Perceptions Of Others Research Articles

Testing the Effect of Sending an Evaluative Message on Perceiving Others in Computer-Mediated Communication

ABSTRACT Interpersonal mediated communication research has demonstrated that exchanging cues during online interactions can change message receivers’ perception of the senders in socially desirable ways. Building from previous self-transformative work, this work explores how perceptions of others are also shaped by the messages we write evaluating others. More specifically, the research examines the effects of sending different types of evaluative messages on attitude, social attraction, physical attraction, and task attraction toward a hypothetical CMC partner. The first experiment (N = 193) prompted participants to view a post of a video game player and then provide a confirmatory or disconfirmatory evaluation or no evaluation. Results indicated that providing positive evaluations caused a positive change in attitude toward the target, while providing negative evaluations negatively affected attitude but did not necessarily affect social, task, or physical attraction. The second experiment (N = 129) conceptually replicated the first experiment’s design in the context of an Instagram post. The results generally replicated those of the first study but additionally produced significant results on social attraction. Providing an evaluation caused significant changes in the receivers’ perception of attitude and social attraction, with the direction of change corresponding with the valence of the evaluations given to the target.

Gender Bias in the Perception of Others’ Fatigue: Women Report More Fatigue Than Men But Have Their Fatigue Underestimated by Others

Gender Bias in the Perception of Others’ Fatigue: Women Report More Fatigue Than Men But Have Their Fatigue Underestimated by Others

Linguistic Diversity and Inclusion: Exploring International Students Attitudes Towards Their Own Accents and Those of Native English Speakers

International students studying in English-speaking countries represent a diverse linguistic background and may exhibit varying degrees of accent, which can influence their self-perception and their perception of others. Accordingly, the paper examines the attitudes of international students toward their own accents and those of native English speakers, with particular emphasis on their adaptation processes in academic and social contexts. In this paper, semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate and postgraduate students from China, with varying levels of English proficiency and length of residence in the UK, which aims to elucidate the nuanced attitudes of international students towards accents and their adaptation strategies. The results show that while many students initially perceived British and American accents as prestigious and attempted to imitate them, as they progressed through the language environment they were more inclined to prioritize effective communication and intelligibility over achieving a perfect native accent. This shift is consistent with existing literature, which emphasizes the importance of prioritizing clarity and mutual understanding. Inclusive language policies that prioritize linguistic diversity and communicative effectiveness, thereby fostering learning environments that are conducive to language acquisition.

Through the Lens of Fairness: A Qualitative Investigation into Co‐workers’ Perceptions of I‐deals

AbstractAmidst the rapidly evolving work environment that increasingly necessitates personalized approaches towards employees, there is a pressing need to broaden our understanding of idiosyncratic deals (i‐deals) and their third‐party implications in the workplace. Although immediate responses to i‐deals often hinge on equity and social comparison, this approach does not fully explain co‐workers' perceptions of others' i‐deals. By reconciling various theoretical accounts, we propose that co‐workers' perceptions of i‐deals largely depend on the implementation of i‐deals and related justice perceptions of co‐workers. However, our understanding of how i‐deal implementation shapes co‐workers' perceptions of i‐deals from a justice perspective remains limited. Therefore, we conducted an inductive multiple‐case study through 48 in‐depth interviews involving managers, i‐deal receivers (i‐dealers), and co‐workers. Building on our findings, we develop an emergent framework that explains how the implementation of i‐deals, when viewed through the lens of organizational justice, can shape co‐workers' perceptions of i‐deals. This novel perspective enriches the i‐deal literature by offering a fresh angle on the third‐party implications of i‐deals, emphasizing the significance of their implementation and related fairness perceptions.

Is common behavior considered moral? The role of perceived others' motives in moral norm inferences and motivation about environmental behavior

The present research examines how inferences about moral norms from descriptive norms change by perceptions of others' motives in the context of environmental behavior. When individuals think that many others engage in an environmental behavior (e.g., water and energy conservation) for prosocial (vs. proself) motives, they infer moralization about the behavior in a given context. They infer stronger injunctive norms about the behavior and expect others to experience moral outrage at violation of the moral standard (e.g., wasting water and energy). The moral norm perceptions predict people's motivation to engage in environmental behavior themselves. We further show that expected guilt and shame if not engaging in normative behavior explain the effects of prosocial-motivated (vs. proself-motivated) norms. Together, perceived motives behind descriptive norms change people's inferences about moral implications of normative behavior and their motivation to engage in normative behavior.

