Organizational Behavior

Unit 4
Personality and Attitudes
PERCEPTION
 Meaning

• Perception is a process by which we

organize and interpret sensory
impressions to give meaning to our
environment.
• In order to receive information
from the environment we are
equipped with sense organs e.g.
eye, ear, nose.
• Each sense organ is part of a
sensory system which receives
sensory inputs and transmits
sensory information to the
brain.
• What we perceive can be substantially
different from objective reality.
Factors that influence perception
 Factors That Influence Perception
The Perceiver:
• When you look at a target, your
interpretation of what you see is influenced
by your personal characteristics-attitudes,
personality, motives, interests, past
experiences, and expectations.
• In some ways, we hear what to hear and we
see what we want to see-not because it's
the but because it conforms to our truth,
thinking.
• Consider, for instance, observer perceptions
of a shooting
• There were two eyewitnesses-one said a
police officer chased and shot a fleeing
man: the other said a handcuffed man lying
on the ground was shot. Neither perceived
the situation correctly: The man was
attempting to attack a police officer with a
hammer when he was shot by another
officer
 Example
• Consider a situation where two friends attend a concert
together. One of them is a big fan of the band, while the
other isn't as enthusiastic. During the concert, the avid fan is
likely to focus on the positive aspects of the performance,
such as the energetic stage presence and engaging music. On
the other hand, the less enthusiastic friend might notice the
sound issues or any perceived flaws in the performance.

• In this example, both individuals are experiencing the same

event, but their pre-existing preferences and perspectives
shape what they choose to focus on and how they interpret
the concert. This illustrates how our perceptions can be
influenced by our personal biases, preferences, and
preconceived notions, leading us to hear and see things in a
way that aligns with our own truths or expectations.
The Target:
• The characteristics of the target
also affect what we perceive.
• Because we don't look at targets in
isolation, the relationship of a
target to its background influences
perception, as does our tendency
to group close things and similar
things together.
• These assumptions can be harmful,
as when people who have criminal
records are prejudged in the
workplace even when it is known
they were wrongly arrested
Situation / Context
• Context matters too.
• The time at which we see an object or
event can influence our attention, as
can location, light, heat, or situational
factors.
• For instance, you may not notice
someone dressed up for a formal event
that you attended on a Saturday night.
Yet if same you were to notice that
person dressed the same way for your
Monday morning management class, he
or she would likely catch your attention,
if the students do not normally wear
formal attire to class. Neither the
perceiver nor the target has changed
between Saturday night a and Monday
morning, but the situation is different.
Perception Process
 Receiving Stimuli

• Stimuli enter our organism through the sensory

organs- vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste.
• Stimuli are received by us through these organs.
• Sensory organs perceive not only physical
objects, they also perceive events or objects that
have been repressed.
• We may not be able to report the existence of
certain stimuli, but our behaviour reveals that we
are often subject to their influence.
• Anything which we notice in the environment is
stimulus
Example
 Selection Stimuli
• Not all the stimuli received by the human organism
are accepted by it.
• Some stimuli are noticed and others are screened
out.
• A nurse working in a post-operative care might
ignore the smell of recently disinfected instruments
or the sounds of co-workers talking nearby. Yet a
small flashing red light on the nurse station console
is immediately noticed because it signals that a
patient's vital signs are failing. The process of
filtering information received by our senses is called
selecting stimuli or selective attention.
• The individual is likely to read the last word as
'Mac-Hinery' instead of 'machinery. He or she is
caught in what is known as 'verbal response set’
• In organisations, managers' and employees'
past experiences and learning strongly
influence perceptions.
• For example, executives are influenced by their
functional background while making decisions.
They might perceive their own areas of
expertise as being the most important to
consider while solving problems. It is also likely
that the decision makers can 'rise above’ their
own experiences and limitations and solve
problems effectively in areas other than these
 External Factors influence selection
Nature
• By nature we mean
whether the object is
visual or auditory.
• It is well-known that
pictures attract attention
more readily than words
and that a rhyming
auditory passage attracts
attention more readily
than the same passage
presented as à narrative.
 Location

• Visual stimulus for

attracting attention.
• In a newspaper or a
magazine à position in
the upper portion of a
page is more
favourable than one in
the lower portion and
the left hand side
receives more attention
than the right hand
side.
 Colour

