V. Impression formation

1. Solomon Asch: Some impressions are formed quickly: (a) based on noticeable features of behavior that we stereotype or categorize easily; (b) based on expectations, (b) based on previous experiences, often subconscious; Other impressions may take longer time to construct because there are no such associations.

DISCUSSION STARTER 6: What personality traits of yours do you like? When you see these traits in others, how does that impact your communication toward them? How do you perceive people who possess traits you don’t like in yourself? How do these perceptions affect your relationships with others?

2. Christian von Ehrenfels: We form impressions based on Gestalt, a general sense of the person, either positive or negative. Gestalts are useful for: (a) quick judgments; (b) casual relationships; (c) crowded contexts with little time.

DISCUSSION STARTER 7: Think of someone for whom you have a negative Gestalt.

How did the negativity effect shape your impression?

Now call to mind personal flaws or embarrassing events from your past. If someone learned of this information and formed a negative Gestalt of you, would his or her impression be accurate?

3. Polyanna Effect is the tendency to think more positively than negatively about things and events. We expect things to go well and people to do good things.

4. Negativity Effect comes into play when our positive expectations are overturned by people’s negative actions. We suddenly see things in a very negative way. Negativity may help form accurate perceptions, but more often the view is inaccurate.

5. Edward Thorndike: Halo and Horns Effect takes place when our attributions of the person are viewed as exclusively positive or negative, while in reality a person is usually a combination of both.

VI. Algebraic Impression (Weight of Belief)

A. (Michael’s Sound Bite 3-6): This concept actually goes back to the parameter called “weight of belief” in a very complex equation of the assign effect generated by Charles Emerton Osgood.

We evaluate each new thing we learn about someone, and assess it as either positive or negative. We weigh it on imaginary scales. We assign relative weight to positive or negative impressions based on the importance of a particular episode to our current circumstances. We can take a very detailed approach by writing down various positive and negative aspects an assigning them relative weights.

VII. Stereotyping

A. Walter Lippman: Stereotyping is categorizing people into groups and then evaluating them on information in our schemata regarding this group. When stereotyping we make blanket assumptions about people.

B. Stereotyping: (a) streamlines the perception process for a quick impression; (b) because of blanket assumptions, stereotypes are often wrong; (c) Stereotyping may have positive influences on communication: creates opportunities for discussing issues; (d) Stereotyping is impossible to avoid because we form categories habitually, and are socialized to do it; (e) We believe that our assumptions are valid, even we see evidence to the contrary; then we seek out information that supports our belief.

C. Stereotypes are eliminated by (a) challenging your assumptions; (b) learning more about the groups; (c) assessing similarities and differences; (d) recognizing that people are different, (e) belonging to different groups.

DISCUSSION STARTER 8: Think of an instance in which information posted by someone online (photos, profiles, blogs) caused you to perceive them stereotypically. How did this affect your overall impression of him or her? Your communication with the person? What stereotypes might others form of you, based

on your online postings?