Depressive symptoms and goal pursuit: Between-person and reciprocal within-person effects in a multi-wave longitudinal study.

Depressive symptoms, goal progress, and goal characteristics are interrelated, but the directionality of these relationships is unclear. In a 6-wave longitudinal study (N = 431; 2002 total surveys), we examine the bidirectionality of the relationships between depressive symptoms, goal characteristics (commitment, self-efficacy, and perception of other's support), and goal progress for academic and interpersonal goals at 2-week intervals. Separate random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were tested for each goal characteristic across both goals. At the within-person level, goal progress significantly positively predicted commitment, self-efficacy, and perception of others' support for the goal. Most of the other hypothesized paths were nonsignificant, including paths between depressive symptoms and progress. At the between-person level, all variables were significantly correlated, with some effects significantly larger for the interpersonal than the academic goal. The results suggest that when it comes to depressive symptoms and goal pursuit, general tendencies may be more important than variations over 2-week intervals.

Practices of objectiveness and the cognitive availability of the perception of the other

This paper analyses several perspectives on how we perceive others. Specifically, it examines whether we treat others as „who” or „what,” or in other words, whether we relate to them as fully-fledged human subjects or whether we project a set of labels onto them without giving them the right to respond. The body plays a crucial role in our social relationships and our perception of others. By understanding the role of the body in social relations, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. Also, this paper examines the role of the body in the formation of identity and social interaction. It explores how our own identity is shaped through our relationships with others, and how this in turn influences our actions. The paper discusses different perspectives on how we perceive others, and how these perceptions can shape our relationships.

Uncovering the Complexity of Perinatal Polysubstance Use Disclosure Patterns on X: Mixed Methods Study.

According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, polysubstance use among pregnant women is prevalent, with 38.2% of those who consume alcohol also engaging in the use of one or more additional substances. However, the underlying mechanisms, contexts, and experiences of polysubstance use are unclear. Organic information is abundant on social media such as X (formerly Twitter). Traditional quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as natural language processing techniques, can be jointly used to derive insights into public opinions, sentiments, and clinical and public health policy implications. Based on perinatal polysubstance use (PPU) data that we extracted on X from May 1, 2019, to October 31, 2021, we proposed two primary research questions: (1) What is the overall trend and sentiment of PPU discussions on X? (2) Are there any distinct patterns in the discussion trends of PPU-related tweets? If so, what are the implications for perinatal care and associated public health policies? We used X's application programming interface to extract >6 million raw tweets worldwide containing ≥2 prenatal health- and substance-related keywords provided by our clinical team. After removing all non-English-language tweets, non-US tweets, and US tweets without disclosed geolocations, we obtained 4848 PPU-related US tweets. We then evaluated them using a mixed methods approach. The quantitative analysis applied frequency, trend analysis, and several natural language processing techniques such as sentiment analysis to derive statistics to preview the corpus. To further understand semantics and clinical insights among these tweets, we conducted an in-depth thematic content analysis with a random sample of 500 PPU-related tweets with a satisfying κ score of 0.7748 for intercoder reliability. Our quantitative analysis indicates the overall trends, bigram and trigram patterns, and negative sentiments were more dominant in PPU tweets (2490/4848, 51.36%) than in the non-PPU sample (1323/4848, 27.29%). Paired polysubstance use (4134/4848, 85.27%) was the most common, with the combination alcohol and drugs identified as the most mentioned. From the qualitative analysis, we identified 3 main themes: nonsubstance, single substance, and polysubstance, and 4 subthemes to contextualize the rationale of underlying PPU behaviors: lifestyle, perceptions of others' drug use, legal implications, and public health. This study identified underexplored, emerging, and important topics related to perinatal PPU, with significant stigmas and legal ramifications discussed on X. Overall, public sentiments on PPU were mixed, encompassing negative (2490/4848, 51.36%), positive (1884/4848, 38.86%), and neutral (474/4848, 9.78%) sentiments. The leading substances in PPU were alcohol and drugs, and the normalization of PPU discussed on X is becoming more prevalent. Thus, this study provides valuable insights to further understand the complexity of PPU and its implications for public health practitioners and policy makers to provide proper access and support to individuals with PPU.

