ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

INDRANIL MUTSUDDI
What Is Perception, and
Why Is It Important?
• People’s behavior is
based on their
perception of what
reality is, not on
reality itself.
• The world as it is
perceived is the world
that is behaviorally
important.
What the study of Perception is all
about?
The study of perception is concerned with
identifying the processes through which we
interpret and organize sensory information to
produce our conscious experience of objects &
object relationships.
 Sensation

• It is our ability to detect stimuli in our immediate

environment.

• Sensation is concerned with the initial contact

b/w organisms & their physical environment.

• It also focuses on describing the relationship b/w

various forms of sensory stimulation & how these
inputs are registered by the sensory organs.

• Perception helps an individual to effectively

process & interpret the raw sensory inputs into
meaningful sensation.
 Selection
• It is the process used by a person to eliminate
some of the stimuli that have been sensed & to
retain others for further processing.

• Selection depends on:

– Physical Characteristics of the stimuli:
• Contrast (difference b/w one stimulus & surrounding
stimuli that makes that stimulus more likely to be selected)
• Novelty (when the stimulus we are sensing differs from
stimuli we have experienced in the past).
• Intensity
• Change
• Other Dimensions (frequency, number of senses
stimulated, number of stimuli etc).

– Characteristics of the perceiver

 The Sub-processes Of Perception

STIMULUS OR SITUATION PERSON

External
Environment
Confrontation
Registration Interpretation Feedback
of specific
Physical of stimulus of stimulus for clarification
stimulus
Socio-cultural
Behavior
BEHAVIOR (overt or
covert)

Consequence
CONSEQUENCES (reinforcement,
punishment)
 Factors
That
Influence
Perception
 Factors influencing Perception
Characteristics of the
Situational factors: perceived:

• Physical settings • Nature

• Social settings • Size
• Organizational setting • Appearance
• Location

Individual
Perception

Perceiver’s Characteristics:

• Needs
• Experiences
• Values & Attitudes
• Personality
 Perceptual Process
Organizing
Stimuli
Stimuli is received through
External & Internal Stimuli
sensory organs

Selective Attention

External Internal
Factors: Factors: Ambiguous figures
Figure ground
Nature Learning Grouping
Location Needs
Size Constancy
Age
Contrast Interest
Movement Paranoid
Repetition
Familiarity

Interpreting Response
Perceptual set
Attribution
Covert: Overt:
Stereotyping Attitudes
Halo-effect Motivation
Feeling Behavior
Defense & Projection
 Perceptual Organization

• It is the process by which people group stimuli

into recognizable patterns.
• Selection gives way to organization and stimuli
selected for attention then appears as a whole.
• Factors influencing “Perceptual Organization”:
- Ambiguous Figures
- Figure Background
- Grouping
- Constancy
Principle of Similarity in Perception

• It is exemplified when objects of similar shape,

size or color tend to be grouped together

Principle of Proximity in Perception

• It underlines the tendency to perceive stimuli
which are near to one another as belonging
together.

Principle of Closure in Perception

• It states that a person has a tendency to perceive
a whole when none exists. The perceptual
process will close the gaps which are unfilled from
the sensory inputs.
Principle of Continuity in Perception

• It is the tendency to perceive objects as

continuing patterns. It is closely related to the
principle of closure.
• Closure supplies the missing stimuli; whereas the
continuity principle depicts that a person would
tend to perceive continuous lines or patterns.
 Perceptual Constancy

• Perceptual Constancy is our ability to perceive

certain characteristics of an object as remaining
constant, despite variations in the stimuli that
provide us with conflicting information.
• Perceptual Constancy is of the following types:
- Shape Constancy
- Size Constancy
- Color Constancy
The Contrast Principle Of Perception
 Process of Interpreting

The process of interpretation depends on several

factors, namely:

• Perceptual Set
• Attribution
• Stereotyping
• Primacy/Recency Effects
• Halo effect
• Perceptual context
• Perceptual defense
• Implicit Personality theory
• Projection
The Role That Learning Plays In Perception
Person Perception: Making
Judgments About Others

Distinctiveness: shows different behaviors in different situations.

Consensus: response is the same as others to same situation.
Consistency: responds in the same way over time.
 Perceptual Set
When previously held beliefs about objects
influence an individual’s perceptions of similar
objects it is referred to as “Perceptual Set”

Attribution
It refers to the process by which the individual
assigns causes to the behavior he or she
conceives.

Stereotyping
It is the tendency to assign attributes to someone
solely on the basis of a category of people to
which that person belongs.
 Attribution Theory
• Contributed by Fritz Heider & H.H. Kelly.

• The theory suggests that we observe behavior &

then attribute causes to it.

• The process of attribution is based on perceptions

of reality and these perceptions may vary widely
among individuals.

