Perception

and Individual
Decision Making
What Is Perception, and Why Is It Important?

Perception
A process by which
• People’s behavior is
individuals organize and
interpret their sensory
based on their
impressions in order to perception of what
give meaning to their reality is, not on reality
environment. itself.
• The world as it is
perceived is the world
that is behaviorally
important.
 Factors that
Influence
Perception

E X H I B I T 5–1
Person Perception: Making Judgments About
Others

Attribution Theory
When individuals observe
behavior, they attempt to
determine whether it is
internally or externally
caused.

Distinctiveness: Shows different behaviors in different situations.

Consensus: Response is the same as others to same situation.
Consistency: Responds in the same way over time.
Attribution Theory E X H I B I T 5–2
Errors and Biases in Attributions
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate the
influence of external factors and
overestimate the influence of
internal factors when making
judgments about the behavior of
others

In general, we
tend to blame the
person first, not
the situation.
Errors and Biases in Attributions (cont’d)
Self-Serving Bias
The tendency for individuals to
attribute their own successes to
internal factors while putting the
blame for failures on external
factors
Thought: When
students get an “A” on
an exam, they often
say they studied hard.
But when they don’t
do well, how does the
self-serving bias
come into play?
Hint: Whose fault is it
usually when an
exam is “tough”?
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others

Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see on the basis
of their interests, background, experience, and
attitudes.
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others

Halo Effect
Drawing a general impression
about an individual on the basis
of a single characteristic

Contrast Effects
Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that are
affected by comparisons with other people
recently encountered who rank higher or lower on
the same characteristics
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others

Projection
Attributing one’s own
characteristics to other
people

Stereotyping
Judging someone on the
basis of one’s perception of
the group to which that person
belongs
Specific Applications in Organizations
 Employment Interview
– Perceptual biases of raters affect the accuracy of
interviewers’ judgments of applicants
 Performance Expectations
– Self-fulfilling prophecy (Pygmalion effect): The lower
or higher performance of employees reflects
preconceived leader expectations about employee
capabilities.
 Ethnic Profiling
– A form of stereotyping in which a group of individuals
is singled out—typically on the basis of race or
ethnicity—for intensive inquiry, scrutinizing, or
investigation
Specific Applications in Organizations (cont’d)

 Performance Evaluations
– Appraisals are often the subjective (judgmental)
perceptions of appraisers of another employee’s job
performance.
The Link Between Perceptions and
Individual Decision Making

Problem
A perceived discrepancy
between the current state of
affairs and a desired state
Perception of
the Decision
Decisions Maker
Choices made from among
alternatives developed from
data perceived as relevant

Outcomes
Chapter Check-up: Perception
Empolyee A spent more time on his job and was
perceived to be hardworking until a new person joined
the team who spent more number of hours on the job
and showed more commitment. Now A is nomore
considered as hardworking. Can you guess the
shortcut to judgement used here?
• Selective perception
• Halo effect
• Contrast effect
• Stereotyping effect
Chapter Check-up: Perception
Manager M treats his employees using the method of
punishing. He opts for stick in carrot/stick approach. He
believes in punishment, since he has grown up in a
military family with strict father. What do you think is the
judgement shortcut the manager is subjected to

• Selective perception
• Halo effect
• Contrast effect
• Projection
Chapter Check-up: Perception

If all of these perceptual

shortcuts happen un-
consciously, how can we keep
the stereotypes we have from
interfering with the way we
work in group projects?
Identify two specific things you
could do to help prevent
stereotypes from inhibiting
effective group relationships.
 Emotions
and
Moods

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Emotions — Why Emotions Were Ignored in OB

 Emotions are critical factor in employee behavior.

 The “myth of rationality”
 Emotions of any kind are disruptive to
organizations.
– Original OB focus was solely on the effects of strong
negative emotions that interfered with individual and
organizational efficiency.

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 What Are Emotions?

