Topic  The Self and

Perception in
2 Interpersonal
Communication
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Define and explain self-concept;
2. Describe how self-concept is developed;
3. Distinguish the connection between self-concept and perception;
and
4. Identify what influences interpersonal perceptions.

 INTRODUCTION
People who are exposed to a particular communication context perceive different
meanings. Therefore, before engaging in interpersonal communication, we must
first explore how the self is formed and changed through the process of
communicating with others. It is pointless to begin a communication, let alone
conduct an effective one without knowing our own self first. In addition,
perception is derived from oneÊs self and is very much critical in the effort to create
meaning. What we adopt, our sensory capabilities, our past experiences, and our
very own level of motivation and tolerance are all affected based on perspectives.

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2.1 THE SELF

Imagine how well you relate to those around you, namely, your family, friends
and colleagues. How does your communication with those around you influence
your self-concept?

We develop the concept of who we are throughout our interactions with others. In
most relationships, we must understand that our self image plays a significant role
in how we communicate with others and how others accept us.

The self is an ever-changing system of perspectives that is formed and sustained

in communication with others. In other words, it is a process as each of us evolves
and changes in response to experiences throughout our lives. There is a need to
develop the understanding in the process of communicating with others who tell
who we are, how valuable we are and what is expected of us.

The different perspectives of self are explained in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: Four Different Perspectives of Self

Pragmatic Self is a complex process of gaining self-awareness. We develop a

concept of who we are through our connection with others.
Dramatism We construct roles that we perform in the everyday drama of life
and shape the image we choose to convey to others.
Humanistic Individual growth is growth towards self-actualisation.
Postmodern Our sense of self is a relational view that is defined and negotiated
in relational communities.

The next four subtopics will highlight the four key terms pertaining to self, namely:
(a) Self-concept;
(b) Self-awareness;
(c) Self-esteem; and
(d) Self-disclosure.

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2.1.1 Self-concept
As human beings, you have a unique ability to reflect on yourself. Your self-
concept or self identity is your self-appraisal. Included within it is everything you
think and feel about yourself. It is the image you have of who you are. It is the
mental picture and evaluation of your physical, social and psychological
attributes. Self-concept is also determined by our experiences and communication
with others, the roles and values we have selected for ourselves, and our
perception of how others see us (Seiler and Beall, 2002).

How is your self-concept developed? A number of forces converge to help you

create your self-concept, as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: Sources of self-concept

Adapted from Devito (2019)

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(a) OthersÊ Images of You

You look especially to those who are most significant in your life, your
significant others. As a child, you looked to your parents and then to your
teachers. As an adult, you might look to your close friends, romantic partners
and colleagues at work. If these significant others think highly of you, you
will see this as a positive image of yourself reflected in their behaviour. On
the other hand, you will see a more negative image if they think little of you.
The 19th-century poet, Walt Whitman, recited the following stanza. Based on
this, it is not difficult to see how people you value influence the picture you
have of yourself and help determine the way you behave.

There was a child went forth every day;

And the first object he lookÊd upon, that object he became;
And that object became part of him for the day, or a
certain part of the day, or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

(b) Social Comparisons

When you want to gain insight into who you are and how effective or
competent you are, you probably look to your peers. For example, after an
examination you probably want to find out how you performed relative to
the other students in your class. You gain an additional perspective when
you see your score in comparison with the scores of your peers.

(c) Cultural Teachings

Your culture instills in you a variety of beliefs, values, and attitudes. The
cultural teachings provide a benchmark against which you can measure
yourself. Your success in, for example, achieving what your culture defines
as success will contribute to a positive self-concept. Your failure to achieve
what your culture teaches (e.g. not being married by the time you are 30) will
contribute to a negative self-concept.

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ACTIVITY 2.1
Based on your own personal experience, what are the cultural factors
which greatly influenced the way you define your self-concept?

Share your thoughts with your coursemates on myINSPIRE.

(d) Your Own Interpretations and Evaluations

Your own interpretation and evaluation of certain things help to develop
your self-concept. For example, let us say you managed to pull an old man
out of a burning building at great personal risk. You would probably
evaluate this behaviour positively; you would feel good about this behaviour
and, as a result, about yourself.

EXERCISE 2.1

What are the challenges of self-concept in the virtual world (online)?

2.1.2 Self-awareness
How well do you know yourself? Do you come across certain instances in life
when you yourself are surprised by certain facets of your life?

