are evaluated on the basis of a personal prism of perception.

The influence of psychological perception on interaction with society

Social perception in psychology is a term used to describe the process by which an individual evaluates and understands other people, his own personality, or social objects. Such objects consist of social societies and various groups. The term under consideration began to be used in psychology in the forties of the last century. For the first time this concept was used by the American psychologist Jerome Bruner. Thanks to the work of this scientist, researchers were able to consider various problems associated with the perception of the world around us from a different angle.

Every person is social. Throughout his life path, a person builds communicative ties with other people. The formation of interpersonal relationships leads to the formation of separate groups that are connected by one worldview or similar interests. Based on this, we can say that a person as a person participates in various types of relationships between people. The nature of the relationship to society depends on the degree of personal perception and how a person evaluates the surrounding people. At the initial stage of building a communicative connection, external qualities are evaluated. Following the appearance, the interlocutor's behavior model is evaluated, which allows forming a certain level of relations.

It is on the basis of the above qualities that the image of the perception of people around is compiled. Social perception has many forms of manifestation. In most cases, this term is used to characterize personal perception. Each person perceives not only his own personality, but also the social group to which he belongs. In addition, there is a form of perception that is characteristic only for members of such groups. It is perception based on the framework of a social group that is the second form of manifestation of perception. The last form of perception is group perception. Each group perceives both its own members and members of other groups.

Behavioral reactions are formed on the basis of social stereotypes, the knowledge of which explains communication models

The function of social perception is to evaluate the activities of people around. Each individual subjects to a thorough analysis the individual characteristics of the temperament of others, their external attractiveness, lifestyle and actions. Based on this analysis, an idea is formed about the surrounding people and their behavior.

Mechanism of social perception

Social perception is a process on the basis of which the prediction of the model of behavior and reaction of the society in various life conditions is carried out. The mechanisms of interpersonal perception presented below allow us to study the subtlety of this process:

  1. Attraction is the study of people around, which is based on a positive perception. Thanks to this mechanism, people gain the ability to interact closely with others, which has a positive effect on the formation of sensory relationships. A striking example of this function is the manifestation of love, sympathy and friendly feelings.
  2. Identification - this mechanism is used as an intuitive study of personality based on modeling various situations. Based on his own beliefs, a person analyzes the internal state of others. Example: when making assumptions about the state of the interlocutor, it is common for a person to mentally imagine himself in his place.
  3. Casual attribution is a mechanism for creating a forecast of the behavior of others, based on the characteristics of one's own personality. When a person is faced with a lack of understanding of the motives of the actions of others, he begins to predict the behavior of other people, based on his own feelings, incentives and other individual properties.
  4. Reflection is a mechanism of self-knowledge based on interaction in society. This "tool" is based on the skills of presenting one's own personality, through the "eyes" of the interlocutor. As an example, imagine the dialogue between Vasya and Pasha. At least six "personalities" take part in this type of communication: Vasya's personality, his idea of ​​his own personality, and Vasya's representation of Vasya's personality through Pasha's eyes. Exactly the same images are recreated in Pasha's mind.
  5. Stereotyping is a mechanism for creating a stable image of surrounding people and phenomena. It is important to note that such images have features depending on social factors. As an example of stereotyping, we can cite the persistent idea that most externally attractive people are prone to narcissism, Germans are pedantic, and law enforcement officers think straight.
  6. Empathy is the ability of emotional sympathy, providing psychological support and participation in the lives of others. This mechanism is a key skill in the work of specialists from the field of psychology, medicine and pedagogy.

The tools used by social perception ensure communication between individuals

The above types of knowledge of the personality of others are based not only on the physical characteristics of a person, but also on the nuances of a behavior model. The building of close communicative ties is facilitated by the participation in the conversation of both partners. Social perception depends on the stimuli, feelings and lifestyle of each of the participants in interpersonal relationships. An important component of this cognitive function is the subjective analysis of surrounding individuals.

The importance of first impressions

An in-depth study of social perception made it possible to identify the key factors that influence the strength of impressions about a person. According to experts, during an acquaintance, most people pay increased attention to hair, eyes and facial expressions. Based on this, we can say that a friendly smile during an acquaintance is perceived as a sign of cordiality and a positive attitude.

There are three main points that are decisive in the process of forming the first impressions of a new person. Such factors include the degree of superiority, attractiveness and attitude.

