Download Chapter 4 Perception, Attitudes, and Personality

Chapter 5
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality
Learning Goals
• Understand human perceptual processes and
how people form impressions of others
• Describe types of perceptual error and their
effects on information people get from their
environment
• Explain attribution processes and their
effects on perception and attitudes
Learning Goals (Cont.)
• Discuss the nature of attitudes, how they
form and how they change
• Explain the different views of human
personality development
• Discuss some dimensions of personality and
several personality types
• Recognize the effects of different cultures
on perception, attitudes, and personality
Chapter Overview
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•
•
•
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Introduction
Perception
Attitudes
Personality
International Aspects of Perception,
Attitudes, and Personality
• Ethical Issues in Perception, Attitudes, and
Personality
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality
Attitudes
Perception
Chapter 5
Personality
Perception
• A cognitive process: lets a person make
sense of stimuli from the environment
• Affects all senses: sight, touch, taste, smell,
hearing
• Includes inputs to person and choice of
inputs to which the person attends
• Stimulus sources: people, events, physical
objects, ideas
• Helps adaptation to a changing environment
Perception (Cont.)
• Perceptual process
– Target: object of the person’s perceptual
process
– Threshold: minimum information from target
for the person to notice the target
• Detection threshold: point at which person notices
something has changed in her or his environment
• Recognition threshold: point at which person can
identify the target or change in the target
See text book Figure 5.1
Perception (Cont.)
• Perceptual process (cont.)
– Target emerges from its surrounding context
sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly
– Quickly discriminate a high-contrast target
from its background; an ambiguous target takes
more time to see
– Contrast can come from the target's size, color,
loudness, or smell
Perception (Cont.)
• Perceptual process (cont.)
– People attend more quickly to positively valued
stimuli than to negatively valued stimuli
– Example: achievement-oriented employees
notice announcements about promotion
opportunities faster than an employee with less
achievement motivation
Perception (Cont.)
• Perceptual defense: shield self from
negatively valued stimuli
– Example: block out annoying sounds
– Organizational example: block some feedback
from a supervisor or coworker when it is
negative
Perception (Cont.)
• Perceptual errors: mistakes in the
perceptual process
– Perceptual set
• Beliefs about a target based on information about
the target or previous experiences with it
• Information about the target from any source
• Beliefs act like instructions for processing stimuli
from the target
Perception (Cont.)
• Perceptual errors (cont.)
– Stereotype: beliefs and perceived attributes
about a target based on the target’s group
– Examples
• American university students: energetic and
spontaneous
• Russian university students: orderly and obedient
Self-Perception:
A View of Self
• Self-perception: process by which people
develop a view of themselves
• Develops from social interaction within
different groups, including groups
encountered on the Internet
• Self-perception has three parts: selfconcept, self-esteem, self-presentation
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-concept:
– Set of beliefs people have about themselves
– View people hold of their personal qualities and
attributes
– Factors affecting a person's self-concept
• Observations of behavior
• Recall of past significant events
• Effect of the surrounding social context
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-concept (cont.)
– Observations of behavior
• People see their behavior, and their situation, in the
same way they see the behavior of other people
• Person believes the behavior occurred voluntarily:
concludes the behavior happened because of some
personal quality or attribute
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-concept (cont.)
– Observations of behavior (cont.)
• People learn about themselves by comparing
themselves to other people with similar qualities
• Example: you may want to assess your abilities to
hold a supervisory position. You compare yourself
to people with backgrounds similar to yours who
have had recent promotions
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-concept (cont.)
