Organizational Behavior Anubha Maurya

INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES – PERCEPTION The concept and need for studying Perceptual organization Perceptual interpretation Attribution process Perceiving others Comparison of own perception with others’ estimation

PERCEPTION

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

What is the perceptual process? Perception. The process by which people select, organize, interpret, retrieve, and respond to information. Perceptual information is gathered from: Sight. Hearing. Touch. Taste. Smell.

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.

2 Perception The process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret the input from their senses to give meaning and order to the world around them.

Components of Perception 3 Components of Perception The perceiver is the person trying to interpret some observation that he or she has just made, or the input from his or her senses. The target of perception is whatever the perceiver is trying to make sense of. In OB terms, the target of perception is often another person. The situation is the context in which perception takes place.

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What is the perceptual process? Stages of the perceptual process. Information attention and selection. Organization of information. Information interpretation. Information retrieval.

Environmental stimuli Selecting Stimuli External factors : Nature, Location,Size, contrast, Movement, repetition, similarity Internal factors : Personality, Learning, Motivation Environmental stimuli Observation (Taste, smell, hearing, Sight, touch) Interpreting Perceptual Error (Defence, Stereotyping, Halo Effect, Projection, Expectancy effect) Attribution (Internal External cause, Learning, Cause for success & failure) Organizing Figure Background , Perceptual Grouping ( similarity, proximity, closure, continuity) Response Covert: Attitudes , Motivation, Feeling Overt: Behavior Perceptual Process

The Perceptual Process Selection Process by which people filter out most stimuli so that they can deal with the imp ones (external & Internal factor) Eg – bell ringing, dog barking, coffee brewing 3.Interpretation An assessment of the info collected for the purpose of making judgement. 2.Organization The process which people group environmental stimuli into recognizable

What is the perceptual process? Factors influencing the perceptual process. Characteristics of the perceiver. - Characteristics of the perceived.

What is the perceptual process? Characteristics of the perceiver. The perceptual process is influenced by the perceiver’s: Past experiences. Needs or motives. Personality. Values and attitudes.

What is the perceptual process? SELECTION - EXTERNAL Characteristics of the perceived. The perceptual process is influenced by characteristics of the perceived person, object, or event, such as: Contrast. (stands out against the background- colored pen on white board) Intensity (more intense more perceived – loud noise when student attendi lecture) Size. (Larger the size of external factor more likely to be perceived) Motion. (movement tends to receive more attention-video game) Repetition (repetitive are more likely to be perceived than single factor-advt) Novelty (familiar or novel factor in environment – elephant on road)

What is the perceptual process? SELECTION - INTERNAL Personality – Perception shapes personality which in turn affect how and what people perceive – locus of control (hold external environment for failure) Learning – Expectation of a perception based on past experience with same or similar stimuli. Tall building – arch, ID, Appraiser or female ugly or beautiful Motivation – A persons most urgent need and desire at particular time can influence perception. Telephone ringing while bathing

What is the perceptual process? ORGANISATION Continuity – tendency to perceive object as continuous pattern (inability to detect change) Closure - tendency to complete an object and perceive as constant – mgr facing complex decision may be able to develop fairly accurate understanding even if info is not complete. With experience they gv solution. Proximity – group of object may be perceived as related because of there nearness to each other Similarity – more alike object greater tendency to perceive them as a common group – team with diff color t-shirt

What is the perceptual process? INTERPRETATION – Judgemental error Similarity – tendency to see others having characteristic more like our own Contrast – to compare at same time First Impression error – Quick impression that are resistant to change

INTERPRETATION - perceptual ERROR? Common perceptual distortions include: Stereotypes or prototypes.(tendency to assign attributes to someone solely on the basis of category in which the person has been placed) Halo effects. .(Evaluation of another person solely on the basis of one attribute, either fav or unfav) Selective perception. Projection. Contrast effects. Expectancy effect Self-fulfilling prophecy .(Expecting certain things to happen shapers the beh of the perceiver in such a way that is expected to more likley happen))

What are common perceptual distortions? Stereotypes or prototypes. Combines information based on the category or class to which a person, situation, or object belongs. Strong impact at the organization stage. Individual differences are obscured. Eg an alcoholic, a doctor, president

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. Likely to occur in the organization stage. Individual differences are obscured (hidden). Important in the performance appraisal process. Eg excellent attendance dosnt mean productive

What are common perceptual distortions? Projection. The assignment of one’s personal attributes to other individuals.ie see their own trait in other people Especially likely to occur in interpretation stage. Projection can be controlled through a high degree of self-awareness and empathy. Eg an empl frightened by rumor on org change may not only judge others to be more frightened than they are but also assess various policy decision as more threatening than they really are

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. Also called the “Pygmalion effect.” Can have either positive or negative outcomes. Managers should adopt positive and optimistic approaches to people at work.

The Pygmalion Effect Pygmalion was an ancient king who carved a beautiful female statue He loved the statue so much that she came to life

Self-fulfilling Prophecy When one’s expectations for certain behavior in another person lead to that person behaving as expected The Pygmalion effect is self-fulfilling prophecy in the teacher/student relationship

The Pygmalion Effect A teacher’s high or low expectations eliciting high or low achievement from their students Also known as “teacher expectation effects” (Trouilloud, Sarrazin, Bressoux, & Bois, 2006)

How can the perceptual process be managed? Impression management. A person’s systematic attempt to behave in ways that create and maintain desired impressions in others’ eyes. Successful managers: Use impression management to enhance their own images. Are sensitive to other people’s use of impression management.

How can the perceptual process 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.

Factors influencing perception A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception. These factors can reside in the perceiver, in the object or target being perceived or in the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

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

What is attribution theory? Attribution theory aids in perceptual interpretation by focusing 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.

What is attribution theory? Internal versus external attributions of causes of behavior. Internal causes are under the individual’s control (personality trait, emotion, motive, or ability) External causes are within the person’s environment. (people, situation, chance)

What is attribution theory? Factors influencing internal and external attributions. Distinctiveness — consistency of a person’s behavior across situations. Good attendance and performer, even if late its ascribed Consensus — likelihood of others responding in a similar way (traffic jam) Consistency — whether an individual responds the same way across time. (person coming late)

What is attribution theory? Fundamental attribution error. Applies to the evaluation of someone’s else behavior. Attributing success to the influence of situational factors. Attributing failure to the influence of personal factors. THE CAUSE OF POOR PERFORMANCE (BY OTHERS) IS DUE TO PERSONAL FACTORS (LAZY…DIDN’T TRY VERY HARD) Eg Terrorist– what circumstance makes him

What is attribution theory? Self-serving bias. Applies to the evaluation of our own behavior. Attributing success to the influence of personal factors. Attributing failure to the influence of situational factors. THE CAUSE OF POOR PERFORMANCE (BY MYSELF) IS DUE TO SITUATIONAL FACTORS (POOR SUPPORT), NOT BECAUSE OF A LACK OF EFFORT Eg aeroplane – cockpit problem – u blame others

What is attribution theory? Attributions across cultures. The fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias operate differently in different cultures.

Shortcuts in judging others Selective Perception : People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience and attitudes. Halo Effect : Drawing a general impressions about an individual on the basis of a single charecteristics.

Contrast Effect : Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that are effected by comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics. Projection : Attributing one's own characteristics to other people. Stereotyping : Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that persons belongs.