Perception

Understanding individual differences

Look at the list below and say the color, not the word
as fast as you can.

RED GREEN PURPLE

BLUE ORANGE YELLOW
GREEN BROWN RED
PURPLE YELLOW BLUE
ORANGE GREEN BLACK
RED PURPLE ORANGE
Perception
Why did the second reading of the colors take longer?

The right side of the brain tries to say the color but the
left side of the brain insists on reading the word.
 Perception : Meaning & Definition
It is the unique interpretation of the situation
It is a cognitive process that yields a unique picture of
world, but different quietly from reality.
Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but in reality,
it neither rises nor sets.
Perception is the process by which people select,
organize and interpret information to form a
meaningful picture
Perception refers to the interpretation of what we take
in through our senses.
What do you see???
Any movement you see is an illusion!

http://psycharts.com/opt_illus.html
                                                                                                                                        

http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/Optical/Hermann_main.htm
PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
Perceptual process begins when external stimuli are
received through our senses.
Most are screened out
Rest are organized
Interpreted
Resulting perceptions influence our emotions and
behavior .
Environmental Stimuli Observation
 Taste P
Smell E
Hearing R
Sight C
Touch E
P
Perceptual T
Organization U
Perceptual selection
 Continuity A
 Closure L
 Proximity
Similarity P
R
O
Interpretation C
Response
 Attitude E
 Feelings S
 Behaviour S
Motivations
1) Environmental Stimuli
People receive stimuli from the environment
through their senses when they observe their
environment:
2) Perceptual Selection

Phone is ringing, television is blaring, a dog is

barking, PC is making strange noise

Which of these stimuli you will ignore?

Which will you pay attention to?
2) Perceptual Selection
Perceptual selection is the process by which people
filter out most stimuli so that they can deal with the
most important ones.
It depends on various factors.

 Factors related to the target being perceived

 Factors related to the situation in which
perception is made
 Factors related to the perceiver
 Factors influencing Perception

Factors in the perceiver

• Attitudes
• Motives
• Interests
• Experience
• Expectations

Factors in the situation

• Time
Perception
• Work Setting
• Social Setting
Factors in the Target
• Novelty
• Motion
• Sounds
• Size
• Background
• Proximity
• Similarity
14
2) Perceptual Selection
Factors in the perceiver:
 Personality – personality is a strong influencing
factor in determining how an individual perceive What do you see in
other people. this picture?
 Research studies suggest that secure individuals
tent to understand or perceive others as warm and
self-accepting individuals perceive themselves as
liked , wanted and accepted by others.
 Learning affects perception by the development Which white circle is
of perceptual sets. A perceptual set is an larger?
expectation of a particular interpretation based on
past experience with the same or similar objects.
 Motivation – the urgent needs and desires at any
particular time can influence perception.

How would you describe these

potato chips?
2) Perceptual Selection
Factors in the target:
 Size: Size attracts the attention of the individual . A full page spread
advertisement attracts more attention than a few lines in a classified
section .
 Intensity: The intensity principle of attention states that the more
intense the stimuli , the more likely it is to be perceived . A loud
noise or strong odour will be noticed more than a soft sound and
weak odour.
 Repetition: The repetition principle states that a repeated external
stimulus is more attention getting than single one .
 Contrast: The external stimuli which stands out against the
background will receive more attention.
 Movement: The movement principle says that people pay more
attention to a moving object than the stationary ones . People will be
attracted more by a running train than one standing on the platform.
 Novelty and Familiarity: People quickly notice and elephant walking
on the road. You are likely to perceive the face of a close friend
among a group of people walking towards you
2) Perceptual Selection
Factors in the situation:
 The context in which we can see objects or events is also important.
 I may not notice a 22 year old female in my virtual OB class this
Saturday. Yet the same female formally attired for my Monday OB
lecture would certainly catch my attention (than rest of the class)
3)Perceptual Organization
 The process by which people group environmental stimuli
into recognizable patterns
 Example:
 Wood, four legs, a seat, a back and arm sets
 This is known as perceptual groupings.
 Perceptual grouping is the tendency to form perceive objects
as a continuous pattern.
 Some factors underlying grouping are
 -continuity
 -closure
 -proximity
 -similarity
Factors underlying grouping
When individual shapes or objects are in closer
proximity, they tend to be grouped together and
perceived as part of the same object.

Objects that share similar characteristics, such as size,

shape, colour or orientation, will be perceived as being
parts of the same object or pattern. 
 Factors underlying grouping
• A tendency for smooth figures
over abrupt changes in direction. • Closure is the tendency to
•The figure below is generally complete an object and perceive
perceived as a pattern rather it as a constant.
than individual circles.
4) Perceptual Interpretation

Perceptual interpretations are very important in OB.

