Perception

Introduction
 Perception

 Perception may be defined as the

process by which an individual selects,
organizes and interprets stimuli into a
meaningful and coherent picture of the
environment in which he lives.
 Perception

 Perception may be defined as the

process by we organize and
interprets sensory impression to
give meaning to our environment.
 The perception of two individuals
may differ even if they are
exposed to the same stimuli,
under the same conditions.

 Sometimes, an individual’s
perception may be far removed
from the reality.
 Factors influencing Perception

 Perceiver:
The perceiver’s personal characteristics—
interests, biases and expectations

 Target:
The target’s characteristics—distinctiveness,
contrast, and similarity)

 The situation (context) factors:

place, time, location etc—draw attention or
distract from the target
FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTION
SITUATIONAL FACTORS
• Time
•Social setting
• Work/Organizational setting

CHARACTERISTICS
PERCEIVER’S OF THE PERCEIVED
CHARACTERISTICS •Novelty
Individual’s
•Attitudes •Motion
Perception
•Motives •Sounds

•Interests •Size

•Experience •Background

•Expectations •Proximity

•Similarity
 SITUATIONAL FACTORS
 The context or environment, in which
objects or events are seen, plays an
important role in influencing an individual’s
perceptions.
 When a person wearing a tracksuit walks
into a health club, he will not attract
attention from his boss, who may have
come to the same health club. But if the
person goes to office dressed in the same
way, he is sure to attract the attention of
his boss, who may question him on his
dressing style, and reprimand him for not
dressing appropriately to office. In this
example, there is no change either in the
perceiver or the target, but only in the
situation.
 PERCEIVER’S CHARACTERISTICS
 The perceiver’s personal characteristics
play a major role in influencing the way
he interprets a target (stimulus). A
person’s attitudes, motives, interests,
past experiences and expectations affect
his perception.
 The perception of a person having a
positive attitude about a particular thing
will be different from that of a person
having a negative attitude.
 One’s past experiences may also
influence a person’s perception. For
example, an employee is more likely to
notice a new automatic machine installed
on the shop floor if its appearance is
something he has never seen before than
if it resembles the existing machines.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
PERCEIVED (TARGET)
 Perception is affected by the
characteristics of the target (stimulus).
People who are loud or very tall or
attractive are more likely to be noticed in
a crowd. The target is perceived based
on its attributes such as motion, sound,
size, etc.
SUBPROCESSES OF PERCEPTION

SELECTIVE
STIMULI RECEIVING
ATTENTION

RESPONSE INTERPRETING ORGANIZING

 RECEIVING STIMULI
 All the stimuli received by the human
beings are not accepted by them.
 Some stimuli are noticed and others are
screened out.
 The process of filtering information
received by our senses is called
selecting stimuli or selective
attention.
 Some of them are external and others
are internal to the body.
 Perceptual Selectivity (selective
attention)
 People are constantly exposed to various
stimuli.
 However, sometimes the stimuli may be so
understated that they may not even be
aware of it.
 Individuals are prone to select only a few
stimuli at a given time.
 For instance, while reading the newspaper,
individuals who are interested in movies
might read only the supplementary
containing movie news.
 Perceptual selectivity is further dependent on
factors such as external attention factors and
internal set factors.
EXTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING
SELECTION

1. Nature
2. Location
3. Colour / Intensity
4. Size
5. Contrast
6. Movement
7. Repetition
8. Novelty & familiarity
 Nature

 Nature means whether the object is

visual or auditory and whether it involves
pictures, people, animals & sound.

 Pictures attract attention more readily

than words.
 A picture of human beings attracts more
attention than a picture of inanimate
objects.
 Location
 The best location of a visual stimulus for
attracting attention is directly in the front
of the eyes and in the centre of a page.

 E.g., the upper portion of a page is more

favourable than one in the lower protion.
 Colour / Intensity
 According to the intensity principle of
attention, the intensity of an external
stimulus determines its probability of being
perceived.

 A bright light, a strong odor or a loud noise

are more likely to be noticed than a dim
light, a weak odor or a soft sound.

 For instance, companies may use bright

colored product packages and their TV
commercials may be at a volume higher
than the regular programs, to gain
attention of the customers.
 Size

 The principle of size is similar to that of

the principle of intensity. A larger object
is more likely to be noticed than a
smaller object.

