Understanding Your Perception of Someone

Whenever we form a perception of someone, a number of processes allow us to make quick decisions that help us navigate our social worlds. Person perception is a term used in social psychology to describe the mental processes that we use to form impressions of other people. This includes not just how we form these impressions, but the different conclusions we make about other people based on our impressions.

Consider how often you make this kind of judgment every day. When you meet with a new co-worker, you begin to develop an initial impression of this person. When you visit the grocery store after work, you form an impression of the cashier, even though you know very little about them.

How We Form Perceptions of Somone

Obviously, person perception is a very subjective process that can be affected by many variables. Factors that can influence the impressions you form of other people include:

• The characteristics of the person you are observing
• The context of the situation
• Your own personal traits
• Your past experiences

Social Norms and Role Expectations

People often form impressions of others very quickly, with only minimal information. We frequently base our impressions on the roles and social norms we expect from people.

For example, you might form an impression of a city bus driver based on how you would anticipate a person in that role to behave, considering individual personality characteristics only after you have formed this initial impression.

Physical Cues

Physical cues can also play an important role. If you see a woman dressed in a professional-looking suit, you might immediately assume that she works in a formal setting, perhaps at a law firm or bank.

Salience

The salience of the information we perceive is also important. Generally, we tend to focus on the most obvious points rather than noting background information.

How Social Categorization Affects Your Perception of Someone

One of the mental shortcuts we use in person perception is social categorization. In this process, we mentally categorize people into different groups based on common characteristics.

Pitfalls of Social Categorization

As with many mental shortcuts, social categorization has positive and negative aspects. On the plus side, social categorization allows you to make rapid judgments. Realistically, you simply do not have time to get to know every person you come into contact with.

Imagine that you are getting on a bus. There are only two seats available. One is next to a petite, elderly woman; the other is next to a burly, grim-faced man. Based on your immediate impression, you sit next to the elderly woman, who, unfortunately, turns out to be quite skilled at picking pockets.

Because of social categorization, you immediately judged the woman as harmless and the man as threatening, leading to the loss of your wallet. While social categorization can be useful at times, it can also lead to these kinds of misjudgments.

Implicit Personality Theories

An implicit personality theory is a collection of beliefs and assumptions about how certain traits are linked to other characteristics and behaviors. Once we know something about a cardinal trait or a primary trait that makes up the core of a person’s personality, we assume that the person also exhibits other traits commonly linked to that key characteristic.

For example, if you observe that a new co-worker is very happy, you might immediately assume that they are also friendly, kind, and generous. As with social categorization, implicit personality theories help people make judgments quickly but can also contribute to stereotyping and errors.