Download Chapter 4: Perception, Attribution, and the Management of

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Chapter 4:
Perception, Attribution,
and the Management of Diversity
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ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
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Chapter Objectives
• Describe how perception is inherently
subjective and how characteristics of the
perceiver, the target, and the situation can
influence perceptions
• Understand how the use of schemas can both
aid and detract from accurate perceptions
• Be aware of biases that can influence
perception without perceivers being aware of
their influences
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Chapter Objectives
• Appreciate why the effective
management of diversity is an imperative
for all kinds of organizations and the
steps that organizations can take to ensure
that different kinds of people are treated
fairly and that the organization is able to
take advantage of all they have to offer
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Chapter Objectives
• Understand why attributions are so
important and how they can sometimes be
faulty
• Describe the two major forms of sexual
harassment and the steps organizations
can take to combat sexual harassment
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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
• People try to make sense of their
environment and the objects, events, and
other people in it
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Figure 4.1 Components of
Perception
Perceiver
Target
Situation or context in which perception takes place
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Components of Perception
Perceiver
Situation
Target
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The Accuracy of Perceptions
• Not always accurate
• Perceptions are critical for managerial functions
– Motivating subordinates
– Treating subordinates fairly and equitably
– Making ethical decisions
• Accuracy can be improved by understanding
– what perceptions are
– how they are formed
– what influences them
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Figure 4.2 Characteristics of the
Perceiver That Affect Perception
Insert Figure 4.2 here
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Table 4.1 Factors That Influence
Perception
Characteristics Characteristics Characteristics
of the
of the Target
of the Situation
Perceiver
Schemas
Ambiguity
Additional
information
Motivational
state
Social status
Mood
Use of
impression
management
Salience
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Schemas
• Abstract knowledge structures
• Responsible for the organization and
interpretation of information about targets
of perception
• Based on past experiences and knowledge
• Resistant to change
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The Functionality of Schemas
• Functional
– Schemas help us make sense of a confusing
array of sensory input, choose what
information to pay attention to and what to
ignore, and guide perceptions of ambiguous
information
• Dysfunctional
– Schemas can result in inaccurate perceptions
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Stereotypes
• Set of overly simplified and often
inaccurate beliefs about the typical
characteristics of a particular group
• Dysfunctional schemas
– Based on inaccurate information
– Assigned based on a single distinguishing
characteristic
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Motivational State and Mood
• Motivational State: The needs, values,
and desires of a perceiver at the time of
perception.
• Mood: How a perceiver feels at the time
of perception.
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Ambiguity
• A lack of clearness or definiteness
• As the ambiguity of a target increases, it
becomes increasingly difficult for a
perceiver to form an accurate perception
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Social Status
• A person’s real or perceived position in
society or in an organization.
• Targets with relatively high status are
perceived to be smarter, more credible, more
knowledgeable, and more responsible for
their actions than lower-status targets.
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Impression Management
• An attempt to control the perceptions or
impressions of others
High
Low
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Table 4.2 Impression Management Tactics
Behavioral
Matching
The target of perception matches
his or her behavior to that of the
perceiver.
A subordinate tries to imitate her boss’s
behavior by being modest and soft-spoken
because her boss is modest and soft-spoken.
SelfPromotion
The target tries to present herself
or himself in as positive a light as
possible.
A worker reminds his boss about his past
accomplishments and associates with coworkers who are evaluated highly.
Conforming
to Situational
Norms
The target follows agreed-upon
rules for behavior in the
organization.
A worker stays late every night even if she has
completed all of her assignments because
staying late is one of the norms of her
organization.
Appreciating
or Flattering
Others
The target compliments the perceiver. This tactic works best when
flattery is not extreme and when it
involves a dimension important
to the perceiver.
A coworker compliments a manager on his
excellent handling of a troublesome employee.
The target’s beliefs and behaviors
are consistent. There is agreement
between the target’s verbal and
nonverbal behaviors.
A subordinate delivering a message to his boss
looks the boss straight in the eye and has a
sincere expression on his face.
Being
Consistent
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Salience
• Extent to which a target of perception
stands out in a group of people or things
• Causes of salience
Being
novel
Being
figural
Being
inconsistent
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Table 4.3 Causes of Salience
Being novel
Anything that makes a
target unique in a situation
Being
figural
Standing out from the
background
Being
Inconsistent
with other
people’s
expectations
Behaving or looking in a way
that is out of the ordinary
Examples: Being the only person of a
particular age, sex, or race in a situation
Example: Being in a spotlight, sitting at
the head of the table, wearing bright
clothes
Example: A normally shy person who is
the life of the party
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Table 4.4 Biases and Problems in
Perception
Primacy
Effects
The initial pieces of information
that a perceiver has about a target
have an inordinately large effect on
the perceiver’s perception and
evaluation of the target.
Interviewers decide in the first few minutes
of an interview whether or not a job candidate
is a good prospect.
Contrast
Effect
The perceiver’s perceptions of
others influence the perceiver’s
perception of a target.
A manager’s perception of an average
subordinate is likely to be lower if that
subordinate is in a group with very high
performers rather than in a group with very
low performers.
Halo
Effect
The perceiver’s general impression
of a target influences his or her
perception of the target on specific
dimensions.
A subordinate who has made a good overall
impression on a supervisor is rated as
performing high-quality work and always
meeting deadlines regardless of work that is
full of mistakes and late.
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Table 4.4 Biases and Problems in
Perception
Similar-tome Effect
People perceive others who are
similar to themselves more
positively than they perceive those
who are dissimilar.
Supervisors rate subordinates who are similar
to them more positively than they deserve.
Harshness,
Leniency,
Average
Tendency
Some perceivers tend to be overly
harsh in their perceptions, some
overly lenient. Others view most
targets as being about average.
When rating subordinates’ performances, some
supervisors give almost everyone a poor rating,
some give almost everyone a good rating, and
others rate almost everyone as being about
average.
Knowledge
of Predictor
Knowing how a target stands on a
predictor of performance influences
perceptions of the target.
A professor perceives a student more positively
than she deserves because the professor knows
the student had a high score on the SAT.
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Attribution Theory
• Describes how people explain the causes of
behavior
• Focuses on why people behave the way
they do
• Attributions can be made about the self or
another person
• Biases reduce the accuracy of attributions
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Figure 4.3 Types of Attributions
Insert Figure 4.3 here
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Attributional Biases
• Fundamental attribution error
• Actor-observer effect
• Self-serving attribution
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Objectives of Diversity Programs
• Making explicit and breaking down organizational
member’ stereotypes that result in inaccurate
perceptions and attributions
• Making members aware of different kinds of
backgrounds, experiences, and values
• Showing members how to deal effectively with
diversity-related conflicts and tensions
• Generally improving members’ understanding of
each other
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Diversity Training
•
•
•
•
•
Role-playing
Self-awareness activities
Awareness activities
Education
Mentoring
– Formal
– Informal
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Sexual Harassment
Quid Pro Quo
Hostile Work
Environment
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Examples of Hostile Work
Environment Sexual harassment
•
•
•
•
•
Pornographic pictures
Sexual jokes
Lewd comments
Sexually-oriented comments
Displays of sexually-oriented objects
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Steps to Combat Sexual
Harassment
• Develop a sexual harassment policy
• Clearly communicate the organization’s
sexual harassment policy
• Investigate charges of sexual harassment
• Take corrective action
• Provide sexual harassment training and
education
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