Perception and

Personality in
Organizations

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Dr. Wen Ho Lee

The arrest of nuclear scientist

Dr. Wen Ho Lee for allegedly
stealing secrets at Los Alamos
National Lab opened a long-
simmering issue regarding bias
against Asian-Americans.
© AFP/Corbis

McShane/ Von Glinow 2/e Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Perceptual Process Model

Environmental Stimuli

Feeling Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting

Selective Attention

Organization and
Interpretation

Emotions and
Behavior

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Selective Attention

Characteristics of the object

 size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty

Perceptual context

Characteristics of the perceiver

 Values and attitudes
 perceptual defense
 expectations -- condition us to expect events

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Splatter Vision Perception

Secret Service agents practice

“splatter vision” so that their
selective attention process takes
in as much information as
possible to protect presidents and
other dignitaries. This reduces
the chance of screening out
potentially important information
that might identify security risks. © AFP/Corbis

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Perceptual Organization/Interpretation

Perceptual grouping principles

 Trends
 Similarity/proximity
 Closure
Mental models
 Broad world-views or ‘theories-in-use’
 But can blind people to potentially better
perspectives

McShane/ Von Glinow 2/e Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Social Identity Theory

ACME
Widget Employees at
Employee other firms

Live in the An Individual’s People living

United States Social Identity in other countries

Graduates from
U. of Vermont other schools
Graduate

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Social Identity Theory Features

Comparative process
 Compare characteristics of our groups with other
groups

Homogenization process
 Perceive that everyone in a group has similar
characteristics

Contrasting process
 Form less favorable images of people in groups
other than our own

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The Stereotyping Process

Develop categories Professors are

and assign traits absent-minded

Assign person to category Our instructor

based on observable info is a professor

Assign category’s traits Our instructor is

to the person absent-minded

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How Accurate are Stereotypes?

Some accuracy, but also distortion and error

 Traits don’t describe everyone in the group
 We screen out inconsistent information
Stereotypes are less accurate when:
 Little interaction with people in that group
 Experience conflict with members of that group
 Stereotypes enhance our own social identity

McShane/ Von Glinow 2/e Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Attribution Process

Internal Attribution
 Perception that outcomes are due to
motivation/ability rather than situation or fate

External Attribution
 Perception that outcomes are due to situation or
fate rather than the person

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Rules of Attribution

Internal Attribution

Frequently Frequently Seldom

Distinctive Consensus
Consistent
from other (Other people
with past
situations are similar)
Seldom Seldom Frequently

External Attribution

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Attribution Errors

Fundamental Attribution Error

 Attributing behavior of other people to internal
factors (their motivation/ability)

Self-Serving Bias
 Attributing our successes to internal factors and
our failures to external factors

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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle

Supervisor
forms
expectations

Employee’s Expectations
behavior matches affect supervisor’s
expectations behavior

Supervisor’s
behavior affects
employee

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Dealing with Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Awareness training
 Leaders learn effects of negative perceptions
 Problem is that awareness doesn’t prevent self-
fulfilling prophecy

Emerging three-prong strategy

 Support a learning orientation
 Engage in contingency leadership styles
 Increase employee self-efficacy

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Other Perceptual Errors

Primacy
 First impressions
Recency
 Most recent information dominates perceptions
Halo
 One trait forms a general impression
Projection
 Believing other people are similar to you

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Diversity Initiatives in the NHL

To minimize racial slurs and

other perceptual problems, the
NHL requires every player to
attend diversity awareness
sessions. In these sessions,
players learn to appreciate ethnic
differences and the problems © Reuters/Andy Clark/TimePix

with prejudicial outbursts.

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Types of Diversity Initiatives

Recruit people with diverse

backgrounds
Provide reasonable
accommodation
Diversity awareness activities
 Appreciate differences
 Sensitize people to © Reuters/Andy Clark/TimePix

stereotypes/prejudice
 Dispel myths

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Improving Perceptual Accuracy

Diversity
Initiatives

Know Improving Empathize

Yourself With Others
Perceptual
Accuracy
Compare Postpone
Perceptions Impression
With Others Formation

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Know Yourself (Johari Window)
Feedback

Known to Self Unknown to Self

Known
to Others Open
Area Open Blind
Disclosure Area Blind
Area Area

Hidden
Area Unknown
Hidden Unknown
Area
Unknown Area Area
to Others

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Personality Defined

Relatively stable pattern of

behaviors and consistent internal
states that explain a person's
behavioral tendencies

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Big Five Personality Dimensions

Conscientiousness Caring, dependable

Emotional Stability Poised, secure

Openness to Experience Sensitive, flexible

Agreeableness Courteous, empathic

Extroversion Outgoing, talkative

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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

During their retreat in

Maine, employees at
Thompson Doyle
Hennessey & Everest
completed the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator and learned
how their personalities can
Courtesy of Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Everest
help them understand each
other more effectively.

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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Extroversion versus
introversion
Sensing versus
intuition
Thinking versus
feeling Courtesy of Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Everest

Judging versus
perceiving

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Locus of Control and Self-Monitoring

Locus of control
 Internals believe in their effort and ability
 Externals believe events are mainly due to
external causes

Self-monitoring personality
 Sensitivity to situational cues, and ability to
adapt your behavior to that situation

McShane/ Von Glinow 2/e Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.