Attributions
Rationales we create to explain the comments or behaiors of others.
Empathy
Understanding of another person's perspective and awareness of his or her feelings in a n attempt to identify with them.
Halo Effect
A tendency to interpret anything another person says or does in a favorable light because you have a positive Gestalt of that person.
Interpretation
The stage of perception in which we assign a meaning to information we have selected.
Organization
The step of perception in which we mentally structure selected sensory data into a coherent pattern.
Perception
The process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information from our senses.
Personality
An individual's characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and acting based on the traits he or she possesses.
Selection
The step of perception in which we focus our attention on specific sensory data, such as sights, sounds, tastes, touches, or smell.
Stereotyping
Categorizing people into social groups and then evaluating them based on information we have in our schemata related to each group.
Uncertainty Reduction Theory
A theory explaining that the primary compulsion during initial encounters is to reduce uncertainty about our conversational partners by gathering enough information about them so their communication becomes predictable and explainable.