Perception and Personality in Organizations

Perception and personality affect how people relate to each other and their work. Managers will learn how selective attention, stereotypes, and other attitudinal distortions are formed and may contribute to group dynamics, interpersonal conflict and inequity in the workplace. Understanding the fundamentals of social identity theory, perception and personality can assist managers in managing and maximizing diversity, coaching employees and teams, and reducing stress in the workplace.

1. Perception

Each of us has a particular way of perceiving and making sense of the world around us. It is tempting to assume that human behavior is a response to an objective reality but, as the comedian Lily Tomlin noted, “Reality is nothing more than a collective hunch.” The same stimuli may be present in our environment, but what we do with that stimuli is affected by individual differences.

Perception is the selection and organization of environmental information to provide meaningful experiences to the perceiver. It is the process of making sense of sensory data. Perception serves as a filter or gatekeeper so that we are not overwhelmed by all the stimuli that bombard us. We need to pay attention to three aspects of perception: organizing data, selective attention, and perceptual bias.

We organize information according to similarity, figure ground (what is in front compared to what is in the background), proximity, closure (filling in the gaps), continuity (continue things in a direction they seem to be heading), and simplicity (reducing things to their simplest shapes or patterns). We also have patterns of perception based in our life experience that become our schemas. (Schemas are mental frameworks that help us manage information by grouping individuals, objects and situations together). And we put together information into cause-and-effect patterns. All these together – organization, schemas, cause-and-effect patterns -- become our frame of reference. Once our frame of reference is established, it is usually efficient in managing environmental stimuli. It serves to focus our attention.

2. Selective Attention, Perceptual Distortion and Stereotypes

Selective attention means that we perceive only some of the stimuli that are actually present – usually information that fits into our existing frame of reference. Our ability to perceive information outside the frame or information that would eliminate the frame itself (discon organizationing data) is usually limited once this process is in use.

We have a number of perceptual distortions that result from our particular way of organizing information and attentional focus. Some common distortions include halo / horn effects, projection, self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. The halo effect occurs when one positive characteristic or skill a person has is used to develop an overall positive impression of that person, often in unrelated or irrelevant areas. The horn effect is when one negative characteristic or skill is made into a negative overall impression of a person. Projection is when an individual attributes his/her attitudes or feelings to another person. It is a defense mechanism which serves to transfer blame and/or provide protection from our own unacceptable thoughts and feelings. Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our beliefs-expectations determine our behavior thereby making our expectations come true.

Stereotyping is the all too frequent result of rapid, automatic perception and attribution processes when we are dealing with people we consider to be different from us. A stereotype is an oversimplified evaluative opinion or judgement about a group of people applied to an individual. Stereotyping occurs when we attribute behavior, attitudes, motives, and/or attributes to a person on the basis of the group to which that person belongs. Just because stereotyping is so common in society does not mean we should accept stereotypical relating as inevitable. Stereotypes have negative consequences in relationships at work. Slowing down, describing rather than evaluating behavior, learning more about the individual or group with whom you are interacting, and consciously choosing behaviors that will enhance your relationship will all reduce, if not eliminate the negative impact of stereotyping.

Our perception processes have both advantages and drawbacks. The drawbacks are that selective attention and perceptual bias can prevent us from considering all the relevant information, thereby making our interpretations about the meaning of that information unreliable. The advantage is that our perceptual processes improve our decision making efficiency by preventing information overload and saving us time by organizing the information.

3. Attribution Process

Attribution refers to the specification of the perceived causes of events. It is our way to answer the question “Why did I/they do that?” We have learned through our study of attribution processes that:

· When people try to understand their own or others’ behavior they focus on the personal (internal) or situational (external) factors.

We have predictable attributional biases based on a combination of three factors:

· Consensus. How many others behaved in the same way as that individual? If that person’s behavior is unique we attribute the cause of the behavior to that person’s internal personality. If that person’s behavior is like the behavior of others we attribute the cause of the behavior to the situation.

