What is Perception, and Why is it Important?

People’s behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself. The world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviorally important..

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However, what we perceive can be substantially different from objective reality. For example , all employees in a firm may view it as a great place to work-favorable working conditions, interesting job assignments, good pay, excellent benefits, understanding and responsible management. but , it’s very unusual to find such agreement..

What Is Perception………. The study of perception is very important in the organization because it aid managers to perceive individuals correctly irrespective of their status and perceive each of the situations as close to the real fact or as it exists by interpreting the sensory reflects in correct way. Perception involves; O bserving data, S electing , and organizing the data based on sensory reflects and I nterpreting the same as per personality attributes of the perceiver..

Factors influencing Perception. A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception. These factors include; A. In the perceiver B. In the object or target being perceived C. In the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

Factors in the prceiver • Attitudes • Motives • Interests • Experience • Expectations Factors in the situation • Time Perception • Work setting • setting Factors in the target • Novelty • Motion • Sounds • Size • Background • Proximity • Similarity.

A. Characteristics of the Perceiver When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she sees the interpretation is heavily influenced by personal characteristics of individual perceiver. Attitudes : The perceiver's attitudes affect perception. For example, suppose Mr. X is interviewing candidates for a very important position in his organization –a position that requires negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. Mr X may feel that women are not capable of holding their own in tough negotiations. This attitude will doubtless affect his perceptions of the female candidates he interviews ..

2. Moods Moods can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone. We think differently when we are happy than we do when we are depressed . In addition, we remember information that is consistent with our mood state better than information that is inconsistent with our mood state. When in a positive mood, we form more positive impression of others. When in a negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavourably..

3. Motives Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals and may exert a strong influence on their perceptions . For example, in an organizational context, a boss who is insecure perceives a subordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a threat to his or her own position. Personal insecurity can be transferred into the perception that others are out to "get my job", regardless of the intention of the subordinates..

4. Self-Concept An individual with a positive self-concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person . In contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out negative traits in another person. Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others..

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5. Interest The focus of our attention appears to be influenced by our interests. Because our individual interests differ considerably, what one person notices in a situation can differ from what others perceive..

. How many legs does this elephant have? This section on perception is going to address the many ways we perceive things and how these perceptions impact our ability to relate to others..

6 . Past experience Past experience plays an important role in perception. P ast experience nullifies an object interest. For example second or subsequent visit to a historic place . Object or events that have not been experienced before are more noticeable and creates an interest . Young staffs take time to understand than experienced staffs.

7. Expectations Finally, expectations can distort your perceptions in that you will see what you expect to see..

B. Characteristics of the Target Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived . Novelty and Familiarity Both of these increase selection. When a perception is new, it stands out in a person's experience . Some times when it is familiar, it is likely to be selected because of this familiarity In another situation attractive and novel objects are likely to be selected than un attractive and usual objects . Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed than normal ones. Interviewers rate attractive candidates more favourably and attractive candidates are awarded higher starting salaries.

The Physical Attractiveness Stereotype Attractive people are perceived to be smarter, funnier, and more likable than less attractive people well.

2. Motion Moving objects are more likely to be selected than non moving objects.

3. Sound Loud people are more likely to be noticed in a group than quiet ones. 4. Size Size of the object or person affects our perception. Big objects are likely to be noticed than small objects People perceive fatty individuals to be a boss in an office than thin individuals.

5 . Background Because we don’t look at targets in isolation, the relationship of a target to its background also influences perception, as does our tendency to group close things and similar things together. We often perceive women, men, Whites, African Americans, Asians, or members of any other group that has clearly distinguishable characteristics as alike in other, unrelated ways as well..

6. Proximity Perceptions that are physically close to each other are easier to organize into a pattern or whole..

C. Factor in a Situation. Change in situation leads to incorrect perception about a person. The factor that influence the perception are 1. Time The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place has an influence on the perceiver’s impression of the target . For Example , a person decked up for a party may not be noticeable but the same dress in office would be noticed distinctly, though the person has not changed. 2. Work setting You would have very frequently heard people say that their manager is different during working hours and opposite while in a social setting..

3. Social setting Everything you do is influenced by the situation in which you do it. The situation that surrounds an action is called its context. In fact, analysing context is crucial for social interaction and even, in some cases, for survival . This domain also includes social knowledge, which refers to one's knowledge of social roles, norms, and schemas surrounding social situations and interactions..

