Chapter 3: Perception

The process whereby we assign meaning to the world around us.

The first stage in the perception process, in which some data are chosen to attend to and others to ignore.

The stage in the perception process that involves arranging data in a meaningful way.

Cognitive frameworks that allow individuals to organize perceptual data that they have selected from the environment. These include physical, role, interaction, psychological, and membership constructs.

Categorizing individuals according to a set of characteristics assumed to belong to all members of a group.

The process of determining the causal order of events.

The process of attaching meaning to sense data; synonymous with decode.

What occurs between and among people as they influence one another's perceptions and try to achieve a shared perspective.

The stories we use to describe our personal worlds

The attitude that one's own culture is superior to others.

Possessing both feminine and masculine traits

The process of attaching meaning to behaviour.

The tendency to interpret and explain information in a way that casts the perceiver in the most favourable manner.

The tendency to form an overall positive impression on the basis of one positive characteristic.

A three part method for verifying the accuracy of interpretations, including a description of the behaviour, two possible interpretations, and a request for clarification of the interpretation.