The Social Perception Process: Reconsidering the Role of Social Stimulation

A continuation of the dialogue concerning application of an ecological perception model to social perception. Despite persuasive arguments for such a step & recent empirical work guided by it, the model has not found widespread acceptance among social psychologists, & serious conceptual criticisms have been leveled at it. This lack of acceptance & a number of criticisms stem from a misunderstanding of the role it can serve & a misconception of the nature of social stimulation. Here, the ecological perspective is reviewed & criticisms are addressed, focusing on the nature of social stimulation & its structure & information value. The importance of the active nature of the perceiving organism & its ability to create as well as detect affordances is stressed. 61 References. AA