Social perception, impression formation Essay Example

perception particularly in the domain of impression formation. Having seen first hand the dramatic effects of slimming centres on social perception, this paper attempts to explain this obsession through the aspects of personal and social perception specifically impression formation and the establishment and utilisation of social and personal schematic representations.

Perception can be divided in many different aspects. As mentioned in the introduction, human interaction does not begin with the verbal conversation but rather the formation of impressions and the categorisation of these nonverbal cues. When forming impressions, humans tend to be very subjective, applying disproportionate value on certain pieces of information. Those that place a greater impact on the final impression are known as central traits with the rest of the pieces that do not have much influence, collectively known as the peripheral traits. Asch 1946) Many elements come into play as information is processed into these subsequent categories one of which being physical appearance.

Although seldom admitted, appearance is very influential in the formation of impression. As studies (Spezio, Rangel, Alvarez, et al. 2008; Patry 2008) have shown, this emphasis on physical appearance diffuses into all aspects of society from jury deliberation to even election outcomes. It is shown that humans tend to show bias towards attractive people, who are generally associated with positive characteristics. Dion, Berscheid &Walster, 1972) In this regard, the slim ideal culture in Hong Kong seen today does not come as a surprise. Physical appearance, particularly body size and weight, is now seen as the key to success in life due to the constant exposure to advertisements showcasing slimming products and clinics. Over time, these advertisements have directly affected implicit personality

theories of the Hong Kong people. With the words "beauty" and "slim" always appearing together, it is now a widely accepted assumption that being slim is equal to being beautiful.

Although this bias towards physical appearance is instinctive, when fuelled by advertisements littering the community enforcing these ideas, it has very serious effects on the psychological wellbeing on those people. After the impression is formed, it is sorted into its appropriate schema, which is a cognitive representation of the interactive world that helps one quickly make sense of the one's surroundings. Schemas serve two main purposes; they help in the encoding of new information as well as in the inference of ambiguous information in a schematic-consistent manner.

When exposed to a new situation, humans tend to automatically process their surroundings according to the various schemas they have established. These include person schemas, which form the basis of unique knowledge structures of the people that we encounter. There are many different types of schemas humans implement on a daily basis, with each set of schemas differing only slightly between each person. Information that is observed about another person, be it their hair colour or the course they are studying at university, is collectively known as person schemas. Singer ; Salovey 1991) Judging by the way someone presents themselves or even from merely the language they speak, we are able formulate a clear representation of them. This is due to a subconscious tendency to utilise one's pre-existing schemas to fill in the inconsistencies. Thus there is only a small amount of information that is processed initially, which has already formed an impression in our minds. In the busy and

stressful streets of Hong Kong, this phenomenon is very applicable.

Anywhere you look, be it a magazine or a shop window or in a crowded subway tunnel there are extremely skinny figures smiling right back at you. Dressed in provocative clothing, these model figures advertise various weight loss packages and products so that anyone can be just as fit and slim as them. To increase their appeal and promote infallible results, many companies select one candidate to be their signature success case. Those "lucky" enough to be chosen have several responsibilities.

In addition to chronologically documenting their transformation, these "models" have to appear in TV advertisements and magazine spreads advocating the credibility of their respected companies. Subtly, these companies infer a sense of renewed happiness after treatment as seen in the before and after shots where the facial expressions of the models are clear. When one views these pictures, automatically focus will be placed on the size comparison, many ignoring the faces altogether but subconsciously this message has already been delivered to you.

It is believed that the mere depiction of a happy and energetic person compared to a miserable and weary person has direct effects on the perception of these respected persons. However, there does not seem to be any studies dealing with this phenomenon which would be an interesting direction of study. As we construct person schemas about the people we encounter, we are constantly moulding and varying our self-schemas, representations of ourselves that help shape our self-concept. One's self-concept is the collection of experiences, beliefs, thoughts and feelings that defines the person as if an object. Van den Berg ; Thompson, 2007) It is made

up of a combination of self-schemas and self-identity, or the socially defined roles that relates our concepts of self in a social connotation. Potentially, on account of this, the body becomes representative of social value in which one's individualised self-worth is directly proportional to society's expectations and values. This effect is clearly seen in the Hong Kong population and its need to conform to the weight expectations of society.

As the Chinese population are naturally thin, there seems to be more instances of body dissatisfaction within the Asian community than in the West. (Sheffield ; Sofronoff 2005) When comparing the levels of body-image dissatisfaction, researchers found no difference between the Asian population and the Australian population. Although it would seem that our hypothesis was confuted, an equal result is also a positive result in our hypothesis. This is because it is predicted that Chinese girls would report a much lower level of body dissatisfaction.

In light of this research it can be concluded that because culturally Chinese have smaller frames, there are more instances of body dissatisfaction due to the inability to conform to those ridiculous sizes. Taking everything into account, social perception and the utilisation of person and self schemas play a key role in the initial stages of human interaction. It is a well established view that first impressions are crucial to the subsequent stages of social interaction and as such great emphasis is placed on the way we present ourselves physically.

As we move into an age of global modernisation, it is not surprising that there has been an increased desire and pressure within the Hong Kong population to improve self-appearance. However, as our research

shows, although social perception is a considerably old field of study, the effects of this technological proliferation and the future of social interaction are still not clear. Side effects have also been reported in various slimming products on the market which further discourages their use.

It is important that the Hong Kong population understand the reasons and implications of their actions before they give in blindly to the programs. Thus, education and awareness should be of primary importance to combat this unhealthy slimming culture. With that, this paper concludes that this new found slimming culture in Hong Kong can be explained using the modules of social perception specifically in the realm of impression formation and the utilisation of social schemas. More awareness of this point and its implications is needed in order to abolish this negative culture.