Perception

PERCEPTION AND INDIVIDUAL DECISION

MAKING.

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.

Abstract

Individuals behave in a given manner

based not on the way their external

environment actually is but, rather, on what

they see or believe it to be. An organization

may spend millions of dollars to create a

pleasant work environment for its

employees. However, in spite of these

expenditures, if an employee believes that

his or her job that assigned to them is

lousy and feel unsatisfactory, that employee

will behave accordingly.

It is the employee's perception of a

situation that becomes the basis for his or

her behavior. The employee who perceives

his/her supervisor as a hurdle reducer who

helps him/her do a better job and the

employee who sees the same supervisor as

"big brother, closely monitoring for every

motion. The difference has nothing to do

with the reality of the supervisor's actions;

the difference in employee behavior is due

to different perceptions.

Person perception: Making judgments

about employees' performance

Attribution theory

Attribution theory suggests that when we

observe an individual's behavior, we

attempt to determine whether it was

internally or externally caused. That

determination depends largely on three

factors: distinctiveness, consensus, and

consistency. Our perceptions of people

differ from our perceptions of inanimate

objects.

We make inferences about the actions of

people that we do not make about

inanimate objects. People have beliefs,

motives, or intentions. Attribution theory

suggests that when we observe an

individual's behavior, we attempt to

determine whether it was internally or

externally caused. That determination

depends largely on three factors:

1. Distinctiveness

2. Consensus

3. Consistency

Internally caused behaviors are those that...