Self-awareness is your knowledge of yourself, the extent to which you know

who you are. Understanding how your self-concept has developed is one way
to increase your self-awareness: the more you understand about why you
view yourself as you do, the more you will understand who you are.

A useful way of looking at self-awareness is the Johari Window, a communication

model which was created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham and named after them.
This model, presented in Figure 2.2, has four basic areas, quadrants or panes, each
of which represents a somewhat different self.

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Figure 2.2: Johari Window

Adapted from Gamble & Gamble (2002)

(a) Area I
Area I, the open area or arena, represents information about yourself that is
known to you and another person. For example, your name, age, skin colour,
and religious affiliation might all be found in this area. The size and contents
of the quadrant vary from one relationship to another, depending on the
degree of closeness you share with that other person.

(b) Area II
Area II, the blind area, or blind spot, refers to the part of yourself that is
known to others but not to you. This may vary from the relatively
insignificant habit of saying „You know‰, rubbing your nose when you are
uneasy, or having a peculiar body odour, to things as significant as defence
mechanisms or repressed experiences. Some people have a very large blind
area and are oblivious to their own faults and virtues. At times, people may
feel compelled to seek outside help, such as therapy, to reduce the size of
their blind pane.

(c) Area III

Area III, the hidden area or facade, represents your hidden self. It contains
all that you know of yourself and of others that you keep secret. At the
extremes, we have the over disclosers and the under disclosers. The former
tell all. They keep nothing hidden about themselves or others. They tell you
their marital difficulties, their childrenÊs problems, their financial status and
just about everything else. The latter tell nothing. They talk about you but
not about themselves.

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When we move information from Area III to Area I, we engage in the process
of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure occurs when we purposely reveal to
another person information about ourselves that he or she would not
otherwise know. Further discussion on self-disclosure will be done later in
this topic.

(d) Area IV
Area IV is the unknown area in your makeup. It contains information about
which neither you nor others are aware of. Sometimes, it is revealed through
temporary changes brought about by drugs or through special experimental
conditions. Mostly, however, it is education and life experience that help to
bring some of the mysteries in this pane to the surface. Have you ever done
something that surprised both you and the people close to you? Did you and
a friend ever exclaim together, „Wow! I didnÊt know I could do that!‰ or „I
didnÊt know you could do that!‰

People commonly develop a style that is consistent and is the preferred way of
behaving interpersonally. Figure 2.3 illustrates the four representative styles.

Figure 2.3: Interpersonal styles in terms of the Johari Window

Adapted from Gamble & Gamble (2002)

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(a) Style A
Style A is characteristic of people who adopt a fairly impersonal approach to
interpersonal relationships. Dominated by their unknown areas, these
people usually withdraw from contacts, avoid personal disclosures or
involvements, and thus project an image that is rigid, aloof and
uncommunicative.

(b) Style B
In style B, the hidden area is the dominant window. Here, we find people
who desire relationships but also greatly fear exposure and generally
mistrust others. Once others become aware of the facade, they are likely to
lose trust in these people.

(c) Style C
Style C is dominated by the blind area. People who are characterised by this
style are overly confident of their own opinions and are painfully unaware
of how they affect others or are perceived by others. Those who communicate
with such people often feel that their own ideas or insights are of little
concern.

(d) Style D
In style D, the open area or area of free activity is dominant. Relationships
involve candour, openness and sensitivity to the needs and insights of others.

2.1.3 Self-esteem
How much do you like yourself? How valuable a person do you think you are?
How competent do you think you are? The answers to these questions reflect your
self-esteem, the value you place on yourself, or in other words, your perceived self-
worth.

Esteem is the need to affirm self-worth and gain confidence in interacting with
others. Self-esteem focuses on humanistic psychology.

People with high self-esteem communicate it through their verbal and non-verbal
messages. The way they voice their ideas, hold their head and maintain eye contact
are likely to differ greatly from the way a person with low self-esteem does.

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ACTIVITY 2.2
Generally, how would you rate your self-esteem on a scale of
1 (lowest) to 10 (highest)? Are you happy with the way you are or is
there room for improvement? Based on your understanding, suggest
ways on how you can boost your self-esteem and share it on
myINSPIRE.

