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Perception, Attribution, and The Management of Diversity: Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior
Perception, Attribution, and The Management of Diversity: Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior
and
Managing
Organizational
Behavior
Chapter 4:
Perception,
Attribution, and the
Management of
Diversity
4th Edition
Chapter Objectives
Describe how perception is inherently
subjective and how characteristics of the
perceiver, the target, and the situation can
influence perceptions
Understand how the use of schemas can
both aid and detract from accurate
perceptions
Be aware of biases that can influence
perception without perceivers being aware
of their influences
4-2
Chapter Objectives
Appreciate why the effective management
of diversity is an imperative for all kinds of
organizations and the steps that
organizations can take to ensure that
different kinds of people are treated fairly
and that the organization is able to take
advantage of all they have to offer
4-3
Chapter Objectives
Understand why attributions are so
important and how they can sometimes be
faulty
Describe the two major forms of sexual
harassment and the steps organizations
can take to combat sexual harassment
4-4
4-5
Perception
The process by which individuals select,
organize, and interpret the input from their
senses to give meaning and order to the
world around them
People try to make sense of their
environment and the objects, events, and
other people in it
4-6
Perceiver
Target
4-7
Components of Perception
Perceiver: person trying to interpret some
observation that he or she has just made or
the input from his or her senses
Target of Perception: whatever the
perceiver is trying to make sense of
Situation: the context in which perception
takes place
4-8
4-9
4-10
Characteristics
of the Situation
Schemas
Ambiguity
Additional
information
Motivational
state
Social status
Salience
Mood
Use of
impression
management
4-11
Schemas
Abstract knowledge structures that are
stored in memory
Responsible for the organization and
interpretation of information about targets
of perception
Based on past experiences and
knowledge
Resistant to change
4-12
Stereotypes
Set of overly simplified and often inaccurate
beliefs about the typical characteristics of a
particular group
Dysfunctional schemas
Based on inaccurate information
Assigned based on a single distinguishing
characteristic
4-14
4-15
Ambiguity
A lack of clearness or definiteness
As the ambiguity of a target increases, it becomes
increasingly difficult for a perceiver to form an
accurate perception
When a target is ambiguous, the perceiver needs
to engage in a lot more interpretation and active
construction of reality to form a perception of the
target
The more ambiguous a target is, the more potential
there is for errors in perception
4-16
Social Status
A persons real or perceived position in society
or in an organization.
Targets with relatively high status are
perceived to be smarter, more credible, more
knowledgeable, and more responsible for their
actions than lower-status targets.
4-17
Impression Management
An attempt to control the perceptions or
impressions of others
Targets are especially likely to use impression
management tactics when interacting with
perceivers who have power over them and on
whom they are dependent for evaluations, raises,
and promotions
Individuals who are high in self-monitoring are
more likely than individuals who are low in selfmonitoring to engage in impression management
tactics
4-18
SelfPromotion
The target compliments the perceiver. This tactic works best when
flattery is not extreme and when it
involves a dimension important
to the perceiver.
Salience
Extent to which a target of perception stands out in
a group of people or things
Causes of salience
Being novel: Anything that makes a target
unique in a situation (e.g., being the only young
person)
Being figural: Standing out from the
background (e.g., by wearing bright clothes)
Being inconsistent with other peoples
expectations: Behaving or looking in a way that
is out of the ordinary
4-20
Being
figural
Being
Inconsistent
Behaving or looking in a way
with other that is out of the ordinary
peoples
expectations
4-21
Contrast
Effect
Halo
Effect
4-22
Harshness,
Leniency,
Average
Tendency
Knowledge
of Predictor
4-23
Attribution Theory
Describes how people explain the causes
of behavior
Focuses on why people behave the way
they do
Attributions can be made about the self or
another person
Biases reduce the accuracy of attributions
4-24
4-25
Attributional Biases
Fundamental attribution error - tendency
to overattribute behavior to internal rather
than external causes
Actor-observer effect - tendency to
attribute others behavior to internal causes
but ones own behavior to external causes
Self-serving attribution - tendency to take
credit for successes but avoid blame for
failures
4-26
4-27
Diversity Training
4-28
Role-playing
Self-awareness activities
Awareness activities
Education
Mentoring
Formal
Informal
Sexual Harassment
Quid pro quo
Occurs when the harasser requests or
forces an employee to perform sexual
favors in order to receive some
opportunity
Hostile work environment
Occurs when organizational members are
faced with a work environment that is
offensive, intimidating, or hostile
4-29
4-30
Pornographic pictures
Sexual jokes
Lewd comments
Sexually-oriented comments
Displays of sexually-oriented objects