Perception
Perception is the way people organize
and interpret the world around them in
order to give meaning to their
surroundings.
Peoples behavior is based on how they
interpret reality, not reality itself.
The world that is perceived is the world
that is behaviorally important.
Perception
Perception is influenced by:
the perceiver.
the target.
the situation.
Factors Influencing
Perception
Factors in the Perceiver:
attitudes.
motives.
interest.
experience.
expectations.
Factors Influencing
Perception
Factors in the Target:
motion.
sounds.
size.
background.
proximity.
Factors Influencing
Perception
Factors in the Situation:
time.
work setting.
social setting.
Characteristics and Beliefs of the
Perceivers Affecting Perception
Stereotyping Judging someone on the basis of ones
perception of the group to which that person belongs.
Halo effect Drawing a general positive impression about an
individual on the basis of a single characteristic.
Contrast effect Evaluating a persons characteristics that are
affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered
who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics.
Horn effect Drawing a general negative impression about an
individual on the basis of a single characteristic.
Introduction
Look at the picture Carefully
Contd.
What did you
Notice ?
Contd.
Perception
Did you notice that the man (1) overlapped a number of the
elements in the picture that appeared further way than he
did?
The man is also larger than objects which are in the distance.
Compare, for example, the size of the man's head and the
size of the windows in the building (4) across the bay (3).
Clearly if the man was in one of those buildings looking out
of the window his head would be much smaller than the
window.
But his head being closer is much larger.
The man's body also overlaps the water which means he is in
front of it.
Look at the building labeled (5) . It would appear to be
further way than the white building (4).
The white building is larger and overlaps the middle building.
However, the tower (6) is taller than any of the other objects
in the photo. Still it seems far away on the other side of the
bay.
Perception & Its
Importance
Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals
organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order
to give meaning to their environment.
What one perceives can be substantially different from objective
reality.
Not necessary but there is often disagreement.
For Eg: It is possible that all employees in a firm may view it as a
great place to work favorable working conditions, interesting job
assignments, good pay, an understanding and responsible
management BUT
Why is Perception Important ?
Simply because peoples behavior is based on their
perception of what reality is, not reality itself.
Factor Influencing
Why do individuals look at the same thing, yet perceive
Perception
it differently ??
Because..
A number of factors operate to shape and
sometimes distort perception.
Factors in perceiver such as attitudes,
motives, interests, experience & expectations.
Factors in the Situation such as time, work
setting & social setting.
Factors in the target such as sounds, size,
background, proximity.
Contd
Divergent Attitudes influences
Perception
Factors in the perceiver
Attitude
Motives
Interests
Experience
Expectations
Factors in the situation
Time
Work Setting
Social Setting
Factors in the target
Novelty
Motion
Sounds
Size
Background
Proximity
perception.
Motive means unsatisfied need
which stimulates individuals and
may exert a strong influence on
their perceptions.
As our individual interests differs,
what one person notices in a
situation can differ from what
others perceive.
Just as interests narrows ones
focus, so do ones past experience
Expectation can also distort your
perceptions as you will see what
you expect to see.
The context in which we see
objects or events is important.
The relationship of a target to its
background influences perception.
PROCESS OF PERCEPTION
What is the perceptual process?
Perception.
The process by which people select,
organize, interpret, retrieve, and
respond to information.
Perceptual information is gathered from:
Sight.
Hearing.
Touch.
Taste.
Smell.
What is the perceptual
process?
Factors influencing the perceptual
process.
Characteristics of the perceiver.
Characteristics of the setting.
Characteristics of the perceived.
What is the perceptual
process?
Characteristics of the perceiver.
The perceptual process is
influenced by the perceivers:
Past experiences.
Needs or motives.
Personality.
Values and attitudes
What is the perceptual
process?
Characteristics of the setting.
The perceptual process is
influenced by the settings:
Physical context.
Social context.
Organizational context.
What is the perceptual
process?
Characteristics of the perceived.
The perceptual process is influenced
by characteristics of the perceived
person, object, or event, such as:
Contrast.
Intensity.
Figure-ground separation.
Size, Motion, Repetition or novelty.
What is the perceptual
process?
Stages of the perceptual
process.
Information attention and selection.
Organization of information.
Information interpretation.
Information retrieval.
What is the perceptual
process?
Information attention and selection.
Selective screening.
Lets in only a tiny proportion all the
information that bombards a person.
Two types of selective screening.
Controlled processing.
Screening without perceivers
conscious awareness.
What is the perceptual
process?
Organization of information.
Schemas.
Cognitive frameworks that represent
organized knowledge about a given
concept or stimulus developed through
experience.
