Perception and

Learning
Understanding and
Adapting to the
Work Environment
Chapter 2

Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

Distinguish between the concepts of social perception and

social identity.
Explain how the attribution process works and describe the
various sources of bias in social perception.
Understand how the process of social perception operates in
the context of performance appraisals, employment
interviews, and the cultivation of corporate images.
Define learning and describe the two types most applicable
to OB: operant conditioning and observational learning.
Describe how principles of learning are involved in
organizational training and innovative reward systems.
Compare the way organizations use reward in organizational
behavior management programs, how they can use
punishment most effectively when administering discipline,
and how they can manage knowledge effectively.
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Social Identity Theory

Personal Identity:
Identity The characteristics that
define a particular individual.
Social Identity:
Identity Who a person is, as
defined in terms of his or her membership
in various social groups.
Social Identity Theory:
Theory A
conceptualization recognizing that the
way we perceive others and ourselves is
based on our unique characteristics and
our membership in various groups.
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Social Identity Theory

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Social Perception
Social Perception:
Perception

The process of
combining, integrating, and
interpreting information about others
to gain an accurate understanding of
them.
Attribution:
Attribution The process through
which individuals attempt to
determine the causes behind others
behavior.
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Correspondent Inferences
Judgments about peoples dispositions, traits,
and characteristics, that correspond to what we
have observed of their actions.

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Causal Attribution
Causes of Behavior:
Behavior

Internal:
Internal Explanations based on actions for
which the individual is responsible.
External:
External Explanations based on situations
over which the individual has no control.
Kelleys Theory of Causal Attribution:
Attribution

The

approach suggesting that people will

believe others actions to be caused by
internal or external factors based on three
types of information: consensus,
consistency, and distinctiveness.
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Kelleys Theory of
Attribution
Consensus:
Consensus

Information regarding the

extent to which other people behave in the
same manner as the person being judged.
Consistency:
Consistency Information regarding the
extent to which the person being judged
acts the same way at other times.
Distinctiveness:
Distinctiveness Information regarding
the extent to which a person behaves in
the same manner in other contexts.
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Kelleys Theory of
Attribution

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Stereotypes
Beliefs that all
members of
specific groups
share similar
traits and are
prone to behave
the same way.
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Perceptual Biases
Predispositions that people have to
misperceive others in various ways.
Types include
Fundamental attribution error
Halo effect
Similar-to-me effect
First impression error
Selective perception
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Fundamental Attribution
Error
The tendency to
attribute others
actions to internal
causes (e.g., their
traits) while largely
ignoring external
factors that also
may have
influenced behavior.
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Halo Effect
The tendency for our
overall impressions
of others to affect
objective
evaluations of their
specific traits;
perceiving high
correlations
between
characteristics that
may be unrelated.

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Similar-to-Me Effect
The tendency for
people to perceive
in a positive light
others who are
believed to be
similar to
themselves in any
of several different
ways.
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Selective Perception
The tendency to
focus on some
aspects of the
environment
while ignoring
others.
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First Impression Error

The tendency to base our judgments of others on
our earlier impressions of them.

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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
Prophecy The tendency for
someones expectations about another to cause
that person to behave in a manner consistent
with those expectations.
Pygmalion Effect:
Effect A positive instance of the selffulfilling prophecy, in which people holding high
expectations of another tend to improve that
individuals performance.
Golem Effect:
Effect A negative instance of the selffulfilling prophecy, in which people holding low
expectations of another tend to lower that
individuals performance.
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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

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Overcoming Biases

Do not overlook the

external cases of
others behaviors.
Identify your
stereotypes.
Evaluate people based
on objective factors.
Avoid making rash
judgments.
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Organizational
Applications

Performance Appraisal:
Appraisal The process of
evaluating employees on various workrelated dimensions.
An inherently biased process

Impresssion Management:
Management Efforts by
individuals (esp. in employment
interviews) to improve how they appear to
others.
Corporate Image:
Image The impressions that
people have of an organization.
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Applicant Impression
Management

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Corporate Image

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Learning Concepts
Learning:
Learning A relatively permanent change
in behavior occurring as a result of
experience.
Operant Conditioning:
Conditioning The form of
learning in which people associate the
consequences of their actions with the
actions themselves.
Behaviors with positive consequences are
acquired.
Behaviors with negative consequences tend to
be eliminated.
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Operant Conditioning
Process

