ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the factors in social perception which may bias our judgements. It summarises the resultant errors in information processing and explores the question of perceptual accuracy. The chapter examines the ways in which interviewers can improve their perceptual abilities. Self-perception is therefore a significant feature in the process of interviewing. The term 'person perception' refers to the process of organising incoming stimuli from others in the interaction in such a way as to make this array of information understandable. Person perception is partly determined by the characteristics of the perceived individual. A number of characteristics of the perceiver have been found to be influential in the formation of perceptions of others. In terms of situational variables, one factor which is pertinent to person perception is the order in which interviewees are encountered. In interviewing, the perceptions of the interviewer are often used to determine important decisions.
