1. Organizational Behaviour Langton / Robbins / Judge
Chapter 2:
Perception, Personality & Emotions
Organizational Behaviour
5th Canadian Edition
Langton / Robbins / Judge
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

2. Factors Influencing Perception Perceptual Errors
Chapter Outline
Perception Defined
Factors Influencing Perception
Perceptual Errors
Why Do Perception and Judgment Matter?
Personality
Emotions
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

3. Perception, Personality, and Emotions
What is perception?
What causes people to have different perceptions of the same situation?
Can people be mistaken in their perceptions?
Does perception really affect outcomes?
What is personality and how does it affect behaviour?
Can emotions help or get in the way when dealing with others?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the beginning of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

4. Perception What is Perception? Why is it important?
The process by which individuals organize and interpret their impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.
Why is it important?
Because behaviour is based on perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.
The world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviourally important.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perception Defined.”
Perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. What one perceives can be substantially different from objective reality. Understanding perception is important because people's behaviour is based on their perception of what reality is, not reality itself.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

5. Why We Study Perceptions
To better understand how people make attributions about events.
We don’t see reality. We interpret what we see and call it reality.
The attribution process guides our behaviour, regardless of the truth of the attribution.
An extra slide to help motivate the lecture.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

6. Factors Influencing Perception
The Perceiver
The Target
The Situation
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Factor Influencing Perception.”
A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception.
The Perceiver who is affected by personal characteristics such as attitudes, motives, interests, past experience, and expectations.
The Target who is affected by "what we see," attractive or unattractive individuals, motion, sounds, size, and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it
The Situation which is the context in which we see objects or events. The situation is important as elements in the surrounding environment influence our perceptions.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

7. Exhibit 2-1 Factors that Influence Perception
The Situation
The Perceiver
• Time
• Attitudes •
Work setting
• Motives
• Social setting
• Interests
• Experience
• Expectations
Perception
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Factor Influencing Perception.”
The Target
• Novelty
• Motion
• Sounds
• Size
• Background
• Proximity
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

8. Attribution Theory Selective Perception Halo Effect Contrast Effects
Perceptual Errors
Attribution Theory
Selective Perception
Halo Effect
Contrast Effects
Projection
Stereotyping
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perceptual Errors.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

9. Attribution Theory
When individuals observe behaviour, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused.
Distinctiveness
Does the individual act the same way in other situations?
Consensus
Does the individual act the same as others in the same situation?
Consistency
Does the individual act the same way over time?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perceptual Errors.”
Attribution Theory says we judge people differently depending on what meaning we attribute to a given behaviour.
We attempt to determine whether the behaviour was internally—or externally—caused.
Externally-caused refers to the environment, while internally-caused behaviour is attributed to those events that are believed to be under the personal control of the individual.
Our determination of internally or externally caused behaviour depends on three factors:
Distinctiveness: Does the individual display different behaviour in different situations?
Consensus: If everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behaviour shows consensus.
Consistency. Is the person’s actions consistent over time?
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

10. Fundamental Attribution Error
Attribution Theory
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate external factors and overestimate internal factors when making judgments about others’ behaviour.
Self-Serving Bias
The tendency to attribute one’s successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perceptual Errors.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

11. Exhibit 2-2 Attribution Theory
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perceptual Errors.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

12. Perceptual Errors Selective Perception Halo Effect Contrast Effects
People selectively interpret what they see based on their interests, background, experience, and attitudes.
Halo Effect
Drawing a general impression about an individual based on a single characteristic.
Contrast Effects
A person’s evaluation is affected by comparisons with other individuals recently encountered.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perceptual Errors.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

13. Perceptual Errors Projection Stereotyping Prejudice
Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people.
Stereotyping
Judging someone on the basis of your perception of the group to which that person belongs.
Prejudice
An unfounded dislike of a person or group based on their belonging to a particular stereotyped group.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Perceptual Errors.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

14. Why Do Perceptions and Judgment Matter?
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
A concept that proposes a person will behave in ways consistent with how he or she is perceived by others.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Why Do Perceptions and Judgment Matter?”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

