Perception & Attribution
Perception & Attribution
SIGNIFICANCE OF PERCEPTION
Perception is important in the study of OB because peoples behaviour is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.
An important feature of Perception is to understand that it is a unique interpretation of the situation/event or person, not the exact recording of it. Thus it may be quite different from the reality.
PERCEPTION
Perception is the process by which people select, organise, interpret and respond to information from the world around them. It is a psychological process by which people make sense of their world. Through perception people process information inputs into responses involving feelings and action (behaviour)
PERCEPTUAL SELECTION
Individuals tend to selectively pay attention to some aspects of the environment and selectively ignore other aspects. Selective Screening is the process by which people filter out most information so that they can deal with the most important matters.
ASPECTS OF PERCEPTION
SOCIAL PERCEPTION : (Perception of Others) How an Individual perceives other individuals IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT: (Self Presentation) How an individual attempts to manage or control the perceptions others form about him/her
Stereotyping (gender, age, race, ethnicity, caste) Halo Effect/Horn Effect Contrast Effect Projection (project ones own feelings, personality characteristics, attitudes or
motives onto others)
Person Perception
Primacy Effect : First information
Pay less attention to subsequent information Ignore information that contradicts with the first impression
ATTRIBUTION
Finding an explanation to the cause of ones own and others behaviour. Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency to incorrectly attribute the negative behaviour of other people to internal more than external factors. Self-serving Bias Tendency to attribute favourable outcomes to internal factors and unfavourable ones to external factors.
FACTORS AFFECTING ATTRIBUTION To be able to decide whether a behaviour is internally caused or externally caused the following three factors could be considered: Consistency (Same manner in similar situations) Distinctiveness (same manner in different situations) Consensus (faced with the same situation, others behave in
similar manner)
Impression Management
An attempt by an individual to manipulate or control the impression that others form about them Impression Tactics:
Behavioural Matching Self Promotion Conforming to Norms Flattering others Being consistent
Perceptual Biases: Cause discrimination Wrong selection/placement Career limitations Improper utilisation of employees Employee potential remaining untapped