Self-esteem is very important because success breeds success. When you feel good
about yourself, about who you are and what you are capable of doing, you will
perform better. When you think like a success, you are more likely to act like a
success. The following are four suggestions for increasing self- esteem:

(a) Attack Your Self-destructive Beliefs

Self-destructive beliefs are those that damage your self-esteem and prevent
you from building meaningful and productive relationships. Thoughts like
„IÊm such a bore to work with,‰ „People are out to get me,‰ and „The world
has turned its back on me‰ are examples of such beliefs. No one is perfect but
self-confidence is a must. If you want to be respected, you must first respect
yourself.

(b) Engage in Self-affirmation

See yourself truthfully. Acknowledge and affirm your positive qualities,
strengths and virtues. The way you talk to yourself about yourself influences
what you think of yourself. Rejoice in your gifts and uniqueness. If you talk
positively about yourself, you will become more positive about yourself.
Table 2.2 presents a useful list of self-affirming phrases. Reading over the list
is sure to bring your self-affirmation to new heights. Therefore, pamper and
love yourself.

You may wish to make these general phrases more specific so that they apply
more directly to you. What other affirmations would you add? These
affirmations are reprinted from „Gathering Power Through Insight and
Love‰.

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Table 2.2: Self-affirming Phrases

I am a lovable and worthy person.

I appreciate and love myself.
The love I give to others I also can offer to myself.
I can live a nurturing, exciting and creative life.
I am a lovable and worthy person.
I appreciate and love myself.
The love I give to others I also can offer to myself.
I can live a nurturing, exciting and creative life.
I am creating the experience of love in my life.
My love comes from me.
I can forgive myself.
I am capable and willing to handle my fears as they come up one at a time.
I can accept imperfection.
I can accept the past and welcome the future.
I deserve to feel good.
I am a worthwhile person and there is a place for me.
I am lovable because IÊm here.
I am creative, loving and nurturing.
I can feel good doing the things IÊm skilled at.
I can learn to accept and love everyone unconditionally including myself.
I am learning to support myself with love.
I release the past and now choose a life of love and fulfillment.
I can ask for what I want with love in my heart.
I am the source of my security and self-esteem.
I donÊt have to be sick to get nurtured.
I am worthy of a loving relationship.
My world is safe and friendly.
I can be gentle with myself.
I can feel supported even when I donÊt meet my models of perception.

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There is nothing I have to do to feel loved.

My guilt doesnÊt help anyone.
I am open to new forms of being acknowledged.
I deserve to be healthy.

Adapted from Devito (2001)

(c) Seek Out Nourishing People

Psychologist, Carl Rogers, drew a distinction between noxious and
nourishing people. The former criticise and find fault with just about
everything. Not surprisingly, these people are difficult to get along with.
Their criticism will throw you off balance and diminish your self-esteem.
Nourishing people, on the other hand, are positive. They are optimists as
their compliments and positive statements are likely to stimulate your self-
esteem.

(d) Work on Projects that will Result in Success

Some projects are too large or difficult to accomplish. Select projects that will
result in success. Each success helps build self-esteem. Each success makes
the next success a step closer to you. If a project fails, recognise that it does
not mean you are a failure. The road to success is paved with a series of fears
and failures. Success consists of getting up every time you fall.

2.1.4 Self-disclosure
As discussed earlier, self-disclosure refers to you communicating information
about yourself to another person. Both overt and carefully planned statements
about yourself as well as slips of the tongue are classified as self-disclosing
communication. You could also self-disclose non-verbally e.g. by wearing a
wedding ring that reveals your marital status.

The following are a number of factors which influence whether or not you disclose,
and to whom you disclose.

(a) Who You Are

Highly sociable and extroverted people self-disclose more than those who
are shy and more introverted.

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(b) Your Culture

Some cultures (especially those high in masculinity) view disclosure of oneÊs
inner feelings as a weakness. Among some groups, for example, it would be
considered out of place for a man to cry at a happy occasion like a wedding,
but the same display of emotion would go unnoticed in some Latin cultures.

(c) Your Gender

Research supports the fact that women disclose more than men. This is
especially true in same-sex dyads; women disclose more intimately (and with
more emotion) when talking with other women than with men. Men are
more reluctant to speak about themselves.

(d) Your Listeners

You are generally more prone to self-disclose to people you like and to
people you trust. However, at times self-disclosure occurs more in temporary
than permanent relationships e.g. between strangers on a train or plane, in a
kind of inflight intimacy. You might also have a relationship with one or
several people on the Internet and engage in significant disclosure. Perhaps
knowing you will never see them and they will never know where you live
or work puts you at ease in doing so.

