ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

CHAPTER 3

PERCEPTION

Learning Objectives

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

Define perception and understand its importance
Describe how perception differs from sensation
State the sub-processes of perception
Illustrate various factors affecting perception
Enumerate factors affecting social perception

Structure
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Definition Of Perception
3.2.1 Sub Processes in Perception
3.2.2 Principles of Perceptual Selection
3.3 Perceptual Organization
3.4 A Quick Guide To Perception Management
3.5 Summary

3.1 Introduction

Many a time we notice that different people see the same situation or
phenomena differently. For example in an IT organization, the manager might
view errors in the software designed as major problems and lack of
seriousness on part of the employee; whereas the employee might view the
error as part of the 'normal course of work.' Perception is a unique
interpretation instead of a precise recording of the situation. An individual,
while perceiving the world, sees it through his own unique perspective based
on his values, beliefs and past experience. Thus, each individual has his own
outlook of the world and will view it through his own mind. An example of this
can be seen during union negotiations with the management of a company.
The union perceives a change from their view and how it will affect them
whereas the management might want to introduce the change quickly
because they feel it will improve productivity. Each member of the union,
however, might not be completely convinced with the union but will stick with
them for their own reasons and their perception of how the decision will affect
them.

As people are the key in organizations, it becomes important for managers to

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understand the unique perspective that each employee has. By knowing the
different perceptions of people and understanding them, the manager can
adapt his style to suit the individual. Thus, try and bring out the best attitude
and performance in people. Perception refers to the set of processes we use to
make sense of all the stimuli you encounter every second, from the glow of the
computer screen in front of you to the smell of the room to the itch on your
ankle. Our perceptions are based on how we interpret all these different
sensations, which are sensory impressions we get from the stimuli in the world
around us. Perception enables us to navigate the world and to make decisions
about everything, from which T-shirt to wear or how fast to run away from a
bear.

Close your eyes. What do you remember about the room you are in? The color
of the walls, the angle of the shadows? Whether or not we know it, we
selectively attend to different things in our environment. Our brains simply
don't have the capacity to attend to every single detail in the world around us.
Optical illusions highlight this tendency. Have you ever looked at an optical
illusion and seen one thing, while a friend sees something completely
different? Our brains engage in a three-step process when presented with
stimuli: selection, organization, and interpretation.
For example, think of Rubin's Vase, a well-known optical illusion depicted
below. First we select the item to attend to and block out most of everything
else. It's our brain's way of focusing on the task at hand to give it our attention.
In this case, we have chosen to attend to the image. Then, we organize the
elements in our brain. Some individuals organize the dark parts of the image
as the foreground and the light parts as the background, while others have the
opposite interpretation.

Fig. 3.1

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3.2 Definition Of Perception

Perception can be defined as the recognition and interpretation
of sensory stimuli chiefly based on memory. It is a neurological
process by which such recognition and interpretation are affected.

Perception is separate and different, from conceptual understanding.

Perception works very fast (whereas we may take minutes or hours to 'make
up our minds', and years to form new concepts). Also, perception does not
draw upon all of our knowledge. Perceptions are of individual objects and
events in a present time, whereas concepts are abstract and generally
timeless.
Similarly, sensation and perception are also different. Sensations are simple
sensory experiences, while percepts are complex constructions of simple
elements joined through association. Perception is a more complex and
broader subject than sensation and is subject to the influence of learning.
Though hearing, smell, touch, and taste perceptions have all been explored,
vision has received the most attention. Furthermore, perceptions may be
influenced by expectations, needs, unconscious ideas, values, and conflicts.
Thus, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and
organizing sensory information.
3.2.1 Sub Processes in Perception
Perception comprises of five sub-processes. They are stimulus, registration,
interpretation, feedback and consequence.
Figure 3.2: The Sub-processes of Perception

- External Confrontation with Registration of Interpretation of Feedback for

- Environment the stimuli the stimuli the stimuli clarity
- People
- Socio-cultural
Settings

Behaviour/
Consequence

Stimulus Person

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Perception initiates with the presence of a stimulus situation. This presence

could either be with an immediate sensual stimulation or with the total physical
and socio-cultural environment. In organizational settings the superior and the
formal organizational environment may form the stimulus situation for the
subordinate's perceptual process. During the registration sub-process, the
physiological mechanism including both sensory and neural are affected.
Obviously, it is seen that an individual's physiological ability to hear and see
influence his perception.
Interpretation is the most critical sub-process. During this, all other
psychological processes assist in perceptual interpretation. For instance, in
work settings, his motivation, personality and learning process determines an
individual's interpretation of a stimulus situation.
Feedback is important for interpreting the perceptual event data. In work
settings, the psychological feedback that is likely to affect a subordinate's
perception may be in the form of a variation in the behavior of superior.
Perception ends in reaction or response, which may be in the overt or covert
form. As a consequence of perception, an individual responds to work
demands. These sub-processes indicate the complexity of perception.

