Perception and Personality in Organizations: Understanding Human Behavior

1. . Perception and Personality in Organizations

2. Foundations of Individual Behaviour

3. “ WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, WE SEE THINGS AS WE ARE.”

4. Perception “ The study of perception is concerned with identifying the process through which we interpret and organize sensory information to produce our conscious experience of objects and object relationship.” “ Perception is the process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us. It involves deciding which information to notice, how to categorize this information and how to interpret it within the framework of existing knowledge.

5. Perception “ A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment ”.

6. Feeling Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting Selective Attention Organization and Interpretation Attitudes and Behaviours Perceptual Process Model Environmental Stimuli

7. The Perceptual Process • Sensation • An individual’s ability to detect stimuli in the immediate environment. • Selection • The process a person uses to eliminate some of the stimuli that have been sensed and to retain others for further processing. • Organization • The process of placing selected perceptual stimuli into a framework for “storage.” • Interpretation • The stage of the perceptual process at which stimuli are interpreted and given meaning.

8. Selective Attention • Characteristics of the object • size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty • Perceptual context • Characteristics of the perceiver • attitudes • perceptual defense • expectations -- condition us to expect events

9. Factors in the Target • Motion • Novelty • Sounds • Size • Background • Proximity • Similarity • Factors in the perceiver • Attitudes • Motives • Interests • Experience • Expectations Perception • Factors in the situation • Time • Work Setting • Social Setting

10. Figure-Ground Illustration • Field-ground differentiation • The tendency to distinguish and focus on a stimulus that is classified as figure as opposed to background.

13. PERCEPTUAL GROUPING • Our tendency to group several individual stimuli into a meaningful and recognizable pattern. • It is very basic in nature and largely it seems to be inborn. • Some factors underlying grouping are -continuity -closure -proximity -similarity

18. ATTRIBUTION THEORY is the cause of the behavior seen as internal or external? we look for three types of information to decide: DISTINCTIVENESS : Is this person’s performance different on other tasks and in other situations? CONSISTENCY : Over time, is there a change in behavior or results on this task by this person? CONSENSUS : Do others perform or behave similarly when in a similar position? “YES” answers lead to EXTERNAL attributions (Environmental causes) “NO” answers lead to INTERNAL attributions (Personal causes)

19. Attribution Theory When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused. Attribution of cause observation Interpretation H External Distictinctiveness L Internal H Individual behavior External Consensus L Internal H Internal Consistency L External H –high L- Low

20. Distinctiveness Does this person behave in this manner in other situation Consensus Do other person Behave in the Same manner? Consistency Does this person behave in this same manner at other times ? External Attribution Internal Attribution No Low Consensus Yes High Consensus YES Low Distinctiveness NO High Distinctiveness Yes High Consistency No Low Consistency

21. PERCEPTUAL ERRORS & ATTRIBUTIONS • STEREOTYPES : Based on appearance • HALO (HORN) EFFECTS : One outstanding characteristic noted • CONTRAST EFFECT : Ordering • RECENCY EFFECT : Limited recall • PROJECTION : “Similar to me” Error • SKEWING ERRORS : Central tendency, leniency, strictness bias • SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY : People respond the way you “expected” they would • SELECTIVE PERCEPTION (MIND SETS) : Filtering, selection,

22. ATTRIBUTION ERRORS • THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR • the cause of poor performance (by others) is due to personal factors (lazy…didn’t try very hard) • SELF-SERVING BIAS • the cause of poor performance (by myself) is due to situational factors (poor support), not because of a lack of effort

23. Improving Perceptual Accuracy Diversity Management Improving Perceptual Accuracy Know Yourself Empathize With Others Compare Perceptions With Others Postpone Impression Formation

24. Feedback Open Area Open Area Blind Area Blind Area Disclosure Hidden Area Unknown Area Hidden Area Unknown Area Know Yourself (Johari Window) Unknown to Self Known to Self Known to Others Unknown to Others

25. Defining Personality • Relatively stable pattern of behaviours and consistent internal states that explain a person's behavioural tendencies • Sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others and environment

26. Determinants of Personality

27. Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional Stability Openness to Experience Big Five Personality Dimensions Caring, dependable Poised, secure Sensitive, flexible Courteous, empathic Outgoing, talkative

28. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator • Extroversion versus introversion • Sensing versus intuition • Thinking versus feeling • Judging versus perceiving Courtesy of Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Everest

29. Locus of Control and Self-Monitoring • Locus of control • Internals believe in their effort and ability • Externals believe events are mainly due to external causes • Self-monitoring personality • Sensitivity to situational cues, and ability to adapt your behaviour to that situation

