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Perception, Attribution, and the Management of Diversity

Sixth EditionJennifer M. George & Gareth R. Jones

4-1Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Chapter 4

Learning Objectives

Describe how perception is inherently subjective and how characteristics of the perceiver, the target, and the situation can influence perceptions

Understand how the use of schemas can both aid and detract from accurate perceptions

Be aware of biases that can influence perception without perceivers being aware of their influences

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Learning Objectives

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

Understand why attributions are so important and

how they can sometimes be faulty

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

How can organizations meet the challenge of

effectively managing diversity?

Is discrimination a thing of the past?

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

Target

Situation

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The Accuracy of Perceptions

Perceptions are critical for managerial functions

Motivating subordinates

Treating subordinates fairly and equitably

Making ethical decisions

Accuracy can be improved by understanding

What perceptions are

How they are formed

What influences them

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Insert Exhibit 4.2 here

Characteristics of the Perceiver That Affect Perception

Exhibit 4-2

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Characteristics of the Perceiver

Characteristics of the Target

Characteristics of the Situation

Schemas Ambiguity Additional information

Motivational state Social status Salience

Mood Use of impression management

Factors That Influence Perception

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Exhibit 4-3

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

Based on past experiences and knowledge

Resistant to change

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The Functionality of Schemas

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

Dysfunctional

Can result in inaccurate perceptions

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Stereotypes

Set of overly simplified and often inaccurate beliefs

about the typical characteristics of a particular group

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

A lack of clearness or definiteness

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 person’s 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

BehavioralMatching

The target of perception matcheshis or her behavior to that of theperceiver.

A subordinate tries to imitate her boss’sbehavior by being modest and soft-spokenbecause her boss is modest and soft-spoken.

Self-Promotion

The target tries to present herselfor himself in as positive a light aspossible.

A worker reminds his boss about his past accomplishments and associates with co-workers who are evaluated highly.

Conformingto SituationalNorms

The target follows agreed-uponrules for behavior in the organization.

A worker stays late every night even if she hascompleted all of her assignments becausestaying late is one of the norms of her organization.

Appreciatingor FlatteringOthers

The target compliments the per-ceiver. This tactic works best whenflattery is not extreme and when it involves a dimension importantto the perceiver.

A coworker compliments a manager on his excellent handling of a troublesome employee.

BeingConsistent

The target’s beliefs and behaviors are consistent. There is agreementbetween the target’s verbal andnonverbal behaviors.

A subordinate delivering a message to his bosslooks 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 inconsistent

Being figural

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Causes of Salience

Being novel

Anything that makes a target unique in a situation

Example: Being the only person of a particular age, sex, 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 Inconsistent

Behaving or looking in a way that is out of the ordinary

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

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Exhibit 4-5

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

PrimacyEffects

The initial pieces of information that a perceiver has about a target have an inordinately large effect on the perceiver’s 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.

ContrastEffect

The perceiver’s perceptions of others influence the perceiver’s perception of a target.

A manager’s 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.

HaloEffect

The perceiver’s 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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Exhibit 4-6

Similar-to-me 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, AverageTendency

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.

Knowledgeof Predictor

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

A professor perceives a student more positively than she deserves because the professor knows the student had a high score on the SAT.

Biases in Perception

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Exhibit 4-6 cont

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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

Exhibit 4-7

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Attributional Biases

Fundamental attribution error

Actor-observer effect

Self-serving attribution

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Managing a Diverse Workforce

Commitment

Training

Education

Mentoring

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Training Objectives

Making explicit and breaking down organizational member’s stereotypes that result in inaccurate perceptions and attributions

Making members aware of different kinds of backgrounds, experiences, and values

Showing members how to deal effectively with diversity-related conflicts and tensions

Generally improving members’ understanding of one another

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Diversity Training

Role-playing

Self-awareness activities

Awareness activities

Education

MentoringFormal

Informal

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Sexual Harassment

Quid Pro Quo Hostile WorkEnvironment

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Examples of Hostile Work Environment

Pornographic pictures

Sexual jokes

Lewd comments

Sexually oriented comments

Displays of sexually oriented objects

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Steps to Combat Sexual Harassment

Develop a sexual harassment policy

Clearly communicate the organization’s sexual harassment policy

Investigate charges of sexual harassment

Take corrective action

Provide sexual harassment training and education

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