– Recall of past significant events and effect of
the surrounding social context
• Recall events important in their lives; not error free
• Tend to recall events they attribute to themselves
and not to a situation or other people
• Often overestimate their role in past events
• Place more weight on the effects of their behavior
and less on the surrounding situation or other people
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-esteem
– Emotional dimension of self-perception
– Positive and negative judgments people have of
themselves
– People with low self-esteem tend to be
unsuccessful; do not adapt well to stressful
events
– Those with high self-esteem have the opposite
experiences
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-awareness
– People differ in degree of self-awareness
– Two forms
• Private self-consciousness: behave according to
attend to inner feelings and standards
• Public self-consciousness: behave according to
social standard correct for the situation
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-presentation
– Behavioral strategies people use to affect how
others see them
– How they think about themselves
– Goals of self-presentation
• Affect other people's impressions to win their
approval
• Increase the person's influence in a situation
• Ensure that others have an accurate impression of
the person
Self-Perception:
A View of Self (Cont.)
• Self-presentation (cont.)
– Highly conscious of public image: change
behavior from situation to situation. Readily
conform to situational norms
– People who want others to perceive them in a
particular way behave consistently in different
situations. They act in ways they perceive as
true to themselves with little regard for the
norms of the situation
Social Perception:
A View of Others
• Social perception: process by which
people come to know and understand each
other
• Forming impression of a person: perceiver
first observes the person, the situation, and
the person's behavior
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Form a quick impression by making a snap
judgment about that person, or
• Make attributions and integrate the
attributions to form a final impression
• Confirmation biases lead the perceiver to
hold tenaciously to it
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Elements of social perception
– Three sets of clues help form the impression of
another person
• Person
• Situation surrounding the person
• Observed behavior of the person
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Elements of social perception (cont.)
– Developing first impressions
• Use different physical aspects of the person: height,
weight, hair color, eyeglasses
• Stereotypes based on physical features
– Thin men: tense, suspicious, stubborn
– Blond women: fun loving
– Neatly dressed people: responsible
• Stereotypes result from attributing qualities to
people based on previously formed perceptions
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Elements of social perception (cont.)
– Preconceptions about the situations in which we
see the behavior of other people
– Develop from experience with the same or
similar situations
– Situation raises expectations about behavior the
situation should cause
– Example: when two people are introduced, we
expect both parties to acknowledge the other
and probably to shake hands
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Attribution processes
– People use attribution processes to explain the
causes of behavior they see in others
– Begins with a quick personal attribution
followed by adjustment based on the
characteristics of the situation
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Personal attribution
– Characteristics of the person such as beliefs,
disposition, or personality, and not the situation,
caused the person's behavior
– Example: when you conclude that another
student spends many hours completing a project
because he likes to work hard or values hard
work, you are making a personal attribution
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Situational attribution
– Aspects of the situation, not qualities of the
person, cause the person's behavior
– Example: a student worked hard because of the
reward of a good grade
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Perceiver uses three types of information
when forming an attribution
– Consensus information
– Distinctiveness information
– Consistency information
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Consensus information
– Observe other people in the same or a similar
situation
• If other people show the same behavior as the target
person, the situation caused the behavior
• If other people behave differently from the target
person, the person caused the behavior
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Distinctiveness information
– Observe the target person in a different
situation
• If the response is different in the new situation, the
situation caused the behavior
• If the response is the same, the person caused the
behavior
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Consistency information
– Observe the target person in a similar situation,
but at a different time
• High consistency: same behavior at both times
• Low consistency: different behavior at both times
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Combine consensus, distinctiveness, and
consistency information to form attribution
– Personal attribution: behavior high in
consistency; low in consensus and
distinctiveness
– Situational attribution: behavior high in
consensus and distinctiveness; low in
consistency
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Fundamental attribution error
– Observer underestimates situation as cause of
behavior; overestimates the as cause
– Explaining their behavior: tend to ascribe
causes to the situation, not to personal qualities
– Explaining other’s behavior: tend to ascribe its
causes to personal qualities, not the situation
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• False consensus
– Overestimate the degree to which others agree
with the person's view
– Reinforces the view the perceiver has of
another person
Social Perception:
A View of Others (Cont.)