 For example, a full-page advertisement

catches the attention of the reader better
than a few lines in the classified section.
 Contrast
 According to the principle of
contrast, the stimuli that
contradict most with the
background or the expectations
of people receive maximum
attention.
The Contrast Principle of Perception: Which White
Square is Smaller?
 The white square on the left appears
to be much bigger than the white
square on the right although, both
the squares are of the same size.
This is because of the contrast
between the white square on the left
with the background squares in
terms of size. The white square on
the left draws more attention
because the size of the square is
much more than the squares
surrounding it.
 Movement

 According to the principle of

movement / motion, people give
more attention to moving objects
than to stationary objects.

 Workers generally tend to pay more

attention to objects moving past
them on a conveyor belt than to a
stationary machine operating beside
them.
 Repetition

 The principle of repetition states that

the more number of times a stimulus
is repeated, the more it is likely to be
noticed.
 For example, workers are likely to be
more meticulous in performing those
tasks for which the supervisor
repeatedly gives instructions.
 Organizations use repetitive
advertising for promoting consumer
goods like soap, cool drinks and
biscuits.
 Novelty & familiarity
 New objects in a familiar situation or
familiar objects in a new situation
draw the perceiver’s attention.

 For example, during job rotation,

when an employee is shifted from
one job to another, he is likely give
more attention to the new job
because he has to perform new
duties (though the organizational
setting is the same).  
INTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING
SELECTION

1. Learning
2. Psychological needs
3. Age difference
4. Interest
5. Perceptual set
Learning
 Learning by itself plays a major role in
developing the perceptual set.
 Even though the word ‘the’ has been repeated
twice in the sentence, it would take a little time
for a person to realize that something is wrong
with the sentence.

 This shows that learning has an impact on an

individuals’ process of perception. Learning
creates expectancies in individuals and
encourages them to perceive things in a
particular way.
 The expectancies created in individuals
influence their perception and their behavior.
What people see and hear is influenced by their
expectancies.

 (e.g. There is a picture which is perceived by

some people as depicting a young lady and by
some as depicting an old woman. If a person is
shown the picture of a young lady first and then
the ambiguous picture is shown, he is likely to
perceive the picture as that of a young lady the
second time as well).
 Psychological needs
 Psychological needs also plays an
important role in determining
perceptual selectivity.
 The primary motives such as hunger
and thirst influence the perception of
an individual. The people in a country
affected by drought will give more
attention to the sight, mention or
aroma of food than the people from a
country where there is a good crop
yield and food is available in plenty.
 Age difference
 An individual’s personality and age
difference may also affect his perception
of a particular situation.

 For example, young managers often

complain that senior managers resist
change, rely heavily on paperwork and
delay decisions. The senior managers
often perceive that young managers
initiate unnecessary changes, fail to
maintain records for future reference
and make hasty decisions. Gender
difference may also give rise to
 Interest

 Perception is unconsciously influenced by

the interests of the perceiver.

 An architect will notice many details of

buildings than someone else.
 Perceptual set

 After working in an organization for a

certain period of time, employees
learn to interpret some (but not all)
statements and situations in a similar
way. They may use common names,
phrases and remarks (that are
unique to their organization) to
denote some things.

 For example, priority projects may

commonly be referred to as PP and
influential people by IP and so on.
 PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
 It can be said that a person’s perceptual
process organizes the information he receives
to form a meaningful whole.
 The following factors are helpful in
understanding perceptual organization :
1. Figure-Ground or Figure Background
2. Perceptual Grouping
3. Closure
4. Continuity
5. Proximity 
6. Similarity
7. Perceptual Constancy
Figure-Ground or Figure Background
 Figure-ground is a form of perceptual
organization. In this form of perception,
perceived objects are separated from their
general background by the perceiver.

 For example, when a person is given a

white paper with something written in
black ink in a language unfamiliar to him,
he may perceive it as patches of irregular
black and white shapes. However, a person
who knows the language would perceive
the black shapes in the form of letters,
words and sentences that are printed
against a white background.
 Perceptual Grouping
 According to the grouping principle
of perceptual organization, an
individual tends to group several
stimuli together into a recognizable
pattern. This ability is usually inborn.
When a simple set of stimuli are
presented, an individual will tend to
group them together on the basis of
closure, continuity, proximity or
similarity.
 Closure
 According to the principle of closure, a
person may sometimes perceive a whole,
where it does not exist while sometimes,
a person may not be able to perceive a
whole although one exists. In the former
case, the gaps that remain unfilled from
sensory input are bridged by the person’s
perceptual process.
 For example, a departmental head who
wishes to increase the work load of
employees to meet a deadline, may ask
them if they would agree with his
proposal. Some of the employees may
agree with the head although there may
also be several who disagree. The
agreement obtained from some of the
employees may cause the head of the
department to close the existing gaps
and perceive absolute agreement of all
employees to his proposal, which in
reality, does not exist.
 Continuity

 The continuity principle states that a

person tends to perceive the extension of a
stimulus. However, it will be limited to
obvious, continuous lines or patterns. It
may lead to inflexibility and non-creative
thinking in organizational members.

