Chapter 3 Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizatins We begin this chapter by lking at hw peple perceive themselves, that is, their selfcncept. The Self-Cncept refers t an individual s self-beliefs and self-evaluatins. It is the Wh am I and Hw d I feel abut myself? that peple ask themselves t guide their decisins and actins We cmpare ur current (perceived self) and desired (ideal self) images f urselves There are 3 cmpnents. The first is the degree f cmplexity, r the number f distinct and imprtant rles that peple perceive abut themselves. Everyne has sme degree f cmplexity because they see themselves in mre than ne rle (student, friend, daughter, sprts enthusiast, etc.) The secnd is cnsistency. Peple have high internal cnsistency when mst f their self-perceived rles require similar persnality traits, values, and ther attributes. The third is clarity, the degree t which yu have a clear, cnfidently define, and stable self-cncept. It is when we are cnfident abut wh we are Self-Enhancement A persn s inherent mtivatin t have a psitive self-cncept (and t have thers perceive him/her favrably) such as being cmpetent, attractive, lucky, ethical, and imprtant. Alng with being mtivated by self-enhancement, peple try t cnfirm and maintain their existing self-cncept. This prcess, called self-verificatin, stabilizes an individual s self-cncept, which, in turn, prvides an imprtant anchr that guides his r her thughts and actins. Self-verificatin ccurs when we seek ut feedback that supprts ur selfview, even if it isn t flattering (Example: I m a numbers persn, nt a peple persn) Self-Evaluatin Almst everyne has a psitive self-cncept, but sme mre than thers. This self-evaluatin is mstly define by three cncepts: self-esteem, self-efficacy and lcus f cntrl
Self-Esteem The extent t which peple like, respect, and are satisfied with themselves represents a glbal self-evaluatin. Sme experts als believe self-esteem is a persn s rating f his/her success at scial inclusin. In ther wrds, higher selfesteem happens when they believe they are cnnected t and accepted by ther
Self-Efficacy Refers t a persn s belief that he r she can successfully cmplete a task. Thse with high self-efficacy have a can d attitude. They believe they pssess the energy (mtivatin), resurces (situatinal factrs), understanding (rle perceptins), and cmpetencies (ability) t perfrm the task It is basically the individuals perceptin regarding the MARS mdel in a specific situatin Lcus Of Cntrl Defined as a persn s general beliefs abut the amunt f cntrl he r she has ver persnal life events. Individuals with mre f an internal lcus f cntrl believe that their persnal characteristics (mtivatin and cmpetencies) mainly influence life s utcmes. Thse with an external lcus f cntrl believe events in their life are mainly due t luck, fate, r cnditins in the external envirnment Scial Self Persnal identity (als knwn as internal self-cncept) cnsists f attributes that make us unique and distinct frm peple in the scial grups t which we have a cnnectin Ex: an unusual distinguishing achievement Humans are hwever scial creatures, and have a drive t be assciated with thers. This is reflected in self-cncept by the fact that all individuals define themselves t sme degree by their relatinships This scial identity (als called external self-cncept) is the central scheme f the scial identity thery. The scial identity thery is a thery that explains that peple define themselves by the grups t which they belng r have an emtinal attachment. Fr example, yu can have a scial identity as a Canadian, graduate f Ryersn, emplyee at Ptash Crp, etc. The scial identity is a cmplex cmbinatin f many memberships arranged in a hierarchy f imprtance. One factr determining imprtance is hw easily we are identified as members f the reference grup, such as by
ur gender, age, and ethnicity. Anther factr is yur minrity status in a grup It wuld be difficult t ignre yur gender in a class where mst ther students are the ppsite gender. Fr example, in that cntext, gender tends t becme a strnger defining feature f yur scial identity than it is in scial settings where there are many peple f the same gender
Perceiving The Wrld Arund Us Perceptin is the prcess f receiving infrmatin abut, and making sense f, the wrld arund us. Includes determining which infrmatin t ntice, hw t categrize it, and hw t interpret it within the framewrk f ur existing knwledge Selective attentin is the prcess f attending t sme infrmatin received by ur senses, and ignring ther infrmatin. This type f attentin is influenced by characteristics f the persn r bject being perceived, particularly size, intensity, mtin, repetitin, and nvelty. There is als anther type f selective attentin. It is cnfirmatin bias, the tendency t screen ut infrmatin that is cntrary t ur decisins, beliefs, values, and assumptins, and t mre readily accept cnfirming infrmatin. Fr example, we create an ptin abut an emplyee s ptential. The precnceptin causes us t select infrmatin that is cnsistent with the thery, and t ignre cntrary r seemingly irrelevant infrmatin. Perceptual Organizatin and Interpretatin Peple make sense f infrmatin even befre they becme aware f it. This sense making partly includes categrical thinking the mstly nn-cnscius prcess f rganizing peple and bjects int precnceived categries that are stred in ur lngterm memry. Yu tend t grup things tgether based n similarity r prximity Fr example, yu ntice a grup f similar-lking peple includes several prfessrs, fr instance, yu will likely assume that the thers in that grup are als prfessrs. Anther frm f gruping ccurs when we see trends in therwise ambiguus infrmatin. These include presumed winning streaks in things like gambling. T achieve ur gals, we need rad maps f the envirnments we live in. These rad maps, called mental mdels, are internal representatin f the external wrld. They cnsist f visual r relatinal images in ur mind. Fr example, what a classrm lks like r what happens when we submit an assignment late.
