Perception… • It is a unique interpretation of the situation, not an exact recording of it.
• It is a complex cognitive process that is
learned.
• It may be different from reality.
Perception In the context of OB, this can be considered as a filter at the individual level.
The Bottom Line:
“Recognition of the difference between this filtered, perceptual world and the real world is vital to the understanding of organizational behaviour.”
Eg.: Assumption by managers that all subordinates
want promotion. Sensation V. Perception • Sensation refers to the process of sensing our environment through five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Taste
• Perception is the way we interpret these
sensations and therefore make sense of everything around us. Sensation V. Perception • Sensation provides the raw data;
• Perception through cognitive processes and
filters, interprets and tries to make a meaning out of it.
• Eg.: Childhood experience of travelling by
train. Perception… • Stimulus
• Past Experience
• Pre-conditioning
• Comprehending and Reasoning Ability
Sub Processes of Perception Social Perception… • The most relevant to the study of OB is social perception.
• It is concerned with how one individual
perceives other individuals.
• It is about how we get to know others.
Social Perception… Characteristics of the Perceiver: Knowing oneself makes it easier to see others accurately.
One’s own characteristics affect the characteristics
one is likely to see in others.
People who accept themselves are more likely to be
able to see favorable aspects of other people.
Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single skill.
Social Perception… Characteristics of the Perceived The status of the person perceived will greatly influence others’ perception of the person.
The person being perceived is usually placed into
categories to simplify the viewer’s perceptual activities. Two common categories are status and role.
The visible traits of the person perceived will greatly
influence others’ perception of the person. Perception: Learning… • The importance of caution in judging other people.
• The wide spread differences between judgments,
that no two people see the same thing in the same way.
• The significance of the mechanism of projection -
the tendency to see in others qualities which are really part of ourselves. Perception: Learning… • The importance of two-way communications, including plenty of active listening.
• Mental set - we see what we want or expect to see.
• The value of empathy, and the effect of lack of
empathy.
• The rigidity of snap judgments – “I could see right away
that he . . . “ or “The only way to do it is...” Perception: Learning… 1. Men are intellectually superior. 2. Men are emotionally stable than women. 3. Men value achievement, promotion and meaningful work more than women. 4. Men are inherently more aggressive than women. 5. Successful managers possess masculine attributes. Stereotyping – A Few Examples Perception: Learning… Stereotyping: Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs – a prevalent and often useful, if not always accurate, generalization.
Tendency to perceive another person as belonging to a single
class or category.
Frequently used term to describe perceptual errors.
Profiling – A form of stereotyping in which members of a group are singled out for intense scrutiny based on a single, often racial, trait. Perception: Learning… • The Halo Effect – A person is perceived on the basis of one trait. – Is a common rater error. – Has both true and illusory components. – Has led to inflated correlations among rating dimensions and is due to the influence of a general evaluation and specific judgments. – Has negative consequences and should be avoided or removed. Perception: Learning… Horns Effect • It is opposite of halo effect.
• Here in, an individual is downgraded because
of a single negative characteristics or incident.
• For example an individual is not given
promotion because he lacks self confidence. Perception and Managerial Implications
People act based on how they view their
world.
What exists is not as important as what is
believed/perceived.
Managers must also manage perception.
Concluding Observations “When Peter talks about Paul, we learn more about Peter than we do about Paul.” -Spinoza