 For example, an employee in a fashion

designing firm may come out with a new
textile design for customers. If the design
becomes popular in the market, the other
employees may simply modify and add
more colors or shapes to it and release it
into the market later. New, innovative
ideas or designs may not be perceived by
these employees.
 Proximity 
 According to the principle of proximity or
nearness, a group of stimuli that are
physically close to each other are
perceived as a set of parts belonging
together.

 For example, all the members of a

particular department or team may be
perceived as a single entity by those
external to the department or team
because of the physical proximity of the
members of the department or the team.
This is despite the fact that, there might be
wide variations in the attitudes and
behaviors of the members of the
department or the team.
 Similarity

 The greater the similarity of the stimuli,

the more they are likely to be perceived
as a common group. Though similarity is
related to proximity, in most cases, it is
stronger than proximity.

 For example, all blue-collared employees

may be perceived as a single group,
though in reality, they are all individual
employees with their own unique
personalities.
 Perceptual Constancy
 Perceptual constancy is one of the
advanced forms of perceptual
organization. According to this principle
of constancy, the perception of elements
like size, shape, color, brightness and
location of an object remains constant
and does not change from one individual
to another.
 For example, if a photograph of a person
is printed in a newspaper and although
the photograph measures only 2-3 inches
in length, we still perceive the individual
to be between 5 to 6 feet in height.
Perceptual constancy, thus, provides
people with a sense of stability in the way
they view objects in this complex and
changing world.
 PROCESS OF INTERPRETING 
 After the data have been received and
organized, the perceiver interprets or
assigns meaning to the information. The
following factors contribute towards the
interpretation of data:
1. Perceptual set
2. Attribution
3. Stereotyping
4. Halo effect
5. Perceptual context
6. Perceptual defence
 Perceptual set
 Previously held beliefs about objects
influence an individual’s perceptions of
similar objects, this is called perceptual
set.
 Attribution

 The way in which people explain the

cause for their own or others’ behavior is
referred to as attribution. The process of
attribution helps individuals to make
sense of one another’s behavior and to
draw conclusions about the factors that
influence behavior.
 For example, suppose a sales executive has
exceeded his sales target. But the sales
manager’s perception and behavior toward
the sales executive will depend on what he
perceives are the causal factors for the
executive’s performance. If the manager
perceives that it is the subordinate’s hard
work that is responsible for his
outstanding behavior, then his behavior
towards the subordinate would be different
from how he would behave if he attributes
the outstanding performance to the
company’s recently launched promotional
strategies (such as discount offers and free
gifts).
 Stereotyping

 Stereotype, refers to the tendency of

generalizing the characteristics of all
the members of a group. When a
perceiver judges some person based
on his perception about the group to
which the person belongs, it is
known as stereotyping.
 In most cases, a person is
stereotyped because the perceiver is
familiar only with the overall
category or group to which the
person belongs.
 Halo effect

 At times, people draw a general impression

about an individual based on a single
characteristic, such as intelligence,
sociability, aggressiveness, etc. In
stereotyping, perceptions are based on a
certain category to which people belong to,
while in the halo effect, perceptions are
formed on the basis of a certain
(dominant) trait. The halo effect is
commonly seen in performance appraisals
when the appraiser or rater commits an
error in evaluating the performance of the
appraisee on the basis of a single trait such
as appearance, punctuality,
cooperativeness, etc.
 Perceptual context
 Perceptual context is the most
advanced form of perceptual
organization. It provides meaning
and value to objects, events,
situation and other people in the
environment. Sometimes, the visual
stimuli, by themselves, do not
convey any meaning. It is only when
they are placed in a certain context
that its meaning and value can be
perceived.
 For example, a verbal order, a
memo, a new policy, a suggestion,
shrugging of shoulders, a raised
eyebrow, etc. have different
meaning and value, when
associated with the context of work
organization.
 Perceptual defence

 Perceptual defense is closely related

to the perceptual context. A person
may establish a defense against
some stimuli or situational events
because they may be clashing with
his personal values or culture or may
be threatening, in nature.
 RESPONSE

After interpreting the stimuli,

the perceiver responds
according to his perception.
 Person Perception: Making
Judgements About Others
ATTRIBUTION THEORY
This theory tries to explain the ways
we judge people differently, depending
on the meaning we attribute to a
behavior.

