Chapter 6: Perception and Individual Decision Making (Organizational Behaviour Notes)

CHAPTER 6
Perception and Individual Decision Making

PERCEPTION:
 Process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory
impressions to give meaning to their environment.
 Perception is a cognitive (mental) process that enables us to interpret
and understand our surroundings.
 Perception is a process of receiving information about, making sense of
world around us, and interpreting one's environment.
 People will use their perception of reality and not reality itself.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUR PERCEPTION
 The characteristics of the person or the target or object being
perceived.
 The situation in which the perception is made.
 Characteristics of the perceiver.
o (Characteristic of the perceiver) Their attitudes, personality,
motives, interests, past experiences, expectations, assumptions
and needs etc.
o (Situation in which perception is made) The time at which we see
an object or event influence our attention, as can location, light,
heat, or situational factors.

ATTRIBUTION THEORY ##
 The theory helps to explain how we form perceptions of other people.
 Its perceptual process of deciding whether an observed behaviour or
event is caused by internal or external factors.
 We tend to examine whether an individual’s behaviour is internally or
externally caused.
o Internal: Behaviour believed to be under the control of the
individual.
 Perceiving that behaviour/event is caused by the person
(ability or motivation).
o External: perceiving those events/ behaviours is caused by
factors beyond the person's control (resources, coworkers, luck)


Factors that help us understand whether the behaviour is
caused internally or externally:
 Distinctiveness: refers to whether an individual displays different
behaviour in different situations.

, o We want to know whether the behaviour is unusual or the same
in different situations.
o If its same behave indifferent situations we judge it to be caused
internally,
o If its unique to different situations we judge it be caused
externally.
 Consensus: does everyone who face the similar situation respond in
the same way as the individual did?
o Consensus look at the response and compares it to other in same
situation to see of it is consistent with the behaviours of others.
o If consensus is high, it is due to external factor or otherwise
internal.
 Consistency: does the person respond the same over time?
o An observer looks for consistency in a person's actions.
o The more consistent the persons behaviour is we assume it to be
caused due to internal factors.


ATTRIBUTION ERRORS:
 Fundamental Attribution Errors: Underestimate influence of
external factors, overestimate internal factors.
 Self-Serving Bias: Individuals and organizations tend to attribute
their own successes to internal factors such as ability or effort, while
blaming failure on external factors such as bad luck or unproductive
coworkers. Taking credit for the success and blame external factors on
failures.


COMMON SHORTCUTS IN JUDGING OTHERS
 Selective Perception: A perceptual filtering process based on
interests, background, and attitude.
o Any characteristic that makes the person or object stand out will
increase the probability that we will perceive it.
o Because we cannot observe everything going on around us, we
use selective perception.
o We do not choose randomly; we select according to the above
factors.
o Selective perception allows us to speed-read others, but not
without the risk of drawing an inaccurate or incomplete picture.
 Social Identity Effects: Social category membership defines the
individual, at least in part.
o It supports need for inclusion and assimilation with others.
o We define ourselves by the group to which we belong or have an
emotional attachment.