Fundamentals of Perception in OB

Fundamental of Perception

• Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory impressions to understand the environment.
• Perception is crucial in Organizational Behavior (OB) because people's actions are based on their perceived reality, not objective reality.

Factors Influencing Perception

• Perceiver: Attitudes, motives, interests, experience, and expectations shape how a person interprets a target. Personal characteristics (personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations) influence interpretation.
• Target: Novelty, motion, sounds, size, background, proximity, and similarity of a target influence perception. Relationships and groupings impact how we perceive targets.
• Situation: The context of the perception (time, work setting, social setting) affects how we interpret targets. For instance, starting work earlier could be interpreted as more conscientious.

Observer Perceptions

• Perceptions can be influenced by attitudes, often leading to inaccurate perceptions. For example, eyewitness accounts of a shooting varied greatly depending on the observer's perspective.
• Accurate perceptions can be achieved by objective evaluations, but sometimes attitudes cloud the perception.

Target Characteristics

• Target characteristics affect perceptions. We perceive targets in relation to their surroundings (background), and form groups of similar targets. Preconceived notions about groups influence how we perceive its members. For example, criminal record leads to prejudgments.
• Sometimes, differing characteristics lead to a more favorable or positive perception.

Context/Situation

• The time, location, lighting, and situational factors influence our attention to targets.
• If an individual does not meet our expected standards, we tend to notice them more.

Person Perception: Making Judgments About Others

• Attribution Theory: When observing others, we try to explain their behavior by determining if it's internally or externally caused.
• Factors: Consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus help us attribute causes to behavior.
• Example: If an employee is consistently late to work, is late only on Tuesdays, and other employees are not late, then we might attribute it to internal factors.
• Distributions: Internal causation is when the cause of behavior is attributed to the person. Example is oversleeping. External attribution is when the cause of behavior is attributed to factors outside the person. Example is traffic.

Shortcuts in Judging Others

• Selective Perception: We tend to notice things that stand out or that are relevant to us.
• Halo Effect: A positive impression of one characteristic leads to positive impressions of other characteristics. For example, someone seen as intelligent may be seen as friendly too.
• Horns Effect: A negative impression of one characteristic leads to negative impressions of other characteristics. For example, someone perceived as unkind may also be seen as unintelligent.
• Contrast Effects: Perceptions are made by comparison.
• Example: Judging an interview candidate based on previous applicants.

Stereotyping

• Making judgments about an individual based on his/her group membership
• Stereotypes may lead to biased decisions, which, in many cases affect organizational performance such as leadership styles.
• Example: A study indicated that black defendants in murder trials were more likely to be given the death penalty if they looked 'stereotypically' black.

Employment Interview

• Interviewers make perceptual judgments early in the interview process. First impressions are very significant.
• Example: Inaccurate and biased impressions formed early in interviews are difficult to overcome.

Performance Evaluations

• Performance evaluations are often subjective and influenced by perceptual errors (like halo effect, selective perception).
• Example: Performance ratings may reflect the evaluator's perception rather than the employee's actual performance

Decision Making

• Decision making is greatly influenced by perceptions.
• Errors can lead to biased decision making.
• Example: Perceptions can lead to wrong evaluations and perceptions.

Influences on Decision Making

• Individual Differences: Personality (e.g., conscientiousness, self-esteem) affects decision-making styles and susceptibility to errors.
• Organizational Constraints: Performance evaluations, reward systems, formal regulations, and time constraints affect decision-making processes.
• Example: If an organization rewards risk-aversion, managers are likely to make conservative decisions.

Decision Making in Times of Crisis

• Decision-making errors are more likely during periods of crisis because of significant uncertainties.
• Example: The Covid-19 pandemic forced many difficult decisions, emphasizing the role of biases and emotional factors in decision making.

Ethics in Decision Making

• Utilitarianism: Making decisions based on their best possible outcomes for the most people.
• Fundamental Liberties and Privileges: Decision-making consistent with individual rights, such as freedom of speech.
• Justice: Decisions made fairly and impartially, considering the equitable distribution of benefits and costs.

Lying

• Lying is a common ethical problem.
• Managers and employees often give false motives for actions.
• Example: Bribery is common in certain cultures.

Cultural Differences

• Cultural factors greatly influence decisions.
• Example: Time orientation, rationality, and collectivism vary across cultures.