(e) Your Topic

You are probably more likely to self-disclose information about your job or
hobbies than about your domestic affairs or financial situation. Generally, the
more personal and negative the topic, the less likely you would be to self-
disclose.

ACTIVITY 2.3

Based on your opinion and observation, what enables extroverts to

have a higher tendency for self-disclosure, compared to introverts?
Share your thoughts on myINSPIRE.

In order to have a conversation with someone, you must reveal yourself. However,
the concern is to whom, about what and how.

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2.2 WHAT IS PERCEPTION?

Perceiving others and the roles they play is an essential part of the communication
process. When two people communicate, each formulates some ideas that become
the core of the communication situation. The psychological and physiological
factors will influence their perception towards a scene, an event or someone. In
other words, our impression of others, an event or a particular situation forms the
basis of our perception.

Perception is defined as an active process of selecting, organising and

subjectively interpreting sensory data in a way that enables us to make sense
of our world, including the people, objects, events, situations and activities.

Throughout our relationship with others, most of us overlook the importance and
impact of perception. A great deal of interpersonal conflict arises from peopleÊs
awareness of the limits on their perceptual capabilities. Why does this happen?
Perception is a cognitive process that involves mental effort. The external world
and our experiences in it do not have intrinsic meaning. They gain meaning only
when we perceive and attach significance to them. In other words, our
interpretation of events may differ markedly from actual events. During this
process, we make the experience our own.

Our perception is directly related to senses. Interpersonal perception is a

continuous process that blends and integrates the senses and the cognitive effort
into one another.

Perception consists of three processes, namely, selecting, organising and

interpreting. These processes are continuous, they blend into and influence one
another. They are also interactive, and therefore, each affects the other two. We
will discuss more of these processes in the following subtopics.

ACTIVITY 2.4
In your own words, how does perception enhance the communication
process? Share your answer in myINSPIRE.

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2.2.1 Stage One: Selection

Our sense organs are stimulated all the time. Even in the class now, you hear
muted sounds of activities outside, you smell the stale odour of cigarette smoke,
you see that the window is open, etc. Naturally, you do not perceive everything;
rather, you engage in selective perception, that is, focusing on particular stimuli
while ignoring others. You are, in fact, creating a more limited but more coherent
and meaningful picture of your world, one that conforms to your beliefs,
expectations and convictions.

Which stimuli you notice depends on a number of factors. First, some qualities of
external phenomena draw attention. For example, you tend to notice things that
stand out because they are immediate, relevant or intense. You are more likely to
hear a loud voice than a soft one. You are also more likely to notice a co- worker
who dresses in a novel way than one who dresses like everyone else.

What we select to notice is also influenced by our expectations. We are more likely
to perceive what we expect to perceive and what others lead us to anticipate. This
explains the phenomenon of self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby a person acts in
ways that are consistent with how others describe him or her. For instance, you
might enter a group situation convinced that the other members will dislike you.
Almost invariably, you will be proven right, the other members will appear to
dislike you. What you may be doing is acting in a way that encourages the group
to respond to you negatively. In this way, you fulfil your own prophecies about
yourself.

2.2.2 Stage Two: Organisation

At this stage, you organise the information your senses pick up. Three interesting
ways in which people organise perceptions are by rules, schemata and scripts.

(a) Organisation by Rules

The first rule is that of proximity or physical closeness. You would perceive
people who are often together or messages spoken one immediately after the
other, as units, as belonging together. You assume they follow a temporal
rule which says that things occurring together in time belong together.
Another rule is similarity. Things that are physically similar, things that look
alike belong together and form a unit. This principle of similarity would lead
you to see people who dress alike as belonging together. Similarly, you might
assume people who work at the same jobs, who are of the same religion and
who live in the same area belong together. The rule of contrast is the opposite
of similarity. When items (e.g. people or messages) are very different from

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each other, you conclude that they do not belong together. If you are the only
one who shows up at an informal gathering in a tuxedo, you would be seen
as not belonging to the group as you contrast too much with the rest.

(b) Schemata
Schemata refers to the metal templates or structures that helps you organise
the millions of items of information you come into contact with every day, as
well as those you already have in memory (schemata is the plural of schema).
Schemata may thus be viewed as general ideas about people and things. For
instance, you might have a schema for athletes, and you might conclude that
they are strong but academically weak. Schemata helps you organise your
perceptions by allowing you to classify millions of people into a manageable
number of categories or classes.

(c) Scripts
A script is really a type of schema, but because it is a different type, it is given
a different name. It is a general idea of how some event should play out or
unfold; it is the rules governing events and their sequence. For example, you
probably have a script for eating in a restaurant, with the actions organised
into a pattern something like this: enter, take a seat, review the menu, order
from the menu, eat your food, ask for the bill, pay the bill and exit the
restaurant.

2.2.3 Stage Three: Interpretation

What we select to perceive and how we organise our perceptions pave the way for
the third perception process: interpretation. This step is inevitably subjective and
greatly influenced by your experiences, needs, wants, values and beliefs about the
way things are or should be. Your interpretation will be influenced by your rules,
schemata and scripts.

For example, upon meeting a new person who is introduced to you as a university
football player, you would apply your schema to this person and view him as
strong but not academically inclined. You would see this person through the filter
of your schema and evaluate him according to your schema for athletes. Similarly,
when viewing someone performing a series of actions (say, eating in a restaurant),
you have the tendency to apply your script to this event and view the event
through the script. You would interpret the actions of the diner as appropriate or
inappropriate depending on your previously set script.

To know more about how non-verbal cues affect perception, go to:

http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/ipt.html

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2.2.4 Perceptual Process

What influences your interpersonal perceptions? The following are some of the
common shortcuts in interpersonal perception:

(a) Implicit Personality Theory

Consider the following brief statements. Underline the word in parentheses
that you think best completes each sentence:

Andrew is energetic, hardworking and (intelligent, stupid).

Badri is bright, lively and (thin, heavy).
Puspa is cheerful, positive and (outgoing, shy).

What makes some of these choices seem right and others wrong is your
implicit personality theory. Each person has a subconscious or implicit
system of rules that says which characteristics of an individual go with other
characteristics. Your theory may, for example, tell you that a person who is
energetic and hardworking is also intelligent and not stupid, although there
is no logical reason why a stupid person cannot be energetic and
hardworking.

The widely documented halo effect is a function of the implicit personality

theory. If you believe a person has some positive qualities, you are likely to
infer that he or she also possesses other positive qualities. The same thing
goes for the reverse halo effect, whereby you might infer the person
negatively due to some of his or her negative qualities.

(b) Perceptual Accentuation

Perceptual accentuation leads you to see what you expect or want to see. For
example, you see people you like as better looking and smarter than those
you do not like. You also may not perceive signs of impending problems
because you focus on what you want to perceive.

ACTIVITY 2.5
Relate the concept of perceptual accentuation to a real-life situation,
for example, a couple who are madly in love with each other. The
lovebirds see life through rose-tinted glasses and view everything
about their partner as perfect. In your opinion, what drives them to
have such a perception?

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(c) Consistency
This refers to the tendency you try to maintain among perceptions or
attitudes. You expect certain things to go together and other things not.
Respond to the following sentences by noting your expected response:
(i) I expect a person I like to (like, dislike) me.
(ii) I expect a person I dislike to (like, dislike) me.
(iii) I expect my friend to (like, dislike) my friend.
(iv) I expect my friend to (like, dislike) my enemy.
(v) I expect my enemy to (like, dislike) my friend.
(vi) I expect my enemy to (like, dislike) my enemy.

According to most consistency theories, your expectations would be as

follows: You would expect a person you like to like you (i) and one you
disliked to dislike you (ii). You would expect a friend to like a friend (iii) and
to dislike an enemy (iv). You would expect your enemy to dislike your friend
(v) and to like your other enemy (vi). All these expectations are intuitively
satisfying.

Therefore, you would expect someone you like to possess pleasant

characteristics and your enemies not to possess characteristics you like or
admire.

(d) Stereotyping
Stereotype is a fixed impression of a group of people; it is a schema. We all
have attitudinal stereotypes of national, religious, gender or racial groups. If
you have these fixed impressions, you will, upon meeting a member of a
particular group, often see the person primarily as a member of that group
and apply to him or her all the characteristics you assign to that group. For
instance, Malays are generally stereotyped as kind-hearted but laidback
while Chinese are hardworking but business-minded.

(e) Primacy-recency
Assume for a moment that you are enrolled in a course in which half the
classes are extremely dull and half are extremely exciting. At the end of the
semester, you evaluate the course and tutor. Would you evaluate more
favourably if the dull classes occurred in the first half of the semester and the
exciting classes in the second? Or would it be more favourable if the order
were reversed? If what comes first exerts the most influence, you have a
primacy effect. If what comes last (or more recently) exerts the most
influence, you have a recency effect.