It has psychological impact on

individuals.
Some colours act as stimulant
and others as a depressant.
Some colours are refreshing
some are irritating.
It is used to emphasise the
attractive features of a product
or to create a suitable
atmosphere.
In work environment: colors
can be used to enhance
lighting effects, for creating
 Size
• Generally, objects of larger size
attract more attention than do
smaller ones. The maintenance
engineering staff may pay more
attention to a big machine than to
a small one, even though the
smaller one costs as much and is
as important to the operation.
• A 6 foot 4 inch, 260 pounds
supervisor may receive more
attention from his subordinates
than a 5 foot 10 inch, 160 pounds
supervisor.
• ln advertising, a full page spread
attracts more attention than a
few lines in the classified section.
Contrast:
• The contrast principle states that external stimuli which stand
out against the background, or which are not what people are
expecting, will receive their attention.

• The black circle on the right appears larger than the one on the
left because of the background circles.
• In fact, both black circles are of the same size,
• In a similar manner, plant safety signs which have black lettering
on a yellow background or white lettering on a red background
are attention drawers.
• Training managers utilize this factor in organising training
programmes in places far away from workplaces to create
• Movement: The principle of motion states that a moving object
receives more attention than an object that is stationary. In a work
environment, the attention of a workman will be focused more on a
conveyor belt than on paintings on walls. Advertisers capitalize this
principle by creating signs which incorporate moving parts.
• Repetition: The repetition principle states that a repeated external
stimulus is more attention drawing than a non-repetitive one. The
same advertisement of a product flashed daily on television is based
on the principle of repetition. This principle also explains why
supervisors have to give directions to workers over and over again for
even simple tasks.
• Novelty and Familiarity: The novelty and familiarity principle states
that either a novel or a familiar external situation can serve as an
attention getter. New objects in familiar settings or familiar objects
in new settings will draw the attention of the perceiver. Job rotation
is an example of this principle. Changing workers' jobs from time-to-
time will tend to increase the attention they give to the task. Anything
novel attracts attention fast, for example, humor, animation, and
 Internal factors influence selection