15. Personality
The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.
Measuring Personality
Research indicated that personality tests are useful in hiring decisions.
Scores on personality tests help managers forecast who is the best bet for the job.
Both observer-rating and self-report surveys can be used
Observer-ratings surveys tend to be more accurate predictors of job success.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

16. Personality Personality Determinants Personality Traits Heredity
Environmental Factors
Situational Conditions
Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behaviour.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Big Five Model
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Personality Determinants
(1) Heredity: An approach that argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual's personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. The most persuasive research on this comes from studying monozygotic twins who were separated at birth and raised in very different environments. Different research studies with these kinds of twins have determined that genetics accounts for about half of the personality differences in people.
 (2) Environment: The culture in which we are raised, our early conditioning, the norms among our family, friends, and social groups, and other influences that we experience play a critical role in shaping our personalities.
(3) Situation: The situation influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality. Personality can be subdued in some situations. A person will be different in a job interview as compared to being at dinner with friends. We cannot look at personality patterns in isolation.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

17. Exhibit 2-4 Sixteen Primary Personality Traits
1. Reserved
2. Less intelligent
3. Affected by feelings
4. Submissive
5. Serious
6. Expedient
7. Timid
8. Tough-minded
9. Trusting
10. Practical
11. Forthright
12. Self-assured
13. Conservative
14. Group-dependent
15. Uncontrolled
16. Relaxed
vs.
Outgoing
More intelligent
Emotionally stable
Dominant
Happy-go-lucky
Conscientious
Venturesome
Sensitive
Suspicious
Imaginative
Shrewd
Apprehensive
Experimenting
Self-sufficient
Controlled
Tense
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
This exhibit shows a list of sixteen traits that have been found to be generally steady and constant sources of behaviour, allowing prediction of an individual’s behaviour in specific situations by weighing the characteristics for their situational relevance.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada
Source: R. B. Catell, “Personality Pinned Down,” Psychology Today, July 1973, pp

18. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Personality test to determine how people usually act or feel in particular situations.
Classifications:
Extroverted (E) or Introverted (I)
Sensing (S) or Intuitive (I)
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
Perceiving (P) or Judging (J)
Combined to form types, for example:
ESTJ
INTJ
ENTP
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Some examples of types:
INTJs are visionaries.
Usually have original minds and great drive for their own ideas and purposes
Characterized as sceptical, critical, independent, determined, and stubborn
ESTJs are organizers.
Are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, and have a natural head for business or mechanics
Like to organize and run activities
ENTP types are conceptualizers.
Innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas
Resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments
There is no hard evidence that the MBTI is a valid measure of personality.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

19. Classifications The Big Five Model Extraversion Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Extraversion: One’s comfort level with relationships. Extroverts (high in extraversion) tend to be friendly and outgoing and to spend much of their time maintaining and enjoying a large number of relationships. Introverts tend to be reserved and to have fewer relationships, and they are more comfortable with solitude than most people are.
Agreeableness: An individual’s propensity to defer to others. High agreeable people value harmony more than they value having their say or their way. They are cooperative and trusting of others. People who score low on agreeableness focus more on their own needs than on the needs of others.
Conscientiousness: The number of goals on which a person focuses. A highly conscientious person pursues fewer goals, in a purposeful way, and tends to be responsible, persistent, dependable, and achievement-oriented. Those who score low tend to be more easily distracted, pursuing many goals, and more hedonistic.
Emotional stability: A person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be characterized as calm, enthusiastic, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, depressed, and insecure.
Openness to experience: The final dimension addresses one’s range of interests. Extremely open people are fascinated by novelty and innovation. They tend to be imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual. Those at the other end of the openness category appear more conventional and find comfort in the familiar.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

20. Exhibit 2-4 Big Five Personality Factors
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

21. Exhibit 2-5 Model of How Big Five Traits Influence OB Criteria
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
(Continued)
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

22. Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB
Core Self Evaluation
Machiavellianism
Narcissism
Self-Monitoring
Risk Taking
Type A Personality
Type B Personality
Proactive Personality
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
There are self-awareness exercises in the chapter for each of these traits.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

