perception and error

7/27/2019 Perception and Error

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Perception & Errors


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INDEX Personality Features PERCEPTUAL PROCESS

Perceptual Inputs

Perceptual MechanismPerceptual Output

PERCEPTUAL SELECTIVITYExternal factorsInternal Factors

PERCEPTUAL ORGANISATION

Figure GroundGroupingProximitySimilarity

SimplificationClosure

INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTIONFactors of Perceiver

PersonalityMental SetAttribution

First ImpressionHalo EffectStereotyping

Factors of PerceivedStatus and Visibility of Traits

Situational Factors


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W a Is Percep on, an W yIs It Important?

Peoples behavior is

based on their

perception of what

reali ty is, not on

reali ty itself .

The world as it is

perceived is the worldthat is behaviorall y

important.

Perception

A process by whichindividuals organize andinterpret their sensory

impressions in order togive meaning to theirenvironment.


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Features of Perception

Perception is an intellectual processthrough which an individual selects the

data from the environment, organizes it

and obtains meaning from it.

Perception is a psychological process.Peoples actions, emotions, thoughts and

feelings are triggered by perception of their

surroundings.

Perception is a subjective process and

different people may perceive same

environment differently.


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Perceptual Process

Steps in Perceptual Process are

1. Perceptual Inputs

2. Perceptual Mechanism

a) Selection of Stimulib) Organization of Stimuli

c) Interpretation of Stimuli

3. Perceptual Output


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Perpetual process-Simplified format

Perpetual inputs

Stimuli

Perpetual throughputs

ReceivingSelectingOrganizingInterpreting

Perpetual outputs

Actions/response


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Characteristics/Stimuli/Inputs

Perpetual Inputs-- Objects--Events--People

Perpetual mechanism

Selection Interpretation

Organization

Characteristicsof situation

Characteristicsof perceiver

Perpetualoutputs

-- Attitudes--Opinions--Feelings--Values

Behavior


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Receiving Stimuli

(External & Internal)

Selecting Stimuli

External factors : Nature,Location, Size, contrast,

Movement, repetition, similarity

Internal factors : Learning,needs, age, Interest,

OrganizingFigure Background ,

Perceptual Grouping

( similarity, proximity,

closure, continuity)

Response

Covert: Attitudes ,

Motivation,

Feeling

Overt: Behavior

Perceptual Process

InterpretingAttribution ,Stereotyping,

Halo Effect, Projection


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Perceptual Selectivity

Perception is a selective process.Certain amount of stimuli is screenedout and others are admitted.

Example : when we read a newspaperwe do not read the entire newspaper,but only those news which interest us.These are caused by variety of factors

which can be Internal (Factors ofPerceiver) and External (Factors of theTarget)


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Internal factors of Perceptual

Selectivity These are related to individuals psychological makeup.

1. Self-concept: The way a person views the worlds depends on this conceptof self. People select only that aspects which they find match with theircharacteristics.

2. Beliefs : A person seeks put communication which supports his beliefs andpractices.

3. Expectations : Related to a state of anticipation. A technical mangerexpects ignorance about the technical features of a product from non-

technical people.4. Inner needsPeople with different needs respond to different stimuli andselect different items to respond to.

5. Response DispositionRefers to a persons tendency to perceive familiarstimuli rather than unfamiliar ones.

6. Response salienceDepends on persons own cognitive predisposition. Aparticular problem can be seen as marketing problem by marketingpeople and human relations by personnel people. They are trained to look

at situation from one point of view.7. Perceptual DefenseScreening those elements which create conflict and

threatening situation in people.

i) Deny the existence and importance of conflicting info

ii) Distorting new information to match old info

iii) Acknowledging new info but treating it as a nonrepresentative .

E t l F t f P t l


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External Factors of Perceptual

Selectivity

Contain Environmental influences.1. Size:Bigger size of perceived stimulus, higher is the probability that

it attracts attention of the perceiver. Ex. Big letters in andadvertisement.

2. Intensity: A loud noise, strong odor or bright color is noticed more.Ex Commercials on TV are louder than regular programs.

3. Repetition : Repeated external stimulus is more attention gettingthan a single one. It attracts peoples alertness. Ex. Repeatedadvertisement of the same product or in organization repeatedinstructions even for routine work.

4. Novelty and Familiarity: New objects in a familiar setting or eventsin new settings draw better attention, Ex. In Job rotation, workers

are more attentive in their new jobs5. Contrast : Stimuli which stands against the background receive

more attention. Letter of bold types, buildings of different colorsattract more attention

6. Motion: Moving object draws more attention as compared tostationary object. Ex. Commercials on TV than regular print ones.


