PERCEPTION

AND
ATTRIBUTION
Jenny F. Alpe
Sharmine S. Cano
CONTENT • Factors that Influence Perception in the
Workplace
• Perceptual Errors in the Workplace
• The Theory of Attribution In Organizational
Behavior
• Attribution Bias
• Cultural Perceptions of Power in Organizations
• Cultural Perceptions of Communication in
Organizations
• Impression Management in Organizations:
Definition, Techniques ; Examples

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HOW DOES
PERCEPTION
WORK?

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PERCEPTION
• Is an intellectual process by
which an individual selects,
organizes and provides
meaning to the world around
him.

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Factors that Influence Perception

• Individual Characteristics
• Social Factors
• Organizational Culture
• Work Environment
• Cultural Diversity and
Factors
• Past Experiences

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Perceptual Errors
• Stereotyping
• Central Tendency
• Different from me
• Halo effect
• Horn effect
• Initial impression

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Perceptual Errors
• Latest behavior
• Lenient or generous rating
• Performance dimension
error
• Same as me
• Status effect

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ATTRIBUTION
• Is the process through which
individuals link behavior to its
causes to the intentions,
dispositions, and events that
explain why people act the
way they do.

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KELLEY’S ATTRIBUTION THEORY
• explores how people attribute causes
to events or behaviors. According to
this theory, individuals tend to make
causal attributions based on three
main factors: consensus,
distinctiveness, and consistency.

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According to Kelley we fall back on
past experience and look for either:

• Multiple necessary causes

• Multiple sufficient causes

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Bernard Weiner’s Model of Attribution

• He proposed a theory that looked at

how people interpret success and
failure.
• According to him, human feel the need
to explain both success and failure.
• 4 things that attribute on success and
failure : Ability, Effort, Task Difficulty and
Luck

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3 causal dimensions
• Locus
• Stability
• Controllability

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Attribution Biases

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Cultural Perceptions of Power in
Organizations
• Individualism vs. Collectivism:
• Hierarchy and Authority
• Communication Styles
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Power Distance
• Gender Roles

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Cultural Perceptions of
Communication in Organizations
• Direct vs. Indirect Communication
• Context and Nonverbal Communication
• Hierarchy and Power Dynamics
• Language and Linguistic Diversity
• Conflict Resolution:
• High-Context vs. Low-Context Communication
• Cross-Cultural Communication Competence

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Impression Management in
Organizations
refers to the actions people take to
persuade others to think about a
concept in a certain way. People use
impression management to reinforce
current opinions or attempt to change
them depending on their goals.

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Impression Management Techniques

• Redirection
• Flattery
• Conformity
• Bragging
• Transparency

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Example
• A company discovers a data breach and immediately issues a press release
and a letter to their customers explaining the issue and the steps they're taking
to resolve it to provide the impression of transparency and establish trust.
• When meeting a new romantic partner's parents, you dress more
conservatively than you usually do because your partner mentioned their
conservative background.
• When responding to concerns about the cost of a new business initiative, you
discuss the positive effects of each expense instead of discussing the impact of
changing the budget plans.
• In an interview, you start by complimenting your interviewer on an article they
recently published to give them the impression that you keep up with industry
trends and do your research.

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