Learning:
• Learning, a cognitive factor,
has considerable influence on
perception. It creates
expectancy in people. People
tend to perceive what they
want to perceive.
• A number of illustrations have
been used by psychologists to
demonstrate the impact of
learning on perception. Some
are shown below.
• One tends to read the sentence, because of
prior learning, in the triangle as 'Bird in the
hand.
• It takes a few seconds for the reader to realise
that there is an extra ‘the’ in the sentence.
• This illustration shows that learning creates
expectancy in an individual and expectancy
makes him see what he wants to see.
• The individual is likely to read the last word as
'Mac-Hinery' instead of 'machinery. He or she is
caught in what is known as 'verbal response set’
• In organisations, managers' and employees'
past experiences and learning strongly
influence perceptions.
• For example, executives are influenced by their
functional background while making decisions.
They might perceive their own areas of
expertise as being the most important to
consider while solving problems. It is also likely
that the decision makers can 'rise above’ their
own experiences and limitations and solve
problems effectively in areas other than these
Psychological Needs:
• Needs play a significant role in perceptual selectivity. Unreal things
often look real because of deprived needs. A thirsty person in a
desert, for instance, gets the illusion of water when seeing sand
from a distance.
• In one experiment, people who were kept HUNGRY tor sometime
were shown pictures and were asked to describe what they saw in
them. Most of them reported more food items in such perceptions.
Age Difference:
• Older, senior executives complain about the inability of the new,
young ones to take tough decisions concerning terminating people
or paying attention to details and paper work. The young
managers, in turn, complain about the 'old guards’ resisting change
and using paper and rules as ends in themselves. Different
perceptions of old and young executives contribute are due to their
age difference. The generation gaps witnessed in recent years
definitely contribute to different perception.
Interest:
• Perception is unconsciously influenced by the interests of
the perceiver.
• An architect will notice many details of buildings though
he or she passes by only once. Someone else may pass the
same buildings everyday for years without even observing
such details.
• It has been argued that, in their influence on perception,
interests cannot be distinguished from needs.
• That is, the person with a particular interest has a need to
involve himself in activities pertaining to it. Yet there is
some value in conceiving the two as distinct. Once they
have been satisfied, most needs no longer influence
perception.
• But if the person has a special interest, his perception is
likely to be selective at any time
Ambivalence:
• Another factor of perceptual selection is ambivalence or mixed
feelings about a situation.
• A young man may be ambivalent about his fiancée's virtues
(quality) shortcomings. She may be an attractive, charming, and
poised (dignified) woman with whom he likes to be seen, but she
may also be insecure and have a poor self-concept.
• When she tries to compensate for these feelings by taking control
of the relationship, he resent (dislikes) it and is anxious about the
wisdom of his choice. But because of his physical attraction to her
and because he wants to remain a success in his circle by having a
beautiful fiancée, he represses the awareness of her negative
qualities and selectively perceives only those that are favourable.
• Only after several years of marriage, when the selective
perception of courtship has given way before the all-inclusive
awareness of daily, intimate, and prolonged contact, does he
become sharply aware of what he repressed
Paranoid Perception:
• When a person's perception is so selective that he
can find little common ground for communication
with others, he is likely to be paranoid.
• It is the characteristic of the emotionally disturbed
person that his perceptual field differs from that
of reality and personalised interpretation.
• His self-concept is poor and he is very insecure, as
a result of which he behaves in an inflexible
manner.
 Perceptual Organization
• Perceptual organisation is the process by which people group stimuli
into recognisable patterns.
• Selection gives way to organisation, and the stimuli selected for
attention now appears as a whole.
• For example, most people have a mental picture of an object made
of wood and having four legs, a seat, a back, and armrests:
• What image is this?
• an image of a chair.
• When people actually see an object having these characteristics, they
are able to organise the incoming information into a meaningful
whole and recognise the object to be a chair.
• There is so much to learn about how the human mind assembles,
organises, and categorizes information.
• However, certain factors in perceptual organisation, such as
ambiguous figure, figure background, grouping, and constancy are
• Ambiguous Figure
• Figure Background
• Perceptual Grouping
– Similarity
– Proximity
– Closure
– Continuity
– Area
• Perceptual Constancy
• Shape Constancy
• Size Constancy
– Colour Constancy
Ambiguous Figure
• Perceptual organisation becomes a
difficult task when there are
confusing and disorganised stimuli
in the external environment.
• Look at the pic and identify the pic
• When we first glance at the lines in
the figure, we tend to conclude
that they epitomize (symbolize)
disorganization.
• Then we suddenly begin that it is a
drawing and could represent either
a duck or a rabbit, and then it
fluctuates between two images.
• With ambiguous figures, there
appears to be a whole image.
 Figure Background
• Figure ground is considered to be the
most basic form of perceptual
organization.

• The figure background principle states

that the relationship of a target to its
to background influences perception.

• States that the object or event or

person which is being perceived stands
out from its background.
• What we see depends on what we see as the
Figure and what we see as the background.
• We attend selectively to stimuli by focusing on
features that capture our attention.
• A major purpose of studying OB is to caution
the reader about important stumuli.
• Key theories and concepts (such as motivation
and leadership) call attention to variables that
affect organizational performance.
• The trained manager knows what to look for as
the dominant figure against a complex
background of organizational forces.
 Perceptual Grouping
• Grouping is defined as the tendency to group the
stimuli into some meaningful patterns.
• Grouping includes
– Similarity
– Proximity
– Closure and
– Continuity
 Perceptual Grouping - Similarity
• The principle of similarity states that
objects of similar shape or colour or size
tend to be grouped together.
• In an organisation all white collared
employees are seen as one group. In
reality each worker is a unique individual.
• A company might require visitors to its
plants to wear yellow hard hats and
employees to wear white hard hats.
• Employees can then easily identify people
who are unfamiliar with everyday safety
precautions and routines when they are in
work areas.
• See the following figure, the signs are
perceived as four rows rather than eight
 Perceptual Grouping - Proximity

