Understanding Social Perception Chapter Four Understanding Social Perception McGraw-Hill/Irwin Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, 3/e Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Perception Perception is the process of interpreting one’s environment Social perception involves how people think about themselves and other people

Causal Attributions Causal Attributions – suspected or inferred causes of behavior

Heider’s Attribution Theory People attribute other’s behavior either to internal factors or external factors Internal factors – personal characteristics that cause behavior (such as ability or will) External factors – environmental characteristics that cause behavior(such as difficult task or poor economy)

Kelley’s Model of Attribution 3 Criteria for determining a cause Consensus involves a comparison of an individual’s behavior with that of his peers Distinctiveness involves comparing a person’s behavior on one task with the behavior from other tasks. Consistency is determined by judging if the individual’s performance on a given task is consistent over time.

Performance Charts Figure 4-2

Kelley’s Model of Attribution High consensus, high distinctiveness, low consistency  External attribution Low consensus, low distinctiveness, high consistency  Internal attribution

Attributional Tendencies Distorted interpretation (Attribution Errors) Fundamental attribution bias - ignoring environment factors that affect behavior Westerners show greater tendency of FAB than easterners Why? Self-serving bias- taking more personal responsibility for success than failure

Managerial Implications Managers tend to disproportionately attribute subordinates’ behavior to internal causes Attributional biases may lead to inappropriate managerial actions(promotion, transfer, layoff) An employee’s attributions for his own performance have dramatic effects on subsequent motivation, performance, and self-esteem