3.2.2 Principles of Perceptual Selection

At any given point of time, there are many stimuli demanding the attention of an
individual. However, the individual will look at only selective stimulants since
human beings are selective by nature. They close themselves off entirely from
some stimuli and tend to open their channels of absorption to others. Thus,
they set themselves to respond to a particular stimulus or a group of stimuli.
Yet, certain events may characteristically creep into an individual's perceptual
life and distract his attention. For instance, the sound of a blast, other things
being equal, is more likely to attract attention than the sound of a chair. Thus,
while dealing with selective phenomenon, two terms are involved; attention
and set. 'Attention' incorporates all aspects of the selective process whereas
'set' refers to specific factors or processes within the individual himself that has
a bearing on what he attends to. Accordingly, while studying the selective
process in perception, we study set factors lying within the individual himself,
as well as those stimuli which can creep into his experience—those which are
characteristically attention inviting. Thus some of the factors that attract
attention lie in the situations and some are within the individual. The factors
that are in the situations are called 'external attention factors and those factors
that are within an individual are called 'internal set factors'.
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External Attention Factors

The external attention factors are:
I. Intensity
ii. Size
iii. Contrast
iv. Repetition
v. Motion
vi. Novelty and familiarity

I. Intensity
The intensity of stimulus implies that the more intense the stimulus audio or
visual, the more is the likelihood it will be perceived. A loud noise, strong odour
or bright light or bright colors will be more readily perceived than soft sound,
weak odour or dim light. It is because of this advantage that advertisers employ
intensity to draw the consumers' attention.
For example, you enter a client's office which is well decorated with bright
colors, playing soft music and well designed seating. You go to another client's
office which has furniture and walls all in brown color, steel chairs and old
wooden desks. Which will appeal to you more and why?
ii. Size
As regards the size of the stimulus, any odd size attracts attention. A stretch
limousine car attracts the attention. At the same time a mini-car also attracts
attention because of its size. However, generally the larger the object the more
likely it will be perceived. The amount of attention enhances with the size of the
newspaper advertisement exposed to the individuals, although the increase in
attention may not be directly proportional to the increase in size.
For example, your HR department wants to launch an Employee Referral
Scheme and wants to make sure it is communicated well and it generates
excitement amongst employees in the organization. Can you suggest ideas on
how can they make sure this happens.

iii. Contrast
Usually things that are different from the more familiar attract attention.
Anything that stands out from the normal course of things attracts attention. If
we are used to a particular sound, and suddenly it changes, we are likely to
notice it quickly. Plant safety signs, which have black lettering on a yellow
background or white lettering on a red background, are attention getting.
Any change in the accustomed atmosphere attracts attraction. Thus if one or
more of the machines should come suddenly to a halt, the supervisor would
immediately notice the difference in noise level. If a person who has fallen
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asleep in a bus because of the drone of the engine wakes up immediately the
engine stops.

Contrast

Figure 3.3

In the above figure which shaded square looks, larger in the first glance
and why?

iv. Repetition

Things that are repetitive or recurring are likely to grab attention. It is because
of this that supervisors tend to repeat directions regarding job instructions
several times for even simple tasks to hold the attention of their workers. In TV
or radio advertisements, the brand name is repeated several times. In cricket
matches, the advertisements are replayed a number of times.

For example, you want to start a photography club in your organization and
invite employees to join it. For this, you plan to make some posters in-house.
How will you design them so that they will create high excitement and motivate
people to join the club?

V. Motion
The factor of motion implies that the individual attend to changing objects in
their field of vision than to static objects. It is because of this advantage that
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advertisers involve signs, which include moving objects in their campaigns. At

an unconscious level the animals in the jungles make use of this principle. A
tiger lying in wait is motionless until his prey is nearer him and then jumps at an
appropriate moment.

Vi. Novelty and familiarity

A novel object in the familiar situation or a familiar object in a novel situation
tends to attract attention. Thus a white person or a black person in India
catches attention faster.
Job rotation is an example of this principle. Recent research indicates that job
rotation not only increased attention but also employees' acquisition of new
skills.

