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Perception, Attribution, and the Management of Diversity

Chapter 4

Sixth Edition Jennifer M. George & Gareth R. Jones

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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Learning Objectives
y Describe how perception is inherently subjective and

how characteristics of the perceiver, the target, and the situation can influence perceptions
y Understand how the use of schemas can both aid and

detract from accurate perceptions

y Be aware of biases that can influence perception

without perceivers being aware of their influences

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Learning Objectives
y Appreciate why the effective management of

diversity is an imperative for all kinds of organizations and the steps that organizations can take to ensure that different kinds of people are treated fairly and that the organization is able to take advantage of all they have to offer

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Learning Objectives
y Understand why attributions are so important and

how they can sometimes be faulty

y Describe the two major forms of sexual harassment

and the steps organizations can take to combat sexual harassment

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Effectively Managing Diversity

y How can organizations meet the challenge of

effectively managing diversity?

y Is discrimination a thing of the past? y Who suffers from discrimination?

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Perception
Perception is the process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret the input from their senses to give meaning and order to the world around them People try to make sense of their environment and the objects, events, and other people in it

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Components of Perception
Exhibit 4-1

Perceiver

Target

Situation or context in which perception takes place

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Components of Perception

Perceiver

Situation

Target

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The Accuracy of Perceptions

y Perceptions are critical for managerial functions
{ { {

Motivating subordinates Treating subordinates fairly and equitably Making ethical decisions

y Accuracy can be improved by understanding

{
{ {

What perceptions are

How they are formed What influences them
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Characteristics of the Perceiver That Affect Perception

Exhibit 4-2

Insert Exhibit 4.2 here

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Factors That Influence Perception

Exhibit 4-3

Characteristics of Characteristics of Characteristics of the Perceiver the Target the Situation Schemas Ambiguity Additional information Salience

Motivational state

Social status Use of impression management

Mood

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Schemas
Schemas are abstract knowledge structures that are stored in memory and allow people to organize and interpret information about a given target of perception
yBased on past experiences and knowledge yResistant to change

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The Functionality of Schemas

y Functional
{

Help to make sense of sensory input, choose what information to pay attention to and what to ignore, and guide perceptions of ambiguous information

y Dysfunctional
{

Can result in inaccurate perceptions

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Stereotypes
y Set of overly simplified and often inaccurate beliefs

about the typical characteristics of a particular group

y Dysfunctional schemas
{ {

Based on inaccurate information Assigned based on a single distinguishing characteristic

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Motivational State and Mood

Motivational states are the needs, values, and desires of a perceiver at the time of perception

Moods are how a perceiver feels at the time of perception

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Ambiguity

y A lack of clearness or definiteness y As the ambiguity of a target increases, it becomes

increasingly difficult for a perceiver to form an accurate perception

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Social Status
Social status is a persons real or perceived position in society or in an organization Targets with relatively high status are perceived to be smarter, more credible, more knowledgeable, and more responsible for their actions than lower-status targets
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Impression Management
Impression management is an attempt to control the perceptions or impressions of others

High

Low

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Impression Management Tactics

Behavioral Matching SelfPromotion Conforming to Situational Norms Appreciating or Flattering Others
The target of perception matches his or her behavior to that of the perceiver. The target tries to present herself or himself in as positive a light as possible. The target follows agreed-upon rules for behavior in the organization. The target compliments the perceiver. This tactic works best when flattery is not extreme and when it involves a dimension important to the perceiver. The targets beliefs and behaviors are consistent. There is agreement between the targets verbal and nonverbal behaviors. A subordinate tries to imitate her bosss behavior by being modest and soft-spoken because her boss is modest and soft-spoken. A worker reminds his boss about his past accomplishments and associates with coworkers who are evaluated highly. A worker stays late every night even if she has completed all of her assignments because staying late is one of the norms of her organization. A coworker compliments a manager on his excellent handling of a troublesome employee.

Being Consistent

A subordinate delivering a message to his boss looks the boss straight in the eye and has a sincere expression on his face.

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Salience
Salience is the extent to which a target of perception stands out in a group of people or things

Being novel Being figural Being inconsistent

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Causes of Salience
Exhibit 4-5
Being novel Example: Being the only person of Anything that makes a a particular age, sex, target unique in a situation or race in a situation

Being figural

Standing out from the background

Example: Being in a spotlight, sitting at the head of the table, wearing bright clothes

Being

Behaving or looking of the ordinary

Inconsistent in a way that is out

Example: A normally shy person who is the life of the party

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Biases in Perception

A bias is a systematic tendency to use or interpret information about a target in a way that results in inaccurate perceptions

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Biases in Perception
Exhibit 4-6
Primacy Effects The initial pieces of information that a perceiver has about a target have an inordinately large effect on the perceivers perception and evaluation of the target. Interviewers decide in the first few minutes of an interview whether or not a job candidate is a good prospect.

Contrast Effect

The perceivers perceptions of others influence the perceivers perception of a target.

A managers perception of an average subordinate is likely to be lower if that subordinate is in a group with very high performers rather than in a group with very low performers.

Halo Effect

The perceivers general impression of a target influences his or her perception of the target on specific dimensions.

A subordinate who has made a good overall impression on a supervisor is rated as performing high-quality work and always meeting deadlines regardless of work that is full of mistakes and late.

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Biases in Perception
Exhibit 4-6 cont
Similar-tome Effect People perceive others who are similar to themselves more positively than they perceive those who are dissimilar. Supervisors rate subordinates who are similar to them more positively than they deserve.

Harshness, Leniency, Average Tendency

Some perceivers tend to be overly harsh in their perceptions, some overly lenient. Others view most targets as being about average.

When rating subordinates performances, some give almost everyone a poor rating, some give almost everyone a good rating, and others rate almost everyone as being about average. A professor perceives a student more positively than she deserves because the professor knows the student had a high score on the SAT.

Knowledge of Predictor

Knowing how a target stands on a predictor of performance influences perceptions of the target.

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Attribution Theory
Describes how people explain the causes of

behavior
Focuses on why people behave the way they do Attributions can be made about the self or

another person
Biases reduce the accuracy of attributions

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Types of Attributions
y Exhibit 4-7

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Attributional Biases

y Fundamental attribution error y Actor-observer effect y Self-serving attribution

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Managing a Diverse Workforce

Commitment Training Education Mentoring

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Training Objectives
y Making explicit and breaking down organizational

members stereotypes that result in inaccurate perceptions and attributions

y Making members aware of different kinds of

backgrounds, experiences, and values

y Showing members how to deal effectively with

diversity-related conflicts and tensions

y Generally improving members understanding of one

another

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Diversity Training
y Role-playing y Self-awareness activities y Awareness activities y Education y Mentoring
{ {

Formal Informal

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Sexual Harassment

Quid Pro Quo

Hostile Work Environment

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Examples of Hostile Work Environment

y Pornographic pictures y Sexual jokes y Lewd comments y Sexually oriented comments y Displays of sexually oriented objects

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Steps to Combat Sexual Harassment

y Develop a sexual harassment policy y Clearly communicate the organizations sexual

harassment policy
y Investigate charges of sexual harassment y Take corrective action y Provide sexual harassment training and education

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