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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
4-33Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
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