PERCEPTION Flashcards
PERCEPTION
Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment.
1. The perceiver: The individual’s past experiences, needs, motivations, and emotions can all shape their
perception.
2. The target: The characteristics of the object or person being perceived, such as its size, shape, and color,
can all influence perception.
3. The context: The physical, social, and cultural context in which perception occurs can affect how the
perceiver interprets the target.
4. The situation: The specific circumstances in which perception occurs, such as time pressure or
distractions, can affect the accuracy of perception.
5. Stereotyping: Preconceived notions about certain groups or individuals can influence perception, leading
to biases and inaccurate interpretations.
6. Attribution: The process of assigning causes to behaviours or events can affect perception, as individuals
may make different attributions based on their own beliefs and experiences.
7. Selective attention: Individuals tend to focus on certain aspects of their environment while ignoring
others, which can affect perception.
ATTRIBUTION THEORY
Attribution theory:
* Attribution theory is used to determine whether an individual’s behaviour is internally or externally caused.
* It is based on three factors: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.
* Distinctiveness refers to whether the behaviour is unique to a particular situation or common across situations.
* Consensus refers to whether other people exhibit the same behaviour in similar situations.
* Consistency refers to whether the individual exhibits the behaviour regularly over time.
* Attribution theory helps in understanding why people behave in a certain way.
Clarification of differences between internal and external causation:
* Internally caused behaviours are those that are under the personal control of the individual.
* Externally caused behaviours result from outside causes.
Fundamental attribution error:
* The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors and
underestimate the influence of external factors.
* It can lead to misunderstandings and inaccurate judgments about others.
Self-serving bias:
* Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors, such as abilities or efforts, and
failures to external factors, such as luck or circumstances.
* This bias helps in protecting self-esteem and self-image but can lead to inaccurate perceptions of oneself and others.
SHORTCUTS INDIVIDUALS USE IN MAKING JUDGMENTS ABOUT OTHERS
Contrast Effects:
* Our judgment of a person can be influenced by the other individuals we have encountered before.
* For example, the evaluation of a job candidate can be distorted if he/she is evaluated after very good or very bad
candidates.
Stereotyping:
* Stereotyping involves judging a person based on our perception of the group to which he/she belongs.
* It is a way of simplifying a complex world and allows us to maintain consistency in our perception.
* We need to monitor ourselves to ensure that we are not unfairly applying a stereotype in our evaluations and
decisions.
APPLICATIONS OF SHORTCUTS IN ORGANIZATIONS:
Employment Interview:
* Research has shown that interviewers make perceptual judgments that are often inaccurate.
* Interviewers usually form early impressions that become quickly entrenched.
* Most interviewers’ decisions change very little after the first four or five minutes of the interview.
Performance Expectations:
* People’s expectations determine their behaviour.
* The Pygmalion effect, also known as self-fulfilling prophecy, characterizes the fact that people’s expectations become
reality.
Performance Evaluation:
* A person’s performance appraisal is largely dependent on the perceptual process.
* Many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms.
* Subjective measures can be problematic due to selective perception, contrast effects, halo effects, etc
