Title: Perception and Learning:Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment
1Chapter-2
- Perception and LearningUnderstanding and
Adapting to the Work Environment
2Perception
- The process through which people select,
organize and interpret information - -active processing of sensory inputs
3Social Perception
- The process of combining, integrating and
interpreting information about others to gain an
accurate understanding of them - - various aspects including the
attribution process
4Attribution
- The process by which individuals attempt to
determine the causes behind others behaviour
5Correspondent Inferences
- Judgements about peoples dispositions, traits
and characteristics that correspond to what we
have observed of their actions
6Challenges in judging others accurately
- many possible causes of behaviour
- People sometimes disguise their true
characteristics
7To make accurate Inferences
- Focus on behaviour in situations with low demand
for social acceptability - Focus on behaviour for which there is only one
logical explanation
8Figure 2.2
Correspondent Inferences Judging
Dispositions Based on Behavior
9Causal attribution of Responsibility
- Internal causes of behaviour-explanations based
on actions for which the individual is
responsible - External causes of behaviour- explanations based
on situations over which the individual has no
control
10Kellys theory of causal attribution- internal
and external attributions are based on
- Consensus-extent to which other people behave in
the same manner as the person who we are judging - Consistency-extend to which the person who we are
judging acts the same way at other times - Distinctiveness- extend to which a person behaves
in the same manner in other contexts.
11Kelly explains
- Consensus- Do other people behave the same way
like you - Consistency- Do you behave the same way at all
time - Distinctiveness- Do you behave the same way at
other situations
12Perceptual Biases
- Predispositions to misperceive others that
interfere with making completely accurate
judgements. - Fundamental attribution error- tendency to
attribute others actions to internal causes
while largely ignoring external factors - Strong bias because it is easier to attribute
actions to others traits than to recognize
the complexity of others situation
13Figure 2.3
Kellys Theory of Causal Attribution A Summary
14Halo Effect
- Tendency for overall impressions of others to
affect objective evaluations of their specific
traits - Positive Halo- good impression causes us to view
what the person does in favourable terms, even if
we have no knowledge about the specific
behaviours - results in consistently high ratings - Negative halo- results in consistently low ratings
15Figure 2.4
The Halo Effect A Demonstration of Positive Halo
16Similar- to- me effect
- Tendency to perceive in a positive light
others who are believed to be similar in any of
several different ways. - - Greater empathy for and better relations with
others who seem similar
17First Impression Error
- Tendency to base judgements of others on our
first impression of them - - error may take very subtle forms
18Figure 2.5
First Impression Error A Summary
19Selective Perception
- Tendency to focus on some aspects of the
environment and to ignore others - -narrowing of our perceptual fields
20Stereotypes- Fitting others into categories
- Beliefs that all members of specific groups
share similar traits and are prone to behave in
the same way - Why do we rely on stereotypes?- minimizes
cognitive work in thinking about others - Leads to premature judgements about people
21Stereotypes(contd)
- Dangers of using stereotypes in organizations-
- Run the risk of causing miscommunication and
conflict
22Performance appraisal
- Process of evaluating employees on various
work-related dimensions - An inherently biased process- process is far from
objective - -ratings depend on extend to which performance is
consistent with raters initial expectations - ratings reflect similar to me bias
- ratings qualified by the nature of attributions
made about performance
23Cultural differences in Performance Evaluations
- Evaluations of others work influenced by nations
from which they come
24Impression management
- Efforts by individuals to improve how they appear
to prospective employers - Self Promotion- asserting one has desirable
characteristics
25Corporate Image
- The impressions that people have of an
organisation - Factors contributing to corporate Image
- amount of information contained in recruitment
ads- longer ads typically associated with more
positive images - annual report-Official statement for stockholders
26Learning Adapting to the World Around Us
- Learning- a relatively permanent change in
behaviour resulting from experience - -cannot be observed directly
- -must be inferred from permanent changes in
behaviour
27Operant( Instrumental) Conditioning
- Learning in which people associate the
consequences of their actions with the actions
themselves - behaviour with positive consequences are
acquired.i.e.., repeated in the future - behaviour with negative consequences are
