Chapter 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations Flashcards
Define Perception
- The process of receiving information and making sense of the world around us.
- Involves determining which information to notice and how to categorize and interpret it based on existing knowledge.
Is perception the same thing as reality?
- No.
- The brain quickly and non-consciously assesses information, attaching emotional markers to retain it.
- Emotional markers help store information in memory.
- Different people have different perceptions.
Why is studying perceptions important?
- Perception is the basis for how individuals respond and react.
- Our perceptions guide cognitive processes.
Explain the Factors that Influence Perception
Perceiver: The person forming the perception.
* Influenced by attitudes, personality, emotional state, motives, past experiences, and recent or significant experiences.
Target: The object or person being perceived.
* Influenced by appearance, non-verbal cues, and other characteristics of the target.
Situation: The physical environment and working conditions.
* Affected by formal and informal cues in the environment.
Selective Attention
- The process of attending to some information while ignoring others.
- Example: Focusing on someone with a foreign accent while ignoring others with local accents.
Confirmation Bias
- Tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs and ignore contradicting information.
- Example: A law enforcement professional forming a theory early in an investigation and ignoring conflicting evidence.
Categorical Thinking
- Grouping people or objects based on preconceived categories.
- Example: Believing that all people in a specific office section are in the marketing department because they are grouped together.
Mental Models
- Knowledge structures that help us understand and predict the world.
- Example: Expecting a class lecture to follow a typical structure, like students sitting in rows, and the instructor asking questions.
Stereotyping
- Assigning traits to individuals based on their social category membership.
- Example: Assuming an accountant is boring, cautious, and calculating.
Halo Effect
- A perception error where a general impression of a person influences perception of their other traits.
- Example: Evaluating an employee negatively in multiple areas because they are occasionally late, even if they are good at their work.
False-Consensus Effect
- Overestimating the extent to which others share our beliefs or characteristics.
- Example: Thinking that most of your coworkers are also considering quitting their job.
Primacy Effect
- Forming an opinion about someone based on the first information we receive about them.
- Example: Rejecting a resume immediately because of a typo or grammar issue.
Recency Effect
- The most recent information disproportionately influences our perception of others.
- Example: Evaluating an employee’s performance based on their most recent work, even though earlier work was strong.
Explain Attribution Theory
- Attribution Process: The process of deciding whether an observed behavior or event is caused by internal or external factors.
- Internal Attribution: Belief that behavior is caused by a person’s own motivation or ability.
- External Attribution: Belief that behavior is caused by factors beyond the person’s control.
- Importance: Understanding cause and effect relationships helps us work more effectively with others and assign praise or blame.
List and describe the three determinants of attribution.
Consistency: Did this person act this way in the past?
* Internal: Yes – high consistency; External: No – low consistency.
Distinctiveness: Does this person act this way in other situations?
* Internal: Yes – low distinctiveness; External: No – high distinctiveness.
Consensus: Do other people act this way in this situation?
* Internal: No – low consensus; External: Yes – high consensus.
Define the two attribution errors: self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error.
Self-Serving Bias: The tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors.
* Example: Taking credit for a successful project but blaming others for mistakes or failures.
Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to attribute someone’s behavior to their personality rather than the situation they are in.
* Example: Thinking someone is lazy for being late, without considering external factors like traffic or an emergency.
Define self-concept
Self-Concept: An individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations, defined at three levels:
* Individual Self: Personal traits.
* Relational Self: Connections to friends and coworkers.
* Collective Self: Memberships in teams, organizations, and social groups.
Complexity: Number of distinct and important roles or identities perceived.
* Self-Expansion: Motivation to increase complexity through new opportunities and social connections.
* Consistency: Degree to which identities align with personal attributes.
* Clarity: Degree to which self-concept is clear, stable, and confidently defined.
* Psychological Well-being: Higher in people with distinct (complex), clear (clarity), and consistent identities.
Self-Enhancement
- The inherent motivation to have a positive self-concept and be perceived favorably by others.
- Examples include wanting to be seen as competent, attractive, lucky, ethical, and important.
Self-Verification
The inherent motivation to confirm and maintain an existing self-concept, even if it is negative or inaccurate.
Self-Evaluation
Defined by three elements:
* Self-Esteem: How much people like, respect, and are satisfied with themselves.
* Self-Efficacy: Belief in one’s ability to complete tasks successfully.
* Locus of Control: Beliefs about control over life events (internal vs. external).
Social Self
- Social Identity (also called external self-concept): Part of self-concept derived from group memberships or emotional attachment.
- Social Identity Theory: People define themselves by the groups to which they belong or feel emotionally connected.
