Perception

Perception

◼ Activeprocess of selecting organizing

and interpreting information.
Attention

 we tend to focus on only selected and

limited features in any situation.
People do two things in this process.
–Attending to one stimuli.
–Ignoring other.
Factors that Influence Perception
◼ Influenced by three kind of
variables
The target or the event being
perceived
The situation or context
The perceiver
Perception (contd...)
◼ Role of object/target:
◼ Movement
◼ Similarity
◼ Proximity
◼ Novelty
◼ Sound
◼ Size
Perception (contd.)
◼ Role of situation
 Time
 Work setting
 Social setting

◼ Role of perceiver
 Attitude
 Mood
 Experience, expectations
Person perception
◼ Attribution Theory

◼ Fundamental attribution Error

◼ Self-serving Bias
Person Perception: Making Judgments About
Others
• Attribution Theory
When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to
determine whether it is internally or externally caused.
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate the influence of external
factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors
when making judgments about the behavior of others
Barriers , shortcuts
◼ Halo effect
 Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of
a single characteristic.

 Horns Effect

 The tendency to draw a negative general impression about an

individual based on a single characteristic
Barriers , shortcuts
◼ Stereotype
 A generalization about a group of people.

Contrast Effect
Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that is affected by comparisons with
other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same
characteristics
◼ Projection:
 Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people.
Person Perception: Making Judgments
About Others
•Self-Serving Bias
The tendency for individuals to attribute their own
successes to internal factors while putting the
blame for failures on external factors.
Managing the Perceptual
process
◼ Gather sufficient information about other
people’s behavior and attitudes to encourage
more realistic perceptions.

◼ Check conclusions to ensure their validity.

◼ Differentiate between facts and assumptions in

determining the basis of perceptions.
Managing the Perceptual process
(contd.)
◼ Distinguish among various aspects of a
person’s behavior.

◼ Identify true feelings as a way of

eliminating or reducing projections
Applications
◼ Employment Interview
◼ Performance Expectations---self-
fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion Effect
◼ Performance Evaluation
◼ Employee Effort
◼ Employee Loyalty