· Distinctiveness. How consistent or unusual is that person’s behavior across situations? If that person’s behavior is routine for them across situations we attribute the cause of the behavior to the personal factors. If that person’s behavior is unusual when compared to their behavior in other situations, we attribute the cause of the behavior in this case to the situation.

· Consistency. How consistent is this person’s behavior over time? If this person always acts this way and has done so all their life, we attribute the cause of the behavior to individual personality. If this person’s behavior is different from their past or typical behavior we attribute the cause of the behavior to the situation or circumstances.

So in each case there is a decision made whether the cause of the behavior is due more to the personality or to the situation. We tend to be more generous with ourselves though, than with others.

We also have a tendency to under estimate the influence of the situation and to over estimate the influence of personality when we are making judgements about others. We do the reverse for ourselves. This is called the Fundamental Attribution Error.

Moreover, we have a self-serving bias depending upon whether the behavior is considered good-positive or bad-negative. If it is good, it’s because I am good. If it is bad, it is because the situation made me do it. Self-serving bias is the tendency to take credit and responsibility for positive outcomes of behavior and to deny credit and responsibility for negative outcomes.

Recent research supports the notion of a difference in these biases by gender. Women are more likely to attribute failure to themselves and success to external factors such as luck or task ease. Men are more likely to attribute success to their own efforts and failure to external factors such as time limitations or monetary constraints.

5. Attitudes

Attitudes are relatively lasting tendencies to consistently respond to various aspects of people, situations, or objects. Attitudes have three components: cognition (beliefs), affect (emotions), and behavior. These components of an attitude do not exist or function separately. Of the three, we can observe behavior, we infer beliefs, and we sense feelings. From these we attribute motives to people, including ourselves. Attitudes reflect how we feel, think and act. When I say “I am committed to my job” I am expressing my attitude about my work. When I attend work every day, I am expressing my attitude about my work.

Attitudes are the result of our learned experiences in life. We develop our attitudes through easily available information, personal experiences, and repeated expression. We learn them from our friends, family, media, culture, teachers, peers and role models. Attitudes are related to but different from values which we will discuss in the next module.

It is important for individuals to have alignment between their cognition, affect and behavior. Festinger coined the term cognitive dissonance to refer to internal conflict between our beliefs. We can extend this idea of dissonance to include conflict between our personal beliefs, feelings and behaviors – attitudinal dissonance. Dissonance is an unpleasant state. When we experience cognitive or attitudinal dissonance, we are compelled to change one or the other component of our attitude to regain alignment. We tend to change either our beliefs, or our behaviors. Because behaviors can be seen and somewhat controlled, many people change attitudes through encouraging acceptable behaviors and constraining unacceptable behaviors. The person then feels compelled / motivated to change any beliefs or feelings aligned with the old behaviors, and to develop new beliefs that would be consistent with the new behaviors.

Our attitudes influence our behavior -- when they are relevant and brought to mind. The reverse is also true: we are as likely to act ourselves into a way of thinking as to think ourselves into action. We are as likely to believe in what we have stood up for as to stand up for what we believe. Especially when we feel responsible for how we have acted, our beliefs and feelings follow our behavior. It is important to realize that inner feelings and thoughts and outer behaviors – all components of our attitudes -- like chickens and eggs generate one another.

6. Personality – Measuring using Self-Report Inventories

Personality is a set of distinctive individual characteristics, including motives, emotions, values, interests, attitudes and competencies. Personality is the result of personal traits interacting with the environment. We measure personality through the use of self-report personality inventories, projective tests, and observation from simulations, role plays or interviews. Our intention through these measurement systems is to be able to identify and articulate individual traits and attributes.

Self-report inventories require individuals to answer a series of questions about their behavior. Their responses are then organized in a way that provides insight into some aspect of their personality. Generally these inventories are for psychologically healthy people what seek to learn more about themselves and others. There are many personality inventories available. Widely used ones include the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, The DiSC Personal Profile System, Type A-Type B Indicators and the Life Styles Inventory. Self-report inventories have the advantage of being readily available, easily interpreted, standardized, and fun to use. They have the disadvantages associated with any self-report instruments – questionable validity, a positive self-report bias and/or confusing results if the person has ambivalence in their personality.