23. Core Self Evaluation People differ in the degree to which they
Like or dislike themselves
Whether they see themselves as capable and effective
People with positive core-self evaluations perform better because they:
Set more ambitious goals
Are more committed to their goals
Persist longer at attempting to reach those goals
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

24. Machiavellianism
Degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that the ends can justify the means.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Machiavellianism (Mach) —The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. This personality attribute is named after Niccolò Machiavelli, the sixteenth century author of The Prince. A self-assessment for Machiavellianism is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

25. Narcissism
The tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement.
Narcissists tend to think that they are great leaders, however, their colleagues and supervisors tend to rate them as poor leaders.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

26. Self-Monitoring
A personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust behaviour to external situational factors.
High self-monitors tend to
Pay closer attention to the behaviour of others
Are more capable of conforming than low self-monitors
Tend to be more mobile in their careers
Receive more promotions
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Self-monitoring: A personality trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external situational factors. A self-assessment for self-monitoring is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

27. Risk-Taking Refers to a person’s willingness to take chances or risks.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Risk-Taking: The individual's willingness to take chances. A study of two groups of managers showed that high risk-taking managers make more rapid decisions and use less information in making their choices than low risk-taking managers. Interestingly, the decision accuracy was the same for both groups. A self-assessment for risk-taking is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

28. Type A Personality Moves, walks, and eats rapidly Impatient Multitasks
Dislikes leisure time
Obsessed with numbers, measures success in terms of how many or how much of everything is acquired
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Type A Personality: This type of individual is "aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time.” A self-assessment for Type A or B is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

29. Type B Personality Never suffers from a sense of time urgency
Does not need to display or discuss achievements or accomplishments
Plays for fun and relaxation, not to win
Can relax without guilt
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Type B Personality: Just the opposite of Type A. They are rarely harried by desires to obtain a wildly increasing number of things or participate in an endlessly growing series of events in an ever decreasing amount of time. A self-assessment for Type A or B is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

30. Proactive Personality
A person who identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres until meaningful change occurs.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Personality.”
Ask students if they’ve ever notice that some people actively take the initiative to improve their current circumstances or create new ones while others sit by passively reacting to situations. This can help them think about proactive personality and why some people are proactive and others are not.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

31. What Are Emotions? Two related terms: Emotions Moods
Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something.
Moods
Feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Employees bring an emotional component with them to work every day, and no study of OB could be comprehensive without considering the role of emotions in workplace behaviour.
Emotions are intense feelings that are directed at someone or something. Emotions are reactions to an object, not a trait. They're object-specific. Research has identified six universal emotions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, and surprise.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

32. Choosing Emotions: Emotional Labour
When an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal interactions.
Emotional Dissonance
Felt Emotions
Displayed Emotions
Surface Acting
Deep Acting
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Emotional Dissonance: inconsistencies between felt and displayed emotions. Felt emotions are an individual's actual emotions. In contrast, displayed emotions are those that are organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given situation. For instance, most of us know that we’re expected to act sad at funerals, regardless of whether we consider the person's death to be a loss; and to pretend to be happy at weddings, even if we don't feel like celebrating. The key point here is that felt and displayed emotions are often different.
Examples of emotional labour:
Effective managers have learned to be serious when giving an employee a negative performance evaluation and to cover up their anger when they've been passed over for promotion.
The salesperson who hasn't learned to smile and appear friendly, but instead reveals his or her true feelings at the moment, isn't typically going to last long on most sales jobs.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

33. Gender and Emotions Differences: Women
Show greater emotional expression than men
Experience emotions more intensely
Display more frequent expressions of all emotions, except anger
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
When the genders are contrasted, women show greater emotional expression than men; they experience emotions more intensely; and they display more frequent expressions of both positive and negative emotions, except anger. In contrast with men, women also report more comfort in expressing emotions. Finally, women are better at reading nonverbal and paralinguistic cues than are men.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