Any kind of misinterpretation of characteristics,
abilities, or behavior of an employee during a
performance appraisal review could result in an
inaccurate assessment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXhHfysFRZ0&li
st=RDCMUCUwiVO9Uq7ks1LWHHY7ZARQ&start
_radio=1&t=6
Perceptual errors
The perceptual process may result in a person making
errors in judgement or understanding of another
person. The most common types of perceptual errors
are:
 Accuracy in judgment
 Selective Perception
 Stereotyping
 The halo effect
 Projection
Perceptual errors
Judgmental Errors
Similarity error – assuming that people who are similar
to us ( in terms of background, interests and hobbies)
will behave like us.
Contrast error – comparing people to others rather than
to some absolute standard.
Overweighting of negative information – a tendency to
overreact to something negative.
Race, age, and gender bias – tendency to be more or
less positive based on one’s race, age, or gender.
First-impression error – tendency to form lasting
opinions about an individual based on initial perceptions.
Perceptual error
Selective Perception
 People’s selective interpretation of what they see based on
their interests, background, experience, and attitude
Stereotyping
 The belief that all members of a specific group share similar
traits and behaviours.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNqwBTCslMw

Halo/Horn effect
 A tendency to colour everything we know about a person
because of one recognizable favourable or unfavourable trait.
Projection
 tendency to see one’s traits in others.
Attribution
 Your colleague Peter failed to meet the deadline. What do you
do? Do you help him finish up his work? Do you give him the
benefit of the doubt and place the blame on the difficulty of the
project? Or do you think that he is irresponsible?
Our behavior is a function of our perceptions.
More specifically, when we observe others behave in a certain
way, we ask ourselves a fundamental question: Why? Why did
he fail to meet the deadline? Why did Mary get the promotion?
Why did Mark help you when you needed help? The answer
we give is the key to understanding our subsequent behavior. 
An attribution is the causal explanation we give for an
observed behavior.
Attribution Process
Refers to the manner in which people come to
understand the cause of other’s (or their own)
behavior.
If you believe that a behavior is due to the internal
characteristics of an actor, you are making an internal
attribution. 
An external attribution is explaining someone’s
behavior by referring to the situation
Your classmate Erin complained a lot when
completing a finance assignment. 
 If you think that she complained because she is a
negative person, you are making an internal
attribution.
If you believe that Erin complained because finance
homework was difficult, you are making an external
attribution.
When do we make internal or external attributions?
Consensus: Do other people behave the same way?
Distinctiveness: Does this person behave the same way
across different situations?
Consistency: Does this person behave this way in
different occasions in the same situation?
In addition to Erin, other people in the same class also
complained (high consensus).
 Erin does not usually complain in other classes (high
distinctiveness).
Erin usually does not complain in finance class (low
consistency).
 In this situation, you are likely to make an external
attribution, such as thinking that finance homework is
difficult. 
Erin is the only person complaining (low consensus).
Erin complains in a variety of situations (low
distinctiveness), and every time she is in finance, she
complains (high consistency).
 In this situation, you are likely to make an internal
attribution such as thinking that Erin is a negative
person.
Errors and Biases in Attributions
 Fundamental Attribution Error
Attributing own actions to external factors and other’s
actions to internal factors

 Self-Serving Bias
Attributing our successes to internal factors and our
failures to external factors
Experiential Exercise
 Susan had been distribution manager for Clarkston Industries
for almost twenty years. An early brush with the law and a
short stay in prison had made her realize the importance of
honesty and hard work. Henry Clarkston had given her a
chance despite her record, and Susan had made the most of it.
She now was one of the most respected managers in the
company. Few people knew her background. 

Susan had hired Jack Reed fresh out of prison six months ago.
Susan understood how Jack felt when Jack tried to explain his
past and asked for another chance. Susan decided to give him
that chance just as Henry Clarkston had given her one. Jack
eagerly accepted a job on the loading docks and could soon
load a truck as fast as anyone in the crew. 
Things had gone well at first. Everyone seemed to like
Jack, and he made several new friends.

The events of last week, however, had caused serious

trouble. First, a new personnel clerk had come across
records about Jack’s past while updating employee files.
Assuming that the information was common knowledge,
the clerk had mentioned to several employees what a good
thing it was to give ex-convicts like Jack a chance. The
next day, someone in bookkeeping discovered some money
missing from petty cash. Another worker claimed to have
seen Jack in the area around the office strongbox, which
was open during working hours, earlier that same day.
Most people assumed Jack was the thief.  When
Susan had discussed the problem with Jack, Jack had
been defensive and sullen and said little about the
petty-cash situation other than to deny stealing the
money. 

The evidence, of course, was purely circumstantial,

yet everybody else seemed to see things quite
clearly. Susan feared that if she did not fire Jack, she
would lose everyone’s trust and that some people
might even begin to question her own motives. 
Explain the events in this case in terms of
perception.

What should Susan do? Should she fire Jack or

give him another chance?
Thank You