Steretyping These things can lead t steretyping. Steretyping is the prcess f assigning traits t peple the basis f their membership in a scial categry. Peple are als mtivated t maintain a psitive self-cncept and scial identity as we discussed earlier, leading t steretyping. This is achieved thrugh categrizatin, hmgenizatin, and differentiatin. Categrizatin Scial identity is a cmparative prcess, and the cmparisn begins by categrizing peple int distinct views. Fr example, viewing smene as an Ontarian rather than an individual Hmgenizatin T simplify the cmparisn prcess, we tend t think that peple within each grup are very similar t each ther. Fr example, Ontarians cllectively have similar attitudes and characteristics Differentiatin Scial identity fulfills ur need t have a distinct and psitive self-cncept. TO achieve this, we mre than categrize and hmgenize peple; we als differentiate them by assigning mre favrable characteristics t peple in ur grups than t peple in ther grups. Attributin Thery This differentiatin is ften subtle, but it can escalate int a gd guy bad guy cntrast when grups are in cnflict with each ther The attributin prcess is the perceptual prcess f deciding whether an bserved behavir r event is caused largely by internal r external factrs Fr example, a c-wrker misses a meeting, we infer either internal attributins (c-wrker is frgetful, lacks mtivatin, etc.) r external attributins (traffic, family emergency, ther circumstances ut f his cntrl) Fundamental Attributin Errr refers t ur tendency t perceive anther persn s actins caused mainly by internal attributins, whereas we recgnize bth internal and external causes f ur wn actins. A type f attributin errr is self-serving bias, which is the tendency t attribute ur favrable utcmes t internal factrs, and ur failures t external factrs.
Simply put, we take credit fr ur successes and blame thers r the situatin fr ur mistakes Self-Fulfilling Prphecy This is the perceptual prcess in which ur expectatins abut anther persn cause that persn t act in a way that is cnsistent with thse expectatins. In ther wrds, ur perceptins can influence reality. The main lessn frm self-fulfilling prphecy is that leaders need t develp and maintain a psitive, yet realistic, expectatin twards all emplyees. This recmmendatin is cnsistent with the emerging philsphy f psitive rganizatin behavir a perspective f rganizatinal behavir that fcuses n building psitive qualities and traits within individuals r institutins as ppsed t fcusing n what is wrng with them Anther perceptual effect is the hal effect a perceptual errr whereby ur general impressin f a persn, usually based n ne prminent characteristic, distrts ur perceptin f ther characteristics in that persn Fr example, if a supervisr values punctuality and ntices an emplyee is smetimes late fr wrk, the supervisr might frm a negative image f the emplyee and evaluate that persn s ther traits unfavrably as well. The false-cnsensus effect (als called similar-t-me effect) is anther perceptual errr in which we verestimate the extent t which thers have beliefs and characteristics similar t ur wn Fr example, emplyees thinking f quitting their jbs verestimate the percentage f cwrkers als thinking abut quitting The primacy effect is a perceptual errr in which we frm an pinin f peple n the basis f first infrmatin we receive abut them. It is the ntin that first impressins are lasting impressins The Recency effect is a perceptual errr that ccurs when the mst recent infrmatin dminates ur perceptins. Fr example, when supervisrs evaluate perfrmance f emplyees ver the previus year, the mst recent perfrmance infrmatin dminates the evaluatin because it is the mst easily recalled Imprving Self Awareness One way t increase self-awareness and thereby reduce perceptual biases is by applying the Jhari Windw
The Jhari Windw is a mdel f self-awareness and mutual understanding that divides infrmatin abut yu int fur windws pen, blind, hidden, and unknwn based n whether yur wn values, beliefs, and experiences are knwn t yu and t thers Open area includes infrmatin abut yu that is knwn bth t yu and thers Blind area refers t infrmatin that is knwn t thers but nt t yu Hidden Area is infrmatin knwn t yu but unknwn t thers Unknwn Area includes values, beliefs, and experiences that aren t knwn t yu r t thers Anther way t increase self-awareness and mutual understanding is thrugh meaningful interactin. It is funded n the cntact hypthesis, which states that, under certain cnditins, peple wh interact with each ther will be less prejudiced r perceptually biased against each ther. Simply spending time with members f ther grups can imprve yur understanding and pinin f that persn t sme extent. Meaningful interactin als imprves empathy twards thers Empathy refers t understanding and being sensitive t the feelings, A glbal mindset refers t an individual s ability t perceive, appreciate, and empathize with peple frm ther cultures and t prcess cmplex crss-cultural infrmatin