• The principle of proximity states tendency to

perceive stimuli which are near one another as
belonging together.
• The employees who are working in the same
department are perceived as one group because
of geographical proximity.
• Eight circles are perceived as two groups of four
in first row and four groups of two in the second
row because of nearness of circles to each other.
 Perceptual Grouping - Closure
• The principle of closure states the tendency to
perceive the object as a whole even when
some parts of it are missing.
• Individual’s perceptual process will fill the gaps
that are unfilled from the sensory input.
• The following figure demonstrates the principle
of closure.
• The object given below will be perceived as a
circle even if some parts are missing.
• In an organization, a sincere, hard working and
honest worker will be perceived as a good
performer by the managers even if he behave
in a contradictory manner sometimes.
• Based on experience and imagination, the
manager can fill in the missing pieces needed
to make a decision.
 Perceptual Grouping - Continuity
• Continuity is the tendency to perceive objects
as continuing patterns.
• People tend to perceive the obvious ways of
performing the tasks and fail to think
creatively.
• Continuity leads to inflexibility and non
creative thinking on the part of employees.
• Continuity is an useful organising principle, but
it may also have negative aspects.
• For example, it may result in an inability to
perceive uniqueness and detect change.
• In business forecasting, a common continuity
error is to assume that the future will simply
reflect current events and trends.
 Perceptual Grouping - Area
• Where one part of an area
depicting an ambiguous figure
is smaller in size than the
remainder, it is more likely
that the smaller area will be
seen as a figure and the rest
of the total area as
background. Glancing at Fig.
(A), it is usual to see the small
areas of white as the figure of
a white cross and the large
area of black as the
background. By contrast, in
Fig. B), a black cross set in a
white background is more
 Perceptual Constancy
• The principle of constancy states the tendency
to perceive certain characteristics of an object
as remaining constant, despite of the
variations in the stimuli.
• This principle provides a sense of stability in
this dynamic world.
• There are several aspects of constancy:
• Shape Constancy
• Size Constancy
– Colour Constancy
 Constancy
Shape Constancy: When an object appears to
maintain it shape despite of marked changes.
Imagine the confusion you would experience in a
crowded car park if your car was seen as a different
object according to the different retinal images
produced from different viewing positions- front
side and back.
Size Constancy: When we tend to see the object
unchanged in the size even if it moves farther away
from us. A player who is standing on the other side
of the football ground will not perceive football
smaller as compared to when he looks at the same
football from a closer location.
• Colour constancy: familiar objects tend to be
perceived of the same colour even if they are
exposed to some changed conditions. The
owner of a red car will see his car as red in the
bright sunlight as well as in the dim twilight.
 MANAGERIAL APPLICATIONS OF PERCEPTION
• A manager is primarily concerned with the achievement of
organizational objectives through specified behaviour of its members.
• Perception affects the outcome of behaviour.
• This is so because people act on the basis of what they see.
• Thus, the understanding of human perception, particularly in the
organisational setting is important in understanding and controlling the
behaviour.
• In an organizational setting, perception is important in various
activities.
• However, there are three major areas which require special attention
so far as the perceptual accuracy is concerned.
• These are:
– interpersonal working relationship,
– selection of new employees, and
Meaning of PERSONALITY

Personality is an
enduring characteristic -
patterns of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors
that make a person
unique
 Personality
• Personality as the sum total
of ways in which an
individual reacts to and
interacts with others -
Stephen P. Robbins
• Fred Luthans defines the
term personality as, “how
people affect others and
how they understand and
view themselves, as well as
their pattern of inner and
outer measurable traits and
the person-situation
How would you describe your Personality
 Personality Framework/ Structure
• Myer- Briggs type
• Big 5 personality
 Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• MBTI is one of the most widely used
personality assessment instrument in the
world.
• The dimensions of MBTI are:
– Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I)
– Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N)
– Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F)
– Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P)
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
 Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I)
• Extroverts (action-oriented) are outgoing, have wide social
network and talkative. This does not mean that extroverts have
interpersonal skills. In work settings, extroverts prefer variety and
do not mind the interruptions of the phone or visits from co-
workers.
• Introverts (thought-oriented) have a narrow range of
relationships. Introverts possess excellent social skills but do not
exhibit them. In work settings, introverts prefer quite surroundings
and like to think things in private. They do not mind working on a
project for a long time and are careful with details. Introverts do
not prefer telephonic interruptions.
Do you prefer to
focus on the outer
world or on your
own inner world?
 Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N)

• Some people like collecting

information.
• Sensing types use an organized
structure to acquire factual and,
preferably, quantitative details.
• In contrast, intuitive people collect
information non-systematically.
• They rely more on subjective
evidence, as well as on their
intuition, and even inspiration.
• Sensors are capable of synthesising
large volumes of data and draw
quick conclusions.
• Needless to say, the work of
management demands a
combination of intuitive and sensing
 Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F)

• Thinking types rely on the

rational cause-effect logic and
scientific method to make
decisions.
• They weigh the evidence
objectively and unemotionally.
• Feeling types, instead, consider
how their choices affect others.
• They weigh the options against
their personal values more than
on rational logic.
• A good manager uses both mind
(thinking) and heart (feeling).
 Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P)

