Perception

What Is Perception, and Why Is It Important?

Peoples behavior is Peoples behavior is based on their based on their perception of what perception of what reality is, not on reality reality is, not on reality itself. itself. The world as it is The world as it is perceived is the world perceived is the world that is behaviorally that is behaviorally important. important.
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 Perception is the process by which individual

selects, organizes, and interprets, stimuli into meaningful and coherent picture of the environment in which he lives.
Sometimes, an individuals perception may

be far removed from the reality.

People respond to situations on the basis of

their perception about reality rather than the reality itself. Note: Hence it is important to recognize the differences in the perceptions of individuals

Example: After meeting with manager the union decides to withdraw some of the demands and ask employees to cooperate. a. But some employees may perceive this is as a result of the union having been bribed by the management to act in managements favor . b. But the reality may be that the union is really convinced by the manager about the inability of the organization to fulfill the demands of union due to poor financial

Perceptual differences can some times lead to conflicts in an organization. (perception of the manager may differ from the perception of the subordinate) Example: Manager must be perceiving, all employees want to be empowered but actually many may not be wanting so since they may not want additional responsibility. Handout- Reality & Perception - exhibit: 5.1

Perceptional Process External environment: a. Physical environment: office/workshop/store/climate etc b. Sociocultural environment: mgmt style, values. discrimination etc

Confrontation (Supervisor(boss), new-procedure, circular, notice, friends) Registration (see, listen, Feel , smell taste information is sensed)

Interpretation (Motivation, information to create a recognition of situation, learning, language, personality). Feedback Check again for clarification
Behavior (Overt(unconcealed)/ Covert(concealed)) (Respond, fear, anger, caution, pleasure, smile, frown)

Consequences 16 Reinforcement, punishment or some organizational outcome

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Factors That Influence Perception

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BASIC ELEMENTS IN PERCEPTION PROCESS

ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI/ SITUATION -PHYSICAL ENVT.

-SOCIO CULTURAL ENVT. -PEOPLE AND OBJECTS IN THE IMMEDIATE ENVT. PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION -FIGURE GROUND (e.g. phone call) PERCEPTUAL GROUPING -CONTINUITY (conversation) -CLOSURE (functional managers) -PROXIMITY -SIMILIARITY -CONSTANCY (stability)

OBSERVATION SENSORY IMPRESSIONS

PERCEPTUAL SELECTION EXTERNAL FACTORS

-SIZE -INTENSITY -CONTRAST -MOTION -REPETITION -NOVELTY -FAMILIARITY

INTERNAL FACTORS
-NEEDS -PERSONALITY - EXPERIENCES -LEARNING - VALUES -MOTIVATION

INTERPRETATION
PERCEPTUAL ERRORS - SELECTIVE PERCEPTION ATTRIBUTIONS -INTERNAL Vs EXTERNAL CAUSES -CAUSES FOR SUCCESS OR FAILURE Fundamental attribution error/self serving bias
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RESPONSE
COVERT OVERT

-PERCEPTUAL DEFENSE -STEREOTYPING -HALO EFFECT -PROJECTION -EXPECTANCY

-ATTITUDES -BEHAVIOUR -MOTIVATIONS -FEELINGS

Perceptual selectivity

People constantly encounter various

stimuli that are sensed: a.Noise of people talking b.Sound of air conditioner c. Noise of vehicle

Note: Sometimes the stimuli may be so subtle (hard to detect) that one may not even conscious that he is exposed to some stimuli. Perceptual selectively depends on External Attention Factors & Internal Set Factors as described in next slide.

External Attention factors: a. Intensity: bright light/color, strong adore, loud noise- more noticeable to promote product ; (TV commercials) b. Size: Big super market is more noticeable than small grocery shop. Full page ad in paper catches strong attention compare to few lines in classified section. c. Contrast: Contrast background draws more attention. d. Repetition: repetitive ads, instructions from supervisor. e. Motion: Workers tend to give more attention

Characteristics Of The Target

External Factors Which Affect Our Attention And Selection

SIZE ( Height, Width, Weight) INTENSITY (Low / high sound, brightness) CONTRAST MOTION ( Fast slow , regular irregular ) REPETITION NOVELTY (newness) FAMILIARITY
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Internal Set Factors: a. Learning & Perception: > Learning by itself plays a major role what people see and hear is influenced by their expectancies. > Some words have impact on individuals arising out of different perceptual outcome. Example: Hilly Terrain ahead (this results into familiarity with the word leads to perception- may differ

> Some cases employees learn to interpret some statements in a similar perceptual manner. eg. PP (Priority Project),
IP (Influential People) VVIP (Very-very Important Person)