The pathway from a general problematic worry to paranoia-related worry. The mediating role of hostile attributions moderated by negative emotional states

ABSTRACT Background Worry has been considered a significant predictor of paranoia, also associated with anxiety, depression, and hostile attributions. These factors have been recognized as important correlates or predictors of paranoid thoughts. However, the mechanisms through which worry increases the risk of paranoia remain poorly understood. Methods A total of 529 participants (51.2% female) from the general population participated in an online study. The aim was to investigate the potential mediating role of hostile attributions in the relationship between general problematic worry and worry focused on paranoid content. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that negative emotional states would moderate this effect. Additionally, recently developed scales, the Dunn Worry Questionnaire (DWQ) and the Paranoia Worry Questionnaire (PWQ), were translated and validated for use in the Polish population. Results The results revealed that hostile attributions mediate the link between general worry and paranoia worry, and negative emotional states significantly moderate the effect. Discussion The perception of others’ intentions as hostile may serve as a linking factor between general problematic worry and paranoia-related worry. This can be explained as a worry-driven mechanism, where negative emotional states play a crucial role.

Belief in conspiracy theories and satisfaction in interpersonal relationships

AbstractResearchers have theorized about how belief in conspiracy theories can negatively affect interpersonal relationships. However, despite growing anecdotal evidence of the effects that conspiracy theories seem to have on people's relationships, a systematic assessment of these effects is lacking. In seven studies (six of them preregistered, N = 2526), we examined whether people's perceptions of others' conspiracy beliefs were negatively associated with their actual (or anticipated) relationship satisfaction with those others. We found that participants' perceptions of their social contacts' beliefs in general (Pilot Studies 1–2) and specific conspiracy theories (Study 1) were negatively associated with their relationship satisfaction with those contacts. Using a hypothetical scenario, we further observed that participants anticipated that their relationship satisfaction would worsen when one of these social contacts explicitly endorsed (vs. opposed) a conspiracy theory (Studies 2, 3a, and 3b). Finally, participants expected lower relationship satisfaction with a stranger who endorsed (vs. opposed) a conspiracy theory in their online dating profile (Study 4). Importantly, across all studies we observed that participants' own conspiracy beliefs moderated the association between others' conspiracy beliefs and relationship satisfaction, revealing a similarity–dissimilarity pattern: although the association was negative among participants with weaker conspiracy beliefs, we observed signals of reversal among participants with stronger conspiracy beliefs. Our findings further suggest that a process of attitudinal distancing (among other relational changes) could explain why perceived conspiracy beliefs negatively predicted relationship satisfaction. Taken together, this research provides evidence that conspiracy beliefs have the potential to harm interpersonal relationships.

Computational account for the naturalness perception of others' jumping motion based on a vertical projectile motion model.

The visual naturalness of a rendered character's motion is an important factor in computer graphics work, and the rendering of jumping motions is no exception to this. However, the computational mechanism that underlies the observer's judgement of the naturalness of a jumping motion has not yet been fully elucidated. We hypothesized that observers would perceive a jumping motion as more natural when the jump trajectory was consistent with the trajectory of a vertical projectile motion based on Earth's gravity. We asked human participants to evaluate the naturalness of point-light jumping motions whose height and duration were modulated. The results showed that the observers' naturalness rating varied with the modulation ratios of the jump height and duration. Interestingly, the ratings were high even when the height and duration differed from the actual jump. To explain this tendency, we constructed computational models that predicted the theoretical trajectory of a jump based on the projectile motion formula and calculated the errors between the theoretical and observed trajectories. The pattern of the errors correlated closely with the participants' ratings. Our results suggest that observers judge the naturalness of observed jumping motion based on the error between observed and predicted jump trajectories.

Social Media Natives Perceive Mediated-Communication as Optimal Communication: The Roles of Social Media Starting Age and Its Usage

Social media (SM) use is becoming prevalent among young people. While the research community has recently taken an interest in these evolving phenomena, it is still mostly unknown how early age use of SM affected perception of others (i.e., the feeling of social presence) in SNS and behavioral intention to follow the provided information. Also, how the SM interface and endorser types of effects on early usage of SM have not been investigated. To address this research gap, this study conducted the online experiment involving 534 participants, employing a between-subject design of 2 (channel: SNS vs. web) x 2 (endorser: peer vs. medical doctor). The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of accumulated SM technology usage and the age at which individuals begin using SM while they were exposed to identical health information. The findings revealed that individuals who initiated SNS usage at an age older than 18 experienced sense of social presence (SP) as a result of SNS' channel, rich modality (i.e., video), and source (i.e., peer endorser). Perceivers with an SNS beginning age of less than 18 years old, on the other hand, did not exhibit any relationship between SNS channel, and source endorser. Irrespective of whether the participants began using SNS at a younger or older age, both groups exhibited a stronger perception of face-to-face communication with the endorser with higher media usage behavior. This enhanced SP led to more positive attitude, a stronger subjective norm, and greater perceived behavioral control, resulting in higher intention to act on the endorsed information. The discussion section addresses potential explanations for these findings are addressed.