34. Gender and Emotions Explanations:
Men and women have been socialized differently
Men: tough and brave
Women: nurturing
Women may have more innate ability to read emotions.
Women may have a greater need for social approval.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
What explains these differences? Three possible answers have been suggested.
The different ways men and women have been socialized. Men are taught to be tough and brave; and showing emotion is inconsistent with this image. Women, on the other hand, are socialized to be nurturing.
Women may have more innate ability to read others and present their emotions than do men.
Women may have a greater need for social approval and, thus, a higher propensity to show positive emotions like happiness.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

35. Negative Workplace Emotions
Negative emotions can lead to negative workplace behaviours:
Production (leaving early, intentionally working slowly)
Property (stealing, sabotage)
Political (gossiping, blaming co-workers)
Personal aggression (sexual harassment, verbal abuse)
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Negative emotions can lead to a number of deviant workplace behaviours. Anyone who has spent much time in an organization realizes that people often engage in voluntary actions that violate established norms and threaten the organization, its members, or both.
These actions are called employee deviance: voluntary actions that violate established norms and that threaten the organization, its members, or both.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

36. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence refers to an individual’ ability to:
Be self-aware
Detect emotions in others
Manage emotional cues and information
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

37. Emotional Intelligence
The Case for EI
Intuitive Appeal
EI predicts criteria that matter
EI is Biologically based
The Case Against EI
EI is too vague a concept
EI can’t be measured
The validity of EI is suspect
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

38. Affective Events Theory
Employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work; this emotional reaction influences their job performance and satisfaction.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

39. Exhibit 2-7 Affective Events Theory
Work Environment
Characteristics of
the job
Job demands
Requirements for
emotional labour
Work Events
Daily hassles
Daily uplifts
Emotional Reactions
Positive
Negative
Job Satisfaction
Job Performan ce
Personal Dispositions
Personality
Mood
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Source: Based on N. M. Ashkanasy and C. S. Daus, “Emotion in the Workplace: The New Challenge for Managers,” Academy of Management Executive, February 2002, p. 77.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

40. Emotions in the Workplace in a Global Context
Does the degree to which people experience emotions vary across cultures?
Do peoples’ interpretations of emotions vary across cultures?
Do the norms for the expression of emotions differ across cultures?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found under “Emotions.”
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

41. Summary and Implications
What is perception?
Perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.
What causes people to have different perceptions of the same situation?
Perceptions are affected by factors in the perceiver, in the object or target being perceived, and in the context or situation.
Can people be mistaken in their perceptions?
Shortcuts, such as attribution theory, selective perception, halo effect, contrast effects, projection, and stereotyping are helpful and even necessary, but can and do get us in trouble.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

42. Summary and Implications
4. Does perception really affect outcomes?
Perceptions often affect productivity more than the situation does
What is personality and how does it affect behaviour?
Personality helps us predict behaviour.
Personality can help match people to jobs, to some extent at least.
Can emotions help or get in the way when we’re dealing with others?
They can hinder performance, especially when emotions are negative.
They can also enhance performance.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

43. OB at Work
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

44. For Review 1. Define perception.
2. What is attribution theory? What are its implications for explaining behaviour in organizations?
3. What is stereotyping? Give an example of how stereotyping can create perceptual distortion.
4. Give some positive results of using shortcuts when judging others.
5. Describe the factors in the Big Five model. Which factor shows the greatest value in predicting behaviour? Why does it?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

45. For Review
6. What behavioural predictions might you make if you knew that an employee had (a) an external locus of control? (b) a low Mach score? (c) low self-esteem? (d) a Type A personality?
7. To what extent do people’s personalities affect how they are perceived?
8. What is emotional labour and why is it important to understanding OB?
9. What is emotional intelligence and why is it important?
10. Explain affective events theory. What are its implications for managing emotions?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

46. For Critical Thinking
1. How might the differences in experience of students and instructors affect each of their perceptions of classroom behaviour (e.g., students’ written work and class comments)?
2. An employee does an unsatisfactory job on an assigned project. Explain the attribution process that this person’s manager will use to form judgments about this employee’s job performance.
3. One day your boss comes in and he’s nervous, edgy, and argumentative. The next day he is calm and relaxed. Does this behaviour suggest that personality traits aren’t consistent from day to day?
4. What, if anything, can managers do to manage emotions? Are there ethical implications in any of these actions? If so, what?
5. Give some examples of situations where expressing emotions might enhance job performance.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

