Perception, Personality and Emotions

What is Perception, and Why is it Important ?

Perception: how individuals organize and interpret their sensory information to give meaning to their
environment. May not be objective reality. The world perceived is the behaviourly important world.
1 Factors Influencing Perception
Perceiver, object, situation.
Perceiver: - eg cars. Attitudes, motives, interests, and past experience all shape perception. Expectations
distort perception.
Target - Loud, attractive and unattractive people are most likely to be noticed. The relationship of a target
to its background . Greater similarity will result in a grouping.
Situation surrounding environment, time, novelty.
2 Perception Errors
Attribute behaviour to internal or external causes. The determination of source depends on 1)
distinctiveness, 2) consensus 3) consistency.
Internal - under the persons control. External - from outside causes.
Distinctiveness - is the behavour different in different situations? Is it usual - eq late, complaining?
Consensus - how does everyone else behave?
Consistency - always do the same thing?
Fundamental attribution error - underestimate external factors and overestimate internal factors when it
comes to behaviour of others.
Self serving bias - attribute our own success to internal factors, and blaming failure on external factors.
Frequently Used Shortcuts in Judging Others
Selective perception: see what we do based on our interests, background, experience, and attitudes. (can
appreciate everything, so we reduce the information volume)
Halo Effect: general impression about an individual based on a single characteristic. (appearance,
intelligence, sociability)
Contrast Effects: contrast with other individuals recently encountered. Eg perform after a good speaker.
Projection: attribute one's own characteristics to other people.
Stereotyping: judge by the group. Helps simplify.
Prejudice an unfounded dislike based on group membership.
Why Do Perception and Judgement Matter
Hiring and performance appraisals - negative information worse if early in an interview. Subjective
information gives more room for manipulation when evaluations are being done.
3 Personality
What is Personality? The sum of how an individual reacts and interacts.
Personality Determinants Heredity : physical, appearance, temperament, muscle, reflex, energy level. Shyness, fear, distress all may
be caused by genetics. Twins. Genetics 50% of personality; 30% of leisure time and occupational interests.
Environment: Culture, family norms, attitudes, values. Eg Christian work ethic.
Situation: Effects of heredity and environment on personality.
Personality Traits:
Enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behaviour. Eg Myers Briggs
The Big Five Model
Extroversion - sociable, talkative, and assertive.
Agreeableness - good natured, cooperative, trusting.
Conscientiousness - responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented.
Emotional stability - calm, enthusiastic, secure vs nervous,, tense, depressed, and insecure.
Openness to experience - imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, intellectualism
Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
extensively based on the text utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS

Fourth Canadian Edition).

Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB

Locus of Control - internal vs external. Externals tend to be less satisfied. Internals do well with
sophisticated tasks.
Machiavellianism - pragmatic, have emotional distance, ends justify the means.
Self Esteem - how much you like or dislike yourself. High SE's believe they possess what they need to
succeed. Low SE more susceptible to external influence.
Self Monitoring - adjust behaviour to external situational factors. High in self monitoring, high in
adaptability.
Risk Taking willingness to take chances.
Type A personality - aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more. Moving, eating
rapidly, impatient, do many things at once, cannot cope with leisure, obsessed with numbers.
Type B - no time urgency, no need to discuss achievements, play for fun, relax without guilt
Personality and National Culture
No types for a given country. North Americans believe they control the environment; not so for the middle
east.
Achieving Personality Fit
Holland and six personality characteristics. Exhibit 2-8 The closer fields are in the hexagon, the more
compatible. Eg social individuals in social jobs.
Emotions
What Are Emotions?
Affect a range of feelings people experience.
Emotions intense feelings.
Moods less intense that emotions and lack context.
Emotions are reactions, not a trait. (anger, sadness, fear, happiness, disgust, and surprise. ) Emotional
labour is using appropriate emotions during interactions.
Felt versus Displayed Emotions
Felt actual
Displayed required by the organization and appropriate to the situation.
Can People be Emotionless?
Alexithymia rarely cry, seem cold and bland by others.
Gender and Emotions
-women show greater emotional expression; they experience emotions more intensely; and they display
more frequent expressions of both positive and negative emotions, except anger. Women are more
comfortable expressing emotions, and read nonverbal and paralinguistic cues than men.
Emotions in the Workplace
If you can read others emotions, and control your own, you may be more effective.
Emotional Intelligence non cognitive skills, competencies, and capabilities that help deal with
environmental demands and pressures.
Self Awareness aware of what you are feeling. Self confident, realistic self assessment, self deprecating
sense of humour.
Self Management manage emotions and impulses. Trustworthiness, integrity, comfort with ambiguity,
openness to change.
Self Motivation drive, optimism, organization commitment.
Empathy sense the feelings of others. Building and retaining talent, cross cultural sensitivity.
Social Skills handle the emotions of others. Persuasive, good at building and leading teams.
Emotions and expression can both positively and negatively influence performance.
Employee Deviance violate norms and threaten the organization, members, or both.
Affective Events Theory- employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work and the
reaction influences performance and satisfaction.

Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
extensively based on the text utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS

Fourth Canadian Edition).