It’s not EU, it’s we: ontological stress and French narration of the uprisings in Tunisia

ABSTRACT The ontological security dynamics of EU foreign policy cooperation and integration have been relatively under-researched. The EU’s efforts to seek ontological security – by consolidating myths, solidifying identifications, and positioning itself on the international crisis – have been discussed by Della Sala, Mitzen, Rumelili, and others, yet one question remains: can the EU provide ontological security? International crises can be an important entry point for studying the dynamics of ontological security within the EU. In this paper, I analyse how France and the European External Action Service (EEAS) narrated the 2011 uprisings in Tunisia. I argue that the EU acts as an ontological security provider in this case by providing a stable network of meaning, narrative, and social space. In the case of Tunisia, I argue that the revelation of the mismatch between its self-perception and perception of others led to significant ontological stress for France and that leaning on the EU provided a way out of this uncertainty. By leaning on the EUs narration of events, France could move past its own stress and still feel secure as part of the EU.

Community, solidarity and care through data? An ethical analysis of the interpersonal dimension of self-tracking

AbstractThis paper discusses the interpersonal dimension of self-tracking technologies from the standpoint of Dewey’s pragmatist ethics. Users of self-tracking routinely exchange data with others, interact through social features embedded in their tools, and form communities focused on the sharing and discussion of data. I employ Dewey’s notion of transaction to discuss how self-quantification impacts users’ perception of others and how it mediates interpersonal relations. In Dewey’s ethics engagement with others is a fundamental part of moral life and individual flourishing can only be achieved in social contexts and through the extension of care towards other people. The ethical ideals and epistemic concepts present in pragmatism allow me to argue that despite claims that self-tracking technologies lead to the formation of communities, pro-social instincts exist prior to the adoption of the devices and self-tracking actually inhibits the formation of mutually uplifting social bonds. In my discussion, I focus on the degree of epistemic distance that makes genuine engagement with others difficult, limits to transactional agency that prohibits users from deciding how they are perceived by others, and the reductive and instrumental nature of interactions embedded in the social features of self-tracking technologies. Moreover, I also analyse some political aspects of community-formation in the context of self-quantification and criticise the ownership structures of data and infrastructure that limit communities’ political agency.

Public Diplomacy in Time of War. Israel's War on Gaza Case Study

This paper aims to study the conflict between Israel and Hamas and its public diplomacy implications. In contemporary societies, war is viewed negatively as a phenomenon that destroys the peaceful life of society and dramatically changes people's lives. It has the potential to do great harm and spread systematic disruption, fear, and uncertainty in societies at war. It also produces profound changes in the perceptions of others in public opinion. These negative transformations affect all aspects of international political life at the regional or even global level. In such situations, there is an urgent need to take measures to remove such states of affairs. Public diplomacy can be one way to return societies to pre-war normality. It can lead to the restoration of trust in societies affected by war. It can also repair these misperceptions and reconnect people and societies to a normal life. All these are possible if public diplomacy informs a wider audience as objectively as possible. Many specialists argue that during wartime, states used public diplomacy in order to promote their subjective positions by influencing public opinion in national, regional, and global contexts. The main question is whether public diplomacy can achieve its aims and objectives during wartime.

TRANSFORMASI SPIRITUALITAS

The research addressed the gap between the theological concept of the new man in Christ and its implementation in everyday Christian life, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of this concept to address uncertainties and misconceptions among believers. Through a qualitative theological approach, the study explored the subjective meaning of religious beliefs, religious practices, and biblical texts. Findings indicated that the concept of the new man emphasized the importance of spiritual transformation and the embodiment of values of love and truth in Christian life practices. Implications included shifts in self-perception and perceptions of others, conflict resolution, and understanding of true life purposes. The novelty of thought lay in the comprehensive application of the concept of the new man in the text of Colossians 3:5-17, aiming to bring positive impacts to individuals and communities. Thus, understanding and embodying this concept called believers to live in freedom, sanctity, and authentic love.

