MGHB02H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Stereotype
19 Jul 2010
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WHAT IS PERCEPTION?
• Perception is the process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and
meaning to the environment
• People base their actions on the interpretation of reality that their perceptual system
provides, rather than on reality itself
• Perceptions that influence organizational behaviour are the perceptions that organizational
members have to each other
COMPONENTS OF PERCEPTION
• Perception has three components
• Each of the three components influences the perceiver’s impression or interpretation of the
target
The Perceiver
• Their needs, experience, and emotions can affect their perception of a target
• Past experiences lead the perceiver to develop expectations that affect perceptions
• Needs unconsciously influence our perceptions by causing us to perceive what we wish to
perceive
• Emotions can influence our perceptions, as in a innocent comment from a person that gets
us angry
• Perceptual Defence is the tendency for the perceptual system to defend the perceiver
against unpleasant emotions
The Target
• Ambiguous targets are susceptible to interpretation and the addition of the meaning of the
perception
• Providing more information about the target does not always improve perceptual accuracy
The Situation
• The most important effect that the situation can have is to add information about the target
• Perception of the target changes with the situation
SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY
• According to Social Identity Theory, people form perceptions of themselves based on their
characteristics and memberships in social categories
o Our sense of self is composed of a personal identity and a social identity
! Personal Identity: is based on our unique personal characteristics
! Social Identity: is based on our perception that we belong to various social
groups
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o We also form perceptions of others based on their memberships in social categories
! We define members of a category relative to members of other categories
• Social Identity Theory helps us understand how the components of the perceptual system
operate in the formation of perceptions
o We perceive people in terms of attributes and characteristics that we associate with
their social category relative to other categories
A MODEL OF THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
• According to Bruner, when the perceiver encounters an unfamiliar target, the perceiver is
very open to the informational cues contained in the target and the situation surrounding it
o In this unfamiliar state, the perceiver really needs information on which to base
perceptions of the target and will actively seek out cues to resolve this
• Bruner’s model demonstrates three important characteristics of the perceptual process
o Perception is Selective
! Perceivers do not use all available cues
o Perception constancy
! Refers to the tendency for the target to be perceived in the same way over
time or across situations
o Perceptual Consistency
! Refers to the tendency to select, ignore, and distort cues in such a manner
that they fit together to form a homogeneous picture of the target
BASIC BIASES IN PERSON PERCEPTION
Primacy and Recency Effects
• Primacy Effect is the tendency for a perceiver to rely on early cues or first impressions
o Often has lasting impact
o Form of selectivity
o Illustrate the operation of constancy
• Recency Effect is the tendency for a perceiver to rely on recent cues or last impressions
Reliance on Central Traits
• Early cues do not always receive equal weight
• Central Traits are personal characteristics of a target that are of particular interest to a
perceiver
o people tend to organize their traits around them
o centrality of traits depends on the perceiver’s interests and the situation
o often have a very powerful influence on our perceptions of others
! example: physical appearance
Implicit Personality Theories
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• Implicit Personality Theories are personal theories that people have about which
personality characteristics go together
o Provide a basis of misunderstanding
Projection
• People often assume that others are like themselves
• Projection is the tendency for perceivers to attribute their own thoughts and feelings to
others
o Can lead to perceptual difficulties
o Can serve as a form of perceptual defence
Stereotyping
• Stereotyping is the tendency to generalize about people in a certain social category and
ignore variations among them
o Examples: race, age, gender, ethnic background, social class, occupation, etc
• Three aspects to stereotyping
o We distinguish some category of people
o We assume that individuals in this category have certain traits
o We perceive that everyone in this category possess these traits
• Stereotypes help us develop impressions of ambiguous targets, and we are usually pretty
familiar with people in our own groups
• Not all stereotypes are inaccurate
o However, most are inaccurate
• A couple of factors work to reinforce inaccurate stereotypes
o Even incorrect stereotypes helps us process information about others quickly and
efficiently
o Inaccurate stereotypes are often reinforced by selective perception and selective
application of language
ATTRIBUTION: PERCEIVING CAUSES AND MOTIVES
• Impression Formation: how we perceive people’s motives
• Attribution is the process by which we assign causes or motives to explain people’s
behaviours
o When making attributions about behaviours, an important goal is to determine
whether the behaviour is caused by dispositional or situational factors
• Dispositional Attributes are explanations for behaviour based on an actor’s personality or
intellect
o Example: intelligence, greed, laziness
• Situational Attributes are explanations for behaviour based on the actor’s external
situation or environment
o Example: bad weather, good luck, proper tools, poor advice
Consistency Cues
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Document Summary
Components of perception: perception has three components, each of the three components influences the perceiver"s impression or interpretation of the target. The target: ambiguous targets are susceptible to interpretation and the addition of the meaning of the perception, providing more information about the target does not always improve perceptual accuracy. The situation: the most important effect that the situation can have is to add information about the target, perception of the target changes with the situation. Social identity theory: according to social identity theory, people form perceptions of themselves based on their characteristics and memberships in social categories, our sense of self is composed of a personal identity and a social identity. personal identity: is based on our unique personal characteristics. social identity: is based on our perception that we belong to various social groups www. notesolution. com: we also form perceptions of others based on their memberships in social categories.