  1. "Superiority" is most acutely expressed in the situation when the personality of a particular individual is superior in some way, is perceived as dominant in other areas as well. Against this background, there is a global change in the assessment of one's own qualities. It is important to note that people with low self-esteem are more susceptible to the influence of “the superiority of others”. This explains the fact that in critical conditions people express confidence in those who were previously treated negatively.
  2. “Attractiveness”, which is a feature of social perception, is a factor on the basis of which the degree of attractiveness of others is analyzed. The main mistake of such a perception is that paying increased attention to external qualities, a person forgets about the analysis of the psychological and social characteristics of those around him.
  3. "Attitude" is based on the perception of a person, depending on the attitude towards his personality. The negative effect of such perception is based on the fact that with a good attitude and a shared life position, a person begins to overestimate the positive qualities of others.

The effect of primacy in social perception is manifested at the first acquaintance

Methodology for the development of perceptual perception

According to the famous psychologist Dale Carnegie, a simple smile is enough to arouse sympathy among others. That is why, if you want to build a strong communicative connection with others, you should learn the right smile. To date, there are many psychological techniques for the development of facial gestures that help enhance the transmission of experienced emotions. Managing your own facial expressions allows you not only to improve the quality of social perception, but also to get the opportunity to better understand others.

One of the most effective methods for developing social perception skills is Ekman's practice. The basis of this method is the concentration of attention on three areas of the human face. These areas include the forehead, chin and nose. It is these zones that best display such emotional states as feelings of anger, fear, disgust or sadness.

The ability to analyze facial gestures allows you to decipher the feelings experienced by the interlocutor. This practice has become widespread in the field of psychology, thanks to which the specialist gets the opportunity to build a communicative relationship with people with mental disorders.

Perception is a complex mechanism of human mental perception. The quality of this system depends on many different external and internal factors. These factors include features of age, experience and individual personality traits.

/ Perception

Social psychology is a science that studies the mechanisms and patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to their inclusion in social groups and communities, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups and communities.

Psychology is usually understood as the science of human behavior, and social psychology as the branch of that science dealing with human interaction. The paramount task of science is to establish general laws through systematic observation. Social psychologists develop such general laws to describe and explain human interaction.

The very combination of the words "social psychology" indicates the specific place that this discipline occupies in the system of scientific knowledge. Having arisen at the intersection of sciences - psychology and sociology, social psychology still retains its special status, which leads to the fact that each of the "parent" disciplines quite willingly includes it as an integral part. This ambiguity in the position of the scientific discipline has many different reasons. Chief among them is the objective existence of such a class of facts of social life, which in themselves can be investigated only with the help of the combined efforts of two sciences: psychology and sociology. On the one hand, any social phenomenon has its own "psychological" aspect, since social patterns are manifested only through the activities of people, and people act, being endowed with consciousness and will.

On the other hand, in situations of joint activity of people, very special types of connections arise between them, connections of communication and interaction, and their analysis is impossible outside the system of psychological knowledge.

The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the process of perception by one person of another acts as an obligatory component of communication and can conditionally be called the perceptual side of communication.

The object of the study is the interaction of people with each other through the perceptual side of communication.

The subject of research is social perception as a socio-psychological aspect of interaction.

The aim of the work is to study the structure and mechanisms of social perception.

The concept of social perception

social perception facial expressions openness

The emergence and successful development of interpersonal communication is possible only if there is mutual understanding between its participants. The extent to which people reflect the traits and feelings of each other, perceive and understand others, and through them themselves, largely determines the process of communication, the relationship that develops between partners, and the ways in which they carry out joint activities. Thus, the process of cognition and understanding by one person of another acts as an obligatory component of communication; conditionally, it can be called the perceptual side of communication.

Social perception is one of the most complex and important concepts of social psychology. It can even be argued that it is one of the most significant contributions of social psychology to modern and promising human psychology.

Its proximity to the general psychological concept of "perception" is limited by the name, the most common everyday meanings and the fact that both are related to the mechanisms and phenomena of human perception of various phenomena. This is where the similarities end. Perception is a theoretical concept that characterizes an artificially isolated fragment of a holistic process of cognition and subjective understanding of the World by a person. Social perception is a complex, multi-component concept that tries to explain the unique phenomenon of cognition and understanding of each other by people.

The concept of social perception was first introduced by J. Bruner in 1947, when a new view of the perception of a person by a person was developed.

Social perception is a process that occurs when people relate to each other and includes the perception, study, understanding and evaluation of social objects by people: other people, themselves, groups or social communities.

The concept of “social perception” includes everything that in the general psychological approach is usually denoted by various terms and studied separately, then trying to piece together a complete picture of the human mental world:

- own process of perception of the observed behavior;

– interpretation of perceived in terms of the causes of behavior and the expected consequences;

- building a strategy of their own behavior.

The process of social perception is a complex and branched system of formation in the mind of a person of images of social objects as a result of such methods of understanding each other by people as perception, knowledge, understanding and study. The term "perception" is not the most accurate in defining the formation of the observer's idea of ​​his interlocutor, as this is a more specific process. In social psychology, such a formulation as “knowledge of another person” (A.A. Bodalev) is sometimes used as a more accurate concept to characterize the process of perceiving a person by a person.

