Chapter 8
1
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Objectives
• Define perception and explain the
perceptual process
• Understand both the benefits and drawbacks
of the perceptual process
• Recognize common perceptual errors
• Explain attribution theory
• Understand the relevance of perception and
attribution for managers
2
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Perception
The process by which we
select, organize, and evaluate
the stimuli in our environment to
make it meaningful for ourselves.
3
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Perception
Benefits
• Limits, selects, and organizes overwhelming
amount of stimuli
4
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Perception
Drawbacks
• Prevents seeing everything that’s there
• Makes our interpretations questionable
• Promotes stereotypes
5
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Stereotyping:
Attributing characteristics or acting toward
an individual based on their belonging to
a group and our assumptions about that
group.
6
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
In-Group/Out-Group
Dynamics
Automatic, unconscious stereotyping
7
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Explanations
• Social identity theory: the self-concept is
socially constructed and situation
specific.
– One’s specific (group) identities become
salient in some situations.
– Identities become salient in contrast to
others
8
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Explanations
• Realistic conflict theory: traditional in-groups
create policies that are favourable to the ingroup and often unfavourable to the outgroup.
– As heterogeneity rises:
• low-status positions and potential difficulty in increasing
status becomes more apparent. (?)
• The potential loss of status becomes more apparent. (?)
• Consequence is an increased potential for
negative affect and conflict
9
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Common Perceptual Error:
Stereotypes
Based on relatively little information
Resistant to change even in light of new
information
Rarely accurately applied to specific individuals
10
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Stereotypes Are Helpful When
They Are...
•
•
•
•
•
Consciously held
Descriptive
Accurate
The first best guess about a group
Modified after further experience and
observation
11
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Cross cultural perceptions are:
• Selective – we screen out most information
• Learned – we learn to see the world in a
particular way
• Culturally determined – the way we see the
world is based on our culture
• Consistent – once we see something in a
certain way we continue to see it in that way
• Inaccurate – we see things that do not exist
and do not see things that do exist. We
perceive things based upon our cultural map.
12
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Sources of Cross-Cultural
Misinterpretation
• Subconscious cultural blinders—
interpret events and behavior
through our own cultural lens
• Lack of cultural self-awareness—
unaware of our own cultural
values and how others perceive us
• Projected similarity—assume
other people and situations are
more similar than they really are
13
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Attribution Theory
• Consensus – the extent to which others
behave in the same manner
• Consistency – the extent to which the
person acts in the same way all the time
• Distinctiveness – the extent to which the
person behaves in the same manner in
other contexts or situations.
14
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Attribution Theory
People look for cause-and-effect
relationship to explain behavior.
Internal causation
External Causation
15
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Fundamental Attribution Error
“Hard on Others”
Overestimate the influence of
personal failings
Underestimate the impact of
external factors in others
16
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• When our expectations about another person cause
that person to act in a way that is consistent with our
expectations. Steps:
– Expectations formed about future performance
– Behaviour toward the person is consistent with our
expectations
– Effects are produced on the person’s beliefs (selfefficacy), motivations and performance
– Behaviour fulfills expectations and reinforces
original perceptions
17
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Johari Window
Known to Self
Not Known
to Self
Known to
Others
Arena
Blindspot
Not Known
to Others
Façade
Unknown
18
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.