Self-perception theory and other perception
theory assist us in obtaining feedback about ourselves and others in order to increase our
interpersonal effectiveness. Feedback is the process of
self-disclosing how you are reacting to a situation.
Interpersonal effectiveness can be defined as the degree to which our intentions match up with the consequences of our behavior.
According to Johnson [1] our interpersonal effectiveness depends upon large part on the feedback which we receive from others. The quality of feedback depends upon the amount of self-disclosure. Our interacting with others is a process whereby we observe, participate, and interpret our reactions and others.
Assignment
Draw a sociogram of your interpersonal relations. [ Be sure
and send your diagram along with your commentary to your instructor to receive full credit
for the assignment.] A sociogram ]is a diagram in which your interactions may be
analyzed on the basis of attraction and repulsion. These interactions are in large part
projections, i.e., attributions we ascribe to others. These patterns which emerge
from our social atom tend to become interpersonal habit patterns. A
favorite saying I once heard, goes something like the following :
" When something happens once, it is an incident, when something happens twice it is a coincidence, when it happens more than twice it is a habit, and when it happens frequently it is a life style." -Unknown
Directions:
Place each figure according to how close, or distant, you feel they are in relationship to you
Draw a circle to represent a female. Draw a triangle to represent a male and draw a square to represent an objects or an idea..
Place the figures as close to you, or far away, to represent the feeling you have toward them. Use size as to represent how large of influence the people, objects, or ideas have over you.
Note the following : I drew my social atom below to represent my life, as I now interpret it, when I was approximately 5 years old.
The size of my triangle is smaller in relationship to the other members of my family, since my sisters were older than I was at the time.[15, 12, and 9 respectively]
I observe that I grouped the female figures on my left side and my father and the farm above me on the right side. My father and mother are much above me and the farm is large and high above me.