Vii. Internal Set Factors

The internal set factors are as under:
I. Psychological need
ii. Background
iii. Experience
iv. Personality
v. Self-acceptance

I. Psychological need
An individual's psychological needs influence his perception. Sometimes
things that do not even exist are 'seen' because of psychological need. For
example a thirsty person might keep seeing water in the form of mirages or
when someone is hungry he keeps thinking and seeing food. When people are
deprived of a need, they perceive the objects more frequently. In
organizations, a person who has a high need for establishing good relations
with everyone, will quickly identify similar people and proceed to establish
links.

Exercise
Krish was an excellent performer but suddenly his performance had started to
drop. The company paid him good compensation and incentives on a regular
basis. He has a good office and all the perks. However, his colleagues were not
very comfortable with his interpersonal style and distanced him very often.
Which psychological need do you think was not being satisfied in his case?
Why do you think this is critical, if at all!

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iii. Background
One's background also affects one's selection of objects. People from a
particular background, look for people from a similar background. We see this
very often when we go abroad for studies or work; we seek out people who are
from our country or region. When we start our first job, we seek people from the
same education institute or region, or department.
iii. Experience
Similar to background is the factor of experience. This factor prepares
and makes us look for people, objects and phenomena similar to our
earlier experiences. Someone who has had a bad experience while
working in a particular organization might perceive the entire organization
as bad. Similarly if I've had pleasant experiences while working with certain
people, I will be attracted to similar people in other organizations.

iv. Personality
Personality also influences perception. An introvert might be attracted to
people similar or very different from him. A creative person might be attracted
to people who have a creative or adventurous streak in them. General
attitudes and beliefs also influence perception. Generally things that conform
to our individual beliefs and attitudes attract attention. For example, a person
who looks up to a senior colleague is likely to notice the smallest of detail and
change in him/her.

v. Self-acceptance
This is an important factor that affects perception. Some studies have shown
that those who have a high level of self-acceptance perceive things more
accurately than those with low self-acceptance. The implication of this finding
is that the accuracy of perception can be increased by helping people accept
themselves more.
Organizational role or the specialization
The modern organizations value specialization. Consequently the specialty of
a person that casts him in a particular organizational role predisposes him to
select certain stimuli and to disregard others. Thus in a lengthy report a
departmental head will first notice the text relating to his department.
Perceptual set in Organizational Settings
Closely related to learning and motivation is the personality of the perceiving
person, which affects what is attended to in the confronting situation. There are
numerous examples of perceptual sets in work settings. The individuals may
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tend to perceive the same stimulus situation in largely different manners. Take
the examples of poor production record in a manufacturing company. The
works engineer is likely to perceive the solution to the issue in the form of
improved machine design whereas the Personnel Manager is likely to
perceive the solution in the form of improved personnel policies, training
programs and incentive schemes. The workers are likely to perceive it as
something thrilling because it may be indicative of poor ability of their
supervisor whom they dislike. Irrespective of who is right or wrong, it is
obvious that all related individuals tend to perceive the same situation in
entirely divergent manners. Another popular example relates to the
divergence of perception, which takes place between the union and
management groups. It is widely held that perceptual divergence is a major
cause if industrial conflicts.

3.3 Perceptual Organization

This refers to what does a person do once he has received the data and
organized it. Perception is said to have taken place only once the data is
interpreted. Obviously, some organizing processes which give meaning to
the incoming event data takes place in the nervous system and is relatively
free from the effects of past experience or motivational factors. These
processes are called the primitive processes of organization. The central
nervous system does not simply register raw sensory data in a passive form.
Rather, it does something to them by creating a definitive organization.
Illusions, false interpretation or misleading organization of sensory events
best exemplifies the active role of central nervous system. There are several
kinds of primitive perceptual organizations which include grouping, closure,
figure-ground effect; and constancy phenomenon.
Perceptual grouping
The grouping principle of Perceptual Organization states that there is a
tendency to group several stimuli together into a recognizable pattern. The
principle is very basic and seems largely inborn. In the visual fields, we find that
objects that are similar in appearance tend to be grouped together. Likewise,
the individual tends to create a whole even when it is not there.
For example a person enters a room full of people, she will immediately scan
the environment in terms of dressing, confidence of people and other outward
appearance. She is likely to group certain people as snobbish, some as smart
and some as unintelligent. Some types of these groupings are closure,
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proximity, similarity etc.

