Chapter 4 Perception/The Perceptual Process

• Perception is defined as the cognitive process by which an individual

Perceptions and selects, organizes, and gives meaning to environmental stimuli.

Attributions • Through perception, individuals attempt to make sense of their

environment and the objects, people, and events in it. Because each
person gives his or her own meaning to stimuli, different individuals
will “perceive” the same thing in different ways.

• Perception is empirical in that it is based on prior experience

Learning Objectives
The Perceptual Process: An Individual Interpretation

• Describe the different stages of the perceptual process.

Work Environment Individual’s Perceptual Process
• Discuss the process of perceptual grouping. Stimuli
Observation Selection Translation Response
• Manager style
• Compare the six potential inaccuracies that can result from • Technology • Sight
• Hearing
• Intensity
• Size
• Stereotyping
• Self-concept
• Needs
• Attitudes
• Noise
perceptual grouping. • Peers • Taste
• Smell
• Impatience • Emotions • Feelings
• Motivation
• Reward system
• Summarize how employees use attribution theory to • Compensation plan
• Career opportunities
explain the causes of events.
• Explain why and in what contexts impression management
tactics are more commonly used.

1
• Misinterpreting stimuli can and often does result
in perceptual errors. • Managers and their employees “view” the world, stimuli, and
organizational programs differently and from various perspectives.

– Interviewers rate candidates who are similar to themselves in
appearance, background, and interests higher than candidates who
are dissimilar. This is referred to as the similar-to-me perception
error
– Interviewers also tend to make quick first impression errors based
on the first few minutes of an interview.
• Understanding that subjective perceptions are going to differ must be
understood within work environments.
• The manager has a responsibility to manage within a framework that
permits and respects perceptual differences to be voiced without fear
or impatience

A MANAGER’S EXPECTATIONS CAN LEAD TO HIGHER EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE

The Perceptual Gap between Supervisor and Subordinates Pygmalion Effect

Types of Recognition Frequency with Frequency with Which Supervisor Subordinate Subordinate
Which Supervisors Subordinates Say expects raises own increases
subordinate to expectations performance
Say They Give Supervisors Give Various
perform at and is more level and
Various Types of Types of Recognition for meets higher
higher level motivated
Recognition for Good Performance expectations
Good Performance
Gives privileges 52% 14%
Gives more responsibility Gives a pat 48 10
Supervisor’s expectations are confirmed
on the back 82 13
Gives sincere and thorough praise 80 14
Trains for better jobs 64 9
Gives more interesting work 51 3
• Pygmalion effect
• Both supervisors and subordinates were asked how often superiors provided rewards for good work. A self-fulfilling prophecy that causes a person to behave in a positive
• The two groups perceived significant differences. Each group viewed the type of recognition being manner to meet expectations.
given at a different level.
• Golem effect
A self-fulfilling prophecy that causes a person to behave in a negative
manner to meet low expectations.

2
 Perceptual Grouping
Nearness
The Perceptual Process: An Individual Interpretation

• All other things being equal, stimuli that are

Work Environment
Stimuli
Individual’s Perceptual Process
near each other tend to be grouped together
• Manager style Observation Selection Translation Response
• Technology • Sight • Intensity • Stereotyping • Needs
• Noise • Hearing • Size • Self-concept • Attitudes
• Peers • Taste • Impatience • Emotions • Feelings
• Reward system • Smell • Motivation
• Compensation plan
• Career opportunities

Perceptual Grouping
Law of Nearness Similarity
Groups of six objects can be perceptually
organized depending on spacing.

• The law of similarity—stimuli that are similar in size, color, shape, or

Law of Similarity form tend to be grouped together
Group similar items. Do you see alternating rows
of Os and Xs or columns of alternating Os and Xs?

Law of Closure
Fill in the gaps in incomplete stimuli. Do you see a
triangle or three lines?

Law of Figure and Ground

Organize sensations into figures and backgrounds.

A person who creates faulty groupings faces a number of different types of perceptual inaccuracies or distortions

3
 Closure Schema
• The law of closure—the tendency to complete a figure, so that it has a
consistent overall form.
• A schema is a framework embodying
descriptions of people, situations, or
objects.
• Like everyone, managers use schemas to
make better sense of information.

