Perception
What is Perception?
Perception is the process of receiving
information and making sense of the world
around us.
Perception is basically the process by which
individuals organize and interpret their
sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment
Features of Perception
Perception is an intellectual process-Person selects the
data from the environment, organizes it and obtains
meaning from it.
Perception is a psychological process- The manner in
which a person perceives the environment affects his
behaviour. Thus, people’s actions, emotions, thoughts are
triggered by the perception of their surroundings.
Perception being an intellectual psychological process
becomes a subjective process and different people may
perceive the same environmental event differently.
Sensation and Perception
Factors Influencing the Perceptual Process
Perceiver
Perception influenced by person’s values,
attitudes, past experiences, needs, personality
Setting
Physical context, social context, organizational
context
Perceived
Target’scontrast, intensity, figure-ground
separation, size, motion, repetition, novelty
Factors That
Influence
Perception
EXHIBIT 5-1
External Factors in Perceptual
Selectivity
Size
Intensity
Repetition
Novelty and Familiarity
Contrast
Motion
Internal Factors in Perceptual
Selectivity
Self-Concept
Beliefs
Expectations
Inner Needs
Response Disposition – A person’s tendency to perceive
familiar stimuli rather than unfamiliar ones. Disposition
( a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character)
Response Salience-Familiarity of Stimulus situations.
Salience ( most noticeable)
Perceptual Defense- Denying the existence or importance
of conflicting information.
Perceptual Process
Selection/Stimulation Organization
Interpretation
Perceptual Organization
Figure Ground Principle: The
tendency to keep certain phenomena
in focus and other phenomena in
background.
Perceptual Organization
The Law of Proximity: Stimulus elements that are closed
together tend to be perceived as a group
The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli tend to be
grouped. Similar features of various stimuli irrespective
of nearness.
The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into
complete figures
The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be
grouped as to minimize change or discontinuity
The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be
resolved in favor of the simplest Figure.
The Law of Figure Ground Principle: The tendency to
keep certain phenomenon in focus and other phenomenon
in background.
Perceptual Organization
Distortions in Perception
Distortions in perception may occur because
of the following factors:
Factors in perceiver- personality, mental
set, attribution, first impression , halo
effect, stereotyping
Factors in person perceived- status,
visibility of traits etc.
Situational factors
Perception and Attribution
Attribution
Attribution refers to how people in situations like the workplace construct explanations
of other people's behavior. People are not exactly rocket scientists: these explanations
can be highly simplified and strongly biased. What is interesting and helpful is that
people's biases tend to be systematic and predictable.
For example, people tend to overestimate personal/individual causes (abilities,
motives, morals) and tend to underestimate situational causes, like nature of the job,
compensation system, the economy, luck, the percentage of the population who are
young.
Another kind of bias occurs with the nature of a person's participation in a situation,
and how it comes out. For example, if a student gets an A on a test, the student thinks it
was because he or she is so smart. But if they get an F, the book is lousy, or some other
reason. In general, people seem to think this way:
Another basic principle is that people tend to attribute motives to people's behavior. So
when people don't behave as you expect them to, you think they are doing it on purpose
(usually, just to annoy you). In other words, people tend to assume a common
understanding of a situation, but different motives and interests. They also tend to
assume that other people do everything consciously: no oversight is truly an oversight,
no inconsiderate action was just thoughtless.
Person Perception: Making
Judgments About Others
Distinctiveness:
Distinctiveness:shows
showsdifferent
differentbehaviors
behaviorsinindifferent
differentsituations.
situations.
Consensus:
Consensus:response
responseisisthe
thesame
sameasasothers
otherstotosame
samesituation.
situation.
Consistency:
Consistency:responds
respondsininthe
thesame
sameway
wayover
overtime.
time.
Attribution Theory EXHIBIT 5-2
Shortcuts in Judging
Others:
1.) Selective Perception
2.) Halo Effect
3.) Contrast Effects
4.) Projection
5.) Stereotyping
Errors and Biases in Attributions
Errors and Biases in Attributions
(cont’d)
Frequently Used Shortcuts in
Judging Others
Frequently Used Shortcuts in
Judging Others
Frequently Used Shortcuts in
Judging Others
Specific Applications in
Organizations
Employment Interview
Perceptual biases affect the accuracy of
interviewers’ judgments of applicants.
Performance Expectations
Self-fulfilling prophecy (pygmalion effect): The
lower or higher performance of employees reflects
preconceived leader expectations about employee
capabilities.
Performance Evaluations
Appraisals are subjective perceptions of
performance.
Employee Effort
Assessment of individual effort is a
subjective judgment subject to perceptual
distortion and bias.
Managerial Implications of
Perception
Interpersonal Working Relationships
Selection of Employees
Performance Appraisal
Developing Perceptual Skills
Perceiving oneself correctly
Enhancing Self concept
Having positive attitudes
Being Empathic
Communicating More openly
Avoiding Common Perceptual Distortions