I. Closure
The closure principle of grouping is closely related to the gestalt school of
psychology. The principle is that a person will sometimes perceive a whole
when one does not exist. The person's perceptual processes will close the
gaps that are unfilled from the sensory inputs.
ii. Proximity
At times, a group of stimuli that are physically close to each other might be
perceived as a group. For example, a group of employees sitting in the same
area might be perceived as a group where none exists.

iii. Similarity
This principle states that the greater the similarity of the stimuli, the greater the
tendency to perceive them as common groups. Similarity is conceptually
related to proximity but is stronger than proximity. Similarity also applies to
minority and women. Minority and women employees are many a time seen as
a single group

Figure-ground
The objects are perceived with reference to their background. The figure-
ground principle means simply that perceived objects stand out, as separable
from their general background. When the reader is reading this paragraph, in
terms of light-wave stimuli, the reader perceives patches of irregularly shaped
blacks and whites. Yet the reader perceives the shapes as letters and figures
printed against the white background. In other words the reader perceptually
organizes these stimuli into recognizable patterns i.e. the words.
Perceptual constancy
Constancy is one of the more sophisticated forms of Perceptual Organization.
It gives a person a sense of stability in a changing world. This principle permits
the individual to have some constancy in a tremendously variable world.
If constancy were not at work, the world would be very chaotic and
disorganized for a person. An organizational; example would be that of a
worker who must select a piece of material or a tool of the correct size from a
wide variety of materials and tools at varying distances form a workstation.
Without perceptual constancy the shapes, sizes, colors etc. of the objects
would keep on changing, making the job almost impossible for the worker.
Perceptual Defense
Closely related to context is perceptual defense. A person may build a defense
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(a block or a refusal to recognize) against stimuli or situational events in the

context that are person or culturally unacceptable or threatening. Accordingly,
perceptual defense may play an influential role in understanding union-
management relations.
Although there is some conflicting evidence, most studies verify the existence
of perceptual defense. Two examples are classic studies that found barriers to
perceiving personality-threatening words and identification of thresholds for
critical, emotionally toned words. In another study more directly relevant to
organizational behavior, the researchers describe how people may react with
a perceptual defense that is activated in them when they are confronted with a
fact
1. Denial: A few of the subjects denied the existence of intelligence in
factory workers.
2. Modification and distortion: This was one of the most frequent forms
of defense. The pattern was to explain away the perceptual conflict by
joining intelligence with some other characteristic, for example, “He is
intelligent, but doesn't possess the initiative to rise above his group.”
3. Change in perception: Many of the students changed their
perception of the worker because of the intelligence characteristic. The
change, however, was usually very subtle; example, “He cracks jokes”
became “He's witty.”
4. Recognition: But refusal to change. Very few subjects explicitly
recognized the conflict between their perception of the worker and the
characteristic of intelligence that was confronting them. For example,
one subject stated, “the traits seem to be conflicting most factory
workers I have about aren't too intelligent.

The general conclusion to be drawn from this classic study is that people may
learn to avoid perceiving certain conflicting, threatening, or unacceptable
aspects of the context. These and other relevant experiments have been
summarized into three general explanations of perceptual defense:

1. Emotionally disturbing information has a higher threshold for recognition

(that is, we do not perceive it readily than neutral or non-disturbing information.
This is why a chain of events may be seen differently by those who are not
personally involved and by those who are involved; thus, warning signs of
trouble are often not seen by those who will be most affected by the trouble.

2. Disturbing information and stimuli are likely to bring about substitute

perceptions, which are distorted to prevent recognition of the disturbing
elements. In this way a manager can perceive that workers are happy, when

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actually they are disgruntled. Then when a grievance committee is formed or a

strike takes place, the manager cannot perceive that these “happy” workers
are participating willingly and concludes that it is because they have fallen
victim to some agitator and that things in the shop are still basically fine.

3. Emotionally arousing information actually does arouse emotions. Even

though the emotion is distorted and directed elsewhere kicking the cat,
shouting at the kids, cutting someone off for trying to pass you on the left while
driving all offer a sense of relief and are good substitutes for perceiving that
people “upstairs” think you are an idiot.

Such findings as the above help explain why some people, especially
supervisors and subordinates in an organization, have a “blind spot.” They
do not “see” or they consistently misinterpret certain events or situations.

Social Perception
Although context and perceptual defense are closely related to social
perception, this section gives recognition to social perception per se. The
social aspects of perception play an important role in organizational behavior.
Social perception is directly concerned with how one individual perceives
other individuals, how we get to know others.

