Two Chapter PERCEPTION AND LEARNING: UNDERSTANDING AND ADAPTING TO THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

After reading this chapter you should be able to: 1. Distinguish between the concepts of perception and social perception. 2. Explain how the attribution process works and how it helps us to understand the causes of other people’s behavior. 3. Describe the various sources of bias in social perception and how they may be overcome. 4. Understand how the process of social perception operates in the context of performance appraisals, employment interviews, and the cultivation of corporate images. 5. Define learning. 6. Describe the concepts of operant conditioning and observational learning. 7. Describe how principles of learning are involved in organizational training and innovative reward systems. 8. Compare how organizations can use reward in organizational behavior management and can use punishment most effectively when administering discipline.

Social Perception: The Process of Understanding Others (Pp. 55,56) Perception - the process through which people select, organize, and interpret information - active processing of sensory inputs Social Perception - the process of combining, integrating, and interpreting information about others to gain an accurate understanding of them - various aspects, including the attribution process

The Attribution Process (Pp. 56-59) Attribution - the process through which individuals attempt to determine the causes behind others’ behavior Correspondent Inferences - judgments about people’s dispositions, traits, and characteristics that correspond to what we have observed of their actions Challenges in judging others accurately - many possible causes of behavior - people sometimes disguise their true characteristics Making accurate inferences about others - focus on behavior in situations with low demand for social acceptability - focus on behavior for which there is only one logical explanation

Correspondent Inferences: Judging Dispositions Figure 2.2 Correspondent Inferences: Judging Dispositions Based on Behavior Description (what someone does) (what someone is like) Act Disposition Correspondent Inference Observe someone fall off a ladder Clumsy Example Assume that person is...

The Attribution Process (cont.) Causal Attribution of Responsibility Internal causes of behavior - explanations based on actions for which the individual is responsible External causes of behavior - explanations based on situations over which the individual has no control Kelly’s theory of causal attribution - internal and external attributions based on: Consensus - extent to which other people behave in the same manner as the person who we’re judging Consistency - extent to which the person who we’re judging acts the same way at other times Distinctiveness - extent to which a person behaves in the same manner in other contexts

Figure 2.3 Kelly’s Theory of Causal Attribution: A Summary You observe an individual complaining about the food, service, and decor in a restaurant. To answer “Why?” you note that... S/he complained because s/he is difficult to please (internal attribution) You conclude that... No one else complains (consensus is low) This person always complains in this restaurant (consistency is high) This person also complains in other settings (distinctiveness is low) Several others also complain (consensus is high) This person always complains in this restaurant (consistency is high) This person does not complain in other settings (distinctiveness is high) S/he complained because the restaurant is terrible (external attribution)

The Imperfect Nature of Social Perception (Pp. 59-65 Perceptual Biases - predispositions to misperceive others that interfere with making completely accurate judgments Fundamental attribution error - tendency to attribute other’s actions to internal causes while largely ignoring external factors - strong bias because it is easier to attribute actions to other’s traits than to recognize the complexity of other’s situation Halo effect - tendency for overall impressions of others to affect objective evaluations of their specific traits Positive halo - good impression causes us to view what the person does in favorable terms, even if we have no knowledge about the specific behaviors - results in consistently high ratings Negative halo - results in consistently low ratings

The Halo Effect: A Demonstration of Positive Halo Figure 2.4 The Halo Effect: A Demonstration of Positive Halo Characteristic 1 low high Characteristic 2 low high Characteristic 3 low high Characteristic 4 low high The more favorably someone is perceived on some characteristics, more likely that s/he will be perceived favorably on another characteristic, too. the Characteristic N low high

Perceptual Biases (cont.) The Imperfect Nature of Social Perception (cont.) Perceptual Biases (cont.) Similar-to-me-effect - tendency to perceive in a positive light others who are believed to be similar in any of several different says - greater empathy for and better relations with others who seem similar First-impression error - tendency to base judgments of others on our first impression of them - error may take very subtle forms Selective perception - tendency to focus on some aspects of the environment and to ignore others - narrowing of our perceptual fields

First-Impression Error: A Summary Figure 2.5 First-Impression Error: A Summary Initial Performance Initial Impression Poor Excellent Poor Excellent Current impression matches initial impression Quality of Actual Work Performed Evaluation of Work Performed Poor Excellent TIME Current Performance Current Impression Quality of Actual Work Performed Evaluation of Work Performed Current Impression does not match current performance

Stereotypes: Fitting Others into Categories The Imperfect Nature of Social Perception (cont.) Stereotypes: Fitting Others into Categories - beliefs that all members of specific groups share similar traits and are prone to behave in the same way Why do we rely on stereotypes? - minimizes cognitive work in thinking about others - leads to premature judgments about people Dangers of using stereotypes in organizations - run the risk of causing miscommunication and conflict

Perceiving Others: Organizational Applications (Pp. 65-70) Performance Appraisal - process of evaluating employees on various work-related dimensions An inherently biased process - process is far from objective - ratings depend on extent to which performance is consistent with rater’s initial expectations - ratings reflect similar-to-me bias - ratings qualified by the nature of attributions made about performance Cultural differences in performance evaluations - evaluations of other’s work influenced by the nations from which they come Impression Management in the Employment Interview - efforts by individuals to improve how they appear to prospective employers Self-promotion - asserting that one has desirable characteristics

