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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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...

6. 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

7. 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)

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. - 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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
feedback - collection of performance
feedback from multiple sources
at various organizational levels

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

23. 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

24. 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

25. - 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