Membership categorization analysis as means of studying person perception

Membership categorization analysis focuses on studying how people categorize each other in interaction. Even though the role of observation has been acknowledged within this methodological approach, it has mainly been used to analyze oral and written communication. This study focuses on examining how membership categorization analysis can be applied to person perception. It elucidates the procedure with two examples where students in a vocational upper secondary college in Finland perceived portrait paintings and reflected in writing what kind of teachers the people depicted in them would be. Drawing on the theorization of person perception and membership categorization analysis, the study suggests a model for applying membership categorization analysis in person perception and discusses its relevance to social interaction.