Projective tests provide the opportunity to respond in a free flowing way to a picture, inkblot, or story. They are called projective tests because the individual is free to perceive and interpret the material in a manner that reflects his or her own personality, that is to ‘project’ their personality into the story, diagram, or inkblot. Projective tests have the advantage that the trained observer can overcome the disadvantages of self-report and observation techniques. The disadvantage is that the projective tests are not standardized and they still depend on the subjective opinion of the trained test giver.

Observation techniques involve putting a person in a situation and seeing how they respond. Employment interviews, simulations, and case competitions are examples of this technique. Observers are usually looking for the person’s problem-solving skills, work-related competencies, and/or organizational fit with the organization’s culture. An advantage of the observation technique is that it puts behavior in a context analogous to the situation they may find themselves in at work – and context influences behavior. In addition the observation technique allows the observer to ask follow up questions and explain why they behave they way they do. The disadvantage is that it is a small sample of the person’s behavior and the observer is usually not unbiased.

All three ways to measure personality work in some situations. Unless a personality test or instrument is valid and reliable, we must be cautious in using that test for selection and promotion. Personality measurement is wonderful for increasing insight into your own behavior and starting high quality conversations within organizations about differences between people.

8. Social Identity

In addition to individual personality we all have social identities. Social identity is that part of your self-concept that derives from your knowledge of your membership in a social group together with the value and emotional significance you attach to that membership. Social identity is developed over time, negotiated with others, and shifts with the times-situation-context. Social identities might include your race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, religion, gender, appearance, age, language, education, socio-economic class, occupation, profession, and values.

Social identity theory not only talks about the importance of defining those dimensions of diversity that are important to individuals, but goes on to explore and explain other important social dynamics namely social categorization, social comparison, in-group favoring, and social-identity esteem management. Social identity rests on comparing one’s group to another group in order to con organization, maintain, or establish qualities about one’s group as distinct and favorable when compared to the ‘other group’, all of which is motivated by an underlying need for self-esteem. Researchers have noticed for years that people in groups tend to define their group as better than the other group, even when the groups were formed in overtly random ways.

After years of research social identity theorists now believe that people in groups engage in the following process:

3. Come up with ways of thinking about, believing, and connecting favorably to their in-group

4. Develop ways of thinking about, defining, and describing the out-group unfavorably

5. Eventually no longer see themselves as individuals (as long as group membership is important) but rather as embodiments of the characteristics which favorably define their in-group in their minds.

When a person’s social identity group is denigrated, social identity esteem management procedures are used. There are essentially three strategies for handling this problem: exit, pass, voice. The exit strategy is to leave the identity group. The pass strategy is to pretend you are not a member of the denigrated group. The voice strategy is to change the perception of your group. Which of these strategies you choose will depend on the possibilities for exercising each strategy and your personal preferences.

10. Social Identity Dynamics in Context: The Eye of the Beholder

The eye of the beholder effects more than just beauty. In fact, how we perceive each other may be affected as much by who we are as who we observe. David Porter’s research demonstrates how our perceptions are affected by the stereotypes we hold, our innate preference for people like ourselves (in-group favoritism), and our desire to be accepted by our peers (in-group conformity).

Our history and socialization helps to shape the stereotypes we have about other people. These stereotypes effect how we interpret the actions and results of the people we observe. We have a desire to view the people who we identify with more positively than the people who we perceive as different. This in-group favoritism is elicited by our desire to have a more positive view of ourselves. How this plays out in the real world is that we evaluate the people who we hold a shared identity with more positively so that we can bask in their reflected glory. The groups that we are a part of often subtly influence us to adopt the value and beliefs of the majority.