• In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Judging

(J) and Perceiving (P) are two opposite preferences
that describe how individuals prefer to deal with the
external world and make decisions.
• Judging (J) : types prefer a structured and organized
approach to life. They like to plan ahead, make
decisions, and follow a clear schedule. They are
comfortable with making decisions and sticking to
plans. They typically enjoy having a well-organized
environment and prefer to set and achieve goals.
• Perceiving (P): Those with a Perceiving preference
(designated by the letter P) tend to be more flexible,
spontaneous, and adaptable. They are comfortable
with uncertainty, open to new information, and may
delay making decisions to gather more data.
Perceiving individuals enjoy going with the flow and
may find strict plans restrictive.
• To be effective as a manager, one needs to operate
at times in perceiving mode and at times in a judging
mode.
All types are equal: The goal of knowing about
personality type is to understand and appreciate
differences between people. As all types are equal,
there is no best type.
• ISTJ - The Inspector: Reserved and practical, they tend
to be loyal, orderly, and traditional.
• ISTP - The Crafter: Highly independent, they enjoy
new experiences that provide first-hand learning.
• ISFJ - The Protector: Warm-hearted and dedicated,
they are always ready to protect the people they care
about.
• ISFP - The Artist: Easy-going and flexible, they tend to
be reserved and artistic.
• INFJ - The Advocate: Creative and analytical, they are
considered one of the rarest Myers-Briggs types. 3
• INFP - The Mediator: Idealistic with high values, they
strive to make the world a better place.
• INTJ - The Architect: High logical, they are both very
creative and analytical.4
• INTP - The Thinker: Quiet and introverted, they are
known for having a rich inner world.
• ESTP - The Persuader: Out-going and dramatic, they enjoy
spending time with others and focusing on the here-and-
now.
• ESTJ - The Director: Assertive and rule-oriented, they
have high principles and a tendency to take charge.
• ESFP - The Performer: Outgoing and spontaneous, they
enjoy taking center stage.
• ESFJ - The Caregiver: Soft-hearted and outgoing, they
tend to believe the best about other people.
• ENFP - The Champion: Charismatic and energetic, they
enjoy situations where they can put their creativity to
work.
• ENFJ - The Giver: Loyal and sensitive, they are known for
being understanding and generous.
• ENTP - The Debater: Highly inventive, they love being
surrounded by ideas and tend to start many projects (but
may struggle to finish them).
• ENTJ - The Commander: Outspoken and confident, they
are great at making plans and organizing projects.
 The Big Five personality
The MBTI may lack strong supporting evidence, but an impressive body of
research supports the thesis of the Big Five Model—that five basic dimensions
underlie all others and encompass most of the significant variation in human
personality. Moreover, test scores of these traits do a very good job of
predicting how people behave in a variety of real-life situations. The following
are the Big Five factors:
• Openness to experience
• Conscientiousness
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness.
• Neuroticism/ Emotional stability.
The Big Five Personality Traits
Openness to experience:
• The openness to
experience dimension
addresses range of
interests and fascination
with novelty.
• Extremely open people
are creative, curious, and
artistically sensitive.
• Those at the other end
of the category are
conventional and find
comfort in the familiar
Conscientiousness.
• It refers to the extent to
which an individual is
organized, responsible,
dependable, and goal-
oriented.
• A highly conscientious person is
responsible, organized, dependable,
and persistent.
• People high in
conscientiousness tend to be
hardworking, reliable, and
persistent in their efforts to
achieve their goals.
• Those who score low on this
dimension are easily distracted,
Extraversion.
• The extraversion dimension
captures our comfort level
with relationships.
• Extraverts tend to be
energetic, talkative,
and enjoy social
interactions,
• Introverts tend to be
reserved, timid, and quiet.
Agreeableness.
• The agreeableness dimension
refers to an individual’s
propensity to defer to others.
• Highly agreeable people are
cooperative, warm, and
trusting.
• People who score low on
agreeableness are cold,
disagreeable, and antagonistic
(unfriendly)
Emotional stability / Neuroticism
• The emotional stability
dimension—often labeled by its
converse, neuroticism—taps a
person’s ability to withstand
stress.
• People with positive emotional
stability tend to be calm, self-
confident, and secure.
• Those with high negative scores
tend to be nervous, anxious,
depressed, and insecure.