Chapter 3 Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations

Question 1

Self concept

Answer 1

An individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations

Question 2

Our self concept is defined at 3 levels

Answer 2

individual, relational, and collective

Question 3

An individual’s self-concept can be described by three characteristics

Answer 3

1) Complexity
2) Consistency
3) Clarity

Question 4

Complexity

Answer 4

refers to the number of dis- tinct and important roles or identities that people perceive about themselves
Self-concept complexity is defined by more than just the number of identities a person has; it is also defined by the separation of those identities

Question 5

Consistency

Answer 5

is the degree to which a person’s identities require similar personal attributes

Question 6

Clarity

Answer 6

refers to the degree to which a person’s self-concept is clear, confidently defined, and stable

Question 7

Self Concept Processes

Answer 7

1) Self enhancement
2) Self verification
3) Self evaluation
4) Social Self

Question 8

Self Enhancement

Answer 8

A person’s inherent motivation to have
a positive self-concept (and to have others perceive them favourably), such as being competent, attractive, lucky, ethical, and important.

Question 9

Self verification

Answer 9

A person’s inherent motivation to confirm and maintain their existing self-concept.

Question 10

Self evaluation is defined by

Answer 10

1) Self esteem
2) Self efficacy
3) Locus of control

Question 11

Self esteem

Answer 11

the extent to which people like, respect, and are satisfied with themselves—represents a comprehensive self-evaluation.

Question 12

Self efficacy

Answer 12

A person’s belief that they have the ability, motivation, correct role perceptions, and favourable situation to complete a task successfully.

Question 13

Locus of control

Answer 13

A person’s general belief about the amount of control they have over personal life events.

Question 14

Social identity theory

Answer 14

A theory stating that people define themselves by the groups to which they belong or have an emotional attachment.

Question 15

Selective Attention

Answer 15

The process of attending to some information received by our senses and ignoring other information.

Question 16

Confirmation bias

Answer 16

The process of screening out information that is contrary to our values and assumptions, and to more readily accept con- firming information.

Question 17

Categorical Thinking

Answer 17

Organizing people and objects into preconceived categories that are stored in our long-term memory.

Question 18

Stereotyping

Answer 18

The process of assigning traits to people based on their membership in a social category.

Question 19

Why do people stereotype

Answer 19

1) it saves energy
2) fills in the missing pieces
3) helps with social identity and self enhancement

Question 20

Stereotype threat

Answer 20

An individual’s concern about confirming a negative stereotype about their group

Question 21

Attribution theory

Answer 21

The perceptual process of deciding whether an observed behaviour or event is caused largely by internal or external factors.

Question 22

3 Attribution rules

Answer 22

1) Consistency
2) Distinctiveness
3) Consensus

Question 23

Self serving bias

Answer 23

The tendency to attribute our favourable outcomes to internal factors and our failures to external factors.

Question 24

Fundamental Attribution error

Answer 24

(also called correspondence bias), is the tendency to overemphasize internal causes of another person’s behaviour and to discount or ignore external causes of their behaviour.

Question 25

Self-fulfiling prophecy

Answer 25

The perceptual process in which our expectations about another person cause that person to act more consis- tently with those expectations

Question 26

Positive Organizational Behaviour

Answer 26

A perspective of organizational behaviour that focuses on building positive qualities and traits within individuals or institutions as opposed to focusing on what is wrong with them.

Question 27

Halo effect

Answer 27

A perceptual error whereby our general impression of a person, usually based on one prominent characteristic, colours our perception of other characteristics of that person

Question 28

Recency Effect

Answer 28

A perceptual error in which the most recent information dominates our perception of others.

Question 29

False Consensus Effect

Answer 29

A perceptual error in which we overestimate the extent to which others have beliefs and characteristics similar to our own

Question 30

Primacy Effect

Answer 30

A perceptual error in which we quickly form an opinion of people based on the first information we receive about them

Question 31

Johari Window

Answer 31

A model of self-awareness and mutual understanding with others that advocates disclosure and feedback to increase our open area and reduce the blind, hidden, and unknown areas

Question 32

Contact Hypothesis

Answer 32

A theory stating that the more we interact with someone, the less prejudiced or perceptually biased we will be against that person

Question 33

Empathy

Answer 33

A person’s understanding of and sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and situations of others.

Question 34

Global Mindset

Answer 34

refers to an individual’s ability to perceive, know about, and process information across cultures