Figure/Ground • Person-based. Managers employ a profile schema of the characteristics

• The law of figure and ground—the tendency to group sensations into
figures and backgrounds.
• The Figure/Ground law examines how the eye can separate shapes in
a design from the background of that design
of good, poor, and outstanding employees. The schema is used to
compare present employees and job candidates.
• Role-based. These are judgments about the roles people play or can
play.
• Self-based. Individuals generalize about their own prowess,
competencies, and preferences based on a current or previous
experience.

• Events-based. Managers develop a script or story about the events they

are facing.

4
 Perceptual Groupings Can Create Inaccuracies
Stereotyping
Factor How Decrease in Perceptual Accuracy Affects Manager Effectiveness
Stereotyping and prejudice Managers who rely on racial, gender, or ethnic stereotypes will not be able
to capitalize on diversity management.
• Stereotyping is a translation step in the perceptual process
Selective/divided attention When managers are overly focused on one issue or are busy employed to assist individuals in dealing with massive
multitasking, they’ll tend to perceive less information and rely information-processing demands.
more on stereotypes.

Halo effect Managers’ evaluations of job applicants or subordinates’ performance may

Similar-to-me errors
Situational factors
Needs and desires
be biased leading to lower quality decisions. • A prejudice is a stereotype that refuses to change when
Managers who focus too much on employees who possess similar qualities presented with information indicating the stereotype is
may not use the employees in effective ways.
Managers who hold certain attitudes or are under time pressures to meet
inaccurate. Stereotypes can be helpful; prejudice is never
deadlines may make quick judgments about people or situations. helpful.
Managers who have a high need for control, power, or recognition will
tend to perceive events and others’ actions related to those needs

Perceptual Groupings Can Create Inaccuracies

• There are two sources of prejudice.

Factors – Personal prejudice occurs when members of another

• Stereotyping and prejudice group (e.g., work group, race, age cohort) are perceived
• Selective/divided attention as a threat to one’s own interest.
• Halo effect
• Similar-to-me errors
• Situational factors – Group prejudice occurs when a person conforms to
• Needs and desires norms of a group she belongs to

5
 Selective and Divided Attention
• Selective attention refers to the fact that people give some
messages priority and put others on hold.
– It is difficult to listen to two or more colleagues talking at once.
• Divided attention occurs when a person must divide his or
her mental efforts among tasks, each of which requires
some amount of attention (multitasking).
– Research suggests that when individuals are distracted by multiple
demands, they will be more likely to engage in stereotypes.
Halo Effect
• The halo effect occurs when a person (e.g., manager)
allows one important or noticeable characteristic of another
person to bias the evaluation, perception, or impression of
that person
– An employee who is always at work before everyone else arrives
or after they leave may be assumed to be productive and hard
working.
– On the other hand, employees with excessive body art and
piercings may be perceived in a negative light
Similar-to-Me Errors
• Similar-to-me errors: Using yourself as a
benchmark against which others are
judged.
– A manager who is a perfectionist tends to look
for perfection in subordinates, while a manager
who is quick in responding to technical
requirements looks for this ability in
subordinates.
Situational Factors
• The press of time, the attitudes of the people
a manager is working with, and other
situational factors all influence perceptual
accuracy
– The press of time literally will force the
manager to overlook some details, to rush
certain activities, and to ignore certain stimuli
such as requests from other managers or from
superiors.
6
 Needs and Desires • The attribution process can be important in understanding
the behavior of others
– Distinctiveness is the degree to which a person behaves similarly
• Perceptions are influenced significantly by needs in different situations.
and desires. – Consistency is the degree to which a person engages in the same
behaviors at different times.
– Consensus is the degree to which other people are engaging
• Whenever possible, managers and employees in the same behavior.
Knowing the extent to which a person’s behavior exhibits these
should realize that perceptions are influenced by qualities can be very useful in helping us better understand that
our own needs. behavior.