• Integration of attributions to form final
impression: disposition of perceiver
– Effects of recent experiences: positive or
negative event just before meeting someone for
the first time can affect the impression of the
person
– Mood at time of first meeting:
• Positive impressions in a good mood
• Negative impressions in a bad mood
Attitudes
• An attitude is “a learned predisposition to
respond in a consistently favorable or
unfavorable manner with respect to a given
object”
• Attitude object: physical objects, issues,
ideas, events, people, places
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Parts of an attitude
– Cognitive: perceptions and beliefs about an
attitude object
– Affective: feelings about an attitude object
– Behavioral intentions: how the person wants
to behave and what a person says about an
attitude object
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Common work attitudes
– Organizational commitment
– Satisfaction
– Job involvement
• Play a role in employee turnover
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Some connection between attitudes and
behavior, although not strong
– People with strong attitudes about an object
will likely behave in accord with their attitude
– Strong positive attitudes about Macintosh©
computers leads to buying one
– Ardent followers of Jesse Jackson will likely
vote for him
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Attitude formation: affected by the
person’s beliefs about an object and the
amount and type of information the person
has about the object
– Perceives positive attributes: develops positive
attitude
– Perceives negative attributes: develops
negative attitude
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Attitude formation (cont.)
–
–
–
–
Family upbringing
Peer groups
Work groups
General social experiences
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Attitude change
– Something persuades the person to shift his or
her attitudes (persuasive communication)
– Norms of a social group can affect a person’s
attitude (social norms)
– Person becomes uncomfortable with some
aspects of her or his beliefs (cognitive
dissonance)
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Persuasive communication
–
–
–
–
Advertising
Tries to change cognitive part of attitude
Assumes affective part will also change
Attitude change process
•
•
•
•
Win target’s attention
Understand message
Accept the influence
Remember the message
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Social influence on attitudes
– People are embedded in social groups
– Feel pressures to conform to norms
– If person values membership in group, likely
will align attitudes with the group norms
Attitudes (Cont.)
• Cognitive dissonance
– Hold multiple beliefs or cognitions about an
attitude object
– Feel tension when discrepancies develop
– Motivated to reduce the tension
– Change one or more cognitions
– Other parts of attitude also change
Personality
• Set of traits, characteristics, and
predispositions of a person
• Usually matures and stabilizes by about age
30
• Affects how a person adjusts to different
environments
Personality Theories
• Cognitive theory: people develop their
thinking patterns as their life unfolds
• Learning theories: behavior patterns
develop from the social environment
• Biological theories: personality as
genetically inherited
Personality Theories (Cont.)
• Cognitive theory
– Develop thinking patterns as life unfolds
– Affects how the person interprets and
internalizes life's events
– Cognitive development stages
• Reflexive behavior of infant
• More complex modes of perception and
interpretation of events
– Neither driven by instincts nor unwittingly
shaped by environmental influences
Personality Theories (Cont.)
• Learning theories
– Learn behavior from social interaction with
other people
– Young child: early family socialization
– Continuously learn from social environment:
stable behavior forms the personality
– Uniqueness of each personality follows from
variability in social experiences
Personality Theories (Cont.)
• Biological theories
– Ethological theory
• Develop common characteristics as a result of
evolution
• Behavioral characteristics that have helped survival
over generations become inborn characteristics
Personality Theories (Cont.)
• Biological theories (cont.)
– Behavior genetics
• Individual's unique gene structure affects personality
development
• Personality develops from interactions between a
person's genetic structure and social environment
The Big-Five
Personality Dimensions
• Extroversion
– High: talkative, sociable
– Low: reserved, introverted
• Emotional stability
– High: calm, relaxed
– Low: worried, depressed
• Agreeableness
– High: cooperative, tolerant
– Low: rude, cold
The Big-Five
Personality Dimensions (Cont.)
• Conscientiousness
– High: dependable, thorough
– Low: sloppy, careless
• Openness to experience
– High: curious, intelligent
– Low: simple, conventional
Assess yourself on each dimension
Personality Types
• Locus of control: people control the
consequences of their actions or are
controlled by external factors
– External control: luck, fate, or powerful
external forces control one’s destiny
– Internal control: believe they control what
happens to them
Assess yourself against each type.
Personality Types (Cont.)
