Presentation on

1. Perceptual Errors
2. rectifying perceptual errors
3. Specific Applications in Organizations

Presented by
 Perceptual Errors
Perceptual error means not seeing reality is.
Or
Illusion can be understood as reliable
perceptual error (when the constancy
doesn’t hold good)
There are many types of perceptual
errors
 STEREO TYPING
 HORN EFFECT
 HALO EFFECT
 RECENCY EFFECT
 PRIMARY EFFECT
 SIMILAR TO ME EFFECT
 FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR
 SELF SERVING BIAS
 SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
 Stereo Typing
“Making positive or negative generalizations
about a group or category of people, usually
based on inaccurate assumptions and beliefs
and applying these generalizations to an
individual member of the group.”
 Horn Effect
Based on one NEGATIVE quality, we assumed
the person is BAD. i.e. we perceived the whole
person, based on ONE quality.
 Halo Effect
Drawing general impression of individual on the
basis of a single characteristic. i.e. if someone is
good at one dimension, he/she is perceived to be
good at other dimensions as well.
 Recency Effect
when the most RECENT information
influence our judgement, even though we
have a whole of other information on the
Person.
 Primary Effect
Tendency to form a judgement/opinion
quickly based on the first information we
received. (Subsequently, we may received
other information),but based our
judgement on the first information.
 The Similar-to-Me Effect
We tend to favour/like or give favourable
judgement to those who are similar to us.

Example
two candidates came along for interview, one
from Delhi and the other from Bihar. As
interviewer is from Delhi, he tend to the
candidate from Delhi, better evaluation.
 Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate the influence of
external factors and overestimate the influence
of internal factors when making judgments
about the behavior of others.
 Self-Serving Bias

The tendency for individuals

to attribute their own
successes to internal factors
while putting the blame for
failures on external factors.
 Self-fulfilling prophecy
People’s preconceived expectations and beliefs
determine their behavior, thus, serving to make
their expectations come true
Example
when a teacher, labelled
a kid as stupid (because he
has illegible handwriting).
Soon the kid believed on
teacher and behave like one.
 Rectifying Perceptual Errors
DEFINITION:
• Correcting the errors in the Perception Process or
eradicating Misperception
 Rectification Types

• Rectifying Yourself

• Acting as a Mediator

• Avoiding Negative Decision Making

 Sources of Perception Errors
• Allowing early information about someone to make our
judgment.

• Not Collecting enough information about other people.

• Seeing what we expect & want to see without investigating.

• Allowing our own characteristics to affect what we see in

others and how we judge.

• Basing attributions on irrelevant evidence.

 Rectifying Yourself
• Taking more time and avoiding instant judgment's
about others.

• Collecting and consciously using more information

about other people.

• Developing an understanding as how it our personal

biases effect our perceptions & judgment's.

• Checking our attributions – appearance on one

hand and behavior on the other.
 Acting as a Mediator
Mediators use both parties to validate feelings and to
encourage the parties to move off positions.
 Role as a Mediator

• Discussing the concerns with both parties in group.

• Maintaining impartiality

• Identifying the Perceptual Error

• Stepping into each other’s shoe

Avoid Negative Decision Making
• Halo Effect:
Avoid appraising an employee undeservedly on one quality
because she is attractive.

• Horn Effect:
The opposite of Halo Effect. Avoid appraising an employee
undeservedly on one quality because she is not attractive.

• Recency Effect:
Avoid appraising an employee on the basis of person’s recent
behavior.
 Avoid Negative Decision Making
• Primary Effect:
Avoid appraising an employee on the basis of person’s first behavior
instead of looking how he behaved throughout the period of appraisal
period.

• Same as Me:
Avoid giving a good appraisal because the person is having same
qualities like you.

• Status Effect:
Better appraisals for higher level positions consistently in
compare to others.

• Strict Rating
Consistently harsh in appraising performance.
 Specific Applications in
Organizations
Employment Interview
Performance Expectations
a) Pygmalion Effect
b) Golem Effect
Performance Evaluations
Employee Effort
 Employment Interview
Perceptual biases affect the accuracy of interviewers
judgments of applicants.

Early impressions are very important! Perceptual

judgments are often inaccurate!
Example
Different interviewers see different things in the
same candidate and, thus, reach different
conclusions about the applicant. Furthermore,
interviewers generally draw early impressions
and most interviewers rarely change their
decisions after the first four or five minutes of
the interview. Therefore, judgments of the same
candidate can vary widely in an interview
situation..
 Performance Expectations
People attempt to validate their perceptions of
reality – even when they are faulty!
OR
It is seen that individuals seek to validate their
perceptions of reality, even when those
perceptions are not appropriate.
Pygmalion Effect: A positive instance of the
self-fulfilling prophecy, in which people
holding high expectations of another tend to
improve that individual's performance.
Golem Effect: A negative instance of the self-
fulfilling prophecy, in which people holding
low expectations of another tend to lower that
individual's performance.
 Performance Evaluation
Appraisals are subjective perceptions of performance.
An employee's performance appraisal is very
much dependent on the perceptual process.
Although the appraisal can be objective, many
jobs are evaluated in subjective terms.
 Employee Effort
An individual's future in an organization is
usually not dependent on performance alone.
An assessment of an individual's effort is a
subjective judgment susceptible to perceptual
distortions and bias.
 Bibliography
http://obreader.blogspot.in/2007/10/perception-
and-attribution.html
http://educationportal.com/academy/lesson/per
ceptual-errors-in-the-workplace-factors-that-
distort-perception.html#lesson
http://www.prenhall.com/behindthebook/0131
542842/pdf/Greenberg_CH03.pdf
http://managementportal.blogspot.in/2013/05/s
hortcuts-in-judging-others-and-its.html