• The theory also depicts that, the behavior of

others can be examined on the basis of its:
- Distinctiveness
- Consistency
- Consensus
 Attribution Process
Distinctiveness
(High or Low)

Observation of Attribution of
Consistency
Behavior causes
(High or Low)
Internal or External

Consensus
(High or Low)
 Rules of Attribution

Distinctiveness: Consistency: Consensus:

Does this person behave Does this person behave Do other persons behave
in this manner in other in this same manner in this same manner?
Situations? other times?

Attribution Attribution
Internal
Yes
Yes No
Low Distinctiveness
High Consistency Low Consensus

No

External
No Yes
High Distinctiveness
Low Consistency High Consensus
Attribution
Theory
 Kelly’s Model Of Attribution
Type of Information/ Attribution
Example of Organizational Behavior
Observation Made
Coworkers are also performing
High consensus
poorly on this task
External
The subordinate does not do
(situational or
well on this task during only Low consistency
environmental
one time period
factors)
The subordinate does well on
High distinctiveness
other tasks, but not this one

Coworkers are performing

Low consensus
very well on this task
Internal
The subordinate does not do (personal
High consistency
well on this task at any time factors)

The subordinate does

poorly on other tasks as Low distinctiveness
well as this one
 Biases Affecting perception
Stereotypes

Frame of
Reference Expectations

PERCEPTION

Selective Projections
Exposure

Interests
Errors and Biases in
Attributions
Errors and Biases in
Attributions (cont’d)
Frequently Used Shortcuts
in Judging Others
 Primacy Effect
It refers to the disproportionately high weight
given to the first information obtained about a
stimulus.

Recency Effect
It refers to the disproportionately high weight
given to the last information obtained about a
stimulus.
.
 Perceptual Context
It refers to the context in which an object is
placed influences perception. The organizational
culture & structure provide the primary context in
which workers and managers do their perceiving
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging
Others
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging
Others
 Specific Applications in
Organizations
• Employment Interview
– Perceptual biases affect the accuracy of interviewers’
judgments of applicants.
• Performance Expectations
– Self-fulfilling prophecy (pygmalion effect): The lower or
higher performance of employees reflects preconceived
leader expectations about employee capabilities.
• Performance Evaluations
– Appraisals are subjective perceptions of performance.
• Employee Effort
– Assessment of individual effort is a subjective judgment
subject to perceptual distortion and bias.
The Link Between Perceptions and
Individual Decision Making

Perceptions
of the
decision
maker

Outcomes
Assumptions of the Rational
Decision-Making Model

1. Problem clarity
2. Known options
3. Clear preferences
4. Constant
preferences
5. No time or cost
constraints
6. Maximum payoff
 Perceptual Defense
• Here an individual is likely to put up a defense
when confronted with conflicting, unacceptable or
threatening stimuli.
• It could be in the form of outright denial,
modification of the data received, change in
perception but refusal to change & change in the
perception itself.

Implicit Personality Theory

While judging & making inferences about others,
an individual’s perceptions are influenced by his
belief that certain human traits are associated
with one another (eg: honesty & hardworking).
 Impression Management Strategies

Accounts Apologies Entitlements Enhancements

Demotion- Promotion-
Preventative Enhancing
Strategy Strategy

Disassoci- Obstacle Association

disclosures
ation
 Expectancy Effect
It occurs when people perceive stimuli in ways
that will confirm their expectations

Pygmalion Effect (Self-fulfilling

prophecy)

It occurs when people unconsciously adjust their

behaviors to reflect their expectations in a
particular situation.
 Managing the Perception process

• Have a high level of self-awareness

• Seek information from various sources to confirm
or disconfirm personal impressions of a decision
situation.
• Be empathetic-that is, be able to see a situation
as it is perceived by other people.
• Influence perceptions of other people when they
are drawing incorrect or incomplete impressions
of events in the work settings.
 Managing the Perception process

• Avoid common perceptual distortions that bias

our views of people & situations.
• Avoid inappropriate attributions
• Diversity management programs
• Knowing yourself/oneself (Self-Perceptions).
Self-Perceptions: The Johari
Window
Johari Window is an effective way to
conceptualize the possible combinations of what
one individual knows about himself/herself &
what others know about him/her.
 The Johari Window

• Developed by Joseph Luft & Harry Ingham (Thus the

name Johari Window), this model is useful for
analyzing the causes for inter-personal conflict.

• The model is based on two assumptions:

- Degree to which the person knows about himself
or herself.
- Degree to which the person is known to others.

• The basic platform of this model is that personal &

professional relationships of people in organizations
can be greatly improved (conflict eliminated) through
understanding others.
The Johari Window

Feedback
Known to Not Known to
Self Self

Known to Open Area Blind Area

Others
Disclosure

Not Known
to Others Hidden Area Unknown Area
 Social Perception

It is the process of combining, integrating, and

interpreting information about others to gain an
accurate understanding of them.