Corporate Image - the impressions that people have of an organization Perceiving Others: Organizational Applications (cont.) Corporate Image - the impressions that people have of an organization - result of impression management by organizations - strongly relates to people’s interest in seeking employment with it Factors contributing to corporate image - amount of information contained in recruitment ads - longer ads typically associated with more positive images - annual report - official statement for stockholders

Learning: Adapting to the World Around Us (Pp. 70-75) Learning- a relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience - cannot be observed directly - must be inferred from permanent changes in behavior Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning - learning in which people associate the consequences of their actions with the actions themselves - behaviors with positive consequences are acquired, i.e., repeated in the future - behaviors with negative consequences - are eliminated Law of Effect - tendency for behaviors leading to desirable consequences to be strengthened and for behaviors leading to undesirable consequences to be weakened

The Operant Conditioning Process: An Overview Figure 2.9 The Operant Conditioning Process: An Overview Steps in the Operant Conditioning Process (conditions leading up to the behavior) Antecedents (activity performed) Behavior (results of the behavior) Consequences Manager shows employee how to do a job Example of the Operant Conditioning Process Employee performs job properly Manager praises employee

Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning (cont.) Learning: Adapting to the World Around Us (cont.) Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning (cont.) Reinforcement contingencies - relationships between a person’s behavior and the consequences resulting from it Positive reinforcement - process through which people learn to perform behaviors leading to the presentation of the desired outcomes Negative reinforcement (avoidance) - process through which people learn to perform acts that lead to the removal of undesired events Punishment - decreasing undesirable behavior by following it with undesirable consequences Extinction - process through which responses that are no longer reinforced tend to gradually diminish in strength

- variable interval - a variable period of time (based Learning: Adapting to the World Around Us (cont.) Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning (cont.) Schedules of reinforcement - rules governing the timing and frequency of administering reinforcement Continuous reinforcement - schedule in which all desired behaviors are reinforced Partial (intermittent) reinforcement - schedule in which only some desired behaviors are reinforced - fixed interval - a fixed period of time must elapse between reinforcements - variable interval - a variable period of time (based on some average) must elapse between reinforcements - fixed ratio - a fixed number of responses must occur between reinforcements - variable ratio - a variable number of responses based on some average) must occur between reinforcements

Observational Learning (Modeling) - people acquire new behaviors by Learning: Adapting to the World Around Us (cont.) Observational Learning (Modeling) - people acquire new behaviors by systematically observing the rewards and punishments given to others - knowledge acquired vicariously - behavior of a model is imitated Steps in observational learning - pay careful attention to the model - good retention of the model’s behavior - behavioral reproduction of the model’s behavior - person motivated to learn from the model Examples - much of what is learned about how to behave in organizations can be explained by observational learning - formal job training - absorbtion of norms and traditions

Applications of Learning in Organizations (Pp. 76-87) Training - process of systematically teaching employees to acquire and improve job-related skills and knowledge Varieties of training - both formal and informal Apprenticeship programs - formal program, often used in the skilled trades, involving both on-the-job and classroom training, usually over a long period Cross-cultural - systematic way of preparing employees to live and work in another country Executive training - systematic development of top company leaders, either in specific skills or in general managerial skills Corporate universities - centers devoted to handling a company’s training needs on a full-time basis

Keys to effective training - principles Applications of Learning in Organizations (cont.) Training (cont.) Keys to effective training - principles Participation - active involvement in the learning process - greater participation is more effective Repetition - repeatedly performing a task so that it may be fully learned Transfer of training - degree to which skills learned during training may be applied to performance of one’s job - training is more effective to the degree that it matches the demands and conditions on a job Feedback - knowledge of the results of one’s behavior - 3600 feedback - collection of performance feedback from multiple sources at various organizational levels

Figure 2.12 3600 Feedback: An Overview Your Boss Your Peers feedback You Your Direct Report feedback feedback Your Customers

Selectively reward desired behavior - shaping Applications of Learning in Organizations (cont.) Innovative Reward Systems - based on various principles of learning Skill-based pay - people are paid based on the number of different skills they have learned relevant to performing one or more jobs in the organization Team-based rewards - employees are paid based on their team’s performance Organizational Behavior Management (OB Mod) - principles Pinpoint the desired behavior - specify new, desired behavior Perform baseline audit - measure level of behavior to be changed Define a criterion standard - performance goal Choose a reinforcer - nature of reward for desired behavior Selectively reward desired behavior - shaping Periodically re-evaluate the program - careful monitoring - OB Mod has successfully stimulated a variety of behaviors in many different organizations

Discipline - systematically administering punishment to eliminate Applications of Learning in Organizations (cont.) Discipline - systematically administering punishment to eliminate undesirable organizational behaviors Disciplinary practices - characteristics of discipline programs Progressive discipline - gradually increasing the severity of punishments for employees who exhibit unacceptable job behavior Clarify contingencies - publicize punishment rules - employees should know what behavior will not be tolerated Punish all instances of inappropriate behavior - doing nothing creates chronic and serious problems Take immediate action

- focus on what person can do to avoid disapproval Applications of Learning in Organizations (cont.) Discipline (cont.) Keys to using punishment effectively Deliver punishment immediately after undesirable behavior occurs Give moderate levels of punishment - not to high or too low Punish the undesirable behavior, not the person - be impersonal - focus on what person can do to avoid disapproval Use punishment consistently - all the time, for all employees Clearly communicate reasons for the punishment - identify undesirable behaviors that precipitated the disciplinary action Do not follow punishment with noncontingent rewards - represents inadvertent reward for unwanted behavior