>

Some cases different people attribute reasons, arise out of perceptual differences. eg. If production is less; a. Production mgr may attribute it to obsolete technology or machinery. b. HR mgr may attribute it to lack of training c. Workers may consider it may be due to

b. Motivation and perception: Motivation plays an important role in determining perceptual selectively. (the prime motives such as hunger and thirst or power or motive influence perception of an individual. Example: Drought effected people give more attention to the sight and food than country where good crop yield.
Person will be motivated to join a political

party if his chances for becoming a minister

 Suppose union has called for a band on a

particular day, and org. has decided not to declare it a holyday, and expressed inability to provide pick-up and drop.
a. Some employees may perceive that union

calls for a Band is justified and their perception may fail to motivate them to come to work.
b. But on the other hand some may perceive

that org. is right in not sporting the band, may make all attempt to reach the office.

Factors influence perception

1. The perceiver: (depends on his

attitudes, motives, interests, past experience, & expectation)

2. The target: (target is perceived based

on its attributes such as motion, sound, size)

3. The situation: (The context or

environment, in which objects or events

Characteristics of Perceiver Attitude Motive Interests Experience Expectation

Factors that influence Perception

Characteristics of Target Motives Sound Size Background Proximity

Characteristics of Situation Time Work environment Social environment

Novelty (newness)

Perception of the Individual

Perceptual Organization
This emphasizes on the consequent activities that takes place in the perceptual process after stimulus is received. Example: When a person is giving a book, he does not normally perceive its color or shape, but perceives the characteristics associated with reading it, like pleasure, excitement, knowledge etc.

FIGURE GROUND In this form of perception, perceived objects are separated from their background by the perceiver. Example: If a language written in black ink on a white paper is unfamiliar to the reader, he may perceive it as patches of black and white shapes-but if familiar then taken in the form of some letter. PERCEPTION GROUPING: An individual tends to group several stimuli
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Closure: (Example) Manager when increases the workload to meet the deadline, some agree and some disagree. Some of those who agreed may not really not in agreement. In such situation manager closes the gap by perceiving absolute agreement to his proposal. Continuity: (Example) If an employee in fashion design firm come out with a new textile design for customers and if that becomes popular, other employees may simply modify and add more colors or shapes to it and release it into market. New innovative ideas or designs may not

Proximity: (Example) This indicates, a group of stimuli that are physically close to each other. All the member of a particular department / team may be perceived as a single entity by the external entrants. Similarity: (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.

Social Perceptions
We all perceive others and behave accordingly Research suggests that both the perceiver and the perceived play a major role in the over all process Perceiver role. Attribution Behavior Projection Stereotyping Halo Effect. Impression Management Perceived person portrayal of images
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Person Perception: Making Judgments About Others

Internal Attribution Internal Attribution External Attribution External Attribution

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Attribution Theory
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EXHIBIT

5-2

Errors and Biases in Attributions

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Errors and Biases in Attributions (contd)

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Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others

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Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others

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Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others

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The Link Between Perceptions and Individual Decision Making

Perceptions of the Perceptions of the decision maker decision maker

Outcomes
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THE FACETS OF IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT (People try to control or manage the perceptions formed by other people about themselves)

IMPRESSION MOTIVATION HOW MUCH DO I CARE ABOUT THE IMPRESSION THAT I AM MAKING?

IMPRESSION CONSTRUCTION
WHAT IMAGE DO I WANT TO CONVEY? HOW DO I GO ABOUT IT?

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

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Impression management strategies used by employees:

Two

prime strategies of impression management that employees use:

1. Demotion-preventive strategy: It is used when employees want to minimize their responsibilities for a negative outcome or remain out of trouble. a. Accounts: Employee attempts to justify the occurrence of negative outcome by giving excuse. Example: An employee may tell his boss that he could not complete his task because of

b. Apologies: When an employee is unable to come up with any excuse to support his action and he will seek to apologize to his superior. The superior will carry an impression that the employee regrets the occurrence of the negative outcome and would not repeat it in future. c. Disassociation: When an employees are not directly responsible for a negative outcome they may disassociate themselves from those who are responsible. Note: this many a time hold good if the

2. Promotion-enhancing strategy: (people maximize their responsibilities for positive outcome. a. Entitlement: Some times employees may perceive that due to credit has not been given to them for the positive outcome and may try to make this known to their boss through formal or informal channel. b. Enhancements: Some times, the efforts an employee may result in an outcome that delivers much

c. Obstacle disclosures: Employee tries to impress upon the boss by making him aware of personal (ill-health or family) and organizational (lack of cooperation or scarcity of resources) obstacles they had to overcome. d. Association: An employee tries to be seen with the right people at the right time. By doing so, he tries to convey the impression that he has good contacts and that he is associated with successful projects.

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 137

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References and summery

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