47. Breakout Group Exercises
Form small groups to discuss the following topics.
1. Think back to your perception of this course and your instructor on the first day of class. What factors might have affected your perceptions of what the rest of the term would be like?
2. Describe a situation where your perception turned out to be wrong. What perceptual errors did you make that might have caused this to happen?
3. Compare your scores on the Learning About Yourself Exercises at the end of the chapter. What conclusions could you draw about your group based on these scores?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found at the end of the chapter.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

48. Supplemental Material
Slides for activities I do in my own classroom
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

49. Personality Inventory
In groups:
Quickly determine the means for each of the personality items.
Develop a summary statement of your group based on the means for each of the items.
What are the implications for the workplace of scoring either high or low on these dimensions? (Your group will be asked to examine one of the dimensions.)
I have the students complete the personality inventories before coming to class, and then ask them to aggregate and analyze the information in class.
Individuals who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work setting, and are less involved on their jobs than are internals. Internals generally perform better on their jobs and do better with jobs that have less structure. Externals, however, are more compliant and willing to follow directions.
High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more than do low Machs.
High SEs are more satisfied with their jobs than are low SEs. In managerial positions, low SEs will tend to be concerned with pleasing others and, therefore, are less likely to take unpopular stands than are high SEs.
High self-monitors may be more successful in managerial positions in which individuals are required to play multiple, and even contradicting, roles. The high self-monitor is capable of putting on different “faces” for different audiences.
Type A’s tend to trade off quality of effort for quantity.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

50. Perception Exercise
In the new OB project team, two members obviously have different perceptions on just about everything the team does. Kevin “sees” the project one way; Kim “sees” it differently. They have different perceptions about team goals, methods, values, and the roles team members should play. Kevin gives the impression he wants “to be in charge” and he argues aggressively to get his way. Kim, who is more reserved, offers thoughtful ideas in rebuttal, and usually consults with the other group members for their views and support. Privately, Kevin bad-mouths Kim to anyone who will listen. He says that he has been on successful teams many times and “knows” the best ways to operate the team. He says that Kim is a “control freak” and “the only one on the team holding up progress.”Kim, on the other hand, only conveys her feelings about Kevin when team members are present, but she has repeatedly said out loud, “There are more ways of getting this team started than just yours! Too bad you have a closed mind!” For the most part, the other team members perceive Kim and Kevin to have a “personality conflict,” and they are avoiding getting involved. The team is ineffective so far, and there’s pressure to get the team on track because of the impending class assignment deadline.
I have the students read this exercise, and then discuss the questions on the following slide. Many thanks to Larry Anderson, a former sessional lecturer at UBC, for suggesting this exercise.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

51. In Groups
Agree on answers to the following questions, and then report back on your group’s conclusions. Time: 30 minutes.
What main factors may account for the different perceptions held by Kevin and Kim?
In each perceiver?
In the targets?
In the current situation?
What are some “short cuts” each may be taking in judging the other? Are these judgements correct?
To what extent might the current situation be affecting the different perceptions?
To what extent might each person’s apparent personality be the cause for the current conflict? Define their respective personalities.
If behaviour such as this happens often, how can perceptions be changed to that people in conflict like Kevin and Kim can reach consensus? List some ideas.
Source: Larry Anderson, Sauder School of Business, UBC
Perceiver: Personal characteristics, attitudes and motives, interests, and past experiences all shape the way we perceive an event, and expectations.
Target: Target’s characteristics can affect what is perceived; relationship of a target to its background influences perception, as does our tendency to group close things and similar things together.
Situation: The context in which we see objects or events is important.
Selective Perception: Interpret what they see on the basis of their interest, background, experience, and attitudes.
Halo Effect: Drawing a general impression from a single characteristic.
Contrast Effects: Comparing with others.
Projection: Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people.
Stereotyping: Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed.
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