Chapter 6 – Perception & Individual Decision Making
Perception •
Defnition o Perception: A process by which individuals organize and interpret their interpret impressions in their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to
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their environment environment People’s behavior is based on their perception o what reality is, not on reality itsel The world as it is perceived perceived is the world that is behaviorally behaviorally important
Factors Fa ctors that infuence Perception • • •
Perceiver Attitudes, motives, interests experiences, expectations !ituation Time, !ituation Time, wor wor setting, social setting setting "arget novelty, motion, sounds, si!e, bacground, bacground, proximity, similarity
#ttri$ution "heory – %udging others •
"ur perception and #udgment o others is signifcantly in$uenced by
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our assumptions o the other person’s internal state% &hen individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine whether
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it is internally or externally caused% 'ausation #udged through: through: Distinctiveness (hows di)erent behaviors in di)erent o o o
situations% Consensus *esponse *esponse is the same as others to same situation% Consistency *esponds in the same way over time%
'rrors and (iases in #ttri$utions Fundamental #ttri$ution 'rror + tendency to underestimate the in$uence o external actors and overestimate the in$uence o internal actors when maing #udgments about the behavior o others •
!el)!erving (ias + tendency or individuals to attribute their own successes to internal actors while putting the blame or ailures on external actors o t is -our. success but -their. ailure
Mental !hortcuts Individuals !elective Perception o People selectively interpret what they see on the basis o their interests, bacground, experience, and attitudes *alo '+ect o Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis o a single characteristic /avorable0 Contrast '+ects
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A)ected by comparisons with other people recently encountered
who ran higher or lower on the same characteristics !tereotyping o 1udging someone on the basis o our perception o the group to which he or she belongs + simpliy complex world, maintain consistency
Mental !hortcuts Individuals 'mployment Intervie, o Perceptual biases o raters a)ect the accuracy o interviewers’ #udgments o applicants + 2ormed in a single glance 3 4546 o a second7 Per)ormance '-pectations o (el+ulflling prophecy /Pygmalion efect 0: The lower or higher perormance o employees re$ects preconceived leader expectations about employee capabilities Per)ormance 'valuations Appraisals are oten the sub#ective /#udgmental0 perceptions o o appraisers o another employee’s #ob perormance Perceptions and Individual Decision Making •
Decision maing occurs as a reaction to a pro$lem /which is defned as a perceived discrepancy between the current state o a)airs and a desired state0
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Perception 8inage: o
All elements o problem identifcation and the decision maing process are in$uenced by perception%
Problems must be recogni!ed
Data must be selected and evaluated
.ational Decisionmaking Model o
Assumption:
The decision maer has complete in)ormation s able to identiy all the relevant options in an unbiased manner /people might satisfce0
'hooses the option with the highest utility
DecisionMaking Models in /rganizations (ounded .eality o The -real world. model: 9ost people respond to a complex problem by reducing the problem to a level at which it can be o
readily understood% (ees satisactory and sucient solutions rom limited data and
alternatives Intuition o A non+conscious process created rom distilled experience that o
results in ;uic decisions *elies on holistic associations or lins between disparate pieces
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o inormation t’s ast and a)ectively charged 3 engaging the emotions
Common (iases and 'rrors in DecisionMaking /vercon0dence (ias
.andomness 'rror 'reating meaning out o random events + superstitions o 1inner2s Curse o >ighest bidder pays too much due to value overestimation o 8ielihood increases with the number o people in auction *indsight (ias o Tendency to believe alsely that one has accurately predicted the outcome o an event, ater that outcome is actually nown%
Individual Di+erences in Decision Making Personality o 'onscientiousness may e)ect escalation o) commitment Achievement+strivers are liely to increase commitment
/continue to wor hard despite evidence o ailure0 Dutiul people are less lie to have this bias !el)'steem >igh sel+esteem people are susceptible to sel)serving
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$ias /because they do not want to be seen as ailures, instead o successul0 o
3ender o &omen analy!e decisions more than men 3 rumination o &omen are twice as liely to develop depression% Di)erences develop early o
/rganizational Constraints Per)ormance 'valuation managerial evaluation criteria in$uence actions .e,ard !ystems decision with the greatest personal payo) or them Formal .egulations limit the alternative choices o decision maers !ystemimposed "ime Constraints restrict ability to gather or evaluate inormation *istorical Precedents past decisions in$uence current decisions
'thics in Decision Making 4tilitarianism o Decisions made based solely on the outcome o (eeing the greatest good )or the greatest num$er o Dominant method or businesspeople
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Pro: Promotes e5ciency and productivity
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'on: 'an ignore individual rights, especially minorities
.ights Decisions consistent with undamental liberties and privileges o *especting and protecting $asic rights o) individuals such as o whistleblowers o
Pro: Protects individuals rom harm? preserves rights
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'on: 'reates an overly legalistic wor environment
%ustice o mposing and enorcing rules )airly and impartially o =;uitable distribution o benefts and costs o Pro: Protects the interests o) ,eaker members 'on: =ncourages a sense o) entitlement o
Improving Creativity in Decision Making •
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'reativity o The ability to produce novel and use)ul ideas o 'omponents: =xpertise, 'reative thining sills, ntrinsic Tas motivation &ho has the greatest creative potential@ o Those who score high in Openness to Experience People who are intelligent, independent, sel+confdent, ris+ o taing, have an internal locus+o+control, tolerant o) am$iguity, low need or structure, and who persevere in the ace o rustration
