1. Social Perception and Attributions Chapter Seven

2. An Information Processing Model of Perception Perception cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings

3. Perception: An Information- Processing Model

4. Stage 1: Selective Attention/Comprehension Attention Process of becoming consciously aware of something or someone People pay attention to salient stimuli Salient something that stands out from context

5. Question? Beverly has $11,000 for investment. She speaks with various friends and neighbors to find out what stocks they have invested in. Beverly can be described as being on which stage of the social information processing model? A.Selective attention; comprehension B.Encoding C.Simplification D.Storage and Retention

6. Stage 2: Encoding and Simplification Schema Represents a person’s mental picture or summary of a particular event or type of stimulus

7. Restaurant Schema

8. Stage 3: Storage and Retention Event memory information about both specific and general events Semantic memory general knowledge about the world, mental dictionary of concepts Person memory information about a single individual or groups of people

9. Stage 4: Retrieval and Response Decisions are based on: The process of drawing on, interpreting, and integrating categorical information stored in long-term memory Retrieving a summary judgment that was already made

10. Managerial Implications: Hiring Interviewers make hiring decisions based on their impression of how an applicant fits the perceived requirements of a job and on the basis of implicit cognition Implicit cognition represents any thoughts or beliefs that are automatically activated from memory without our conscious awareness.

11. Managerial Implications: Performance Appraisal Important for managers to accurately identify the behavioral characteristics and results indicative of good performance Characteristics serve as the benchmarks for evaluating employee performance

12. Managerial Implications: Leadership Good leaders exhibit the following behaviors: Assigning specific tasks to group members Telling others they had done well Setting specific goals for the group

13. Question? Which of these is (are) managerial implication(s) of perception? A.Interviewers with racist and sexist schemata can undermine the accuracy and legality of hiring decisions. B.Faulty schemata about what constitutes good versus poor performance can lead to inaccurate performance appraisal, which can erode work motivation, commitment, and loyalty. C.Research demonstrates that employees' evaluations of leader effectiveness are influenced strongly by their schemata of good and poor leaders. D.All of these.

14. Stereotypes: Perceptions about Groups of People Stereotype An individual’s set of beliefs about the characteristics or attributes of a group Not always negative May or may not be accurate

15. Stereotypes: Perceptions about Groups of People It is important to remember that stereotypes are a fundamental component of the perception process and we use them to help process the large amount of information that bombards us daily. It is not immoral or bad to possess stereotypes Inappropriate use of stereotypes can lead to poor decisions

16. Stereotyping Process 1.Categorize people into groups according to various criteria 2.Infer that all people within a category possess the same traits 3.Form expectations of others and interpret their behavior according to our stereotypes

17. Stereotyping Process 4.Stereotypes are maintained by: – Overestimating the frequency of stereotypic behavior exhibited by others – Incorrectly explaining expected and unexpected behaviors – Differentiating minority individuals from oneself

18. Commonly Found Perceptual Errors

19. Sex-Role Stereotypes Sex-role stereotype the belief that differing traits and abilities make men and women particularly well suited to different roles

20. Sex-Role Stereotypes 1.People often prefer male bosses 2.Women have a hard time being perceived as an effective leader 3.Women of color are more negatively affected by sex-role stereotypes than white women or men in general

21. Age Stereotypes Age stereotypes reinforce age discrimination because of their negative orientation. Long-standing age stereotypes depict older workers as less satisfied, not as involved with their work, less motivated, not as committed

22. Age Stereotypes Research shows that as age increases so does employees’ job satisfaction, job involvement, internal work motivation, and organizational commitment. Moreover, older workers are not more accident prone.

23. Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes Micro aggressions represent “biased thoughts, attitudes, and feelings” that exist at an unconscious level Stereotype threat refers to the ‘predicament’ in which members of a social group ‘must deal with the possibility of being judged or treated stereotypically, or of doing something that would confirm the stereotype.’”

24. Managerial Challenges and Recommendations An organization first needs to inform its workforce about the problem of stereotyping through employee education and training Managers need to identify valid individual differences that differentiate between successful and unsuccessful performers. Remove promotional barriers for men and women, people of color, and persons with disabilities

25. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Pygmalion Effect Self-fulfilling prophecy someone’s high expectations for another person result in high performance for that person Also known as Pygmalion effect

26. A Model of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

27. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Galatea effect occurs when an individual’s high self-expectations for him- or herself lead to high performance Golem effect a loss in performance resulting from low leader expectations

28. Putting the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy to Work 1.Recognize that everyone has the potential to increase his or her performance. 2.Set high performance goals. 3.Positively reinforce employees for a job well done. 4.Provide frequent feedback that conveys a belief in employees’ ability to complete their tasks. 5.Give employees the opportunity to experience increasingly challenging tasks and projects.

29. Putting the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy to Work 6.Communicate by using facial expressions, voice intonations, body language, and encouraging comments that reflect high expectations. 7.Provide employees with the input, information, and resources they need to achieve their goals. 8.Introduce new employees as if they have outstanding potential. 9.Encourage employees to stay focused on the present moment and not to worry about negative past events. 10.Help employees master key skills and tasks.

30. Causal Attributions suspected or inferred causes of behavior

31. Performance Charts

32. Kelley’s Model of Attribution Behavior can be attributed either to: Internal factors within a person (such as ability) or to: External behavior within the environment (such as a difficult task)

33. Kelley’s Model of Attribution 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 determined by judging if the individual’s performance on a given task is consistent over time.

34. Question? Francesca has had stable performance and high quality from one task to another. This refers to: A.Low consensus. B.High distinctiveness. C.High consensus D.Low distinctiveness.

35. Attributional Tendencies Fundamental attribution bias Reflects one’s tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to his or her personal characteristics, as opposed to situational factors. Self-serving bias Represents one’s tendency to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure.

36. Managerial Implications One study revealed that managers gave employees more immediate, frequent, and negative feedback when they attributed their performance to low effort. A second study indicated that managers tended to transfer employees whose poor performance was attributed to a lack of ability.

37. Managerial Implications Men and women have different attributions regarding the causes of being promoted Managers tend to disproportionately attribute behavior to internal causes that can result in inaccurate evaluations of performance, leading to reduced employee motivation