CHINA'S SOFT POWER DIPLOMACY IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: STRATEGIES, MEANS AND IMPLICATIONS

The concept of soft power has become increasingly significant in the realm of international politics. As nations seek to exert their influence on the global stage, the ability to shape the preferences and perceptions of others through non-coercive means has emerged as a vital tool. China, with its rapidly growing economic and political clout, has substantially engaged in exercising strategies and means as soft power politics to accomplish its presence in the global politics. This research paper examines China's soft power diplomacy in international politics, focusing on the strategies and means employed by the Chinese government to enhance its global influence. The primary objective of this research is to investigate how China strategically employs soft power and assess the implications of these strategies on international politics. To achieve this, the study utilizes a qualitative approach, considering key indicators such as culture, diplomacy, education, and public opinion. By examining China's soft power initiatives and their effects, this research sheds light on the evolving dynamics of international politics in the 21st century, where soft power plays a significant role in shaping global perceptions and relations

Normativity vs. uniqueness: effects of social relationship strength on neural representations of others.

Understanding others involves inferring traits and intentions, a process complicated by our reliance on stereotypes and generalized information when we lack personal information. Yet, as relationships are formed, we shift toward nuanced and individualized perceptions of others. This study addresses how relationship strength influences the creation of unique or normative representations of others in key regions known to be involved in social cognition. Employing a round-robin interpersonal perception paradigm (N = 111, 20 groups of five to six people), we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether the strength of social relationships modulated the degree to which multivoxel patterns of activity that represented a specific other were similar to a normative average of all others in the study. Behaviorally, stronger social relationships were associated with more normative trait endorsements. Neural findings reveal that closer relationships lead to more unique representations in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, areas associated with mentalizing and person perception. Conversely, more generalized representations emerge in posterior regions like the posterior cingulate cortex, indicating a complex interplay between individuated and generalized processing of social information in the brain. These findings suggest that cortical regions typically associated with social cognition may compute different kinds of information when representing the distinctiveness of others.

Higher Numbers = More Important? Social Media Metrics and Their Agenda-Cueing Effects in Anti-Secondhand Smoke Persuasion

ABSTRACT Social media metrics can exert persuasive influences. Integrating the agenda-cueing effect into the influence of presumed influence framework, the study explores how social media metrics influence individuals’ perceptions of others’ agendas, which further contribute to individuals’ engagement outcomes in the context of anti-secondhand smoke (SHS) health persuasion campaigns. A between-subject online experiment investigating three types of social media metrics (i.e., “views,” “likes,” and “shares and comments”) was conducted in China (N = 415). Results showed that higher “views” significantly increased perceived issue importance to important others, which consistently correlated with social media engagement but significantly correlated with anti-SHS policy support only among participants who ever smoked. “Likes” and “shares and comments” primarily impacted perceived issue importance to social media users, which was positively associated with anti-SHS policy support. Theoretically, this study unravels the nuances of social media metrics as agenda cues and differentiates perceived issue importance to two referent units. Practically, the findings suggest the utility of fostering sharing and commenting behavior in social media health campaigns and highlighting certain normative information during anti-SHS message tailoring.

The combination of climate information services in the decision-making process of farmers to reduce climate risks: Application of social cognition theory

One of the main instruments of risk management and climate risk reduction in the agricultural sector is the use of climate information services (CIS). Meteorological information can be useful for society by increasing the efficiency of resource consumption and helping to improve decision-making management. However, there is a gap between the production and implementation of weather forecasts, and that is the lack of practical use of weather forecasts in the agricultural decision-making process. In doing so, this research was conducted with the main objective of identifying components influencing the utilize of CIS by farmers in southwest Iran. The research utilized social cognitive theory (SCT) as the underlying framework, employing a survey method and employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for analysis. The research encompassed all farmers residing in Dezful city within the Khuzestan province, located in the southwest of Iran. The results showed that the variables of SCT, namely outcome expectations, perception of others’ behavior, self-efficacy, socio-structural, and behavioral intentions are very powerful in identifying factors affecting farmers’ use of CIS and can account for 76.4% of the variance of farmers’ behavior. Therefore, these research results can provide essential help to authorities to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture.