The evaluation process begins with a first impression, which is basically a general perception of the object of interest. The subsequent process of perception takes on a specific character, in particular, the details of this object are perceived. Thus, the first impression is usually not expressed verbally and proceeds on a sensory level. Naturally, the first impression is fraught with the possibility of error, which is associated with a number of factors.
The sources of such errors are stereotypes, the opinion of others, the gallo effect, the effect of condescension, the mental state of the observer, dominant needs, defense mechanisms and simplifications. Let's take a quick look at these errors.
1. Stereotypes. If the observer differs from the observer in any characteristic feature, then this difference, striking, evokes in the latter strictly defined standard images, that is, stereotypes. These will be group and ethnic stereotypes, stereotypes related to appearance, as well as stereotypes regarding physical impairment, especially expressive movements, voice and speech characteristics. Such stereotypes, which interfere with the correct perception of a person, are found in the cultures of all peoples. Knowledge of stereotypes of perception, taking into account different nationalities, greatly contributes to getting rid of errors in the interpretation of the behavior of specific individuals.
2. Opinions of others. Often, even the most general and fragmentary opinion about the person of interest is enough to influence the assessment of this person. If we were given a description of the object of our interest or expressed the most superficial judgment about it, then when we meet, we try to fit the behavior of the object into the framework of a certain template, formed under the influence of someone else's, perhaps not entirely objective, but often false opinion.
3. Gallo effect. If you liked the perceived object of interest, you rate it in terms of "pleasant", if you did not like it, in terms of "unpleasant". This general assessment applies to almost any personality trait. In general, the gallo effect tends to blur the details of the experience and form an overall assessment of the personality. As a rule, this phenomenon prompts the observer to form some kind of stable concrete image.
4. The effect of condescension. In practice, most people are sympathetic to the assessment of a stranger, many people tend to not even notice his obvious shortcomings. However, there are people who prefer to question the positive qualities of the observed personality. Sometimes it even translates into a strategy: until a person proves his decency, he cannot be considered as such. Therefore, when we meet with an overly pronounced effect of condescension, then it is quite reasonable to assume that errors in assessing the object are the result of mental deviations in the observer.
5. Mental state. It is known that a person in a good mood assesses all the people around him mainly in bright colors and he himself makes them sympathetic. And vice versa, a person who is in depression not only sees everything in a gray color, but also causes hostility towards himself. Therefore, the mental state of the observer can be a source of errors in personality assessment.
6. Dominant need. She always makes a person especially sensitive to the subject of his need; the hunter sees the beast better, the berry picker sees the berries better. However, the stronger the need, the more often in these cases a replay can take place: a hunter can take an object for an animal, a berry picker can pick an inedible berry, therefore, the dominant needs of the observer at the moment can be a source of errors.
7. Projection is one of the defense mechanisms distorting perception. It should be noted that its essence lies in the distortion of reality. Projection takes place in the behavior of all people, but it is most pronounced in people with "shattered nerves." The projection mechanism encourages a person to perceive the feeling that has arisen as his own, which is a consequence of the impact on him of the interlocutor. There are also more complex forms of projection in practical activity. In particular, sometimes it seems to a person that he is suspected of something, sometimes it seems to him that he is accused of having intentions that he himself considers incompatible with his "I - concept", At its core, projection is the opposite of empathy. We have already noted above that empathy allows a person to feel the mood of the interlocutor or even the observed one. At the same time, the observer himself has a feeling experienced by the observed. This feeling is perceived not as one's own, but as belonging to another.
Projection and empathy are two forms of the process of perceiving and evaluating people, however, projection distorts and weakens this process, and empathy orders and strengthens it. The process of perception is subjective: in all cases, there is a tendency to perceive and evaluate other people in comparison with their "I-concept". The observer invariably compares the observed with himself. It seems to him that he knows himself well, therefore, against the background of his “I”, he is better represented by another. However, it should be borne in mind that in connection with a certain distortion of perception by defense mechanisms, this does not mean at all that the observer is objectively right.
8. Simplification. First impressions are usually incomplete. This is due to the fact that the object of perception, a specific person, is very complex. In connection with this, we are almost always inclined to simplify in the perception of people. And since the tendency to simplify the process is characteristic of the majority, many people are practically powerless to perceive another person. As a rule, they draw conclusions based on one fact, fix these conclusions in their minds and then change them with difficulty. This property depends on the individual characteristics of people. In our opinion, it is necessary to consider the causes of these errors.
The causes of perception errors are associated, firstly, with the personality traits of the perceived, secondly, with the unintentional or deliberate influence of the perceived on the perceiver and, thirdly, with the personality characteristics of the perceiver. It should be noted here both the individual psychological characteristics of the people we perceive and their actions in order to anticipate their assessment and deceive the observer.
All people are perceived by us in different ways. Some are kind of open to perception, it is easy to make a first impression of them. Others are closed, it is often difficult to say anything definite about them. Some are so tightly hidden under their "shell" of personality that it is very difficult to guess about their inner experiences. They can be intellectual, narrow-minded, shy, etc., but it is often very difficult for an employee to guess about this.
Others are always suspicious of something, alarmed by something. They expect trouble from everywhere, from this they are constantly tense and hostile to everything. Still others are constantly on the move, their inner world is hidden behind the purpose of action. They subjectively feel their superiority over others and are proud of it.
There are people who are good at adapting to circumstances. Where necessary, they can be indignant, flatter, flatter. In life, their mood constantly changes depending on the situation. There are also people who defy any characterization. They dissolve in the crowd, leaving no traces in the memory of the observer about their image, it is very difficult to say anything definite about them. Of course, all this affects the first impression.
It should be noted that the first impression about a person is sometimes distorted due to the fact that the perceived himself differs markedly from the perceiver. For example, when we perceive a foreigner, we first of all see the whole nation in him, and individual traits, as a rule, disappear. We are struck first of all by those features that are not so prominent in our country. Often, finding ourselves for the first time among foreigners, for example, Vietnamese, we lose our orientation: they all seem to us to be the same person. We may panic, however, if we firmly know that such phenomena are a regularity of social perception, everything will quickly improve.
We must also remember about anticipating the appraisal of the perceiver. Some people intuitively try to make a good impression of themselves. They begin to smile affably, show signs of attention. Erroneous perception arises. The error increases if the situation or the observer himself causes suspicion and alarm in the observed. The latter tries even harder to please, to anticipate the desires of the perceiver.
Sometimes there is also a deception of the observer. In particular, a person realizes that he is being watched and immediately tries to use various tricks to look the way he wants to be perceived. 2 Psychologically, this is expressed in the distortion or substitution of expressive movements. The object either enhances its expression, or vice versa weakens, often it neutralizes it, and if possible, it hides under some kind of mask. It should be borne in mind that deception can be deliberate and unintentional.
Practice shows that the assessment of the studied person, carried out in the process of communication, is fraught with a lot of difficulties, due to the fact that it takes place both on a conscious and subconscious level and naturally, in many respects gets out of our control. To put the assessment process under the control of consciousness, you must first of all familiarize yourself with the general scheme of human perception by external signs and understand its details. The great Russian physiologist IM Sechenov "" The psychological activity of a person, - he said, - is expressed, as you know, by external signs, and usually all people, both simple, scientists, naturalists, and people engaged in the spirit, judge the first by the last, that is, by external signs "