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(f) Attributions
Attributions are casual outcomes that explain why things happen and why
people act as they do. You attribute causes to what you observe or notice. It
is good to remind yourself that the attributions you make are not always
correct. Attributions have four dimensions, as shown in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3: Four Dimensions of Interpersonal Attributions

Dimension Attributions

Locus Internal External

Stability Stable Unstable

Scope Global Specific

Responsibility Within personal Beyond personal

control control

Adapted from Wood (2000)

(i) Locus
The first is locus, which attributes what a person does to either internal
factors (he is sick) or external factors (the traffic frustrated him).

(ii) Stability
The second dimension is stability, which explains actions as resulting
from either stable factors that will not change (she is a Type A person)
or temporary (unstable) occurrences (she was irritated because she just
had a fight with her boss).

(iii) Scope
Scope is the third dimension, and it defines behaviour as the result of a
global pattern (he is a mean person) or a specific instance (he gets angry
about sloppy work).

(iv) Responsibility
Finally, there is the dimension of responsibility, which attributes
behaviours either to factors people can control (she does not try to
control her outbursts) or to ones they cannot (she has a chemical
imbalance that makes her moody). In judging whether others can
control their actions, we decide whether to hold them responsible for
what they do.

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ACTIVITY 2.6
Based on your past experiences, you might have applied one of the
shortcuts identified here in making a judgment of another person.
Explain the factors which drove you to do so. Share your experiences
on myINSPIRE.

EXERCISE 2.2

What is the difference between prejudice and stereotype?

To learn more about attributions, please visit: http://www.chssc.salford.ac.uk/

healthSci/psych2000/psych2000/Interpersonal. htm

2.2.5 Increasing Accuracy in Interpersonal Perception

There are a few ways you might increase your accuracy of perception, which are
as follows:

(a) Perceive Critically

To be aware of your perceptions, you must be able to analyse logically.
Beware of your own biases. Know when your perceptions are unduly
influenced by your own biases, for example, perceiving only the positive in
people you admire and only the negative in people you do not like. Avoiding
the act of jumping to conclusions will lead you to critical thinking. Delay
making conclusions until you have had the chance to process a wide variety
of cues. Look for cues pointing in the same direction. The more cues pointing
to the same conclusion, the more likely your conclusion will be correct. Avoid
trying to read the thoughts and feelings of another person just from
observing their behaviour. You are only making assumptions based on overt
behaviour.

(b) Check Your Perceptions

Further explore the thoughts and feelings of the other person so as to not
prove that your initial perception is correct. With this method, you lessen
your chances of misinterpreting anotherÊs feelings. At the same time, you
give the other person an opportunity to confirm and elaborate on his or her
thoughts and feelings.

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46  TOPIC 2 THE SELF AND PERCEPTION IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

(c) Reduce Uncertainty

Lurk before joining a group. You are learning about the people in the group
and the group itself. Try to collect information about a person or situation by
asking others. The third party is always more objective than your own self.

(d) Be Culturally Sensitive

Recognise the differences between you and others and also the differences
among members of culturally different groups. Your cultural background
may lead you to some biased perceptions. For example, the Japanese are
taught not to look at other people in the eye while listening to them, because
they think it is impolite to behave as such. In some countries (like the United
States and Britain), people are considered innocent until proven guilty, while
in other countries (like Turkey and Mexico), people are guilty until proven
innocent. Be sensitive by keeping an eye on these cultural similarities and
dissimilarities.

EXERCISE 2.3

List down five stereotypes about Western and Eastern cultures.

• You remain the master of your own strength and weaknesses.

• By forming, believing and projecting a positive attitude, you are able to

sharpen your perception of others.

• Note that what you perceive is also a reflection of yourself. So, perceive well
and you will see yourself accepting, understanding and adapting to others at
a consistent rate.

• This will ultimately improve your interpersonal communication skills, thus

forming an effective and fulfilling relationship.

• The purpose of communication at this juncture is successfully achieved.

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TOPIC 2 THE SELF AND PERCEPTION IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION  47

Perception Self-awareness
Primacy-recency Self-concept
Schemata Self-disclosure
Scripts Self-esteem
Self-affirmation Stereotyping

Devito, J. A. (2019). The interpersonal communication book (15th ed.). Pearson

Education.

Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. (2002). Communications. McGraw Hill.

Wood, J. T. (2014). Communication mosaics: An introduction to the field of

communication (7th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

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