OB Chapter 2

process where individuals organize and interpret their impressions in order to give meaning to their environment

• perceiver
• target
• situation (context)

• Characteristics that influence interpretation such as:
• attitudes
• motives
• interests
• experience
• expectations

• effect what is perceived
• novelty
• motion
• sounds
• size
• background
• proximity

• time
• work setting
• social setting

• 1. attribution theory
• 2. selective perception
• 3. halo effect
• 4. contrast effects
• 5. projection
• 6. stereotyping

observing typical behaviour, and attempting to understand if it is externally or internally caused

• individual is responsible for behaviour
• it is under his/her control

result from outside cuases

• distinctiveness
• consensus
• consistency

• a behavioural rule that considers whether an individual acts similarly across a variety of situations.
• if behaviour is unusual of the individual, the observer links it to external causes

considers if everyone faced wit ha similar situation responds in the same way

• considers whether the individual has been acting the same over time
• ex. students always late would mean internal cause

tendency to underestimate external factors and overestimate external factors

tendency to contribute ones own success to internal factors, and failure to external factors

It is seldom that the individual acts a particular way in other situations: external influence

It is frequently that the individual acts this particular way in a situation: internal causation

frequently, other people act this way in similar situations: external causation

Seldom, people act this particular way in similar situations: internal causation

Very often this person has done this in the past: internal causation

Seldom, did this person behave the same way in the past: external causation

• interpretation of what they see based on interests, background, experience and attitudes
• ex. someone that had cancer and survived is perceived differently at work now based on her background

• drawing a general impression of an individual based on one characteristic.
• unfair influence of one significant trait

• our reaction to one person is often influenced by other people we have recently encountered
• ex. being interviewed after a mediocre applicant vs a strong one

giving our own characteristics to others

judging someone on the basis of perception of the group to which that person belongs

judgment shortcuts in decision making

unfounded dislike of a person/group based on their belonging to a stereotype

• also called pygmalion effect
• it is a concept proposing a person will behave in ways consistent with how he/she is perceived by others
• ex. expectations of someone become reality

the stable patterns of behaviour and consistent internal states that determine how a person reacts and interacts

• hereditary
• environmental factors
• situational factors

enduring characteristics that describe one's behaviour

• Myers-Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI)
• Big Five Personality Model

a personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types

• Extraverted or Introverted (E or I)
• Sensing or Intuitive (S or N)
• Thinking or Feeling (T or F)
• Judging or Perceiving (J or P)

• extraverted = outgoing, sociable, and assertive
• introverted = quiet and shy

• sensing = practical, routine, order, details
• intuitive = rely on unconscious processes

• thinking = reason and logic use
• feeling = rely on their personal values and emotions

• judging = want control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured
• perceiving = flexible and spontaneous

• 1. extraversion
• 2. agreeableness
• 3. conscientious
• 4. emotional stability
• 5. openness to experience

• less negative thinking and fewer negative emotions
• lower stress levels
• higher job/life satisfaction

• better interpersonal skills
• greater social dominance
• more expressive emotionally
• higher performance in social jobs
• enhanced leaderships & higher job/life satisfaction

• increased learning
• more creative
• more flexible
• training performance
• enhanced leadership
• more adaptable to change

• better liked, and comforting
• higher performance in social jobs
• less deviant behaviour

• greater effort and persistence
• more drive / discipline
• better organized / planning
• higher performance
• enhanced leadership

• core self-evaluation
• narcism
• propensity for risk taking
• Machiavellians
• self-monitoring
• type a or b personality

• degree someone likes or dislikes him/her self
• sees themselves as capable and effective
• whether person feels in control or powerless in environment

• one who is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means
• high machs manipulate more, win, are persuaded less, and persuade others more

• when interacting face-to-face
• in situations that allow room for improvising
• when emotional involvement with details irrelevant to winning distracts low machs

tendency to be arrogant, huge sense of self-importance, require excessive admiration, sense of entitlement

• trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust behaviour to external, situational factors
• high self-monitors can present differently in public, contradicting their private selves

persons willingness to take chances or risks

• personality with aggressive involvement in a chronic struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time.
• always moving, talking, eating rapidly
• impatient with rate of most events
• strive to think/do more things at once
• cannot cope with leisure time
• obsessed with numbers and measuring success

• easy going, relaxed, and patient
• never suffer from a sense of time urgency
• no need to display/discuss achievements
• play for fun and relaxation rather than superiority
• can relax without guilt

• a person who identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action and perseveres until meaningful change occurs
• seen as leaders, agents of change
• more like to achieve career success
• choose and create things in their favour

intense feelings that are directed at someone or something

feelings that are less than emotions and lack contextual stimulus

anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, and surprise

employee expresses organizational desired emotion at work (usually when interacting with customers)

difference between the emotions people feel and emotions they show = emotional exhaustion

hiding one's inner feelings to display what is expected

trying to modify one's true inner feelings to match what is expected

• 1. be self aware
• 2. detect emotions in others
• 3. manage emotional cues and info

voluntary actions that violate established norms and threaten the organization, its members, or both

• production (leaving early, working slowly)
• property (stealing, sabotage)
• political (gossip, blame co-workers)
• personal aggression (sexual harassment, verbal abuse)

theory that employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work and that this emotional reaction influences their job performances / satisfaction

• colleagues not completing their share
• conflicting things from different managers
• time pressures

• meeting goals
• support from a colleague
• receiving recognition for an accomplishment

• intuitive appeal
• EI predicts criteria that matter
• EI is biologically based

• EI is too vague
• EI cannot be measured
• Its validity is suspect

• 1. emotional episode is a series of emotional experiences precipitated by a single event
• 2. job satisfaction is influenced by emotions at any given time along with the history of emotions around the event
• 3. moods/emotions fluctuate = fluctuation of performance
• 4. emotion-driven behaviours are short in duration and high in variability
• 5. emotions are usually incompatible with job required emotions, this can have a negative influence on job performance