Perception, Attribution, and Decision Making

Question 1

Attribution Theory

Answer 1

• How individuals perceive info
• Interpret events
• How these form causal judgements.

Because
1. Humans are intentional
2. do things for a reason

Ask question after observing others

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

Process of organizing/interpreting data (sensory)
To make sense of your position & environment

Question 3

Limits to Perception

Answer 3

• Recognizing patterns become fixed
• background, social, and cultural influence
• Less effective in dealing w/ complexity/ambiguity

Question 4

Theory of Mind

Answer 4

• Need to have own conception of how other people think and how their thoughts influence their behaviour
• These Theories/beliefs influence our own thoughts/judgments/behavior
• Not independent of our culture/experience

Question 5

Self-Serving Attribution Errors

Answer 5

Self:
- Good = internal factor
- Bad = external factor

Reverse for others we perceive

Question 6

Organizational Impacts of Attribution Biases

Answer 6

• Recruitment & Selection – Interviews (when used alone) are a poor predictor of
  performance but we still heavily rely on them.
• Performance Management – we tend to overestimate the performance of the above
  average performers and underestimate the performance of below average performers.

Question 7

Herbert Simon – Bounded Rationality

Answer 7

Individuals can never make decisions on a truly rational basis as they have
limited information processing capabilities

So decision are made of satisfying the minimum need

Question 8

Bounded Rationality

Answer 8

• Decision-making is always a social process
• Decisions = comb of facts & values = social origin
• Act on incomplete info in social context

Question 9

Different Types of Decision Making

Answer 9

• Heuristics = “rules of thumb”, short cuts or institutionalized decision rules
  (e.g., crossing the road).
• Formal decision-making rules (e.g., “first look left, then look right”).
• Experiential decision-making rules (e.g., how fast traffic travels).
• Culturally-based decision-making rules (e.g., Do other road users obey the
  rules?; “jay-walking,”

Question 10

Dunning Kruger Effect

Answer 10

occurs when a person’s lack of knowledge and skills in a certain area cause them to overestimate their own competence