The process includes the relationship between the subject of perception and the object of perception.

The subject of perception is an individual or a group that carries out the cognition and transformation of reality. When the subject of perception is an individual, he can perceive and cognize his own group, an outside group, another individual who is a member of either his or another group. When the group acts as the subject of perception, then the process of social perception becomes even more intricate and complex, since the group carries out knowledge of both itself and its members, and can also evaluate members of another group and the other group itself as a whole.

The specificity of a person’s knowledge of another person lies in the fact that the subject and object of perception perceive not only the physical characteristics of each other, but also behavioral, and in the process of interaction, judgments are formed about the intentions, abilities, emotions and thoughts of the interlocutor. In addition, an idea is created about the relationships that connect the subject and the object of perception. This gives even more significant meaning to the sequence of additional factors that do not play such an important role in the perception of physical objects. If the subject of perception actively participates in communication, then this means the intention of the person to establish coordinated actions with a partner, taking into account his desires, intentions, expectations and past experience. Thus, social perception depends on emotions, intentions, opinions, attitudes, preferences and prejudices.

Social perception is defined as the perception of external signs of a person, comparing them with his personal characteristics, interpretation and prediction on this basis of his actions and deeds. Thus, in social perception there is certainly an assessment of another person, and the development, depending on this assessment and the impression made by the object, of a certain attitude in the emotional and behavioral aspect. This process of cognition by one person of another, its evaluation and the formation of a certain attitude is an integral part of human communication and can be conditionally called the perceptual side of communication.

Functions of social perception

There are basic functions of social perception, namely: self-knowledge, knowledge of a communication partner, organization of joint activities based on mutual understanding and the establishment of certain emotional relationships. Mutual understanding is a social - mental phenomenon, the center of which is empathy.

Empathy is the ability to empathize, the desire to put yourself in the place of another person and accurately determine his emotional state based on actions, facial reactions, gestures.

Empathy is based on the ability to correctly imagine what is happening in the soul of another person, what he experiences, how he evaluates the world around him. It is known that empathy is the higher, the better a person is able to imagine how the same event will be perceived by different people, and to what extent he admits the right to the existence of these points of view. The personal experience of various spiritual experiences is also of great importance, because it is difficult to imagine the feeling of another, which you yourself have never experienced. Thus, in a certain sense, empathy is the ability to draw a conclusion by analogy, although such a definition does not give an exhaustive answer to the question of the nature of this phenomenon.

Thus, in this work, we found out that social perception is the perception, understanding and evaluation of social objects by people, primarily themselves, other people, social groups. The term was introduced by the American psychologist J. Bruner to denote the fact of social conditioning of perception, its dependence not only on the characteristics of the object, but also on the past experience of the subject, his goals, intentions, and the significance of the situation.

In the structure of social perception, the observer, the observed and the social situation of communication are distinguished; each of the structural components affects the success of the social-perceptual process.

Among the most important, from the point of view of success, characteristics of the observer stand out: age, profession, state of self-esteem and the content of the "I-image", socially perceptual skills and abilities.

In accordance with the social situation of communication, for the implementation of social perception by the observer, various mechanisms of social cognition can be used.

Social psychologists have established that the perception of social objects is qualitatively different from the perception of the material world. This happens because, firstly, the social object is not passive and indifferent in relation to the perceiving subject. Influencing the subject of perception, the perceived person strives to transform the idea of ​​himself in a direction favorable for his goals.

Secondly, the attention of the subject of social perception is primarily focused not on the moments of generating an image as a result of reflecting the perceived reality, but on semantic and evaluative interpretations of the perceived object, including causal ones. Thirdly, the perception of social subjects is characterized by a greater fusion of cognitive components with emotional (affective) components, greater dependence on the motivational-semantic structure of the perceiving subject's activity.

We found out that the area of ​​research related to the elucidation of the mechanisms of formation of various emotional relationships to a perceived person is the study of attraction. And attraction as a mechanism of social perception is considered in three aspects: the process of forming the attractiveness of another person, the result of this process, the quality of relationships. And the result of this mechanism is a special kind of social attitude towards another person, in which the emotional component predominates.

Perception is a definition in psychology

Perception - mechanisms and patterns of social perception

Perception is a kind of reflection of things and situations of reality. Here the age of the perceiving individual plays an important role. Perception helps to form a holistic image of the subject. In psychology, this phenomenon allows you to find out how a person sees the situation and what conclusions he draws from communication with the outside world.

What is perception?

Perception is a cognitive function that helps in shaping an individual's perception of the world. Perception is a reflection of a phenomenon or an object, it is a core biological process of the human psyche. Such a function is acquired through the sense organs involved in the formation of a personalized holistic image of an object. It affects the analyzers through a whole series of sensations caused by perception.

