Chapter 3: Perception, Attribution, and Diversity

Question 1

Perception

Answer 1

The process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and meaning to the environment.

Question 2

3 Components of Perception

Answer 2

Perceiver, target and a situational context.

Question 3

Perceptual defence

Answer 3

The tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver against unpleasant emotions.

Question 4

Social identity theory

Answer 4

States that people form perceptions of themselves based on their personal characteristics and memberships in social categories.

Question 5

Primacy effect

Answer 5

The tendency for a perceiver to rely on early cues or first impressions.

Question 6

Recency effect

Answer 6

The tendency for a perceiver to rely on recent cues or last impressions.

Question 7

Central traits

Answer 7

Personal characteristics of a target person that are of particular interest to a perceiver.

Question 8

Implicit personality theories

Answer 8

Personal theories that people have about which personality characteristics go together.

Question 9

Projection

Answer 9

The tendency for perceivers to attribute their own thoughts and feelings to others.

Question 10

Stereotyping

Answer 10

The tendency to generalize about people in a certain social category and ignore variations among them.

Question 11

Attribution

Answer 11

The process by which causes or motives are assigned to explain people’s behaviour.

Question 12

Dispositional attributions

Answer 12

Explanations for behaviour based on an actor’s personality or intellect.

Question 13

Situational attributions

Answer 13

Explanations for behaviour based on an actor’s external situation or environment.

Question 14

Consistency cues

Answer 14

Attribution cues that reflect how consistently a person engages in a behaviour over time.

Question 15

Conensus cues

Answer 15

Attribution cues that reflect how a person’s behaviour compares with that of others.

Question 16

Distinctiveness cues

Answer 16

Attribution cues that reflect the extent to which a person engages in some behaviour across a variety of situations.

Question 17

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 17

The tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations for behaviour at the expense of situational explanations.

Question 18

Actor-observer effect

Answer 18

The propensity for actors and observers to view the causes of the actor’s behaviour differently.

Question 19

Self-serving bias

Answer 19

The tendency to take credit for successful outcomes and to deny resposibility for failures.

Question 20

Workforce diversity

Answer 20

Differences among recruits and employees in characteristics such as gender, race, age, religion, etc.

Question 21

Stereotype threat

Answer 21

Members of a social group feel thye might be judged or treated according to a stereotype and that their behaviour and/or performance will confirm the stereotype.

Question 22

Trust

Answer 22

A psychological state in which one has a willingness to be vulnerable and to take risks with respect to the actions of another party.

Question 23

Perceived organizational support (POS)

Answer 23

Employees’ general belief that their organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being.

Question 24

POS Predictors

Perceived Organizational Support

Answer 24

• Supervisor support
• Fairness
• Organizational rewards
• Job conditions

Question 25

POS Consequences

Perceived Organizational Support

Answer 25

• Job satisfaction
• Organizational commitment
• Positive mood
• Performance
• Reduced strains
• Reduced turnover and absenteeism

Question 26

Organizational support theory

Answer 26

States that employees who have strong perceptions of organizational support feel an obligation to care about the organization’s welfare and to help the organization achieve its objectives.

Question 27

Signalling theory

Answer 27

Job applicants interpret their recruitment experiences as cues or signals about unknown characteristics of an organization and what it will be like to work in an organization.

Question 28

Contrast effects

Answer 28

Previously interviewed job applicants affect an interviewer’s perception of a current applicant, leading to an exaggeration of differences between applicants.

Question 29

Halo effect

Answer 29

The rating of an individual on one trait or characteristic tends to colour ratings on other traits or characteristics.

Question 30

Similar-to-me effect

Answer 30

A rater gives more favourable evaluations to people who are similar to the rater in terms of background or attitudes.

Question 31

Behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS)

Answer 31

A rating scale with specific behavioural examples or good, average, and poor performances.

Question 32

Frame-of-reference (FOR) training

Answer 32

A training method to improve rating accuracy that involves providing raters with a common frame of reference to use when rating individuals.