eliminated
28Law of Effect
- Tendency for behaviours leading to desirable
consequences to be strengthened and for the
behaviours leading to undesirable consequences to
be weakened
29Operant Conditioning(contd)
- Reinforcement contingencies- relationships
between a persons behaviour and the consequences
resulting from it. - Positive reinforcement
- Negative reinforcement
- Punishment
- Extinction
30Positive reinforcement
- Process through which people learn to perform
behaviours leading to the presentation of the
desired outcomes
31Negative Reinforcement(avoidance)
- Process through which people learn to perform
acts that lead to the removal of undesired events
32Punishment
- Decreasing desirable behaviour by following it
with undesirable consequences
33Extinction
- Process through which responses that are no
longer reinforced tend to gradually diminish in
strength
34Operant Conditioning(contd)
- Schedules of reinforcement-rules governing the
timing and frequency of administering
reinforcement - Continuous Reinforcement- schedule in which all
desired behaviours are reinforced - Partial Reinforcement- schedule in which only
some desired behaviours are reinforced
35Figure 2.9
The Operant Conditioning Process. An Overview
36Reinforcement Schedules
- Fixed Interval- a fixed period of time must
elapse between reinforcements - Variable Interval- a variable period of time
(based on some average) must elapse between
reinforcements - Fixed Ratio- a fixed number of responses must
occur between reinforcements - Variable Ratio- a variable number of responses
(based on some average) must occur between
reinforcements
37Observational Learning(Modeling)
- People acquire new behaviours by
systematically observing the rewards and
punishments given to others - Knowledge acquired vicariously
- behaviour of a model is imitated
38Steps In Observational learning
- Pay careful attention of the model
- good retention of the models behaviour
- behavioural reproduction of the models behaviour
- person motivated to learn from the model
- Much of what is learned about how to behave in
organisations can be explained by observational
learning - -formal job training
- -absorption of norms and traditions
39Training
- Process of systematically teaching employees
to acquire and improve job-related skills and
knowledge - Varieties of Training- both formal and informal
- Apprenticeship program
- Cross cultural
- Executive Training
- Corporate Universities
40Apprenticeship programs
- Formal programs, often used in the skilled
trades, involving both on the job and class room
training, usually over a long period
41Cross -cultural Training
- Systematic way of preparing employees to live and
work in another country
42Executive Training
- Systematic development of top company leaders,
either in specific skills or in general
managerial skills
43Corporate Universities
- Centers devoted to handling a companys
training needs on a full time basis.
44Keys to Effective Training
- Participation- active involvement in the learning
process - Repetition-repeatedly performing a task so that
it may be fully learned - Transfer of learning- degree to which skills
learned during training may be applied to
performance of ones job - - training is more effective to the degree that
it matches the demands and conditions on a job - Feedback- Knowledge of the results of ones
behaviour
45360 degree Feed back
- Collection of performance feedback from
multiple sources at various organizational levels
46Figure 2.12
360 Feedback An Overview
47Innovative Reward Systems
- Based on various principles of learning
- Skill-based pay- people are paid based on the
number of different skills they have learned
relevant to performing one or more jobs in the
organization - Team-based rewards-employees are paid based on
their teams performance
48Organizational behaviour management(OB Mod)-
principles
- Pinpoint the desired behaviour- specify new,
desired behaviour. - Perform baseline audit- measure level of
behaviour - Define a criterion standard- performance goal
- Choose a reinforcer-nature of reward for desired
behaviour - Selectively reward desired behaviour- shaping
- Periodically re-evaluate the program
49Shaping
- The process of selectively reinforcing
behaviours that approach a desired goal behaviour
50Discipline
- Systematically administering punishment to
eliminate undesirable organizational behaviours
51Disciplinary practices in Organizations
- Progressive discipline- gradually increasing the
severity of punishments for employees who exhibit
unacceptable job behaviour - Clarify contingencies-publicize punishment rules
- Punish all instances of inappropriate behaviour
- Take immediate actions
52Keys to use punishment effectively
- Deliver punishment immediately after undesirable
behaviour occurs. - Give moderate levels of punishment- not too high
or not too low - Punish the undesirable behaviour, not the person
- Use punishment consistently
- Clearly communicate reasons for the punishment
- Do not follow punishment with noncontigent
rewards
53The End