Perception is a popular subject of psychological research. In simple words, such a reflection of reality means understanding, cognition, the formation in the mind of a holistic image of some phenomenon. Perception cannot exist without separate sensations, but it is an essentially different process. For example, you can just hear sounds, or listen carefully, you can just see or purposefully look, observe.

Types of perception

Depending on the organs of perception, perception is:

  1. Visual. The movement of a person's eyes is spasmodic, this is how a person processes the information received. But when it stops, the process of visual perception begins. This type of perception is influenced by a previously developed stereotype. For example, if a person is accustomed to skimming through the text all the time with his eyes, it will be difficult for him in the future to learn how to work through the material in depth. He may not notice large paragraphs of text, and then, when questioned, answer that they were not in the book at all.
  2. Tactile. This function is responsible for the regulation, control and correction of the working movements of the hands. This type of perception is based on tactile, temperature and kinetic sensations. But the organ of perception in this case is the hand, which, with the help of feeling, helps to recognize the individual features of the object.
  3. Auditory. In human auditory perception, an important place is occupied by phonemic and rhythmic-melodic systems. The human ear, unlike the animal, is much more complex, richer and more mobile. Such an understanding actively involves the motor component, but such a component is singled out as a separate separate system. For example, singing with a voice for musical hearing and pronunciation for speech hearing.

In addition to the above types of perception, there are two more, in which information is reflected not through the senses, but through understanding:

  1. Spaces, distances, distances, directions of objects located from us and from each other.
  2. Time is the duration, speed and sequence of events. Each person has his own internal clock, which rarely coincides with the daily rhythm. And so that a person can perceive this rhythm, he uses additional external signs and analyzers.

Law of Perception

Perception is a sensory representation of an object or phenomenon. Communication as perception is a mechanism for its beginning, since any process of communication begins with the perception of people by each other. And the process of perception, according to the laws of social perception, is built in the form of a judgment about the object. The well-known psychologist N.N. Lange developed a special law of perception, according to which perception is a quick change from a certain generalized perception of an object to a more concrete one.

Perception in philosophy

Perception in philosophy is a sensual understanding, a reflection of things in the mind through the senses. This concept has several categories:

  1. Internal perception by which a person is aware of where his limbs are, whether he is sitting or standing, whether he is depressed, hungry or tired.
  2. External perception, for which sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste are used.
  3. Mixed perception, which is manifested through emotion or whim.

What is perception in psychology?

Perception in psychology is a mental function of cognition. With the help of such perception, a person can mentally form an integral image of an object. In other words, such a reflection of reality is a unique sensory display, which is formed by:

  • motivation;
  • installations;
  • experience;
  • personal characteristics of the perceiver;
  • knowledge of the world through the prism of understanding one's own "I".

social perception

Social perception is a holistic understanding of social objects. It studies the manners of behavior between people with different levels of development. In order to be able to know and understand another person, there are certain mechanisms of social perception, they are presented:

  • identification, when a person begins to behave in a way that, according to his opinion, his interlocutor could behave;
  • empathy, when a person copies the emotional mood of the interlocutor;
  • attraction, which manifests itself in the form of love or friendship;
  • reflection, when a person begins to see himself through the eyes of the interlocutor;
  • stereotyping, when a person perceives his interlocutor as part of any social group, community;
  • causal attribution, when a person is endowed with certain qualities in accordance with his actions.

Gender Features of Perception

Perceptual effects are certain features that prevent partners from adequately perceiving each other. In science they are:

  • primacy, which manifests itself when meeting;
  • novelty, which manifests itself when new important information appears;
  • a halo, which manifests itself when the positive or negative qualities of a partner are exaggerated.

/ 18. The concept of social perception

Social perception is a figurative perception by a person of himself, other people and social phenomena of the surrounding world. The image exists at the level of feelings (sensations, perceptions, ideas) and at the level of thinking (concepts, judgments, conclusions).

The term "social perception" was first introduced by J. Bruner in 1947 and was understood as the social determination of perceptual processes.

Social perception includes interpersonal perception (perception of a person by a person), which consists of the perception of external signs of a person, their correlation with personal qualities, interpretation and prediction of future actions. As a synonym in domestic psychology, the expression “knowledge of another person” is often used, says A. A. Bodalev. The use of such an expression is justified by the inclusion in the process of perception of another of his behavioral characteristics, the formation of ideas about the intentions, abilities, attitudes of the perceived, etc.

The process of social perception includes two sides: subjective (the subject of perception is the person who perceives) and objective (the object of perception is the person who is perceived). In the course of interaction and communication, social perception becomes mutual. At the same time, mutual knowledge is aimed primarily at understanding those qualities of a partner that are most significant for the participants in communication at a given time.

