Person Perception

Written By Colēgia

There are many psychology concepts that we've covered and each of them holistically helps us in many ways that we may not be consciously aware of. One of these concepts is known as person perception and this revolves around others. Today we want to discuss what this is and how it affects us.

What is Person Perception?

We live in a social world and being able to understand concepts related to this is helpful given how often with interact with others. Person perception can be defined as “the study of the cognitive process of categorizing people and their behavior, forming inferences about their qualities, and the causes for their action, arriving at attributions that explain their behavior, and making predictions about what people are like and likely to do.” While this may sound somewhat complicated, this is similar to another concept known as heuristics. Heuristical thinking can be viewed as a sort of shortcut we use to make assumptions about either a topic or idea. This is typically more based on less information at times and can lead to hasty rationalizations but the concept is meant to help us think quickly and more efficiently. In the case of heuristical thinking, the best application for this is not to be used with people, but rather in other areas that allow for these shortcuts without judging others. Person perception, on the other hand, can be used as a means of fostering awareness for those around you while also increasing your own social skills.

“We live in a social world and being able to understand concepts related to this is helpful given how often with interact with others.”

You And Others

With all of the information above, this clearly has an effect on how we view other people. We want to first mention that while there are times when we need to trust our instinct related to people for personal safety, more often than not our perception of someone can be made on snap judgments. This is important to recognize because we can't truly understand someone until we walk a mile in their shoes. What we mean by this is that we need to integrate proper communication with the people we meet in order to get to know them. Person perception can be used in a positive light by using the information we know about someone in a holistic manner that empowers them. Rather than making broad assumptions, we need to use our higher cognitive abilities to more accurately assess what an individual knows and loves.

“This is important to recognize because we can't truly understand someone until we walk a mile in their shoes.”

Why It's Important

In our lives, we can do all of these things by focusing on the here and now while also being mindful of a person’s past. While we can't get to know everyone as closely as we want, the concepts from person perception can give us a better understanding of how individuals function along with how we view people. While it does take time and effort, learning about others is something that cannot be understated. Everyone wants to feel accepted for who they are and shifting our mindset into one that allows for a healthier perspective of others is one of the best ways to do that.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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