Perception Errors

Name: Onkar Sawant. PTMBA Div B. Roll No: 145. In philosophy, psychology, and science, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions to give meaning to their environment. The word "perception" comes from the Latin words perceptio, percipio, and means receiving, collecting, action of taking possession, apprehension with the mind or senses." How do we perceive?
Give meaning, attribute motives, intentions Form a impression Learn about self, others & world

We gather info

Experience

Individuals mostly perceive things differently, depending on what they perceive and how they organize and interpret the things perceived. We use a number of shortcuts when we judge others. These techniques are frequently valuable: They allow us to make accurate perceptions rapidly and provide valid data for making predictions. However they are not foolproof. These perceptual processes may result in errors and can result in significant distortions. COMMON PERCEPTION ERRORS Common perceptual distortions seen in my organization are:      Stereotypes and Prototypes Halo Effects / Horn Effects Selective Perception Contrast Effects Projections

STEREOTYPES AND PROTOTYPES: When we judge someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he or she belongs we are committing a common error of perception called stereotyping. The process of stereotyping can be explained as below.
Develop categories and assign traits Assign a person to that category based on observable info Assign category traits to the person.

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Example of Stereotypes in my organization: I have seen in my organization an example of gender based stereotyping. There is misconception of sorts among the top management that female employees generally dont accept deputations and site visits and thus are not offered any. However a colleague of mine who was genuine and an able candidate for a deputation to Milan for a prestigious Oil and Gas project was not considered for it and was denied of a life time opportunity. How to correct or avoid errors of stereotypes? One of the problems of stereotypes is that they are widespread and often useful generalizations despite the fact that they may not contain a shred of truth when applied to particular person or situation. So we must constantly check ourselves to make sure whether we are applying it correctly or not in our decisions and evaluations. We must remember every individual is unique as a fingerprint and lumping together leads to incorrect judgment. Another method to correct and avoid errors of stereotypes is to interact more with the group of which we have made perceptions and learn more about them so that we can remove any false perceptions we have about them. HALO EFFECT / HORN EFFECT: When we tend to judge a person on the basis of a single characteristic such as intelligence, appearance etc we say a Halo or a Horn Effect is operating. If the characteristic is a positive one it is a Halo effect and if its a negative one its a Horn Effect. In this effect one trait forms a general impression and becomes the basis for judgments about other traits. Often occurs to fill in missing information. Examples of Horn Effect in my organization: Here I would like to share an instance which recently occurred. My Head of the Department is a very rude stubborn and an intimidating man. In order to pursue a part time MBA course from NMIMS I had to take his approval. I was always of the opinion that he will not allow me to pursue the course and would create problems. However when I approached him for a work experience letter and to seek his permission for the course he was quite supportive and gave me the permission. I was clearly operating in a Horn Effect. Examples of Halo Effect in my organization: One of my colleagues had worked very hard and diligently on an earlier project thus he was seen by my boss as a hard worker and a performer. But actually on the ongoing project he is not working that hard and still reaping the benefits of the previous project this is a clear case of Halo Error.

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Perception Errors
How to avoid errors of horn and halo effects? Actually it is generally difficult to correct these errors as first impression has a lasting effect on an individual. However these effects can be avoided by not letting your first impressions have a too strong effect on your perceptions. A timely check on your first impressions can be made to find the judgments you made were correct or incorrect. Dont let past experiences affect your perceptions. SELECTIVE PERCEPTIONS: Any characteristics that make a person, an object or an event stand out will increase the probabability that we will perceive it as it is impossible for us to assimilate everything we see; we can take in only certain stimuli. As we cant observe everything going on about us we engage in selective perception. This tendency to single out those aspects of a situation, person, or object that are consistent with ones needs, values, or attitudes is selective perception. Example of Selective Perception from my organization: The project I am working on has two area engineers working under the same lead engineer. One of the area engineers always sits late and works on the other hand the other completes the work in time and leaves. The lead engineer has an opinion that the one who works till late is a hardworking employee while the other is not. Here the lead engineer indulges in selective perception as he is taking into account only the late sitting factor for his perception. How to correct or avoid errors of Selective perception? Perception checking with other persons can help counter the adverse impact of selective perception. Postpone your impression formation and dont take hasty decisions. In the above e.g. if the lead engineer checks with his colleagues about his perception he may find whether his perception is right or wrong. CONTRAST EFFECTS: Evaluation of a persons characteristics that is affected by comparison with other people. Here the perceivers perceptions of others influence the perceivers perception of a target. Example of Contrast Effects in my organization: We at my organization work in groups or taskforce on different projects. Each project has a dedicated team. During appraisals I have seen many that individuals are judged on the performance of the team and not on their own performance as a result of which I have seen inefficient individuals in a successful group getting hikes which they did not deserve and similarly efficient workers in an unsuccessful group being left out.

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How to correct or avoid Contrast Effects? We must remember every individual is unique and not let our perception be a part of any comparison. If in the above e.g. had each individual been appraised upon individually keeping his or her performance in mind this error could have been easily avoided. PROJECTIONS: The assignment of one personal attributes to other individuals is termed as projections.Beleiving that others have same characteristics as us is error due to projection. This error occurs in the interpretation stage. Example of Projection Error in my organization: When I joined the organization I was working with an engineer who was quite demanding and was very accurate in the work he did. He rarely made any mistakes and was seen as a perfectionist by others. He demanded the same accuracy from his subordinates and me and used to get frustrated and annoyed if anyone committed any mistakes. If any of his subordinates were unable to meet his standards who would often complain about them to his superiors. This is a clear case of projection error. How to avoid Projection Errors? Projection Errors can be controlled through a high degree of self-awareness and empathy. In the above case for instance had the engineer been more empathetic towards his subordinates he would have easily avoided projection error.

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