PERCEPTION

After studying this chapter,

you should be able to:

1. Explain how two people can see the same thing

and interpret it differently.
2. List three determinants of attribution.
3. Describe how shortcuts can assist in or distort
our judgment of others.
4. Explain how perception affects the decision-
making process.
5. Outline the six steps in the rational decision-
making model.
What Is Perception, and Why Is It Important?
Perception
A process by which ••People’s
People’s behavior
behavior isis
individuals organize and based
based on on their
their
interpret their sensory perception
perception of of what
what
impressions in order to reality
reality is,is, not
not onon
give meaning to their
reality
reality itself.
itself.
environment.
••The
The world
world as as itit isis
perceived
perceived isis thethe world world
that
that isis behaviorally
behaviorally
important.
important.
Factors That
Influence
Perception
 What is the perceptual process?

 Perception.
– The process by which people select, organize,
interpret, retrieve, and respond to information.
– Perceptual information is gathered from:
• Sight.
• Hearing.
• Touch.
• Taste.
• Smell.
 What is the perceptual process?

 Factors influencing the perceptual process.

– Characteristics of the perceiver.

– Characteristics of the setting.

– Characteristics of the perceived.

 What is the perceptual process?

 Characteristics of the perceiver.

– The perceptual process is influenced by the
perceiver’s:
• Past experiences.
• Needs or motives.
• Personality.
• Values and attitudes.
 What is the perceptual process?

 Characteristics of the setting.

– The perceptual process is influenced by the
setting’s:
• Physical context.
• Social context.
• Organizational context.
 What is the perceptual process?

 Characteristics of the perceived.

– The perceptual process is influenced by characteristics of
the perceived person, object, or event, such as:
• Contrast.
• Intensity.
• Figure-ground separation.
• Size.
• Motion.
• Repetition or novelty.
 What is the perceptual process?

 Organization of information.
– Schemas.
• Cognitive frameworks that represent organized knowledge about a
given concept or stimulus developed through experience.
– Types of schemas.
• Self schemas.
• Person schemas.
• Script schemas.
• Person-in-situation schemas.
 Person Perception: Making Judgments About
Others

Attribution Theory
When individuals observe
behavior, they attempt to
determine whether it is
internally or externally
caused.

Distinctiveness:
Distinctiveness:shows
showsdifferent
differentbehaviors
behaviorsinindifferent
differentsituations.
situations.
Consensus:
Consensus:response
responseisisthe
thesame
sameasasothers
otherstotosame
samesituation.
situation.
Consistency:
Consistency:responds
respondsininthe
thesame
sameway
wayover
overtime.
time.
Attribution Theory
Errors and Biases in Attributions
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate
the influence of external factors
and overestimate the influence
of internal factors when making
judgments about the behavior
of others.
Errors and Biases in Attributions (cont’d)
Self-Serving Bias
The tendency for individuals
to attribute their own
successes to internal factors
while putting the blame for
failures on external factors.
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others
Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see on the
basis of their interests, background, experience,
and attitudes.
 What are common
perceptual distortions?
 Common perceptual distortions include:
– Stereotypes or prototypes.
– Halo effects.
– Selective perception.
– Projection.
– Contrast effects.
– Self-fulfilling prophecy.
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others
Halo Effect
Drawing a general impression
about an individual on the
basis of a single characteristic

Contrast Effects
Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that
are affected by comparisons with other
people recently encountered who rank higher
or lower on the same characteristics.
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others
Projection Stereotyping
Attributing one’s own Judging someone on the
characteristics to other basis of one’s perception of
people. the group to which that
person belongs.
 Specific Applications in Organizations
• Employment Interview
– Perceptual biases of raters 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.
• Ethnic Profiling
– A form of stereotyping in which a group of individuals is
singled out—typically on the basis of race or ethnicity—for
intensive inquiry, scrutinizing, or investigation.
Specific Applications in Organizations (cont’d)

• Performance Evaluations
– Appraisals are often the subjective (judgmental)
perceptions of appraisers of another employee’s
job 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

Problem
A perceived discrepancy
between the current state of
affairs and a desired state. Perception
Perceptionofof
the
thedecision
decision
Decisions maker
maker
Choices made from among
alternatives developed from
data perceived as relevant.

Outcomes
Assumptions of the Rational Decision-Making
Model

Rational Decision-
Making Model Model
ModelAssumptions
Assumptions
Describes how •• Problem
Problemclarity
clarity
individuals should •• Known
Knownoptions
options
behave in order to •• Clear
Clearpreferences
preferences
maximize some
outcome. •• Constant
Constantpreferences
preferences
•• No
Notime
timeor
orcost
cost
constraints
constraints
•• Maximum
Maximumpayoff
payoff
 What are common
perceptual distortions?

 Stereotypes or prototypes.
– Combines information based on the category or
class to which a person, situation, or object
belongs.
– Strong impact at the organization stage.
– Individual differences are obscured.
 What are common
perceptual distortions?
 Halo effects.
– Occur when one attribute of a person or situation
is used to develop an overall impression of the
individual or situation.
– Likely to occur in the organization stage.
– Individual differences are obscured.
– Important in the performance appraisal process.
 What are common
perceptual distortions?
 Selective perception.
– The tendency to single out those aspects of a
situation, person, or object that are consistent
with one’s needs, values, or attitudes.
– Strongest impact is at the attention stage.
– Perception checking with other persons can help
counter the adverse impact of selective
perception.
 What are common
perceptual distortions?
 Projection.
– The assignment of one’s personal attributes to
other individuals.
– Especially likely to occur in interpretation stage.
– Projection can be controlled through a high
degree of self-awareness and empathy.
 What are common
perceptual distortions?

 Contrast effects.
– Occur when an individual is compared to other

people on the same characteristics on which the

others rank higher or lower.
 What are common
perceptual distortions?
 Self-fulfilling prophecy.
– The tendency to create or find in another situation
or individual that which one expected to find.
– Also called the “Pygmalion effect.”
– Can have either positive or negative outcomes.
– Managers should adopt positive and optimistic
approaches to people at work.
 How can the perceptual
process be managed?
 Impression management.
– A person’s systematic attempt to behave in ways
that create and maintain desired impressions in
others’ eyes.
– Successful managers:
• Use impression management to enhance their own
images.
• Are sensitive to other people’s use of impression
management.
 How can the perceptual
process be managed?
 Distortion management.
– Managers should:
• Balance automatic and controlled information
processing at the attention and selection stage.
• Broaden their schemas at the organizing stage.
• Be attuned to attributions at the interpretation stage.
 What is attribution theory?

 Attribution theory aids in perceptual

interpretation by focusing on how people
attempt to:
– Understand the causes of a certain event.
– Assess responsibility for the outcomes of the
event.
– Evaluate the personal qualities of the people
involved in the event.
 What is attribution theory?

 Internal versus external attributions of causes

of behavior.
– Internal causes are under the individual’s control.
– External causes are within the person’s
environment.
 What is attribution theory?

 Factors influencing internal and external

attributions.
– Distinctiveness — consistency of a person’s
behavior across situations.
– Consensus — likelihood of others responding in a
similar way.
– Consistency — whether an individual responds the
same way across time.

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