• Machiavellianism
–
–
–
–
–
–
Holds cynical views of other people's motives
Places little value on honesty
Approaches the world with manipulative intent
Maintains distance between self and others
Emotionally detached from other people
Suspicious interpersonal orientation can
contribute to high interpersonal conflict
Personality Types (Cont.)
• Machiavellianism (cont.)
– Focus on personal goals, even if reaching them
requires unethical behavior
– Suspicious orientation leads to view of
organizational world as a web of political
processes
Personality Types (Cont.)
• Type A personality: a keen sense of time
urgency, focuses excessively on
achievement, aggressive
Type B personality: strong self-esteem,
even tempered, no sense of time urgency
Type A: significant risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Personality Types (Cont.)
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
– Popular personality assessment device
– Four bi-polar dimensions
•
•
•
•
Extroverted (E) - introverted (I)
Sensing (S) - intuitive (I)
Thinking (T) - feeling (F)
Perceiving (P) - judging (J)
– Assigns people to one of sixteen types based on
these dimensions
Personality Types (Cont.)
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
(cont.)
–
–
–
–
–
Extroverts look outward; introverts turn inward
Sensers use data; intuitives use hunches
Thinkers are objective; feelers are subjective
Perceivers are flexible; judgers want closure
ESTJ type: extroverted, sensing, thinking, and
judging
International Aspects of
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality
• Culturally based stereotypes
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–
–
–
Swiss: punctual
Germans: task-oriented
Americans: energetic
People who hold these stereotypes experience
surprises when they meet people from these
countries who do not fit the stereotypes
International Aspects of
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Culturally based stereotypes (cont.)
– Project aspects of own culture onto people and
situations in a different culture
– Assumes that the new culture mirrors their own
– Example: Korean manager visiting Sweden
assumes all women seated behind desks are
secretaries
– Such behavior would be inappropriate and
possibly dysfunctional in Sweden where many
women hold management positions
International Aspects of
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Attitudes about organizational design,
management, and decision making:
– U.S. managers: a hierarchical organizational
design helps solve problems and guides the
division of labor in the organization
– French and Italian managers: a hierarchical
design lets people know authority relationships
in the organization
International Aspects of
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Attitudes (cont.)
– Italian managers: bypassing a manager to reach
a subordinate employee is insubordination
– Swedish and Austrian organizations:
decentralized decision making
– Philippine and Indian organizations:
centralized decision making
Conclusion: Organizations that cross national borders and draw
managers from many different countries have high conflict potential.
International Aspects of
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Personality characteristics
– People in individualistic cultures (United
States) have a stronger need for autonomy than
people in group-oriented cultures (Japan)
– People in cultures that emphasize avoiding
uncertainty (Belgium, Peru) have a stronger
need for security than people in cultures that are
less concerned about avoiding uncertainty
(Singapore, Ireland)
Ethical Issues in
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality
• Stereotypes and workforce diversity
– Can have inaccurate stereotypes about the
ethics of people with different social, racial, and
ethnic backgrounds
– These stereotypes can affect the opinions
people develop about the ethical behavior of
such people in the workplace
Ethical Issues in
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Self-presentation
– Deliberately managing self-presentations so
decisions and behavior appear ethical
– Limited experimental evidence suggests one
can favorably manage other people's
impressions of their ethical attitudes
Ethical Issues in
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Attribution and accountability
– Individual responsibility is central to ethical
behavior
• Attribution of responsibility to a person: person
behaved ethically or unethically
• Attribution of responsibility to the situation:
individual not held accountable
• Example: observer believed the person had behaved
unethically because of a directive
– Errors in attribution: could conclude that he or
she was not responsible for an unethical act
Ethical Issues in
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality (Cont.)
• Ethical attitudes
– Little reliable and valid information about
ethical attitudes
– Some evidence points to the absence of a fixed
set of ethical attitudes among managers
– Attitudes about ethics in organizations and
decision making are situational and varying
– The morality of behavior and decisions is
determined by their social context, not by
abstract and absolute rules