These biased patterns have significant implications for organizations because they bring into question many of the so-called “objective” evaluations that we make about others. Further, because these biases act on the sub-conscious level, it is difficult for even an individual of good will to be completely objective. This means that the evaluation systems which organizational meritocracies are based may be flawed in systematic ways favoring some groups while disadvantaging others. Organizations run the risk that their fairness will be challenged and that their employees will not be motivated by the incentives they put into place.

Since our perceptions are shaped by our social identity often in unrecognizable ways, organizations have to develop solutions that do not depend on the individual’s recognition of their own discriminatory intent. One such solution is the development of a shared identity among employees. A shared identity can be developed through the generation of super-ordinate goal, which everyone in the organization can rally around. Another approach is to raise people’s sensitivity to their own biases. Diversity, effective communication, and conflict resolution training often help individuals to take special care so that their biases do not have an undue influence on their interaction with and evaluations of others.

1) A stereotype is a simplified evaluative opinion or judgment about a group of people applied to an individual.

2) Schemas are mental frameworks that help us manage information by grouping individuals, objects and situations together.

3) Projection is the selection and organization of environmental information to provide meaningful experiences to the perceiver.

4) Consensus bias refers to the effect of existence of other people exhibiting the same behavior on the causal attribution of a particular behavior.

5) The fundamental attribution error is a tendency to underestimate the influence of internal factors and to overestimate the influence of external factors when making judgments about the behaviors of others.

6) Psychologists think that we are objective and critical in our judgments about ourselves.

8) Schemas are relatively long-lasting tendencies to respond to various aspects of people, situations or objects.

10) Self-serving bias is the tendency to take credit and responsibility for positive outcomes of behavior and deny credit and responsibility for negative outcomes.

11) We have a desire to view the people similar to us less positively than people who we perceive as different.

12) A shared identity can be fostered through the generation of super-ordinate goal, a goal which everyone in the organization can rally around.

13) The horn effect is when one positive characteristic or skill is made into an overall positive impression of a person.

14) Self-fulfilling prophecy is when our beliefs determine our behavior thereby making our expectations come true.

16) We measure personality through the use of self-report personality inventories, projective tests, and observation from simulations, role plays or interviews

1) Understanding the fundamentals of perception and personality can assist the manager in

b. Perceptual processes save us time by organizing information into meaningful chunks.

a) Proximity 1. Reducing things to their basic shapes or patterns.

b) Similarity 2. Fill in the gaps

c) Closure 3. Like objects together

d) Continuity 4. Paying attention to only front or back

e) Figure-Ground 5. Closeness

f) Simplicity 6. Continuing things in the same direction

Summary

One of the most frequent tendencies we have as human beings is to explain our and other people’s behaviour in ways that make that behaviour seem orderly, predictable and controllable. Yet we are all prone to certain errors, especially when it comes to social judgements. When observing others we are biased by our preconceived notions, we ‘see’ what we expect to see. We tend to be more swayed by vivid stories than by statistical fact. And we tend to defend our errors in social thinking with confidence in our social judgments; sometimes at great cost to the people we work and live with in our organizations and society.

We also tend to make errors about ourselves. We have a tendency to see ourselves in a positive light, to have a more generous view of our intentions and behaviors than we do of others. And psychologists tell us that is a good thing. This is the core of our self-esteem. Self-af organizationation is often adaptive. It helps us make it through life with a sense of efficacy, optimism, and maybe even happiness. And the happier, more positive we are, the nicer we are to other people.

- Gender differences in managers’ conceptions and perceptions of commitment to the organization in Sex Roles, Vol. 45, Nos 5/6, September 2001.

- Social categorization (English manuscript of la categorisation sociale) in S. Moscovici (Ed.), Introduction a la psychologie sociale, Vol.1, Paris: Larousse. 1972.

Websites with information about personality inventories might provide additional resources that could be used in this module:

Glossary

Attitude: Relatively lasting tendencies to respond consistently to various aspects of people, situations, or objects; developed through easily available information, personal experiences, and repeated expression. Attitudes have three components: cognition (beliefs), affect (emotions), and behavior.

Attitudinal Dissonance: Intrapsychic–internal conflict between belief, behavior and/or feelings.