Affect
A broad range of emotions that people experience

Emotions Moods
Intense feelings that Feelings that tend to
are directed at be less intense than
someone or something emotions and that lack
a contextual stimulus

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 Aspects of Emotions
 Biology of Emotions
– Originate in brain’s limbic system
 Intensity of Emotions
– Personality
– Job requirements
 Frequency and Duration of Emotions
– How often emotions are exhibited
– How long emotions are displayed
 Functions of Emotions
– Critical for rational thinking
– Motivate people

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 Mood as Positive and Negative Affect

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 Sources of Emotions and Moods
 Personality
 Day and Time of the Week
 NOT Weather
 Stress
 Social Activities
 Sleep
 Exercise
 Age
 Gender

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 Positive Moods are
Highest
• At the End of
the Week
• In the Middle
Part of the Day

Negative Moods are

Highest
• At the
Beginning of
the Week And
show little
variation
throughout the
day
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 Gender and Emotions
 Women
– Can show greater emotional expression
– Experience emotions more intensely
– Display emotions more frequently
– Are more comfortable in expressing emotions
– Are better at reading others’ emotions
 Men
– Believe that displaying emotions is inconsistent with
the male image
– Are innately less able to read and to identify with
others’ emotions
– Have less need to seek social approval by showing
positive emotions

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 External Constraints on Emotions

Organizational Cultural
Influences Influences

Individual
Emotions

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 Emotional Labor
A situation in which an employee expresses
organizationally desired emotions during
interpersonal transactions.

Emotional dissonance—Inconsistencies between the

emotions we feel and the emotions we project.
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 Felt vs. Displayed Emotions

Felt Emotions
An individual’s actual emotions

Displayed Emotions
Emotions that are organizationally
required and considered appropriate
in a given job

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 Note: Higher
emotional labor
equals more
highly paid jobs
(with high
cognitive
requirements)

•Internals (Internal locus of control)

Individuals who believe that they
control what happens to them.

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 Affective Events Theory (AET)
 Work events trigger positive and negative
emotional reactions
– Personality and mood determine the intensity of the
emotional response.
– Emotions can influence a broad range of work performance
and job satisfaction variables.
 Implications of the theory AET
– Individual response reflects emotions and mood cycles.
– Current and past emotions affect job satisfaction.
– Emotional fluctuations create variations in job satisfaction
and performance.
– Both negative and positive emotions can distract workers
and reduce job performance.

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 Affective Events Theory (AET)

Source: Based on N.M. Ashkanasy and C.S. Daus, “Emotion in the Workplace: The E X H I B I T 8–6
New Challenge for Managers,” Academy of Management Executive, February 2002,
p.
© 77.
2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Emotional Intelligence

 Self-awareness = Know how you feel

 Self-management = Manage your emotions and
impulses
 Self-motivation = Can motivate yourself and
persist
 Empathy = Sense and understand what others
feel
 Social Skills = Can handle the emotions of others

Research Findings: Characterize high

performers, high EI scores, not high IQ
scores.
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OB Applications of Emotions and Moods
 Emotions and Selection
– Emotions affect employee effectiveness.
 Decision Making
– Emotions are an important part of the decision-making
process in organizations.
 Creativity
– Positive mood increases creativity.
 Motivation
– Emotional commitment to work and high motivation are
strongly linked.
 Leadership
– Emotions are important to acceptance of messages
from organizational leaders.

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OB Applications . . . (cont’d)
 Interpersonal Conflict
– Conflict in the workplace and individual emotions are
strongly intertwined.
 Negotiation
– Emotions can impair negotiations.
 Customer Services
– Emotions affect service quality delivered to customers
which, in turn, affects customer relationships.
 Job Attitudes
– Can carry over to home
 Deviant Workplace Behaviors
– Negative emotions lead to employee deviance
(actions that violate norms and threaten the
organization).
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Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Lucy has a high need for achievement and

likes to come to work and focus on her job
only. If you were Lucy’s manager, how could
you get her to feel more emotion at work?
Would you want her to? Why or why not?

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Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Discuss how low positive affect is the

same or different as high negative affect.

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Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Roberto comes to class and sits quietly

looking content and relaxed. The
teacher is guessing that Roberto is:

Low on negative affect

High on positive affect
High on negative affect
Low on positive affect

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