Perception in Organizational

Behavior
 Learning Objectives

1. Perception – Meaning and Definition,

2. Perceptual Process,
3. Importance of Perception in OB,
4. Perception activities,
5. Some organizational examples.

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 Perception

What is Perception?

The process by which individuals organize and

interpret their impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment.

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 Why is it important?

–Because behavior is based on perception of what

reality is, not on reality itself.

–The world as it is perceived is the world that is

behaviorally important.

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 Why We Study Perceptions

 To better understand how people make

attributions about events.
 We don’t see reality. We interpret what we see
and call it reality.
 The attribution process guides our behavior,
regardless of the truth of the attribution.

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 Attribution Theory: Judging Others
Our perception and judgment of others are significantly
influenced by our assumptions of the other people’s
internal states.
When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine
whether it is internally or externally caused.
 Internal causes are under that person’s control.
 External causes are not – person forced to act in that way.

Causation judged through:

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.

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 Factors Influencing Perception

 The Perceiver
 The Target
 The Situation

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 Factors that Influence Perception

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 Perceptual Process

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 The Effects of Different Colours

Colour Psychological Effect Temperature Effect Distance

Effect
Violet Aggressive and tiring Cold Very close
Blue Restful Cold Further
away
Brown Exciting Neutral
Claustrophobic
Green Very restful Cold/neutral Further
away
Yellow Exciting Very warm Close
Orange Exciting Very warm Very close
Red Very stimulating Warm Close

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 The Contrast Principle of Perception

Learning Principle

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 Gestalt Theory
Gestalt theory was founded by German thinkers Max
Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka and
focused on how people interpret the world. Motion
pictures are based upon this principle, with a series
of still images appearing in rapid succession to form
a seamless visual experience.
 According to Gestalt psychology, the whole is
different than the sum of its parts. Based upon this
belief, Gestalt psychologists developed a set of
principles to explain perceptual organization, or how
smaller objects are grouped to form larger ones.
These principles are often referred to as the "laws of
perceptual organization."

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 Attractive or Ugly Woman?

An Ambiguous Figure — a An Ambiguous Figure — a

duck or a rabbit kneeling woman or a man’s
face

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 A Figure Ground Experiment

Figure Background Demonstration

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 Principle of Similarity Principle of Proximity

An Example of Perceptual
The Principle of Closure Continuity

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An Example of Perceptual Continuity

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 Perceptual Process

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