Such as determining whether an

individual’s behavior is internally or
externally caused.
 Internally & Externally caused
Behaviour
 Theseare those behaviours
which an observer believes to be
under the personal behavioural
control of an individual.

 Externallycaused behavior is
what we imagine the situation
forced the individual to do.
 Factors affecting Determination
of Judgement
Three Factors:
1.Distinctiveness

2.Consensus

3.Consistency
 Distinctiveness
 It refers to whether an individual
displays different behaviours in
different situations.

 Consensus

 If everyone who faces a similar

situation responds in the same
way, we can say the behavior
shows consensus.
 Consistency

 Finally, an observer looks for

consistency in a person’s actions.
Does the person respond the same
way over time?

 The more consistent the behavior,

the more we are inclined to attribute
it to internal causes.
 Fundamental Attribution Error

 The tendency to underestimate the

influence of external factors and
overestimate the influence of internal
factors when making judgments about
the behaviour of others.
 Self-Serving Bias

 The tendency for individuals to

attribute their own successes to
internal factors and put the
blame for failures on external
factors.
 Common Shortcuts in Judging
Others
 Selective perception
 Halo and Horn Effects
 Contrast Effect
 Stereotyping
Specific Applications of Shortcuts
in Organizations
 Employee Interview
 Performance Expectations
 Performance Evaluations
 Impression Management

 The process by which individuals try

to control the impressions others
have of them.
 Employee Impression
Management Strategies
1. Conformity
2. Favors
3. Excuses
4. Apologies
5. Self-Promotion
6. Enhancement
7. Flattery
8. Exemplification
Link between Perception & Individual
Decision Making
 Decisions are choices made among two or
more alternatives.
 Problem: Problem is a discrepancy
between the current state of affairs and
some desired state, requiring us to
consider alternative courses of action.

 Decision making occurs as a reaction to a

problem.
Decision making in Organizations
 Generally accepted constructs of
decision making:
1. Rational Decision Making

2. Bounded Rationality

3. Intuition
 The Rational Model

We often think the best decision maker is rational

and makes consistent, value-maximizing choices
within specified constraints.
 Assumptions of Rational Decision
Making
 Decision maker has complete
information

 Can identify all relevant options in an

unbiased manner

 Chooses the option with the highest

utility
 Bounded Rationality

 Often one does not follow rational

decision making always.

 People satisfice, they seek solutions

that are satisfactory and sufficient.

 As human mind can not formulate and

solve complex problems with full
rationality, we operate within bounded
rationality.
 Bounded Rationality (Definition)

A process of making decisions by

constructing simplified models
that extract the essential
features from problems without
capturing all their complexity.
 How Bounded Rationality Works

1. Identify a problem
2. Identify choices that are easy to find &
highly visible, that usually represent
familiar criteria and tried- and-true
solutions.
3. reviewing them
4. Focusing on alternatives that differ little
from the choice currently in effect until
we identify one that is “good enough”
(first acceptable/optimal)—that meets an
acceptable level of performance.
 Intuitive Decision making
 An unconscious process created out of
distilled experience.

 It occurs outside conscious thought; it

relies on holistic associations, or links
between disparate pieces of information;
it’s fast; and it’s affectively charged,
meaning it usually engages the emotions.

 While intuition isn’t rational, it isn’t

necessarily wrong.
 Common Biases and Errors in
Decision Making
 Overconfidence Bias
 Anchoring Bias
 Conformation Bias (represents a specific case of
selective perception, seek out information that
reaffirms our past choices, and we discount
information that contradicts them
 Availability Bias
 Escalation of Commitment (despite –ve
information)
 Randomness Error (believe to predict random
events)
 Risk Aversion
 Hindsight Bias (It was obvious)
 Influence on Decision making-
Individual Differences
 Personality
 Gender

 Mental Ability

 Cultural differences

ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS
 Performance Evaluation Systems

 Reward Systems

 Formal Regulations

 System-Imposed Time Constraints

 Historical Precedents
Ethics in Decision Making- Three
Ethical Decision Criteria

 Utilitarianism
 Whistle-blowers
 Deonance (decisions to be
consistent with moral norms,
principles, standards, rules or laws)
 SOCIAL PERCEPTION
 Social perception deals with how an
individual perceives other individuals.
It is also the study of how an individual
gets to know other individuals. An
understanding of social perception is
necessary since it plays an important
role in organizational behavior.
 Research findings have shown that
certain characteristics of the perceiver
as well as the perceived play a role in
influencing social perception.
THANK YOU