Characteristics of Perceiver and Perceived

A summary of research findings on some specific characteristics of the
perceiver and the perceived reveals a profile of the perceived as follows:

1. Knowing one makes it easier to see others accurately;

2. One's own characteristics affect the characteristics one is likely to see in
others;
3. People who accept themselves are more likely to be able to see favorable
aspects of other people;
4. Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single skill.
These four characteristics greatly influence how a person perceives others in
the environmental situation.

There are also certain characteristics of the person being perceived which
influence social perception. Research has shown that:

1. The status of the person perceived will greatly influence others' perception
of the person.
2. The person being perceived is usually placed into categories to simplify the
viewer's perceptual activities. Two common categories are status and role.
3. The visible traits of the person perceived will greatly influence others'
perception of the person.

These characteristics of the perceiver and the perceived suggest the extreme
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complexity of social perception. Organizational participants must realize that

their perceptions of another person are greatly influenced by their own
characteristics and the characteristics of the other person. For example, if a
manager has high self-esteem and the other person is physically attractive and
pleasant and comes from the home office, then the manager will be likely
perceive this other person in a positive favorable manner. On the other hand, if
the manager has low self-esteem and the other person is an arrogant,
unattractive salesperson, the manager will likely to perceive this other person
in a negative, unfavorable manner. Such attributions that people make of
others play a vital role in their social perceptions and resulting behavior.

The important physical features include gestures, posture, facial expression

and color of the skin. The social features that assume significance in
perception are the qualities of voice and appearance. An individual with long
hair and casual dress is called a 'hippie' involving accordingly judgments about
his political, social and moral values. Likewise, historical features such as sex,
age, occupation, religion, race, etc. largely influence an individual's
evaluations of others. There are also numerous personality features attributed
to others that affect an individual's evaluation of them. Individuals tend to be
attracted to others whom they perceive to be identical to them.

This leads us to the perceiver's features. There seem to be two kinds of

general features about the perceiver, which are crucial in understanding an
individual's perception of others:
(1) An individual's own social and personality features cause a divergence,
and
(2) The complexity of an individual's perception of other individuals is also
crucial.
Obviously, individuals tend to differ in the manner in which they describe
others. Some individuals employ features such as tricky, ruthless, etc. When
further complexity is involved, they tend to describe others as friendly,
aggressive, honest etc. A still higher level of complexity involves traits such as
passive, charming, etc. These later features involve a more complex mode of
perceiving than physical features. Research results have shown that the
leader's complexity of perceiving his fellow workers is markedly associated
with his group's performance, depending upon the situation where they are
engaged.

The features that are associated with an individual's perceptions of others

involve the situation where he finds himself. Individuals tend to make
judgments regarding the behavior of others, as indicators of their personality
and these judgments are markedly associated with the suitability of the
behavior to the given situation. Thus, our perception of individuals as well as
objects depends upon certain historical, current and situational factors, our

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past experience; culture and learning exert a wide impact on these judgments
as do our current needs and feelings along with the physical and social
environmental factors. This understanding of perceptual process provides an
insight as to why we behave in the manner we do.

3.4 A Quick Guide To Perception Management

Do:
· Increase your own awareness
· Be aware of the effect you have on others

· Learn to interpret other people's verbal and nonverbal signals

· Know the effect that stress has on you and how this looks to others

· Be visible at strategic moments

· Encourage feedback from people you value, without making

unreasonable demands

· Allow others to make their own choices

· Give yourself adequate time and make perception management part of

your personal development

Be consistent, patient, and forgiving

Do Not:

· React emotionally to the feedback you receive

· Act defensive

· Become unmotivated

· Be ingratiating

· Behave aggressively and try too hard too quickly

· Expect too much

· Embroil others in your views of yourself

· Pester people for feedback

· Be political or manipulative in your behavior

In a nutshell, perception management is the ability to create an impression

through conscious activities and awareness of other people and the impact
your behavior has on them. To be successful, define your target audience,
superimpose their values on yours, adjust your communication style,

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encourage feedback, and be aware of how you adapt at every step of the way.

3.5 Summary
Perception is an important cognitive process deciding how a person will
behave. Through this complex process people interpret world to themselves.
Perception is a unique phenomenon, influencing people behave differently.
Externally stimuli selectivity is affected by such factors as the intensity, size,
movement, repetition etc. Internally perceptual selectivity is influenced by
learning, culture, experience, interest, motivation etc.
The social context plays an important role in understanding human behavior in
organizations. Of particular importance to social perception is how people
cause of another's or their own behavior. Two important problems in social
perception are halo effect and stereotyping.

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