CH # 6

Perception and Individual Decision Making

Perception is how people organize and understand the world around them based on their senses. But
what individuals perceive might not match the actual reality. For instance, everyone in a company might
see it as a great workplace due to good conditions, interesting jobs, and fair treatment, but not everyone
will agree.

Attribution Theory

Attribution Theory helps us understand how we interpret people's actions. It suggests that when
observing behavior, we decide if it's caused by internal or external factors, based on three aspects:
distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

- **Distinctiveness:** Considers whether an individual acts differently in various situations. If someone

behaves in an unusual way, it's often attributed to external causes. If their behavior is typical, we assume
internal causes.

- **Consensus:** Focuses on how others behave in the same situation. High consensus leads to an
external attribution, and low consensus indicates an internal attribution.

- **Consistency:** Examines whether the person's behavior is repetitive over time. Consistent actions
are often internally attributed.

However, when judging others, we tend to underestimate external influences and overestimate internal
ones, leading to errors. This fundamental attribution error is why managers might attribute poor
performance to laziness rather than external factors like competition.

Cultural differences impact attributions. In East Asian cultures, there's less use of self-serving biases.
Studies show that Chinese managers blame individuals for failure only after careful consideration of
distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency—similar to Western managers. But the threshold for
attributing blame may be higher in Asian cultures.
Attribution theory is mainly based on Western research, cautioning about applying these theories
universally, especially in non-Western societies.

In summary, Attribution Theory explains how we perceive and explain others' actions, emphasizing the
impact of internal versus external factors and how cultural differences influence these attributions.

Common Shortcuts in Judging Others

In judging others, we often use shortcuts to quickly understand and predict behavior. But these
shortcuts, while helpful, can lead to mistakes.

**1. Selective Perception:** We focus on certain things because we can't absorb everything around us.
This leads to seeing what aligns with our interests or experiences, creating an incomplete or inaccurate
picture.

**2. Halo Effect:** When we judge someone based on a single trait like intelligence or appearance, it
influences our overall perception of them, leading to biased views.

**3. Contrast Effects:** Our perception of someone is influenced by the previous experiences we've had.
For instance, a candidate in a job interview might be seen more favorably or less favorably based on the
interviewees who came before.

**4. Stereotyping:** Judging someone based on assumptions about the group they belong to. While
helpful in simplifying decisions, stereotypes can be unfair or inaccurate, leading to biased judgments
based on factors like gender, age, race, or ethnicity.

These shortcuts can be dangerous because they might not reflect the real person or situation. They can
influence important decisions, even leading to life-and-death outcomes in extreme cases. It's important
to be aware of these shortcuts and to challenge our assumptions to make fair and accurate judgments.