Chapter Four: Perceiving Others

(Source)

Chapter 4 of Interplay takes the concepts of self and extrapolates them to our perception of others. Because meaning cannot be shared in a direct one-to-one transfer (due to differing associations with the words, nonverbal cues, and contextual symbols, both intended and implied), a message is never received exactly how it is meant to be, and the research confirms that even married couples with years of interpersonal communication "consistently overestimate the degree to which they agree with their partners" (108).

Four steps of meaning attachment:

Selection
Contrasting, sudden, loud, and repetitious stimuli will likely attract attention (110).

Organization
Four types of classifications (111):
          --Physical constructs
          --Role (class, vocation) constructs
          --Interaction concepts
          --Psychological constructs--"internal states of mind and dispositions"

Upon reading these descriptions, I wonder mostly about the psychological schema. Are the internal states those of the perceived or the perceiver? It would make the most sense to attribute it to the perceived, since that is the case for the other three schemas, but how is one to judge the "internal states of mind and dispositions" of another? We certainly use someone's behavior as the primary source of our judgments, but that falls under the Interaction concepts. Where is the line drawn? as certainly someone who is friendly in social settings (Interaction) appears to us to be confident (a Psychological construct) but how are we to really know?

The concept of punctuation, as explained on page 111, is a welcome theoretical term to replace "the chicken and the egg" that I have fallen to using so many times in conflict conversation to explain why one person sees one cause and the other member of the dyad sees another cause. 

Interpretation
I would argue that some interpretation must happen before this stage, when one assumes the use of psychological constructs, because, as explained above, it is social (or antisocial) behavior that provides the fodder for those psychological terms to be used. Are those constructs created by the perceiver or the perceived? Is a person confident if they come across so, even if they themselves would disagree? Is the "burden of proof" on the mindset of the observed or the observer? This goes back a bit to the discussion we had in class on an older rhetorical concept--that speaker intention and motive barely matters compared to the audience's perceptions; is that the case in dyadic communication?

Some factors that influence interpretation are (112):
relational satisfaction
expectation
personality
personal experience
assumptions of human behavior

Negotiation
"the process by which communicators influence each other's perceptions through communication" (113)

Personal world narratives--terms we apply to people and a situation that "casts" them and "sets the scene".

Influences on Perception

Access to Information (115)
Physiological Influences (115)
          Senses
          Age
          Health and fatigue (116)
          Biological cycles 
          Hunger (117)
          Neurobehavioral challenges 
Psychological Influences (117)
          Mood
          Self-Concept (118)
Social Influences (118)
          Sex and Gender Roles (119)
          Occupational Roles (120)
          Relational Roles (120)

I can definitely resonate with the health and fatigue portion of this section. I was rather surprised though that the text failed to mention stress and burnout, focusing rather on sleep deprivation, sickness, and mood.  It is my opinion that at least when people are "really" sick, they and others around them a fairly aware that they are in less of a state for competent and responsible communication. But the world goes on around those barely swimming through a current of high-stress situations. 

Recently I had the tremendous privilege of spearheading organizing a 100-dress bridal fashion show for the bridal shop where I work. While it is something that I love to do, the pressure builds a lot over the last two weeks and almost boils over during the last two days; this year it was compounded by the delay of two dress shipments and the unexpected dropping out of two models the day before the runway show. All that to say, I communicated with my coworkers quite differently that last Saturday then I do usually, and I perceived them, and I'm sure they perceived me, with a completely different frame of mind! 

Several communication behaviors I observed on that last day:
--new employees approached me with caution
--whereas I normally engage in any interaction around me, on this day I blocked out almost all communication except on a functional basis
--older coworkers who know me well and understood the stress treated me with consideration and diverted questions, work, and traffic to themselves to give me the physical and mental space I needed. They were the especially competent communicators that day!

Stereotyping (124)
Three characteristics:
--"Categorizing others on the basis of easily recognized but not necessarily significant characteristics"
--"Ascribing a set of characteristics to most or all members of a group"
--"Applying the generalization to a particular person"