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Reinforcement Concepts
Positive Reinforcement:
Reinforcement

The process
by which people learn to perform
behaviors that lead to the
presentation of desired outcomes.
Negative Reinforcement:
Reinforcement The
process by which people learn to
perform acts that lead to the removal
of undesired events.
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Punishment and Extinction

Punishment:
Punishment Decreasing
undesirable behavior by following
it with undesirable consequences.
Extinction:
Extinction The process through
which responses that are no
longer reinforced tend to gradually
diminish in strength.
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Contingencies of
Reinforcement

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Schedules of
Reinforcement
Rules governing the timing and
frequency of the administration of
reinforcement.
Continuous Reinforcement:
Reinforcement A
schedule of reinforcement in which
all desired behaviors are reinforced.
Partial Reinforcement:
Reinforcement A schedule of
reinforcement in which only some
desired behaviors are reinforced.
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Fixed Interval Schedules

Schedules of
reinforcement in
which a fixed
period of time
must elapse
between the
administration of
reinforcements.
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Variable Interval
Schedules
Schedules of
reinforcement in
which a variable
period of time
(based on some
average) must
elapse between the
administration of
reinforcements.
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Fixed Ratio Schedules

Schedules of
reinforcement in
which a fixed
number of
responses must
occur between the
administration of
reinforcements.
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Variable Ratio Schedules

Schedules of
reinforcement in
which a variable
number of
responses (based
on some average)
must occur
between the
administration of
reinforcements.
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Observational Learning
The form of learning in which people acquire
new behaviors by systematically observing the
rewards and punishments given to others.

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Steps in Observational
Learning

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Applications of Learning
Training
Innovative

Reward

Systems
Organizational
Behavior
Management
Discipline
Knowledge
Management
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Training
The process of systematically teaching
employees to acquire and improve jobrelated skills and knowledge.
Types of training:

Classroom training
Apprenticeship programs
Cross-cultural training
Executive training programs
Corporate universities
E-training

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Keys to Effective Training

Participation:
Participation Active involvement in the
process of learning; more active participation
leads to more effective learning.
Repetition:
Repetition The process of repeatedly
performing a task so that it may be learned.
Transfer of Training:
Training The degree to which the
skills learned during training sessions may
be applied to performance on ones job.
Feedback:
Feedback Knowledge of the results of ones
behavior.

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Innovative Reward
Systems
$ Skill-Based Pay:
Pay An innovative reward
system in which people are paid based
on the number of different skills they
have learned relevant to performing
one or more jobs in the organization.
$ Team-Based Rewards:
Rewards Innovative
reward systems in which employees
are paid on the basis of their teams
performance.
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Organizational Behavior
Management
The practice of
altering
behavior in
organizations by
systematically
administering
rewards.
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Discipline
The process of systematically
administering punishment.
Progressive Discipline:
Discipline The
practice of gradually increasing
the severity of punishments for
employees who exhibit
unacceptable job behavior.
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Using Punishment
Effectively

Deliver punishment immediately after the

undesirable response occurs.
Give moderate levels of punishment nothing too
high or too low.
Punish the undesirable behavior, not the person.
Use punishment consistently across occasions.
Punish everyone equally for the same infraction.
Clearly communicate the reasons for the
punishment given.
Do not follow punishment with noncontingent
rewards.

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Knowledge Management
The process of gathering, organizing, and
sharing a companys information and
knowledge assets.
Intellectual Capital:
Capital Areas of expertise
represented by the employees within a
company.
Knowledge Managers:
Managers Individuals who are
responsible for organizing the wealth of
corporate knowledge represented by its
people and ensuring that this information
gets used effectively.
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What Do Knowledge Managers

Do?

Explain the companys knowledge management efforts

to everyone from board member to low-level employee.

Secure funding for knowledge management projects.

Promote job flexibility within the company, making it

possible for people with good ideas to execute them
readily.

Develop, maintain, and promote use of an online

database of ideas that is readily accessible to all.

Discourage keeping information and ideas within a

single division; encouraging all ideas, research findings,
and experiences to be shared with others.

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