Difference of social perception: social objects are not passive and indifferent in relation to the subject of perception. Social images always have semantic and evaluative characteristics. The interpretation of another person or group depends on the previous social experience of the subject, on the behavior of the object, on the system of value orientations of the perceiver, and other factors.

The subject of perception can be either an individual or a group. If an individual acts as a subject, then he can perceive:

1) another individual belonging to his group;

2) another individual belonging to a foreign group;

If the group acts as the subject of perception, then, according to G. M. Andreeva, the following is added:

1) the group's perception of its own member;

2) perception by a group of a representative of another group;

3) the group's perception of itself;

4) perception by the group as a whole of another group.

In groups, individual ideas of people about each other are framed in group personality assessments, which act in the process of communication in the form of public opinion.

Allocate the mechanisms of social perception - the ways by which people interpret, understand and evaluate another person. The most common mechanisms are the following: empathy, attraction, causal attribution, identification, social reflection.

IDENTIFICATION (Identification; Identifizierang) - a psychological process in which a person partially or completely dissimilates from himself (see assimilation). An unconscious projection by a person of himself onto something other than himself: another person, business, or location. In other words, it is the subject's unconscious identification of himself with another subject, group, process, or ideal. It is an important part of normal development. Empathy - understanding the emotional state of another person, understanding his emotions, feelings and experiences. In many psychological sources, empathy is identified with sympathy, empathy, sympathy. This is not entirely true, since it is possible to understand the emotional state of another person, but not treat him with sympathy and sympathy. Understanding well the views and related feelings of other people that he does not like, a person often acts contrary to them. A student in a lesson, annoying an unloved teacher, can perfectly understand the emotional state of the latter and use the possibilities of his empathy against the teacher. The people we call manipulators very often have well-developed empathy and use it for their own, often selfish purposes. The subject is able to understand the meaning of the experiences of another because he himself once experienced the same emotional states. However, if a person has never experienced such feelings, then it is much more difficult for him to comprehend their meaning. If an individual has never experienced affect, depression or apathy, then he most likely will not understand what another person is experiencing in this state, although he may have certain cognitive ideas about such phenomena. To comprehend the true meaning of the feelings of another, it is not enough to have cognitive representations. You also need personal experience. Therefore, empathy as the ability to understand the emotional state of another person develops in the process of life and may be more pronounced in older people. It is quite natural that among close people empathy towards each other is more developed than among people who have known each other relatively recently. People from different cultures may have little empathy for each other. At the same time, there are people who have special insight and are able to understand the experiences of another person even if he tries to hide them carefully. There are some types of professional activities that require developed empathy, for example, medical, pedagogical, theatrical activities. Almost any professional activity in the sphere of "man - man" requires the development of this mechanism of perception.