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Perceptual Organization

While perceptual selectivity deals with factorseffecting the stimuli for further processing,perceptual organization deals with The manner inwhich selected stimuli are organized in order tomake sense out of them. A Persons perceptual

process organizes the incoming information into ameaningful whole. Principles used are

1.Figure-ground,

2. Grouping

Proximity

Similarity

3. Simplification

4. Closure.


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Figure GroundBased on Gestalt psychology which states that weare born with some organizing tendencies, that is the form-formingcapabilities of our senses, particularly with respect to visualrecognition.

Figure-ground principle suggests that while organizing stimuli, peopletend to treat those stimuli as figure which are more important andthose stimuli as background which are less important. For ex. Inorganization, some employees may treat good work performance asfigure in promotion decision while others may treat it as ground andmaintaining good relations with boss as figure.

It has certain problems;1. Sometimes there is competition between figure and ground. This

happens when the stimuli is not clear.

2. There is a possibility f reversing figure and ground


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Grouping There is a tendency to group several stimuliinto recognizable pattern. There are certain underlyinguniformity I grouping. It can be on the basis ofproximity or similarity.

ProximityNearness principle of grouping states agroup of stimuli that are close together will beperceived as a whole of pats or pattern of patsbelonging together. For examples employees workingin a particular department may be grouped togetherdue to physical proximity.


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SimilarityIt states that greater the similarity of the stimuli, greater thetendency to perceive them as common group. It is based on similarfeatures of various stimuli. For ex. All workers may be perceived tohave the same opinions about management as they are grouped onthe basis of similarity.

Simplification-When people are overloaded with information they tryto simplify it to make it more meaningful and understandable. In thisprocess the perceiver subtracts the less important information andconcentrates on important ones.. It makes things moreunderstandable.

ClosureWhen faced with incomplete information, people fill the

gaps themselves to make the information meaningful. This may beenthe basis of past experience or past data. For ex. When managershave to make promotion decision, they may not have completeinformation about the suitability of an employee for a higher position.In such a case the manager may rely on the past records of theemployee.


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INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTION

INTERPERSOONAL PERCEPTIONIn interpersonal perception in which the perceiver perceives anotherperson and the latte becomes a stimulus for perception. Individual in anorganization constantly perceive one another, managers perceiveworkers, workers perceive managers.

Person perception is complex process as compared to objectperception as involvement of many factors.

1.Factors of the Perceiver2. Factors in perceived.3. Situational Factors


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Factors influencing Perception

Factors in the perceiver

Attitudes

MotivesInterests

Experience

Expectations

Perception

Factors in the Target

Novelty

Motion

Sounds

Size

Background

Proximity

Similarity

Factors in the situationTime

Work Setting

Social Setting


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Factors in Perceiver

This is effected by perceivers

Personality Mental Set

Attribution,

First Impression, Halo Effect ,

Stereotyping


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Personalityinfluences behavior. It influences perceptions well.

First, the perceiver tries to project his personality traits in others. This process is known as

projection .For ex. If a person is highly achievement oriented, he tends to treat others as

highly achievement oriented which might not be true.Second, The perceiver tends to find in a person what he expects to find. This is known as

self- prophesy. For ex. If the perceiver is assertive and good manager, he perceivers others

managers as assertive though this might not be true.

Some evidences on research:1. Secure people perceive others as warm individuals.

2. Thoughtful individuals do not perceive situation in terms of Black and white but

understand that there can be shades of grey.3. Self accepting people perceive others as liking and accepting them.

Factors in Perceiver


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Mental setTendency one has to react in a certain way to a given situation. In

organizational setting people have the tendency to perceive about others on the

basis of their own mental set which can cause misperceptions.

The perceiver has an inherit tendency to respond favorably or unfavorable in

appraising others.

Depending on his assumptions about human nature, the perceivers response set

determines whether he looks for socially desirable or undesirable traits in other

people and whether his judgments are lenient or harsh.


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Person Perception: Making

Judgments About Others

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

When individuals observebehavior, they attempt to

determine whether it isinternally or externallycaused.


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ATTRIBUTION THEORYAttribution theory- Attribution means assigning cause to an

event. Why a person behaved in a particular way.

Attribution theory has been developed which aids in perceptualinterpretation by focusing on how people attempt to

i) understand the cause of an eventii) assess the responsibility for the outcomes of the eventiii) evaluate the personal qualities of people in the event.


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It has three factors

Distinctiveness is the degree to which a person shows consistentbehavior in different situations. If this degree is high his behavior istermed as internally caused. For example if an employee has poorperformance with a bad machine as well as a good machine, hisbehavior is termed as internally caused. If his performance improveswith a good machine (low degree of distinctiveness) his behavior istreated as externally caused.

