Chapter 5

Question 1

Define what perception is:

Answer 1

This is where individuals would use their own interpretations of their sensory impressions to give meaning to what occurs in their environment.
An individuals behavior is based on their own view on the environment, not the environment itself.

Question 2

What affects perception?

Answer 2

• Factors that reside in the perceiver
• The target
• The situation in which the perception is made

Question 3

Attribution theory

Answer 3

This is the determination of whether an individuals behavior is external or internal.
Internal- what we believe the individual is under control of.
External- the behavior of the individual is out of their hands and was something they were not in control of.

Question 4

What are the 3 factors that affect the attribution theory?

Answer 4

1. Distinctiveness-> Refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations.
2. Consensus-> If everyone faces a similar situation, would the outcome be the same?
3. Consistency-> Does the person react the same over a long period of time?

Question 5

Fundamental attribution error definition

Answer 5

The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgements about the behaviour of others. We blame people first, not the situation.

Question 6

Self-serving bias definition

Answer 6

The tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors and put the blame for failures on external factors. It is our success but their failure.

Question 7

Selective perception

Answer 7

The tendency to selectively interpret what one sees on the basis of ones interest, background, experience and attitudes. We see what we want to see.

Question 8

Halo Effect

Answer 8

The tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic.

Question 9

Contrast effects

Answer 9

When someone does badly in a job interview, an average one after that seems good.

Question 10

Stereotyping

Answer 10

Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which the person belongs.
Profiling is a type of stereotype which involves singling out people base don the stereotype.

Question 11

What are the 6 steps of a rational decision-making model:

Answer 11

1. Define the problem
2. Identify the decision criteria
3. Allocate weights to the criteria
4. Develop the alternatives
5. Evaluate the alternatives
6. Select the best alternative

Question 12

What are the assumptions made on the rational decision making model?

Answer 12

• Well defined problem
• Clear criteria and criteria rating
• Complete and reliable information
• Unbiased preferences

Question 13

What are the 2 factors of the availability shortcut? And explain them

Answer 13

Availability bias-> The tendency for people to base their judgements on information that is readily available to them, leads to an inaccurate estimation.
Anchoring bias-> tendencies to fixate on initial information, which then results in the individual failing to adjust for subsequent information.

Question 14

Confirmation bias

Answer 14

The tendency to seek out information that reaffirms past choices and to justify their previous actions.
The individual selectively gathers information where the rational-decision making process assumes we gather information unbiasedly.

Question 15

Escalation of commitment

Answer 15

An increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information.

Question 16

Egocentric accounting

Answer 16

Occurs when people claim more responsibility for themselves for the results of a joint action than an outside observer would credit them.

Question 17

Better than average effect

Answer 17

Better-than-average-effect - the tendency for people to evaluate themselves as better than average on desirable skills, characteristics and behaviours.

Question 18

Low self-esteem (accurate self-assessment)

Answer 18

Low self-esteem (accurate self-assessment) - are generally accurate in assessing their competencies relative to others.

Question 19

Illusory correlations

Answer 19

Illusory correlations- seeing the relationship one expects in a set of data even when no such relationship exists.

Question 20

Hindsight bias

Answer 20

Hindsight bias - the tendency to believe falsely, after an outcome of an event is actually known, that one would have accurately predicted that outcome.

Question 21

Victim blaming

Answer 21

Victim blaming - holding the victims of a crime, an accident or any type of abuse maltreatment to be entirely or partially responsible for the unfortunate incident.

Question 22

Randomness error

Answer 22

Randomness error - the tendency of individuals to believe that they can predict the outcome of random events. At the extreme, some decision makers become controlled by their superstitions, making it nearly impossible for them to change routines or objectively process new information.

Question 23

Winners Curse

Answer 23

The winner’s curse is the tendency for the winning bid to exceed the worth of an item. The person who wins the bid overestimates its worth the most, as they were willing to go above and beyond what a presumably rational person is willing to bid.

Question 24

What 2 factors create deviations from the rational model?

Answer 24

• Personality-> Achievement driven people are more likely to escalate their commitment. Where people who are just fulfilling their duties are less likely to.
• Gender-> It is found that women analyze decisions more than men do.

Question 25

Performance evaluation

Answer 25

Managers are strongly influenced in their decision making by the meeting the criteria that they need to meet.

Question 26

Reward systems

Answer 26

Influences decision makers by suggesting to them what choices are preferable in terms of personal payoff.

Question 27

Formal regulations

Answer 27

Intended to get individuals to act in the intended manner. This may result in limiting the decision makers choice.

Question 28

System-imposed time constraints

Answer 28

Organizations impose deadlines on decisions. This creates a time pressure on decision makers which can make the decision difficult, if not impossible to find the necessary information.

Question 29

Historical precidents

Answer 29

Choices made today are largely a result of choices made over the past few years.

Question 30

What are the 3 different ways to frame decisions ethically?

Answer 30

1. Utilitarianism-> A system which provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Promotes efficiency and productivity, but may negatively effect others.
2. Rights-> This calls on the decisions consistent in following the Human Rights act and can lead to whistle blowers if things were not to be ethically decided.
3. Justice-> Requires individuals to impose and enforce rules fairly in an equitable distribution of benefits and costs. This can create a sense of entitlement that reduces risk taking, innovation, and productivity.

Question 31

Creativity definition

Answer 31

The ability to produce novel and useful ideas. Allows the decision maker to fully understand the problem, including seeing problems others can’t see.

Question 32

3 component model of creativity:

Answer 32

1. Expertise
2. Creative-thinking skills
3. Intrinsic task motivation- because it’s interesting