Perception and Individual Decision Making

1
Perception and Individual Decision Making

• Chapter 5

2
Learning Objectives

• Learn that two people can see the same thing and
  interpret it differently
• List the three determinants of attribution
• Describe how shortcuts can either assist or
  distort judgment
• Examine perception and decision-making
• Study the rational decision-making model

3
Learning Objectives

• Describe the actions of the boundedly rational
  decision maker
• Learn when individuals are most likely to use
  intuition in decision making
• Describe four styles of decision making
• Learn how heuristics bias decisions
• Contrast the three ethical decision criteria

4
What is Perception

• A process by which individuals organize and
  interpret their sensory impressions in order to
  give meaning to their environment

5
Factors ThatInfluence Perception
6
The Perceiver

• Attitude
• Motives
• Interests
• Past experiences
• Expectations (stereotypes)

7
The Target

• Novelty
• Motion
• Sounds
• Size
• Background
• proximity
• Persons, objects and events that similar to each
  other tend to be grouped together

8
The Situation

• Time
• Work setting
• Social setting

9
Person Perception making Judgments about Others

• Attribution Theory
• When individuals observe behavior, they attempt
  to determine whether it is internally or
  externally caused
• Distinctiveness
• Consensus
• Consistency

10
(No Transcript)
11
Frequently Used Shortcuts When Judging Others
12
Perception Errors

• Fundamental attribution error
• Tendency to underestimate external factors and
  overestimate internal factors
• Self-serving bias
• Tendency for individuals to attribute their own
  successes to internal factors rather than
  external factors (i.e., luck)

13
Judgmental errors

• Selective perception
• Selectively interpret what they see on the basis
  of their interest, background , experience and
  attitudes
• Halo effect
• Drawing a general impression about an individual
  on the basis of a single characteristic

14
Perception Errors

• Contrast Effects
• Evaluation of a persons characteristics that are
  affected by comparisons with other people
• Projection
• Attributing ones own characteristics to other
  people
• Stereotyping
• Judging someone on the basis of ones perception
  of the group in which that person belongs

15
Specific Applications in Organizations

• Employment interview
• Performance expectations
• Self-fulfilling prophecy expectations cause
  behaviors consistent with original perceptions
• Performance evaluation
• Employee effort
• More workers are fired for poor attitudes than
  for lack of ability
• Employee loyalty

16
Awareness and Recognition of Problems
Perception and Individual Decision Making
Interpretation and Evaluation of Information
17
Rational Model of Decision Making
18
Assumptions of the Model
One Problem Clarity
Four Constant Preferences
Five No Constraints
Two Known Options
Three Clear Preferences
Six Maximum Payoff
19
The Three Components of Creativity
Expertise
Creativity
Task Motivation
Creativity Skills
20
Bounded Rationality

• Constraints
• Time
• Resources/costs
• Information
• Solutions
• Acceptable, Satisfied, but may not optimal

21
A Model of Bounded Rationality
Ascertain the Need for a Decision
Select Criteria
Identify a Limited Set of Alternatives
Compare Alternatives Against Criteria
Select the First Good Enough Choice
Yes
Simplify the Problem
Expand Search for Alternatives
A Satisficing Alternative Exists
No
22
Intuitive Decision Making An unconscious process
created out of distilled experience

• High uncertainty levels
• Little precedent
• Hard to predictable variables
• Limited facts
• Unclear sense of direction
• Analytical data is of little use
• Several plausible alternatives
• Time constraints

23
Two Important Decision-Making Phases
24
Making Choices in the Workplace
25
Making Choices

• Availability heuristic
• The tendency for people to base their judgments
  on information that is readily available
• Representative
• Assessing the likelihood of an occurrence by
  matching it with a preexisting category
• Escalating commitment
• An increased commitment to a previous decision in
  spite of negative information

26
Decision-Making Styles
High
Analytic
Conceptual
Tolerance for Ambiguity
Behavioral
Directive
Low
Way of Thinking
Rational
Intuitive
27
Performance Evaluation
Reward System
Organizational Constraints
Historical Precedents
Programmed Routines
28
(No Transcript)
29
Ethics in Decision-Making
30
Discussion

• Biases in decision making (p. 149)
• Ethical dilemma (p. 150)
• Video Case (p. 151)