Consensus is the degree to which various persons behave similarly ina given situation. If this degree is high, the behavior is externallycaused. Foe ex. In the above case of use of bad machine, if most ofthe employees show poor performance( High degree ofConsensus), poor performance is treated as externally caused.

Consistencyis the degree to which a person shows the samebehavior over time. If the degree of consistency is high, thebehavior is treated as internally caused. For ex, if an employeearrives late to office consistently( high degree f consistency) hisbehavior of late coming is treated as internally caused but if he islate occasionally ( low degree of consistency) his behavior istreated as externally caused.


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Attribution

TheoryE X H I B I T 52

Errors an B ases n


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Errors an B ases nAttributions

Fundamental Attribution ErrorThe tendency to underestimatethe influence ofexternal/situational factors and

overestimate the influence ofinternal/personal factors whenmaking judgments about thebehavior of others.

Frequen y Use or cu s n


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Frequen y Use or cu s nJudging Others

Selective Perception

People selectively interpret what they see on the

basis of their interests, background, experience,and attitudes.


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Frequently Used Shortcuts in JudgingOthers

Halo Effect

Drawing a general impressionabout an individual on the

basis of a single characteristic

Contrast Effects

Evaluation of a persons characteristics that

are affected by comparisons with otherpeople recently encountered who rank higheror lower on the same characteristics.


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First ImpressionTo evaluate others on the basis of firstimpression in which an individual forms an opinion, positive ornegative about another. As this is not based on adequateinformation, it may not be true reflection of people beingperceived.

Halo EffectWhen a perceiver perceives another person'stotal qualities by perceiving only his few qualities or even asingle quality. It quality actually perceived is outstanding, hetends to perceive the target persons all qualities as

outstanding. It also happens when perceiver's qualities havebeen rated as poor. Halo effect is more reflected inperformance appraisal and selection interview.

Frequen y Use or cu s n


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Frequen y Use or cu s nJudging Others

ProjectionAttributing ones owncharacteristics to otherpeople.

StereotypingJudging someone on thebasis of ones perception ofthe group to which that

person belongs.


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FACTORS IN PERSON PERCEIVED

Status :It is a relative ranking of a person vis-a - vis others.Ranking may be based on organizational position,intelligence, amount of wealth or so on. The target personmay be perceived on the basis of his status than actualcharacteristics. Person with high status may be perceived tohave desirable qualities.

Visibility of TraitsTraits visible on surface like honesty, loyaltyetc. In such cases evaluation is to be made on the basis ofones own experience may not be correct.

SITUALTIONAL FACTORS


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SITUALTIONAL FACTORS

SITUALTIONAL FACTORS There may be structural characteristics of the

place indicating the characteristics of the personoccupying it. For Ex. a person is perceived

differently if he meets wit others in a five star hotelas compared to an ordinary place.


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Specific Applications in Organizations/ Importance of Perception

Employment Interview Perceptual biases of raters affect the

accuracy of interviewers judgments ofapplicants.

Performance Expectations

Self-fulfilling prophecy: The lower or higherperformance of employees reflectspreconceived leader expectations aboutemployee capabilities.

Ethnic Profiling

A form of stereotyping in which a group ofindividuals is singled outtypically on thebasis of race or ethnicityfor intensive inquiry,scrutinizing, or investigation.


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Specific Applications in Organizations (contd)

Performance Evaluations Appraisals are often the subjective

(judgmental) perceptions of appraisers ofanother employees job performance.

Employee Effort

Assessment of individual effort is a subjectivejudgment subject to perceptual distortion andbias.


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Common Biases and Errors

Overconfidence Bias Believing too much in our own decision

competencies.

Anchoring Bias

Fixating on early, first received information.

Confirmation Bias

Using only the facts that support our decision.

Availability Bias

Using information that is most readily at hand.

Representative Bias Assessing the likelihood of an occurrence by

trying to match it with a preexisting category.


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Common Biases and Errors

Escalation of Commitment Increasing commitment to a previous decision

in spite of negative information.

Randomness Error

Trying to create meaning out of random

events by falling prey to a false sense ofcontrol or superstitions.

Hindsight Bias

Falsely believing to have accuratelypredicted the outcome of an event, afterthat outcome is actually known.


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Toward Reducing Bias and Errors

Focus on goals. Clear goals make decision making easier and

help to eliminate options inconsistent withyour interests.

Look for information that disconfirms beliefs.

Overtly considering ways we could be wrongchallenges our tendencies to think weresmarter than we actually are.

Dont try to create meaning out of randomevents.

Dont attempt to create meaning out ofcoincidence.


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Increase your options. The number and diversity of alternatives

generated increases the chance of finding an

outstanding one.


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Activity


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