Attribution Theory Internal and External Attributions

DISTINCTIVENESS CONSISTENCY CONSENSUS

Does this person Does this person Do other people
Attribution theory views the process by which individuals behave in this same behave in this same behave in this same
manner in other manner at other manner?
interpret events around them as being caused by (attributed situations? times?

to) a relatively stable portion of their environment

INTERNAL
YES YES NO ATTRIBUTION
The Attribution Process Low distinctiveness High consistency Low consensus
------------------------ ------------------------ ------------------------
Event Analysis of what Reinforcement or Choices regarding NO NO YES
caused the event modification of future behavior High distinctiveness Low consistency High consensus EXTERNAL
previous assumptions ATTRIBUTION
of causality

Example:

I received a raise I received the raise Hard work leads to Since I value these
because I am a hard rewards in this rewards, I will continue
worker. organization to work hard in the
future

7
• Internal attribution: Tendency to assume that events are caused by factors
within a person’s control.
– The professor might make an internal attribution regarding Caroline’s behavior .
The poor test is to be found within Caroline herself (lack of motivation, poor study
habits, etc.)
• External attribution: Tendency to assume that events are caused by factors
outside of a person’s control.
– if Caroline does well on tests in other courses (high distinctiveness), the professor
might make an external attribution about the behavior. That is, the explanation
for the poor test result may be found in factors outside Caroline herself (the
professor put together a poor test, used the wrong answer key, etc.).
• Fundamental attribution error :Tendency to underestimate the
importance of external factors and overestimate the importance of
internal factors when making attributions about the behavior of others.
– Example: a shop floor supervisor who attributes a high injury rate to employee
carelessness (a cause internal to the employees), instead of considering the
possibility the equipment is old and in poor repair (a cause external to the
employees).
• Self-serving bias: Tendency to take credit for successful work and
deny responsibility for poor work
– The self-serving bias leads us to conclude that when we succeed it is a result of our
outstanding efforts, while when we fail it is because of factors beyond our control
Managerial implications
• To influence employee behavior, the manager must understand the attributions
employees make.
• A manager must be aware that his own attributions may be different from
employees’.
– For example, if a manager perceives employees’ poor performance to be the result of lack of
effort, she may attempt to increase motivation levels.
• If employees perceive performance problems to be attributable to lack of
managerial guidance, the efforts made by the manager are not likely to have
the desired effect on performance.
• Managers cannot assume that their attributions will be the same as their
employees’. Neither can they assume their own attributions are error-free.
Impression Management
• Impression management: The attempt to influence
others’ perception of you.
• Nearly everybody practices impression management:
CEOs, physicians, managers, teachers, employees, and job
candidates engage in impression management.
• Candidates who use excessive impression management
techniques may decrease the effectiveness of employee
selection decisions.
8
 Interpersonal Process
• Individuals (managers and nonmanagers) engage in
impression management for numerous reasons.
– First, to interact socially, impression management allows the
person to communicate a desired identity.
– Once the identity is established, the individual tries to remain
congruent with the impression—or face cognitive dissonance.
– The audience (manager, colleagues, or customers) respects the
desired identity and attempts to comply with the impression being
conveyed.
• Studies show that some employees attempt to create a bad
impression.
– These individuals create bad impressions to exercise power; to
make someone look bad, get fired, or get suspended; to obtain a
transfer; or to avoid additional work or job stress.
• Tactics to create a bad impression include withdrawing
from work, losing one’s temper, communicating a lack of
skills, and pretending to lack knowledge

A Model and Impression What Job Applicants Say to Generate a Positive Impression of Themselves

Management in Practice IM Tactic Description Frequency of Use

(%)
Self-promotion Positively describing oneself (e.g., “I work hard every day”). 100%
According to Jones and Pittman, individuals engage in five Personal stories Describing the past in a puffed-up way (e.g., “I solved the most 96
difficult problems”).
impression management tactics Opinion conformity Expressing beliefs that are assumed to be held by another person (e.g., 54
1. Ingratiation: They seek to be viewed positively by flattering others or “I agree with your statement”).
offering to do favors for them. Entitlements Claiming responsibility for successful past events (e.g., “My work led 50
to the securing of the contract”).
2. Self-promotion: They tout their abilities and competence.
Enhancement of Making comments that compliment another person (e.g., “I’ve been so 46
3. Exemplification: They seek to be viewed as dedicated by going above and another impressed with your work accomplishments”).
beyond the call of duty. Overcoming obstacles Describing success despite obstacles that should have lowered
4. Supplication: They seek to be viewed as needing help because of performance (e.g., “I won the award even though I had to work three 33
different jobs”).
limitations.
Justifications Accepting some responsibility, but denying the negative implications 17
5. Intimidation: They seek to be viewed as powerful and threatening. (e.g., “We lost over 30 percent of the market, but the economy went
sour for everyone”).
Excuses Designating responsibility for one’s actions (e.g., “I missed the 13
deadline because two of my team members had the flu”).