Reflection - in social psychology, reflection is understood as an imitation of another person's reasoning. More often, reflection is understood as reflection on YOUR mental actions or mental states. attraction - a special form of perception and cognition of another person, based on the formation of a stable positive feeling towards him. Thanks to positive feelings of sympathy, affection, friendship, love, etc. between people there are certain relationships that allow you to know each other more deeply. According to the figurative expression of the representative of humanistic psychology A. Maslow, such feelings allow us to see a person “under the sign of eternity”, i.e. see and understand the best and most worthy that it has. Attraction as a mechanism of social perception is usually considered in three aspects: the process of forming the attractiveness of another person; the result of this process; relationship quality. The result of this mechanism is a special kind of social attitude towards another person, in which the emotional component predominates. Attraction can exist only at the level of individual-selective interpersonal relations, characterized by the mutual attachment of their subjects. There are probably various reasons why we treat some people with more sympathy than others. Emotional attachment can arise on the basis of common views, interests, value orientations, or as a selective attitude to a person’s special appearance, behavior, character traits, etc. It is curious that such relationships allow you to better understand the other person. With a certain degree of conventionality, we can say that the more we like a person, the more we know him and better understand his actions (unless, of course, we are talking about pathological forms of attachment). Attraction is also significant in business relationships. Therefore, most business psychologists recommend that interpersonal communication professionals express the most positive attitude towards clients, even if they do not really like them. Outwardly expressed benevolence has the opposite effect - the attitude can really change to a positive one. Thus, the specialist forms in himself an additional mechanism of social perception, which makes it possible to obtain more information about a person. However, it should be remembered that the excessive and artificial expression of joy does not so much form an attraction as it destroys people's trust. A friendly attitude cannot always be expressed through a smile, especially if it looks fake and too stable. So, a TV presenter who smiles for an hour and a half is unlikely to attract the sympathy of viewers. ^ Mechanism of causal attribution associated with attributing causes of behavior to a person. Each person has his own assumptions about why the perceived individual behaves in a certain way. When attributing certain causes of behavior to another, the observer does this either on the basis of the similarity of his behavior with some familiar face or image of a person, or on the basis of an analysis of his own motives assumed in such a situation. Here the principle of analogy, similarity with the already familiar or the same operates. It is curious that causal attribution can “work” even when the analogy is drawn with a person that does not exist and has never really existed, but is present in the observer’s ideas, for example, with an artistic image (the image of a hero from a book or film). Each person has a huge number of ideas about other people and images, which were formed not only as a result of meetings with specific people, but also under the influence of various artistic sources. On a subconscious level, these images occupy "equal positions" with the images of people who really exist or really existed. The mechanism of causal attribution is associated with some aspects of the self-perception of the individual who perceives and evaluates the other. So, if the subject attributed negative traits and the reasons for their manifestation to another, then he will most likely evaluate himself by contrast as a carrier of positive traits. Sometimes people with low self-esteem show excessive criticality towards others, thereby creating a kind of negative subjectively perceived social background, against which, as they think, they look quite decent. In fact, these are only subjective sensations that arise as a psychological defense mechanism. At the level of social stratification, such intergroup relations as the choice of an outgroup and the strategy of social creativity, of course, are accompanied by the action of causal attribution. T. Shibutani spoke about the measure of criticality and goodwill, which it is advisable to observe in relation to others. After all, each person has positive and negative traits, as well as behavioral characteristics due to his ambivalence as an individual, personality and subject of activity. In addition, the same qualities are evaluated differently in different situations. The attribution of the causes of behavior can take place taking into account the externality and internality of both the one who attributes and the one to whom they attribute. If the observer is predominantly external, then the causes of the behavior of the individual whom he perceives will be seen by him in external circumstances. If it is internal, then the interpretation of the behavior of others will be associated with internal, individual and personal reasons. Knowing in what respects an individual is an external and in what respects an internal, one can also determine some features of his interpretation of the causes of the behavior of other people. The perception of a person also depends on his ability to put himself in the place of another, to identify himself with him. In this case, the process of cognition of the other will go more successfully (if there are substantial grounds for the corresponding identification). The process and result of such an identification is called identification. Identification as a socio-psychological phenomenon is considered by modern science very often and in such different contexts that it is necessary to specifically stipulate the features of this phenomenon as a mechanism of social perception. In this aspect, identification is similar to empathy, however, empathy can be considered as an emotional identification of the subject of observation, which is possible on the basis of past or present experience of such experiences. As far as identification is concerned, here intellectual identification takes place to a greater extent, the results of which are the more successful, the more accurately the observer has determined the intellectual level of the one whom he perceives. The professional activity of some specialists is associated with the need for identification, such as the work of an investigator or a teacher, which has been repeatedly described in legal and educational psychology. Identification error with an incorrect assessment of the intellectual level of another person can lead to negative professional results. So, a teacher who overestimates or underestimates the intellectual level of his students will not be able to correctly assess the relationship between the real and potential abilities of students in the learning process. It should be noted that the word "identification" in psychology means a number of phenomena that are not identical to each other: the process of comparing objects on the basis of essential features (in cognitive psychology), the unconscious process of identifying close people and the mechanism of psychological defense (in psychoanalytic concepts), one of the mechanisms of socialization, etc. In a broad sense, identification as a mechanism of social perception, combined with empathy, is a process of understanding, seeing the other, comprehending the personal meanings of the activity of the other, carried out by direct identification or an attempt to put oneself in the place of the other. Perceiving and interpreting the surrounding world and other people, a person also perceives and interprets himself, his own actions and motives. The process and result of a person's self-perception in a social context is called social reflection. As a mechanism of social perception, social reflection means understanding by the subject of his own individual characteristics and how they manifest themselves in external behavior; awareness of how it is perceived by other people. It should not be thought that people are able to perceive themselves more adequately than those around them. So, in a situation where there is an opportunity to look at oneself from the outside - in a photograph or a film, many remain very dissatisfied with the impression made in their own way. This is because people have a somewhat distorted image of themselves. Distorted ideas even concern the appearance of the perceiving person, not to mention the social manifestations of the internal state.

Perception

The process of perception by one person of another is an obligatory component of communication and is what is called perception. The perceptual side of communication explains the perception and understanding of another person and oneself, the establishment of mutual understanding and interaction on this basis. In perception, an important role is given to the installation in communication. Often the formation of the first impression of a stranger depends on the characteristic given to him. And then in it, depending on the attitude, some will find positive features, others - negative ones. In perception, it is possible perception errors, the reasons for which may be:

♦ halo effect- information received about a person before direct communication with him, forms a biased idea about him even before his perception;

♦ “novelty” effect- when perceiving a stranger, the primary information about him (the so-called first impression) often seems to be the most significant;

♦ stereotype effect- arises due to insufficient information about a person and exists in the form of a certain stable image.

