Chapter 4 Perception, Attribution, and Learning It’s in the eye of the beholder

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-2 Chapter 4 Study Questions What is the perception process? What are common perceptual distortions? How can perceptions be managed? What is attribution theory? What is learning?

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-3 What is the perception process? Perception –The process by which people select, organize, interpret, retrieve, and respond to information from the world around them

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-4 Figure 4.1

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Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-8 What is the perception process? Attention and selection –Selective screening Lets in only a tiny portion all the information that is available –Two types of selective screening Controlled processing Screening without perceiver’s conscious awareness

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-9 What is the perception process? Schemas –Cognitive frameworks that represent organized knowledge about a given concept or stimulus developed through experience

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-10 What is the perception process? Self schemas –contains information about a person’s own appearance, behavior, and personality Person schemas –refer to the way individuals sort others into categories in terms of similar perceived features

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-11 What is the perception process? Script schema –a knowledge framework that describes the appropriate sequence of events in a given situation Person-in-situation schema –combines schemas built around persons and events

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-12 What is the perception process? Interpretation –Uncovering the reasons behind the ways stimuli are grouped

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-13 What is the perception process? Retrieval –Attention and selection, organization, and interpretation are part of memory –Information stored in memory must be retrieved in order to be used

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-14 Figure 4.5

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-15 What are common perceptual distortions? Stereotypes or prototypes –Combines information based on the category or class to which a person, situation, or object belongs –Individual differences are obscured –Strong impact at the organization stage

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-16 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

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-17 What are common perceptual distortions? Selective perception –The tendency to single out for attention those aspects of a situation, person, or object that are consistent with one’s needs, values, or attitudes.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-18 What are common perceptual distortions? Projection –The assignment of one’s personal attributes to other individuals

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-19 What are common perceptual distortions? Contrast effects –Occur when an individual’s characteristics are contrasted with those of others recently encountered, who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-20 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

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-21 How can perceptions be managed? Impression management –A person’s systematic attempt to behave in ways that create and maintain desired impressions in others’ eyes

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-22 How can perceptions 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

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-23 What is attribution theory? Attribution theory focuses 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.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-24 What is attribution theory? 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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Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-26 What is attribution theory? Fundamental attribution error –tendency to underestimate the influence of situational factors and to overestimate the influence of personal factors in evaluating someone else’s behavior

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-27 What is attribution theory? Self-serving bias –tendency to deny personal responsibility for performance problems but to accept personal responsibility for performance success

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-28 What is learning? Social learning theory –uses modeling or vicarious learning to acquire behavior through observing and imitating others by means of perception and attribution.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-29 What is learning? Reinforcement –The administration of a consequence as a result of a behavior

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-30 Figure 4.7

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-31 What is learning? Classical conditioning –a form of learning through association that involves the manipulation of stimuli to influence behavior Stimulus –something that incites action

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-32 What is learning? Operant conditioning –the process of controlling behavior by manipulating, or “operating” on, its consequences

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-33 What is learning? Law of effect –Behavior that results in a pleasant outcome is likely to be repeated while behavior that results in an unpleasant outcome is not likely to be repeated

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-34 Figure 4.8

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-35 What is learning? Organizational behavior modification (OB Mod) –The systematic reinforcement of desirable work behavior and the nonreinforcement or punishment of unwanted work behavior

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-36 What is learning? Positive reinforcement –The administration of positive consequences to increase the likelihood of repeating the desired behavior in similar settings

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-37 What is learning? Law of contingent reinforcement –The reward must be delivered only if the desired behavior is exhibited Law of immediate reinforcement –The reward must be given as soon as possible after the desired behavior is exhibited

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-38 What is learning? Shaping –the creation of a new behavior by the positive reinforcement of successive approximations to the desired behavior

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-39 What is learning? Continuous reinforcement –Administers a reward each time the desired behavior occurs Intermittent reinforcement –Rewards behavior periodically — either on the basis of time elapsed or the number of desired behaviors exhibited

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Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-41 What is learning? Negative reinforcement –The withdrawal of negative consequences to increase the likelihood of repeating the desired behavior in a similar setting

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-42 What is learning? Punishment –The administration of negative consequences or the withdrawal of positive consequences to reduce the likelihood of repeating the behavior in similar settings

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-43 What is learning? Implications of using punishment –Punishing poor performance enhances performance without affecting satisfaction –Arbitrary and capricious punishment leads to poor performance and low satisfaction

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-44 What is learning? Extinction –The withdrawal of the reinforcing consequences for a given behavior

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-45 Figure 4.10

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.4-46 What is learning? Social learning theory –Social learning is achieved through the reciprocal interactions among people, behavior, and environment Self-efficacy –the person’s belief that he or she can perform adequately in a situation

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