Perception, Values, & Personality

Compiled
by
Prof. Rajiv Kumar
IIM Calcutta
Channel Richness
Channels in order of most to least channel
rich
1. Face to face dialogue
2. Videoconference
3. Telephone conversation
4. E-mail
5. Inter Office Memos
6. Letters
7. Notice Board
Communication (1)
Communication (2)
What is Perception?
Data from sensory organs
A process
Receive data
Organize and giving meaning to the data
Closure Principle
Impact of Context: Titchener Illusion
Figure Ground: Rubins Vase
Perceptual Distortions in Organizations
During selection interview
During work: Dearborn & Simon (1958)
During performance appraisal


Schermerhorn et al., 2008
Some Problems in Perception
About me
People notice my actions and appearance (Spotlight effect)
I am above average (Lake Wobegon effect)
Confirmation bias
About others
Followers of some religion are terrorists (Stereotypes)
A punctual person must be responsible too (Halo effect)
What is good for me must be good for others (Projection)
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Attribution Theory
Three factors
Consistency
Distinctiveness
Consensus
Self-serving bias
Fundamental attribution error
Less in some cultures
Once upon a time there was a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man
named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the opposite
shore of the river. The river that separated the two lovers was teeming with man
eating alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately,
the bridge had been washed away by a heavy storm the previous evening.

So she went to ask Sinbad, a riverboat captain, to take her across. He said he would be
glad to if she would consent to go to bed with him before he takes her across. She
promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not
want to be involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only alternative was to
accept Sinbad's terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to Abigail and delivered her into the
arms of Gregory.

When she told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the river,
Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and dejected, Abigail turned to Slug with
her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him
brutally. Abigail was overjoyed to see Gregory getting his due. As the sun set on the
horizon, people heard Abigail laughing at Gregory.

Please rank the five characters in the story
beginning with who you consider to be the most
offensive and end with the one you consider to be
the least objectionable. That is, the character that
seems to be the most reprehensible to you, should
be ranked, then the second most reprehensible and
so on, with the least reprehensible or objectionable
character ranked the fifth.
Individual Differences
Characteristics of people:
Reflexes: Involuntary and almost instantaneous response
to a stimulus
Instincts: Behaviors that are not learnt
Learnt behaviors
Beliefs
Attitudes
Traits
Values
Behavior = P*E
Personal determinants
Environment: Physical and social environments


Traits
Internal dispositions that render behaviors
Coherent
Consistent across situations
Stable across time, and
Predictable
Revisiting the earlier equation: All kinds of
reciprocal impacts are possible
But strength varies
Assessment through self-report or objective
measures
Big Five Traits
About 18,000 different words to describe different
traits in English dictionary
Reduced to big-five traits
Conscientiousness: Works as per a plan, is not easily
distracted, perseverant, thorough, reliable
Extraversion: Talkative, energetic, outgoing, meets people
Agreeableness: Helpful, trusting, forgiving, not
quarrelsome
Neuroticism: Depressed, tense, worries a lot, gets nervous
and upset easily
Openness: Curious, inventive, values artistic things, has
wide interests, plays with ideas

Some More Points
Generally these traits are normally distributed
Personality a better predictor in weak situation
Factors leading to personality
Heredity
Environment
50:50 split between heredity and environment
Some important personality attributes:
Big-5
Locus of control
Machiavellianism
Type A & Type B

Neutral Object Satisfaction Questionnaire
Indicate whether you are on average satisfied, neutral, or dissatisfied with each
Of the following:
1. The city in which you live
2. The neighbors you have
3. The high school you attended
4. The climate where you live
5. Movies being produced today
6. The quality of food you buy
7. Todays cars
8. Local newspapers
9. Your first name
10. The people you know
11. Telephone service
12. A4 size paper
13. Restaurant food
14. Modern art

Judge & Hulin (1993)
Emotions
Nature of emotions
Emotional Intelligence: The ability to
understand individuals to act wisely in human
relations:
Awareness of self
Managing ones emotions
Motivating oneself
Empathy
Handling relationships
Emotional Labor
Emerged from service jobs
Difference between felt emotions and
displayed emotions
Norms of displaying emotions in organizations
Surface acting
Deep acting
Implications of these variables:
PO Fit
PJ fit