In the process of perception, not just the perception of each other takes place, but a whole range of feelings is born, emotional relationships arise, the formation mechanism of which is studied by attraction.

Attraction is the appearance, when a person is perceived by a person, of the attractiveness of one of them for another. There are a few ways you can use to create an attraction:

reception "proper name"

when communicating, more often refer to a partner by name and patronymic, since such an appeal serves as an indicator of attention and unconsciously evokes positive emotions;

reception "mirror of the soul"

a friendly facial expression, a smile when communicating signal friendly relations and good intentions;

reception "golden words"

do not skimp during communication on compliments, praise, which any person needs;

patient listener technique

be able to listen with interest and patiently to your interlocutor, to let him speak;

reception "preliminary information"

when communicating, use knowledge about your interlocutor (character, temperament, hobbies, marital status, etc.).

perceptual processes. Concept, properties of perception

Perception is a reflection of objects and phenomena, integral situations of the objective world in the totality of their properties and parts with their direct impact on the senses.

Perception is based on sensations, but perception is not reduced to the sum of sensations.

Without sensation, perception is impossible. However, in addition to sensations, perception includes past human experience in the form of ideas and knowledge.

Depending on which analyzer plays the predominant role in perception, there are visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory perception. Unlike sensations, images of perception usually arise as a result of the work of several analyzers. Complex types of perceptions include, for example, perception of space and perception of time. Perceiving space, that is, the distance of objects from us and from each other, shape and size, a person is based both on visual sensations and on auditory, skin and motor sensations.

In the perception of time, in addition to auditory and visual sensations, motor and internal, organic sensations play an important role.

By the strength of the sound of thunder, we determine the distance separating us from the approaching thunderstorm, with the help of touch, with our eyes closed, we can determine the shape of an object. In people with normal vision, auditory and tactile sensations play a similar role in the perception of space. But these sensations are of primary importance for persons deprived of sight.

Under the perception of time is understood the process of reflecting the duration and sequence of events occurring in the objective world. Only very short time intervals lend themselves to direct perception. When we are talking about longer periods of time, it is more correct to speak not of perception, but of the idea of ​​time.

The surrounding reality is perceived not by certain sense organs, but by a person of a certain gender and age, with his own interests, views, personality orientation, life experience, etc. The eye, ear, hand and other sense organs only provide the process of perception, which depends on the mental characteristics of the individual.

Patterns of perception

The main patterns of perception:

installation dependence, subjectivity,

The process of perception is not limited to isolating a certain group of sensations and combining them into a holistic image; it also involves the recognition of the image, its comparison with traces of memory, comprehension and understanding (especially when symbolic objects, signs, text, etc. are perceived).

All this requires the involvement of past experience, in connection with which it is customary to talk about a special property of consciousness - apperception, i.e. the dependence of a clear perception of any content on past impressions and accumulated knowledge. Thanks to such a connection between current and past impressions, it is possible to assimilate new sensory information, to include new images of perception in the system of human experience. Therefore, a clear and conscious perception of the surrounding world is impossible without the participation of memory and thinking.

Perception is associated with categorization, the mental process of assigning a single object or event to a certain class. In other words, any object is perceived not as a singularity and immediate given, but as a representative of a generalized class of phenomena. Moreover, the specific features of this class are automatically transferred to the perceived object. The relationship of perception with categorization indicates the mediation of perceptual processes by the social experience of the individual and cultural factors.

A characteristic feature of human perception is that its images are synthesized using speech. (verbal mediation), based on the semantic structures of natural language. Due to the verbal (verbal) designation, it becomes possible to abstract and generalize the particular properties of objects.

In the studies of a number of prominent experimental psychologists (originally G. Müller, T. Schumann, L. Lange, later - D.N. Uznadze and his followers), it was noted that perception largely depends on the attitude, defined as an integral state of the subject, not fully aware of him and at the same time suggesting a “peculiar tendency to certain contents of consciousness” or a preliminary readiness to perceive, feel and respond to something in a certain way under the influence of past experience and motivational factors.

At the same time, its subjectivity should be attributed to the main patterns of perception: people perceive the same information differently, subjectively, i.e. depending on their interests, knowledge, needs, abilities, goals of activity and other subjective factors. The dependence of perception on the content of a person's mental life and on the characteristics of his personality is also associated with the fundamental concept of apperception.

According to the postulates of Gestalt psychology, perception is based on the principle of isomorphism, i.e. structural similarity of the formed perceptual image to the perceived object.

