I.

Perception
Perception is the process through which people receive and interpret information from the
environment. It is like a filter of information before we respond. And your perception is influenced by
your background, your culture and/ or your personality, hence, each of you will perceive differently
towards the same thing or situation.

1. Perception and Psychological Contracts

One way that perception influences behavior is through psychological contract, it is what the
individual expects in the employment relationship, or we usually call it Personality – Job fit.
An ideal psychological contract is the one where the exchange of values is perceived as fair.
Individuals who sense they are getting less than they are giving, for example, might perform lower or
withdrawal.

2. Perception and Attribution

Perception also influences individual behavior through attribution, it is the process of
developing explanations for things.
Fundamental attribution error occurs when someone’s performance problems are blamed on
internal failures of the individual than external factors of the environment.
Self-serving bias happens when individuals blame personal failures on external causes while
attributing successes to internal causes. Self-serving bias creates a false sense of confidence leading to
overlook opportunities for personal development.

3. Perception Tendencies and Distortions

Perception also influences individual behavior through distortions.
3.1 Stereotypes
A stereotype occurs when someone is identified with a group, and then attributes associated
with the group are used to describe the individual.
3.2 Halo Effects
A halo effect occurs when one attribute is used to develop an overall impression of a person or
situation. Halo effect can influence performance evaluation.
3.3 Selective Perception
Selective perception is the tendency to single out for attention those aspects of a situation or
person that reinforce one’s existing beliefs or values. What this often means in organizations is that
people from different departments see things from their own points of view and fail to recognize
others’.
3.4 Projection
Projection is assigning personal attributes to other individuals. A projection error is to assume
that other people share our needs, desires, and values.

4. Perception and Impression Management

 Impression management is the systematic attempt to influence how others perceive us. How
we dress, talk, act, convey a desirable image to other persons. impression management can help us to
advance in jobs and careers, form relationships with people we admire, and even create path- ways to
group memberships.

II. Personality
Personality is the profile of characteristics making a person unique from others. In this section
we will discuss some personality models.

1. Big Five Personality Dimensions

1. Extraversion—the degree to which someone is outgoing and sociable. An extravert is
comfortable and confident in interpersonal relationships; an introvert is more reserved.
2. Agreeableness—the degree to which someone is cooperative, and trusting. An agreeable
person gets along well with others; a disagreeable person is a source of conflict for others.
3. Conscientiousness—the degree to which someone is responsible and careful. A conscientious
person focuses on what can be accomplished and meets commitments; a person who lacks
conscientiousness is careless.
4. Emotional stability—the degree to which someone is secure, and unworried. A person who is
emotionally stable is calm and confident; a person lacking in emotional stability is anxious and in
secured.
5. Openness to experience—the degree to which someone is curious and open to new ideas. An
open person is broad-minded and comfortable with change; a person who lacks openness is narrow-
minded and is resistant to change.

2. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

• Extraverted vs. introverted (E or I)—social interaction: how they relate with others, whether a
person tends toward being outgoing and sociable or shy and quiet.
• Sensing vs. intuitive (S or I)—gathering data: how they gather information, whether a person
tends to focus on details or on the big picture in dealing with problems.
• Thinking vs. feeling (T or F)—decision making: how they evaluate information, whether a
person tends to rely on logic or emotions in dealing with problems.
• Judging vs. perceiving (J or P)—work style: how they relate to the outside world, whether a
person prefers order and control or acts with flexibility and spontaneity

3. Personal Conception and Emotional Adjustment Traits

A personal conception trait is how people by personality tend to relate with the environment
An emotional adjustment trait is how they are inclined toward handling stress and
uncomfortable situations.
3.1 Locus of Control
Locus of control is recognizing that some people believe they are in control of their destinies,
while others believe that what happens to them is beyond their control. There are 2 dimensions:
 - “Internals” are more self-confident and accept responsibility for their actions.
- “Externals” are more prone to blame others for what happens to them.
3.2 Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is the degree to which a person defers to authority and accepts status
differences. Someone with an authoritarian personality tends to be control-oriented when in a
leadership position and comply with rules when in a follower position. The tendency of people with
authoritarian personalities to obey can cause problems if they follow orders to the point of acting
unethically or even illegally.
3.3 Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism describes the extent to which someone is emotionally detached and
manipulative in using power. It is a personality trait centered on manipulativeness, callousness, and
indifference to morality.
- A person with a “high- Mach” personality is viewed as unconcerned about others, often
act with the assumption that the end justifies the means.
- A person with a “low- Mach” personality would be deferential in allowing others to
exert power over them.
3.4 Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring is the degree to which someone is able to adjust and modify behavior in
response to the situation.
- A person high in self-monitoring tends to be a learner, comfortable with feedback,
willing and able to change.
- A person low in self-monitoring is predictable and tends to act consistently regardless of
circumstances.
3.5 Type A Personality
A Type A personality is high in achievement orientation, impatience, and perfectionism. Type A
personality is always moving, walking fast, they act impatient, they do several things at once.

III. Attitudes
Attitudes are predispositions to act in a certain way toward people and things in our
environment.
There are three components of Attitude:
- Cognitive component reflects a belief or an opinion.
- Affective or emotional component reflects a specific feeling.
- Behavioral component of reflects an intention to behave in a manner consistent with
the belief and feeling.
Cognitive dissonance describes the discomfort felt when your attitude and behavior are
inconsistent.

1. Job Satisfaction
 One of the work attitudes is job satisfaction, the degree to which you feel positive or negative
about various aspects of work. There will be some aspects contribute to whether you like the job or not:
- Work itself—Is the job interest?
- Quality of supervision—Are help and support available?
- Coworkers—Do respect and friendliness exists?
- Opportunities—Is there space for promotion and growth?
- Pay—Is compensation fair and substantial?
- Work conditions—Are conditions comfortable and safe?
- Security—Is the job and employment secure?

IV. Emotions, Moods, and Stress

1. Emotions
An emotion is a strong feeling directed toward someone or something. For example, you might
feel positive emotion when someone congratulates on your performance.

2. Moods
Moods are more general feelings or states of mind that may persist for some time. Mood can be
“contagious,” meaning when you are happy, people interact with you can be happy as well. It is called
mood contagion.

3. Stress
Closely aligned with emotions and moods is stress, a state of tension caused by extraordinary
demands, constraints, or opportunities.
And things that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors can influence attitudes, emotions and
moods, behavior.
Constructive stress is personally energizing and performance-enhancing. Stress that encourages
effort, stimulates creativity while not overwhelming the individual and causing negative outcomes. It is
like a motive for people to achieve higher.
Destructive stress is dysfunctional. It occurs when intense stress overloads and breaks down a
person’s physical and mental health. It can lead to Job burnout - physical and mental exhaustion from
work stress or Workplace rage - aggressive behavior toward coworkers or the workplace.