Understanding

and
Managing
Organizational
Behavior

Chapter 4:
Perception,
Attribution, and the
Management of
Diversity

4th Edition

Insert photo from

case opening?
JENNIFER GEORGE
& GARETH JONES
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2005 Prentice Hall

Chapter 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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Chapter 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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Chapter 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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Opening Case: Proactively

Managing Diversity
Why do organizations need to guard against
discrimination and proactively manage
diversity?
Is discrimination a thing of the past?
Who suffers from discrimination?

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Perception
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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Figure 4.1 Components of

Perception

Perceiver

Target

Situation or context in which perception takes place

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Components of Perception
Perceiver: person trying to interpret some
observation that he or she has just made or
the input from his or her senses
Target of Perception: whatever the
perceiver is trying to make sense of
Situation: the context in which perception
takes place

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The Accuracy of Perceptions

Not always accurate
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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Figure 4.2 Characteristics of the

Perceiver That Affect Perception

Insert Figure 4.2 here

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Table 4.1 Factors That Influence

Perception
Characteristics Characteristics
of the Perceiver of the Target

Characteristics
of the Situation

Schemas

Ambiguity

Additional
information

Motivational
state

Social status

Salience

Mood

Use of
impression
management

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Schemas
Abstract knowledge structures that are
stored in memory
Responsible for the organization and
interpretation of information about targets
of perception
Based on past experiences and
knowledge
Resistant to change

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The Functionality of Schemas

Functional
Schemas help us make sense of a
confusing array of sensory input, choose
what information to pay attention to and
what to ignore, and guide perceptions of
ambiguous information
Dysfunctional
Schemas 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 State: The needs, values,
and desires of a perceiver at the time of
perception.
Mood: 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
When a target is ambiguous, the perceiver needs
to engage in a lot more interpretation and active
construction of reality to form a perception of the
target
The more ambiguous a target is, the more potential
there is for errors in perception

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Social Status
A persons 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
An attempt to control the perceptions or
impressions of others
Targets are especially likely to use impression
management tactics when interacting with
perceivers who have power over them and on
whom they are dependent for evaluations, raises,
and promotions
Individuals who are high in self-monitoring are
more likely than individuals who are low in selfmonitoring to engage in impression management
tactics
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Table 4.2 Impression Management Tactics

Behavioral
Matching

The target of perception matches

his or her behavior to that of the
perceiver.

A subordinate tries to imitate her bosss

behavior by being modest and soft-spoken
because her boss is modest and soft-spoken.

SelfPromotion

The target tries to present herself

or himself in as positive a light as
possible.

A worker reminds his boss about his past

accomplishments and associates with coworkers who are evaluated highly.

Conforming The target follows agreed-upon

to Situational rules for behavior in the
organization.
Norms
Appreciating
or Flattering
Others
Being
Consistent
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A worker stays late every night even if she has

completed all of her assignments because
staying late is one of the norms of her
organization.

The target compliments the perceiver. This tactic works best when
flattery is not extreme and when it
involves a dimension important
to the perceiver.

A coworker compliments a manager on his

excellent handling of a troublesome employee.

The targets beliefs and behaviors

are consistent. There is agreement
between the targets verbal and
nonverbal behaviors.

A subordinate delivering a message to his boss

looks the boss straight in the eye and has a
sincere expression on his face.
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Salience
Extent to which a target of perception stands out in
a group of people or things
Causes of salience
Being novel: Anything that makes a target
unique in a situation (e.g., being the only young
person)
Being figural: Standing out from the
background (e.g., by wearing bright clothes)
Being inconsistent with other peoples
expectations: Behaving or looking in a way that
is out of the ordinary
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Table 4.3 Causes of Salience

Being novel

Anything that makes a

target unique in a situation

Being
figural

Standing out from

the background

Being
Inconsistent
Behaving or looking in a way
with other that is out of the ordinary
peoples
expectations
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Examples: Being the only person of a

particular age, sex, or race in a situation

Example: Being in a spotlight, sitting at

the head of the table, wearing bright
clothes

Example: A normally shy person who is

the life of the party

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Table 4.4 Biases and Problems in

Perception
Primacy
Effects

The initial pieces of information

that a perceiver has about a target
have an inordinately large effect on
the perceivers 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.

Contrast
Effect

The perceivers perceptions of

others influence the perceivers
perception of a target.

A managers 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.

Halo
Effect

The perceivers 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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Table 4.4 Biases and Problems in

Perception
Similar-tome 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,
Average
Tendency

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

supervisors give almost everyone a poor rating,
some give almost everyone a good rating, and
others rate almost everyone as being about
average.

Knowledge
of 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.

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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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Figure 4.3 Types of Attributions

Insert Figure 4.3 here

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Attributional Biases
Fundamental attribution error - tendency
to overattribute behavior to internal rather
than external causes
Actor-observer effect - tendency to
attribute others behavior to internal causes
but ones own behavior to external causes
Self-serving attribution - tendency to take
credit for successes but avoid blame for
failures
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Objectives of Diversity Programs

Making explicit and breaking down organizational
member 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
each other

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Diversity Training

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Role-playing
Self-awareness activities
Awareness activities
Education
Mentoring
Formal
Informal

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Sexual Harassment
Quid pro quo
Occurs when the harasser requests or
forces an employee to perform sexual
favors in order to receive some
opportunity
Hostile work environment
Occurs when organizational members are
faced with a work environment that is
offensive, intimidating, or hostile
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Examples of Hostile Work

Environment Sexual harassment

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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 supported by
top management
Clearly communicate the organizations sexual
harassment policy throughout the organization
Investigate charges of sexual harassment with a fair
complain procedure
Take corrective action as soon as possible once it
has been determined that sexual harassment has
taken place
Provide sexual harassment training and education
to all members of the organization
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