Types of schemas.
Self schemas.
Person schemas.
Script schemas, Person-in-situation
schemas.
What is the perceptual
process?
Information interpretation.
Uncovering the reasons behind the ways
stimuli are grouped.
People may interpret the same
information differently or make different
attributions about information.
What is the perceptual
process?
Information retrieval.
Attention and selection, organization, and
interpretation are part of memory.
Information stored in memory must be
retrieved in order to be used.
What is the perceptual
process?
Response to the perceptual process.
Thoughts.
Feelings.
Actions.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Common perceptual distortions
include:
Stereotypes or prototypes.
Halo effects.
Selective perception.
Projection.
Contrast effects.
Self-fulfilling prophecy.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Stereotypes or prototypes.
Combines information based on the
category or class to which a person,
situation, or object belongs.
Strong impact at the organization stage.
Individual differences are obscured.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Halo effects.
Occur when one attribute of a person or
situation is used to develop an overall
impression of the individual or situation.
Likely to occur in the organization stage.
Individual differences are obscured.
Important in the performance appraisal
process.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Selective perception.
The tendency to single out those aspects
of a situation, person, or object that are
consistent with ones needs, values, or
attitudes.
Strongest impact is at the attention stage.
Perception checking with other persons
can help counter the adverse impact of
selective perception.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Projection.
The assignment of ones personal
attributes to other individuals.
Especially likely to occur in interpretation
stage.
Projection can be controlled through a
high degree of self-awareness and
empathy.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Contrast effects.
Occur when an individual is compared to
other people on the same characteristics
on which the others rank higher or lower.
What are common perceptual
distortions?
Self-fulfilling prophecy.
The tendency to create or find in another
situation or individual that which one
expected to find.
Also called the Pygmalion effect.
Can have either positive or negative
outcomes.
Managers should adopt positive and
optimistic approaches to people at work.
managers form
expectations of
workers
Mgrs behave
consistently
with expct
Managers
behaviors affect
workers
Self fulfilling
prophecy
Workers
respond to
treatment
Positive
expectations
Emotional &
professional
support given
Added exp &
boosted
confidence
Pygmalion effect
Good
performance
Negative
expectations
Emotional &
professional
support
withheld
Ltd exp &
lowered
confidence
golem effect
Poor
performance
How can the perceptual process
be managed?
Impression management.
A persons systematic attempt to behave in ways
that create and maintain desired impressions in
others eyes.
Successful managers:
Use impression management to enhance their
own images.
Are sensitive to other peoples use of
impression management
TECHNIQUE
INTENDED
OUTCOME
Disclosing obstacles
What a motivated &
competent person !
Playing dumb
Freedom to concentrate
Playing safe
Reputation for not making
mistakes
Expert citing
Impression of expertise &
good contacts
Opinion
conformity
Winning liking & respect
Flattery
Doing favors
How can the perceptual process
be managed?
Distortion management.
Managers should:
Balance automatic and controlled information
processing at the attention and selection
stage.
Broaden their schemas at the organizing stage.
Be attuned to attributions at the interpretation
stage.
What is attribution theory?
Attribution theory aids in perceptual
interpretation by focusing on how people
attempt to:
Understand the causes of a certain event.
Assess responsibility for the outcomes of the
event.
Evaluate the personal qualities of the people
involved in the event
What is attribution theory?
Internal versus external attributions of
causes of behavior.
Internal causes are under the individuals control.
External causes are within the persons
environment.
What is attribution theory?
Factors influencing internal and external
attributions.
Distinctiveness consistency of a persons
behavior across situations.
Consensus likelihood of others responding in a
similar way.
Consistency whether an individual responds the
same way across time.
What is attribution theory?
Fundamental attribution error.
Applies to the evaluation of someones else
behavior.
Attributing success to the influence of situational
factors.
Attributing failure to the influence of personal
factors
What is attribution theory?
Self-serving bias.
Applies to the evaluation of our own behavior.
Attributing success to the influence of personal
factors.
Attributing failure to the influence of situational
factors.
Honing perceptual skills
Knowing and perceiving oneself accurately:
removing the blind spots.
The Johari Window
Being empathic
Having positive attitudes
Enhancing self concept
Honing perceptual skills
Consciously avoiding common biases in
perceptions
Communicating with employees to erase
incorrect perceptions
Avoiding attributions.
ASPECTS OF ME THAT
I KNOW
OTHERS
KNOW
OTHERS DONT
KNOW
PUBLIC
AREA
PRIVATE
AREA
I DONT KNOW
BLIND
AREA
DARK
AREA