30. Personality Traits

31. Personality Theories • Trait Theory • Psychoanalytical theory • Social Learning theory • Self theory

32. Personality Traits • Traits are relatively stable and consistent personal characteristics Assumptions for Trait theory: Traits are- • Common but vary in absolute amounts • Relatively stable • Can be inferred by measuring his/her behavioral indicators

33. Trait Theory • Trait personality theories suggest that a person can be described on the basis of some number of personality traits • Allport identified some 4,500 traits • Cattel used factor analysis to identify 30-35 basic traits • Problems with trait theory include: • Lack of explanation as to WHY traits develop • Issue of explaining transient versus long-lasting traits Allport

34. Overview of the Big “5”

35. UNSTABLE Moody Touchy Anxious Restless Rigid Aggressive Sober Excitable Pessimistic Changeable Reserved Impulsive Unsociable Optimistic Quiet Active INTROVERTED EXTRAVERTED Passive Sociable Careful Outgoing Thoughtful Talkative Peaceful Responsive Controlled Easygoing Reliable Lively Even-tempered Carefree Calm Leadership STABLE The Trait Theory

36. Psychoanalytic Theory • Psychoanalytic theory, as devised by Freud, attempts to explain personality on the basis of unconscious mental forces • Levels of consciousness: We are unaware of some aspects of our mental states • Freud argued that personality is made up of multiple structures, some of which are unconscious • Freud argued that as we have impulses that cause us anxiety; our personality develops defense mechanisms to protect against anxiety

37. Levels of consciousness Conscious What we’re aware of Preconscious Memories etc. that can be recalled Unconscious Wishes, feelings, impulses that lies beyond awareness Structures of Personality Id Operates according to the “pleasure principle” Ego Operates according to the “reality” principle Superego Contains values and ideals Freudian Theory

38. Defense Mechanisms • Defense mechanisms refer to unconscious mental processes that protect the conscious person from developing anxiety • Sublimation: person channels energy from unacceptable impulses to create socially acceptable accomplishments • Denial: person refuses to recognize reality • Projection: person attributes their own unacceptable impulses to others • Repression: anxiety-evoking thoughts are pushed into the unconscious

39. Defense Mechanisms • Rationalization: Substituting socially acceptable reasons • Intellectualization: Ignoring the emotional aspects of a painful experience by focusing on abstract thoughts, words, or ideas • Reaction formation: Refusing to acknowledge unacceptable urges, thoughts or feelings by exaggerating the opposite state • Regression: Responding to a threatening situation in a way appropriate to an earlier age or level of development • Displacement: Substituting a less threatening object for the original object of impulse

40. Social Learning Theory • It emphasizes on how an individual behaves or acts in a given situation. • It holds the view that the specific characteristics of a situation determine how an individual will behave in such situation.

41. Humanistic Perspectives Carl Rogers’ self theory : • Self image • Ideal self • Looking self glass • Rreal self

42. Self theory • We have needs for: • Self-consistency (absence of conflict between self-perceptions • Congruence (consistency between self-perceptions and experience) • Inconsistency evokes anxiety and threat • People with low self-esteem generally have poor congruence between their self-concepts and life experiences.

43. How personality develops or shapes? Some findings: • Freud’s four stages • Erikson’s eight life stages • Argyris Immaturity to maturity stages

44. Freud’s four stages • The Oral stage- Lasts for the first year • The Anal stage- Two to three years • The phallic stage- At the age of four years • The latency stage- B/w age of six to seven years • The genital stage-During adolescences & adulthood

45. Freud: criticisms and critiques • He studied very few people so not representative sample • Process of psychoanalysis interviewing- exhibit preconceived notions and biases • His measures/methods were untreatable • Definitions don’t lend themselves to experimentation • One’s personality is fixed and unchanging

46. Erikson’s eight life stages • Infancy- first year • Early childhood- Two and three years • Play age-Four and Five years • School age-Six to twelve years • Adolescence-Teenage period • Young adulthood- During Twenties • Old(sunset) age- Adult

47. Argyris Immaturity to maturity stages From: • Passivity to activity • Dependence to Independence • Selective behavior • Shallow interest to deep interest • Short term perspective to long perspective • Subordinate position to superordinate position • Lack of self awareness to self awreness and control

48. Measuring Personality • Self report surveys • Projective tests ( Rorschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Appreciation Test) • Assessment Centres

49. Assessing the Unconscious • Projective Tests • used to assess personality (e.g., Rorschach or TAT tests) • How? provides ambiguous stimuli and subject projects his or her motives into the ambiguous stimuli

50. Assessing the Unconscious -- Rorschach • Rorschach Inkblot Test • the most widely used projective test • a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach Rorschach