2. Perception Managing Organizational Behavior

3. Social Perception Perceiver Characteristics Subject Characteristics
Attitudes Moods Experience
Motives Learning Expectations
Interests Sensitivity to stimuli
Subject Characteristics
Novelty Background
Motion Intensity Proximity
Sounds Frequency
Contrast Size
Perception
Situation Characteristics
Time Primacy effect
Recency effect Work setting
Schemas Social setting
Click on this box to see Beau Lotto’s TED talk on how “context is everything”

4. Click the title for a brief overview on attribution theory
Causal Attribution
Observations and inferences to explain the behavior of others
Credit success/failure to:
Person’s ability
Person’s effort
Luck
Task difficulty
Click the title for a brief overview on attribution theory

5. Causal Categories Internal External Stable Ability Task Difficulty
Unstable
Effort
Luck/Chance

6. Click the title for another brief video on attribution theory
Rules of Attributions
Click the title for another brief video on attribution theory
Internal Attribution
Frequently/High
Consistency
Seldom/Low
Frequently/Low
Distinctiveness
Seldom/High
Seldom/low
Consensus
Frequently/High
Consensus: the extent to which other people behave in the same way in a similar situation. E.g.  Alison smokes a cigarette when she goes out for a meal with her friend.  If her friend smokes, her behavior is high in consensus. If only Alison smokes it is low.
Distinctiveness: the extent to which the person behaves in the same way in similar situations.  If Alison only smokes when she is out with friends, her behavior is high in distinctiveness. If she smokes at any time or place, distinctiveness is low.
Consistency: the extent to which the person behaves like this every time the situation occurs.  If Alison only smokes when she is out with friends, consistency is high.  If she only smokes on one special occasion, consistency is low.
External Attribution

7. Attribution Errors Fundamental Attribution Error Self-serving Bias
The tendency to underestimate the influence of situational factors and to overestimate the influence of personal factors in evaluating someone else’s behavior.
Self-serving Bias
The tendency to deny personal responsibility for performance problems but to accept personal responsibility for performance success…
Fundamental attribution error describes how, when judging others’ actions, we tend to give too much causal weight to their character and not enough to the circumstances in which they acted.

8. Perceptual Distortions
Click the title to watch Rory Sutherland’s TED talk on perceptions and happiness
Stereotypes
Halo/horn error
Leniency
Central tendency
Recency effect
Contrasts
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Halo/horn – rater forms an overall impression about an object and then uses that impression to bias ratings about the subject
Leniency – personal characteristic of the rater that causes a person to consistently evaluate others more favorably
Central tendency – tendency to avoid all extreme judgments
Recency – tendency to remember recent information
Contrasts – tendency to evaluate people or objects by comparing them with characteristics of recently observed people or events
Assimilation effect – the tendency to bias future judgments in the direction of past judgments
Priming – asking people to recall a set of events before asking them to make a judgment that may be related to those events
Confirmation bias – tendency to give heavy weight to information that reaffirms past judgments and to discount information that would contradict past judgments

9. Pygmalion Effect Climate - warmer, kinder (verbally and non- verbally)
Input - more information about the questions, job tasks etc.
Response opportunities - more of a chance to respond, greater opportunities to succeed
Feedback - praised more, given more differentiated feedback (even with wrong outcome)
Perceptions sometimes result in a self-fulfilling prophecy in which high expectations of performance by leaders actually create conditions in which followers succeed.
- Pygmalion effect boosts performance by leaders raising their expectations of followers.

10. How to Give Feedback
Present perceptions, reactions, and opinions as such, not as facts
Refer to behavior, not to the individual as a person
Should be descriptive, specific and observable
Should be in terms of established criteria
Provide examples and deal with suggestions for improvement
Avoided “loaded” terms
Should address factors the individual can control
Deal with emotional or defensive reactions
Show acceptance of the recipient

11. Say why you are affected.
When you …
Describe the specific behavior without judgment.
I feel …
Tell how the behavior affects you.
Because I …
Say why you are affected.
Pause for discussion …
Let the other person respond
I would like …
Describe the change you want considered.
Because …
Why you think the change will ease the problem
What do you think?
Listen to the other person’s response.

12. Active Listening
Communication skill that involves both the speaker and the receiver.
In active listening, the receiver tries to understand what feelings, thoughts, and beliefs are being communicated and accepts it as the person’s own.
The listener feeds back only what they believe the sender’s message meant – nothing more, nothing less. It involves feedback and verification that the receiver correctly understood the sender’s message.
The active listener avoids getting stuck in another person’s “helpless” feelings.
ave_a_better_conversation?language=en

13. Passive: Inhibited, self- denying, submissive, conflict avoidant
Aggressive: Domineering, pushy, self-centered, self- enhancing, self-expressive without regard for others
Assertive: Self-revealing, open and receptive, active, self-respecting, confronting, and one who communicates directly
Assertiveness
Involves expressing one’s ideas and feelings, and standing up for one’s rights, and doing so in a way that makes it easier for others to do the same.

14. Assertiveness Principles
Share your feelings in a statement beginning with “I”
Don’t’ discount yourself and don’t discount others
Don’t be wishy-washy and don’t diffuse your message with “word whiskers”
Be specific in feedback and criticism
Use neutral, nonexplosive language
Be cooperative, open, and receptive to others
Confront unpleasant situations immediately
Make sure your nonverbal communication is congruent with your words

15. Practice Assertiveness
Go through the next few scenarios and try to come up with an assertive response.

16. Develop an assertive response:
You have just completed a task you are very proud of. Your boss compliments you on it. You say …

17. Develop an assertive response:
You have just completed a task where you felt you had done a very good job. Your boss says it is totally unacceptable. You say …

18. Develop an assertive response:
Your subordinate worked overtime all week to get an important report ready for you. Having read it, you realize there are serious flaws in it. You say …