Attribution Theory of Perception. Perceiving/interpreting what others do is burdensome . Hence, w e use a number of shortcuts when we judge others. It has been seen that our perception about the people is greatly influenced by the assumption we make about a person and not by reality . Attribution theory is a topic within the field of social psychology which seeks to explain the cognitive process whereby individuals make explanatory inferences regarding the causes of events. Attribution theory explains the ways in which we judge people differently , depending on the meaning we attribute to a given behavior..

Fritz Heider (1958) was among the first to analyse the process of attribution..

In 1967, Harold Kelley attempted to explain the cognitive process by which people generate internal or external explanations with his tripartite attribution cube . Kelley first postulated that attributions arise through the use of the principle of co-variation. This principle of inferential logic holds that the cause of an event must be present when the event occurs and absent when the event fails to occur. Kelley proposed that individuals observe three types of covariant data when assessing the causal origin of behavioural events . Consensus , C onsistency , and D istinctiveness.

Distinctiveness: shows different behaviors in different situations. Consensus: response is the same as others to same situation. Consistency: responds in the same way over time..

Attribution Theory of Perception…. Consensus … Asks whether everyone in a similar situation acts the same way . If everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows consensus . From an attribution perspective, if consensus is high, you would be expected to give an external attribution to the employee’s tardiness. But if other employees who took the same route made it to work on time, you would conclude the cause was internal. If all students fail the exam…… consensus is high…. External factor If only few fail the exam…….consensus is low……. Internal factor.

Consistency: an observer looks for consistency in a person’s actions . Does the person respond the same way over time? Coming in 10 minutes late for work is not perceived in the same way for an employee who hasn’t been late for several months as it is for an employee who is late two or three times a week. The more consistent the behavior, the more we are inclined to attribute it to internal causes . If a person who is always punctual is late for 10 minutes, we might feel that something is wrong with him…. External factors. E.g. Agitu Gudeta’s Case.

Distinctiveness. Attribution Theory of Perception…..

External Distinctiveness Internal External Individual Consensus Behavior Internal External Consistency Internal.

Errors and Biases in Attributions. Fundamental Attribution Error One of the most interesting findings from attribution theory research is that errors or biases distort attributions. When we make judgments about the behavior of other people, we tend to; underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. W e tend to blame the person first, not the situation..

Individuals and organizations also tend to attribute their own successes to internal factors such as ability or effort, while blaming failure on external factors such as bad luck or unproductive co-workers..

Did you ever find you’d misjudged a person? Why?.

Frequently used Shortcuts w hile Judging Others. Selective perception Halo effect Contrast Effects Projection.

Frequently used Shortcuts…. Selective perception We receive a vast amount of information. Therefore, it is impossible for us to assimilate everything we see - on eye certain stimuli can be taken. People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience, and attitudes. Some bosses may reprimand some employees for doing something that when done by another employee goes unnoticed.

Halo Effect. Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance, a halo effect is operating..

Contrast Effects Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that are affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics A contrasting effect can be caused by colour, size or any other factor that is unusual (any factor that distinguishes one stimulus from others at present). Our reaction is influenced by other persons we have recently encountered . if you encountered disrespect in some office recently and wend to another officer who show you respect………...

Projection Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people. People who engage in projection tend to perceive others according to who they are rather than according to who the person being observed is..

Stereotyping Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs. In organizations, we frequently hear comments that represent stereotypes based on gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, and even weight “Men aren’t interested in child care,” “Older workers can’t learn new skills”..

First-impression error. Individuals place a good deal of importance on first impressions..

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. Self-fulfilling prophecies are the situation in which our expectations about people affect our interaction with them in such a way that our expectations are fulfilled..

The Pygmalion effect has been observed in work organizations as well..

Implicit Personality Theories We tend to have our own mini-theories about how people look and behave. These theories help us organize our perceptions and take shortcuts instead of integrating new information all the time..

2.2. Attitudes. According to Gordon Allport , a ttitude is defined as a-“mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situation with which it is related”..

According to P R Lawrence, “Attitude represents the cluster of beliefs, assessed feelings, and behavioural intentions toward an object ”. An attitude is defined as the way a person feels about something- a person, a place, a commodity, a situation or an idea..

Attitudes are positive or negative feelings concerning objects, people, or events. Attitudes are thus responses to situations. Our perception/interpreting sensation affects our attitude/ action or behavior.

Components of attitude. Cognitive Component. Components of Attitudes Behavioral Component. Affective Component..

Components of Attitude…. Cognitive component It refers to that part of attitude which is related in general knowledge of a person . The opinion or belief segment of an attitude . refers to the beliefs, thoughts, and attributes that we would associate with an object . E.g. Smoking is harmful to health.