. Perception

Foundations of Individual Behaviour

“ WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, WE SEE THINGS AS WE ARE.”

Perception “ The study of perception is concerned with identifying the process through which we interpret and organize sensory information to produce our conscious experience of objects and object relationship.” “ Perception is the process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us. It involves deciding which information to notice, how to categorize this information and how to interpret it within the framework of existing knowledge.

Perception “ A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment ”.

Perceptual Process Model Environmental Stimuli Feeling Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting Selective Attention Organization and Interpretation Attitudes and Behaviours

The Perceptual Process Sensation An individual’s ability to detect stimuli in the immediate environment. Selection The process a person uses to eliminate some of the stimuli that have been sensed and to retain others for further processing. Organization The process of placing selected perceptual stimuli into a framework for “storage.” Interpretation The stage of the perceptual process at which stimuli are interpreted and given meaning.

Selective Attention Characteristics of the object Perceptual context size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty Perceptual context Characteristics of the perceiver attitudes perceptual defense expectations -- condition us to expect events

Factors in the Target Motion Novelty Sounds Size Background Proximity Similarity Factors in the perceiver Attitudes Motives Interests Experience Expectations Perception Factors in the situation Time Work Setting Social Setting

Figure-Ground Illustration Field-ground differentiation The tendency to distinguish and focus on a stimulus that is classified as figure as opposed to background.

PERCEPTUAL GROUPING Our tendency to group several individual stimuli into a meaningful and recognizable pattern. It is very basic in nature and largely it seems to be inborn. Some factors underlying grouping are -continuity -closure -proximity -similarity

ATTRIBUTION THEORY is the cause of the behavior seen as internal or external? we look for three types of information to decide: DISTINCTIVENESS : Is this person’s performance different on other tasks and in other situations? CONSISTENCY : Over time, is there a change in behavior or results on this task by this person? CONSENSUS : Do others perform or behave similarly when in a similar position? “YES” answers lead to EXTERNAL attributions (Environmental causes) “NO” answers lead to INTERNAL attributions (Personal causes)

Attribution Theory observation Interpretation H External L Internal H When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused. Attribution of cause observation Interpretation H External Distictinctiveness L Internal H Individual behavior External Consensus L Internal H Internal Consistency L External H –high L- Low

Distinctiveness Consensus Consistency Does this person behave in this manner in other situation Consensus Do other person Behave in the Same manner? Consistency Does this person behave in this same manner at other times ? Internal Attribution No Low Consensus Yes High YES Low Distinctiveness NO High Yes High Consistency No Low External Attributio n

PERCEPTUAL ERRORS & ATTRIBUTIONS STEREOTYPES : Based on appearance HALO (HORN) EFFECTS : One outstanding characteristic noted CONTRAST EFFECT : Ordering RECENCY EFFECT : Limited recall PROJECTION : “Similar to me” Error SKEWING ERRORS : Central tendency, leniency, strictness bias SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY : People respond the way you “expected” they would SELECTIVE PERCEPTION (MIND SETS) : Filtering, selection,

ATTRIBUTION ERRORS THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR SELF-SERVING BIAS the cause of poor performance (by others) is due to personal factors (lazy…didn’t try very hard) SELF-SERVING BIAS the cause of poor performance (by myself) is due to situational factors (poor support), not because of a lack of effort

Improving Perceptual Accuracy Diversity Management Improving Perceptual Accuracy Know Yourself Empathize With Others Compare Perceptions With Others Postpone Impression Formation

Know Yourself (Johari Window) Feedback Known to Self Unknown to Self Known to Others Open Area Blind Hidden Unknown Open Area Blind Unknown Hidden Disclosure Unknown to Others