Self-Perception Definition

Self-Perception is the view we have about ourselves, our characteristics, and the judgments we
make about the traits we have. Self-perception includes our self-concept (the image we have in
our heads of who we are) and our self-esteem (how we judge the characteristics we possess).
Self-perspective is a term that has the same meaning as self-perception. A person's image of
themselves, including their physical, mental, or social attributes is what makes up self-
perception.

Body image is an example of self-perception. It is the image a person has in their mind
about who they are.

Self-Perception Theory

Self-perception theory says that people learn about their own attitudes and character traits by
observing their own behavior. This mainly happens when we are unclear about our feelings
toward something, and then go on to attribute our attitude or belief to some realization around
our behavior. It is very much the same way we would infer another individual's attitudes and
personalities by observing their behavior. The self-perception theory is counterintuitive in nature
because people usually think they already know themselves and their character traits, so it does
not make sense to a person that they would base their thoughts about something on their
behavior. Normally, a person would base their behavior on their thoughts and feelings about
something. In self-perception theory, this is not the case. In this theory, people form their
attitudes by observing their own behavior and forming a conclusion on what must have caused
their perceptions. Using this logic, people conclude their emotions by observing what they do
and how they act.

Bem's Experiment

Many studies show that people are not always sure about their feelings or attitudes toward things.
Daryl Bem, the originator of the theory, was the first psychologist to write about self-perception
theory. He concluded that when people's attitudes about something are weak or ambiguous, they
will observe their own behavior and attribute an attitude toward themselves. In other words,
people infer what their attitudes are based on looking at what their behavior is. Bem's original
experiment involved participants listening to the tape of a man who sounded very excited about
the boring and tedious task of turning pegs. One group of participants was told that the man was
paid $20 for the testimonial. The other group was told that he was paid $1. The group that was
told that the testimonial was worth only $1 assumed that the man must have really enjoyed the
task of giving that false testimonial. Their conclusion was that he would not have done it for so
little money unless he really enjoyed it. This experiment proves that people will prompt attitudes
without assessing internal perceptions and moods.

Self-Perception Theory Example

There are many examples of the self-perception theory. One example of the theory is a person
deciding that jazz is their favorite type of music simply because they observed that they listen to
it more than other types of music. Another example is someone being asked if they enjoy eating
pasta. The person may not have initially thought much about how they feel about pasta, but then
realized that they order it more than other types of food at restaurants. It is at this point that the
person realized they must love pasta because they order it a lot.

A study was done in which psychologists studied whether facial expressions influence emotional
responses. Two groups of participants were tested. One group was asked to put a pen in between
their teeth, which allowed them to smile if they needed to. Another group was asked to put a pen
in between their lips, which inhibited their smile response. Both groups were shown the same
cartoons. The participants who were able to smile perceived the cartoons to be much funnier than
those who were unable to smile. This study is another example of how behaviors have the ability
to affect people's attitudes on things.
Self-Perception Theory (Bem)

Summary: Self-perception theory describes the process in which people, lacking initial attitudes
or emotional responses, develop them by observing their own behavior and coming to
conclusions as to what attitudes must have driven that behavior.

Originators and Key Contributors:  Psychologist Daryl Bem originally developed this theory
of attitude formation in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
Keywords: identity, perception, behavior, attitude, marketing, therapy

Self-Perception Theory

Self-perception theory is counterintuitive. Common knowledge would have us assume that a

person’s personality and attitudes drive their actions; however, self-perception theory shows that
this is not always the case. In simple terms, it illustrates that “we are what we do.” According to
self-perception theory, we interpret our own actions the way we interpret others’ actions, and our
actions are often socially influenced and not produced out of our own free will, as we might
expect[1].

Self-Perception Experiments

Daryl Bem, the originator of the theory, conducted an original experiment that involved subjects
who listened to a recording of a man describing a peg-turning task enthusiastically. One group
was told that the man was paid $1 for his testimonial, while the other group was told he was paid
$20 for it. The $1 group believed that he enjoyed the task more than how much the $20 group
believed he enjoyed it. The two groups’ conclusions correlated to the feelings that the actors
themselves expressed. Because the participants were able to correctly guess how the actors felt, it
was concluded that the actors must have arrived at the way they felt from observing their own
behavior as well.

A number of studies since have confirmed that self-perception theory exists, and furthermore,
influences us in many unexpected contexts. Tiffany Ito and colleagues conducted a study in 2006
to see if facial changes could trigger shifts in racial bias among participants. Participants were
asked to hold a pencil with their mouths (thus inducing them to smile) while looking at
photographs of anonymous black and white male subjects. The results showed that those who
had been made to smile while looking at the black subjects showed less implicit prejudice
towards black men after the fact than those made to smile while looking only at white subjects.
Jeremy N. Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab,
reports on one study involving participants who are immersed in a virtual environment via a
head-mounted display[2]. Some participants watched a virtual doppelgänger identical to them
exercise, some watched someone else’s virtual doppelgänger exercise, and some watched their
own doppelgänger stand still. Those who watched their “selves” exercise reported a higher belief
that they could exercise successfully, and later reported in a follow-up questionnaire that they
had worked out for almost one hour more than the other two participant groups. Furthermore, in
a follow-up study, the self-efficacy group of participants was asked to exercise while watching
their virtual avatar visibly lose weight for every minute they exercised[3]. When told that they
were allowed to use the exercise room for the next half hour, they exercised 10 minutes longer
than participants in other control situations.

Current Applications

Self-perception theory lends itself to be useful in therapy or persuasion-related contexts.

Traditional therapeutical approaches might consider maladjusted behaviors and actions to be

motivated by inner psychological issues. By employing self-perception theory, therapists can
take the approach of starting with the behavior first to result in a change of attitudes, and
ultimately a more lasting change in behavior. In one example, this approach has been used to
have teens perform community service, which positively alters their self-image. They are thus
less likely to experience teenage pregnancies and to engage in other risky behaviors.

In the marketing and persuasion industry, self-perception theory has led to a variety of tactics
based on acquiring a small commitment from a person that will lead to a greater possibility that
the person will agree to larger requests from the seller/marketer. This is the basis behind the foot-
in-the-door tactic, in which a salesperson might ask a person for something relatively small, such
as filling out a questionnaire, which would make it easier to ask the person for a larger
commitment, since the act of fulfilling the small request would likely lead to the person altering
their self-image to explain their decision (i.e. I filled out the survey, therefore I must be the kind
of person who likes their products).