Attributional Biases: Distortions of attribution comprised of three factors: consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency.

Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to underestimate the influence of the situation (external factor) and to overestimate the influence of the personality (internal factor) when making judgments about others.

In-group conformity: The tendency to agree with group norms to ensure group acceptance.

In-group favoritism: Tendency to believe people similar to ourselves are better than people different from us.

Perception: The selection and organization of environmental information to provide meaningful experiences to the perceiver. It is the process of making sense of sensory data via (1) selective attention, (2) organization of data, and (3) perceptual bias.

Personality: The distinctive characteristics of an individual, including motives, emotions, values, interests, attitudes, and competencies; personality is the result of the interaction between personal traits and the environment.

Selective attention: The perception of only some of the stimuli that are present—usually information that fits into the perceiver’s existing frame of reference.

Self-serving bias: The tendency to take credit and responsibility for positive outcomes of behavior and to deny credit-responsibility for negative outcomes.

Social identity: That part of one’s self-concept that derives from knowledge of membership in a social group, together with the value and emotional significance one attaches to that membership (e.g., race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, religion, gender, appearance, age, language, education, socioeconomic class, occupation, etc.); social identity is developed over time, negotiated with others, and shifts with the times/situation/context.

Stereotype: An oversimplified evaluative opinion or judgment about a group of people applied to an individual. Stereotyping occurs when we attribute behavior, attitudes, motives, and/or attributes to a person on the basis of the group to which that person belongs.

· Gaining an overview of the factors that comprise social identity and its impact on the evaluation process

Question 1: You mentioned three strategies for dealing with a social identity that is denigrated. Will you provide more information or examples of those strategies in practice?

Answer: A classic example of the exit strategy is a person born into a poor socio-economic class working hard to leave that class and enter the middle, professional, or even owning class. It is common for such people to try to get an education and work that permits them to leave the class labeled ‘poor’. The pass strategy was used in the United States when very light-skinned African Americans would pretend to be Latino or white – leaving their families and mating with white people. The pass strategy has also been used by many immigrants / religious minorities who change their names, lose their accents, change their religion (for example the Jewish conversos in Spain), and assimilate (almost) into dominant culture. The pass strategy is also the strategy many expect from Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgendered people – just be silent about your sexual orientation and gender identity and people will assume you are a heterosexual born man or woman. The voice strategy is used in most civil rights campaigns to shift the thinking of the general public to see the contributions and positive qualities of the social identity group that had been historically maligned. We’ve seen such voice strategies used for workers-labor groups, women, blacks, guest workers, etc.

Answer: Unless you are a licensed-trained psychologist, you probably want a personality inventory rather than a test. The difference is that the tests have better-worse, right-wrong, healthy-unhealthy diagnostic uses. Most personality instruments simply organize people’s preferred ways of being to increase awareness and provide a basis for the discussion of differences.

Look for instruments that are valid and reliable. Validity means that people can see themselves in the interpretation of the results from the instrument (face validity), and the instrument has some theoretical research credibility (construct validity) because it is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring. Reliability means it measures accurately and consistently what it is measuring and the results do not change if it is administered many times or by different people. It is also helpful to choose instruments that are widely used, have some research behind them, and are published by reputable organizations.

Question 3: Aren’t some stereotypes positive and true, especially ones based on statistics?

Answer: While some stereotypes might be positive in their intent, stereotypes are almost always negative in their impact. By definition stereotyping substitutes preconceived information about a group for present-time information about an individual. This simplifies the complexity of that person’s character and makes that individual perceptually invisible as an individual to the perceiver. Data and statistics can be used effectively as a first guess about an individual – this is generalization. You move to stereotyping when you use collective-group-level data, apply it to the individual unconsciously, expect that person to conform to your-statistical generalization, and refuse to change or modify your assumptions-conclusions even when you have discon organizationing information. So, stereotyping whether positive or negative in intent is usually negative in impact. Stereotypes differ from data-based generalizations when applied to individuals unconsciously.