Perception and Attitude

Question 1

Define perception

Answer 1

The process of interpreting the message of our sense to provide order and meaning to the environment (we don’t see what’s actually there, we see meanings and messages)

Question 2

What is perception affected by?

Answer 2

Subjective perspective, mood, experience, bias, and stereotypes; people see things differently and we can get stuck on a single perspective

Question 3

Explain how people have different experiences and perspectives that colour their perception

Answer 3

Only one person can see an event from their own perspective, so there will always be differences in perceptions (eg. people’s experience with dogs will color how they react to an unfamiliar dog on the sidewalk)

Question 4

Explain how perspectives can transfer to leadership

Answer 4

Everyone has their own special “pet” employees/projects, and those employees get promoted and those projects get pushed forward even if they might not be the best fit

Question 5

What is the importance of perception for OB?

Answer 5

Perception happens outside of awareness. It feels accurate and we tend to trust our interpretations (overconfidence - we trust our own decisions too much instead of seeking other outside opinions from others)

Question 6

What aspects of work are affected by perceptions?

Answer 6

Hiring decision, attributions, judgements about performance, conflicts and cooperation, power and status, group membership, workplace/network politics, etc.

Question 7

What are the three factors that influences perception?

Answer 7

1. The perceiver
2. The target
3. The situation

Question 8

Describe the perceiver

Answer 8

1. Perceivers bring their own character, life experiences, past experiences, and can create expectations that can be projected upon a product or situation
2. Their needs/desires/goals can prevent them from seeing what’s really there
3. Their emotions can skew their perception

Question 9

Describe the target

Answer 9

1. Humans have a need to resolve ambiguity/inconsistency, so we make up information, fill in the gaps, so that we can settle on a judgement that is more stable
2. We filter out a lot of complex information from other people (because we get so much information streaming into our brains at the same time), and some important information may be “thrown away”
3. Accuracy is decreased and potential for misperception is increased

Question 10

Describe the situation

Answer 10

1. Our perception happens in some context. That context can affect how we see; the context adds information about the target
2. The situation adds information to the target; helps us to tell whether a person’s behaviour is based on their personality or the context

Question 11

Describe the power of context

Answer 11

When we look from an outsider’s perspective, the context can become clearer. It’s easy to stay biased when we rely on one perspective; when you look at the big picture, you can see how both perspectives are right and wrong. You can find a better solution that fits both parties

Question 12

Is it easier to wise about your own problems or someone else’s? Why?

Answer 12

It’s hard to be wise about your own problems because you’re stuck in your point of view; it’s easier to be wise about other people’s problems

Question 13

What is priming?

Answer 13

The asker prepares you to see what they want you to see first (you can still see both perspectives, but it affects which you would see first)

Question 14

What can “prime” us?

Answer 14

Anything can be priming us outside of our awareness; upbringing, religion, friends, etc.

Question 15

Define social identity theory

Answer 15

We form perceptions of ourselves based on characteristics and members in social categories

Question 16

What two categories is our sense of self composed of?

Answer 16

1. Personal identity (unique characteristics)

2. Social identity (categories we belong to)

Question 17

How does social identity theory affect hiring?

Answer 17

We are more favourable to and more likely to hire from similar groups, i.e. people “like me,” because we feel that we can trust them

Question 18

Explain how we look at our own categories differently than those outside our own social categories

Answer 18

We look upon our own categories more favourably than others because we identify with our own; we don’t usually want to see our own faults

Question 19

What are the four basic biases in perception?

Answer 19

1. Primacy and recency effects
2. Reliance on central traits
3. Implicit personality theories
4. Stereotyping

Question 20

Define primacy effect

Answer 20

The reliance on early cues or first impressions

Question 21

Describe the result of primacy effect

Answer 21

It often the strongest and longest lasting impact. Because people like to maintain consistency with first impressions, it is hard to fix a bad first impression

Question 22

Define recency effect

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Define central traits

Answer 23

Personal characteristics of particular interest to the perceiver (i.e. when we believe that certain traits are more important than other traits)

Question 24

Give an example of how central traits can affect our perception

Answer 24

People are more likely to hire attractive people because their perception is that attractive people are more confident, more likely to be a better leader, more likely to be successful, etc.

Question 25

Define implicit personality theories

Answer 25

Personal theories that people have about which personality characteristics go together

Question 26

Give an example of an implicit personality theory

Answer 26

You expect hardworking people to also be honest

Question 27

How can implicit personality theories provide a basis for misunderstanding?

Answer 27

If they are inaccurate, you can make assumptions about people that you don’t know very well based on what you do know. Those assumptions could be very wrong

Question 28

Define stereotypes

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Give some examples of categories on which people might base a stereotype

Answer 29

Race, age, gender, ethnic background, social class, occupation, etc.

Question 30

Does stereotyping always work? Is it always wrong?

Answer 30

No; sometimes this works and people do conform to their social categories, but people are complex and belong to a lot of different categories that can mix and match

Question 31

Why do stereotypes persist?

Answer 31

1. Sterotypes help us process information about people and situations quickly and efficiently
2. Inaccurate stereotypes are often reinforced by selective perception (we filter out information that disconfirms the stereotype and seek out information that confirms it)

Question 32

Define attribution

Answer 32

The process by which we assign causes or motives to explain people’s behaviour (it’s about understanding WHY)

Question 33

What are the two types of attribution factors?

Answer 33

1. Dispositional (internal)

2. Situational (external)

Question 34

Describe the dispositional factor of attribution

Answer 34

If someone makes a mistake on a project or an interview, you blame them. It’s their fault, they screwed up, etc.

Question 35

Describe the situational factor of attribution

Answer 35

If someone makes a mistake on a project or an interview, you blame the environment. They didn’t have enough time, the expectations were too high, they weren’t given enough resources, etc.

Question 36

What are the three main attribution cues (to determine if someone’s actions are a result of their personality or their situation)?

Answer 36

1. Consensus
2. Consistency
3. Distinctiveness

Question 37

What question do you ask to determine consensus?

Answer 37

Do most people engage in the behaviour, or is it unique to this person?

Question 38

What question do you ask to determine consistency?

Answer 38

Does the person engage in the behaviour regularly and consistently?

Question 39

What question do you ask to determine distinctiveness?

Answer 39

Does the person engage in the behaviour in many situations, or is it distinctive to one situation?

Question 40

What are three biases that can occur in attribution?

Answer 40

1. Fundamental attribution error
2. Actor-observer effect
3. Self-serving bias

Question 41

Describe the fundamental attribution error

Answer 41

When you favour dispositional explanations (saying it’s always their fault)

Question 42

Describe the actor-observer effect

Answer 42

Assigning dispositional attributions for others’ mistakes but situational attributions for out own

Question 43

Describe the self-serving bias

Answer 43

Using explanations to make ourselves feel better