This document discusses perception, which is how people interpret and make sense of information. Perception is influenced by factors in the perceiver like attitudes and experience, factors in the target like size and motion, and factors in the situation like time and social setting. Some perceptual distortions that can occur include selective perception, stereotyping, the halo effect, and attribution. The perceptual process involves observation, organization, and interpretation of information. Perception is important in areas like employee interviews, performance evaluations, setting expectations, and judging employee loyalty.

1. Lecture 3

2. Concept
 Is a process of interpretation
 People select, organize, interpret and respond to
information around them
 May be described as a person’s view of reality
 Opinions about issues or activities surrounding a
person
 Impression about people (subordinates, peers and
superiors) around an individual

3. Features
 Sensory experience – we use our senses to interpret
information
 Filter- sorting out the relevant information from the
irrelevant ones
 Subjective- different people look at the same event
from different angles
 Unique interpretation- mental process of judging
events
 Basis of human behavior- there can be no behavior
without perception

4. Factors that Influence Perception
Factors in the
perceiver
Attitudes
Motives
Interests
Experience
Expectation
Factors in the situation
Time
Work setting
Social setting
PERCEPTION
Factors in the
target
Novelty
Motion
Sound
Size
Background
Proximity
Perception, Attribution And Individual Decision Making

5. Factors affecting
 Characteristics of perceiver:
 - Attitudes: positive & negative
 - Moods: good or foul mood
 - Motives: goals
 - Self concept: opinion about oneself, confidence
 - Interest: individual’s interest in any task

6. ..contd
 Characteristics of target:
 - Motion: moving objects catch better attention
 - Sound: louder sound will be more noticeable
 - Size: larger size better attention
 - Contrast: more contrast more attention
 - Novelty & familiarity: uncommon objects in
common surroundings

7. ..contd
 Characteristics of the situations
 - Time: crucial or casual time
 - Work setting: conditions of the work environment
 - Social setting: cooperative or manipulative

8. Perceptual Distortions/Errors
 Selective perception: It is our tendency to choose
information that supports our viewpoints, individuals
often ignore information that makes them feel
uncomfortable
 Stereotyping: It is a generalization about a group of
people. Ex: Good looking people are good employees

9. ..contd
 Halo Effect: It is the process of using a single
personality attribute while evaluating a person,
especially a positive impression. Ex: A good student is
also a responsible student
 First impressions: First impression is the last
impression. We tend to remember what we perceive
first about a person

10. …contd
 Contrast effect: Contrasting effect always catches more
attention. Ex: Yellow against black background. “No
smoking” posters
 Projection: Is the tendency for people to see their own
traits in other people. Example: Dishonest people tend to
see dishonesty in others
 Attribution: Refers to the way people try to understand the
behavior of others. It is the process of assigning causes for
any activity or event

11. …contd
 Implicit personality theory: We tend to have our mini
theories about how people look & behave. Ex: People in
fashionable dress are considered to like modern music
 Self fulfilling prophesy: Also known as Pygmalion effect.
These are situations in which our expectations about
people affect our interaction with them in such a way that
our expectations are fulfilled. Ex: When a manager says he
trusts his subordinates will perform well, there is a
tendency for subordinates to perform well automatically

12. Perceptual Process
 Observation & selection: It is the tendency to filter
out information that is irrelevant. It is the process of
selecting only relevant information
 Perceptual organization: Is the process by which
people categorize data into recognizable patterns
 Perceptual Interpretation: Refers to the process of
analyzing the information thus gathered & drawing
meaningful conclusions thereof.

13. Importance / Applications
 Employee Interview: helps in deciding whom to hire &
whom not to
 Performance evaluation: An employees future is
closely tied to his appraisal- promotions, pay raises etc
 Performance expectations: depending of the
employees capabilities & skills, responsibilities &
duties are assigned
 Employee loyalty: helps in judging whether an
employee will remain with the organization for a short,
medium or long term