Laws of perception (according to M. Wertheimer).

Similarity effect. - Figures similar in some elements (color, size, shape, etc., are combined and grouped in perception).

Proximity effect. - Closely spaced pieces usually come together.

The "common fate" factor. - Figures can be united by the general nature of the changes observed in them.

The "Good Continuation" Factor. - From two intersecting or tangent lines, choose lines with less curvature.

Closure factor. - Closed figures are perceived better.

Grouping factor without a trace. - Several figures try to group in such a way that there is not a single single figure left.

There is such a thing as social perception, which in Latin (perceptio), means "perception". In relation to the psychology of society, it is considered how a person sees the situation, what conclusions he draws. And most importantly, psychologists note what actions should be expected from this or that individual who belonged to a certain group of like-minded people.

Social perception is characterized by the following functions:

  • Self-knowledge;
  • Knowledge of the interlocutor, partner;
  • Establishing contacts in the team in the process of joint activities;
  • Establishment of a positive microclimate.

Social perception studies the manners of behavior between individuals with different levels of development, but belonging to the same society, collective. Behavioral reactions are formed on the basis of social stereotypes, the knowledge of which explains communication models.

There are two aspects of social perception in the study of the processes of psychological compatibility. These are the following questions:

  • Study of the social and psychological characteristics of an individual subject and object of perception;
  • Analysis of the mechanism of interpersonal communication.

In order to ensure the knowledge and understanding of another person, as well as oneself in the process of communication, there are special mechanisms of social perception that allow making predictions about the actions of communication partners.

Mechanisms of social perception

The tools used by social perception ensure the establishment of communication between individuals and consist in the following concepts:

  • Identification;
  • empathy;
  • Attraction;
  • Reflection;
  • Stereotyping;
  • causal attribution.

The method of identification lies in the fact that the psychologist tries to put himself in the place of the interlocutor. To know a person, it is necessary to learn his scale of values, norms of behavior, habits and taste preferences. According to this method of social perception, a person behaves in a way that, in his opinion, the interlocutor could behave.

Empathy is empathy for another person. Copying the emotional mood of the interlocutor. Only by finding an emotional response, you can get the right idea of ​​​​what is going on in the soul of the interlocutor.

Attraction (attraction) in the concept of social perception is considered as a special form of knowing a partner with a formed stable feeling for him. This understanding can take the form of friendship or love.

Reflection is self-awareness in the eyes of the interlocutor. When conducting a conversation, a person, as it were, sees himself from the side of a partner. What does the other person think about him and what qualities endows him. Self-knowledge in the concept of social perception is impossible without openness to other people.

Causal attribution from the words "cause" - cause and "attribute" - label. A person is endowed with qualities according to his actions. Social perception defines the following types of causal attribution:

  • Personal - when the reason comes from the person who committed this or that act;
  • Objective - if the cause of the act was the object (subject) to which this or that action was directed;
  • Circumstantial - the conditions under which a particular act was performed.

In the process of research, according to social perception, patterns were identified that affect the formation of causal attribution. As a rule, a person attributes success only to himself, and failure to others, or to circumstances that, alas, are not in his favor. When determining the severity of an action directed against a person, the victim ignores the object and circumstantial causal attribution, taking into account only the personal component. An important role in perception is played by the installation of a person, or information regarding the perceived subject. This was proven by Bodalev's experiment, which showed a photograph of the same person to two different social groups. Some said that before them was a notorious criminal, others defined him as the greatest scientist.

A social stereotype is the perception of an interlocutor based on personal life experience. If a person belongs to any social group, he is perceived as part of a certain community, with all its qualities. A clerk is perceived differently than a plumber. Social perception shares the following types of stereotypes:

  • ethnic;
  • Professional;
  • Gender;
  • Age.

When people from different social groups communicate, contradictions may arise, which are smoothed out when solving common problems.

Effects of social perception

On the basis of stereotypes, interpersonal perception is formed, in which the following effects are determined:

  • primacy;
  • Novelties;
  • Halo.

The effect of primacy in social perception is manifested at the first acquaintance. The assessment of a person is based on the information received earlier.

The novelty effect begins to operate when completely new information appears, which is considered the most important.

The halo effect is manifested in the exaggeration of the positive or, conversely, negative qualities of a partner. This does not take into account any other arguments and abilities. In a word, "a master, he is a master in everything."

Pedagogical social perception

The perception of the teacher by pupils is determined by the relationship within the educational process. Each teacher is important to the opinion that forms his personality in the eyes of students. So pedagogical social perception determines the status of the teacher, his way of life. All this affects the creation of authority, or its absence, which inevitably affects the quality of education.

The ability to find a common language with initially socially unequal people, without losing a sense of reasonable distance, testifies to the pedagogical talent of the teacher.