Attitudes Attitudes are evaluative statements or

judgements, positive or negative, concerning objects, people, or events.

The Cognitive Component of an attitude is the opinion or belief segment.

The Affective Component of an attitude is the emotional or feeling segment.

The Behavioral Component is an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.

Attitudes (con.) Sources of attitudes include family,

friends, parents, teachers, peer group members, etc.

Organizational Behavior focuses on job-related attitudes.

Attitudes and Consistency People seek consistency

Cognitive Dissonance Theory Any incompatibility between two or more

attitudes or between behavior and attitudes

Perception The process of organizing and interpreting sensory

impressions in order to give meaning to the environment...acts as a screen or filter Blocks what we do not want to see Allows us to see what we desire Create self-fulfilling or circular perceptual processes

Factors that influence perception The Perceiver (Internal Factors)

Motives;Values;Interests;Attitudes;Past experiences; Expectations

The Target (External Factors) Motion;Intensity;Size;Novelty;Salience:what stands out

Perception Factors that influence perception (Continued)

The Situation This input is then organized into patterns Social

cognition theory - we organize stimuli into schemas Evaluation or inference

Stimuli are interpreted in a subjective way and the conclusions are biased by individual

Attitudes Needs, Goals Experiences, values Expectations Physical condition

Perceptual Patterns

Learned and culturally determined Perception is culturally determined Perceptual patterns are learned Perception is consistent Perception is inaccurate

Nancy J. Adler

Perception and You Other peoples behaviors towards you are

caused by their perceptions about you. You cannot change someones perception. But you can change your behavior, which will allow them to change their perception about you. The trick is to find out what their perception is.

Attribution Theory An explanation of how we judge people differently

depending on the meaning we attribute to a given behavior. Our perception and judgement of a persons actions

will be significantly influenced by the assumptions we make about the persons internal state.

When we observe an individuals behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused.

Internally caused are believed to be under the personal control of the individual, while externally caused results from outside factors.

Attribution Theory (con.) Distinctiveness is the extent to which the same person

behaves in the same way in different situations. If unique, attribute it to external causes, if not, attribute it to internal causes.

Consensus is the extent to which other people in the same situation behave in the same way. If consensus is high it is likely to be given an external attribution.

Consistency is the degree to which the same person behaves in the same way at different times. If high, it is likely to be given an internal attribution.

Barriers to Social Perception: or Shortcuts to Judging Others

Selective Perception The process of selecting information that supports

our individual viewpoints while discounting information that threatens our viewpoints.

First-impression error The tendency to form lasting opinions about an

individual base on initial perceptions.

Central tendency - avoiding extreme judgments Stereotype

A generalization about a group of people.

Stereotyping When we attribute behavior or attitudes to a person

on the basis of the group to which the person belongs Usually based on little information Resistant to change Rarely accurately applied to specific individuals

Is a neutral subconscious cognitive process that increases the efficiency of interpreting environmental information It is a group norm not characteristic of a specific individual Describes what people may be like, not evaluative as good

or bad Accurately describes the norm(s) for the persons group

Barriers to Social Perception (con.)

Implicit personality theory Opinions formed about other people that are based on our

own mini-theories about how people behave.

Self-fulfilling prophecy (Pygmalion effect) The situation in which our expectations about people affect

our interaction with them in such a way that our expectations are fulfilled.

Projection - the tendency to attribute ones personal attitudes or feelings to another person Relieves one of their own sense of guilt or failure Protects one from confronting their own feelings Common when one has little personal insight

Other Shortcuts Assumed Similarity:The belief that others are

like oneself. Halo Effect: A general impression of an

individual based on a single characteristic. Contrast effects-evaluation based on recently

encountered individuals who are better or worse than the person

Bottom Line: Be aware of these issues in making evaluations and decisions like hiring, performance evaluations, etc.

Personality

A combination of psychological traits that describes a person, OR

The sum of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.

Personality Determinants Heredity Environment Situation Experience

The Big Five Model Extraversion

A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, talkative, and assertive.

Agreeableness A personality dimension that describes

someone who is good-natured, cooperative and trusting.

Conscientiousness A personality dimension that characterizes

someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented.

Cognitive Style: The Way People Gather & Evaluate Information (MBTI) Gathering information

Intuition: See the big picture, holistic, commonalities Ok with a lot of information; creative; overloaded with fragmented

information

Sensing: Use the senses, focus on details Good with fragmented information; overloaded by too much

information

Evaluating information Thinking: Logical, use of logic

Good in situations where there is a logical solution; less effective where creative solutions are required

Feeling: Uses gut feelings Like novel situations, but inefficient in situations requiring straight-

forward solutions

The Big Five Model (con.)

Emotional Stability A personality that characterizes someone as

calm, enthusiastic, secure (positive) versus tense, nervous, depressed, and insecure (negative).

Openness to Experience A personality dimension that characterizes

someone in terms of imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, and intellectualism.

Behavior and Personality Traits

Locus of control The degree to which people believe they are

masters of their own fate.

Machiavellianism A measure of the degree to which people are

pragmatic, maintain emotional distance, and believe that ends justify the means.

Self-Esteem An individuals degree of like or dislike for

himself or herself.

Behavior and Personality Traits (con.)

Self-Monitoring A personality trait that measures and individuals

ability to adjust his or her behavior to external situational factors.

Risk Propensity Differences in the willingness to propensity to

assume or avoid risk.

Personality Helps Determine

How we approach our job Relationships compatibility How we handle stress Job fit Leadership style Decision making Degree of supervision desired/needed How we cope with change

Managing Various Personality Attributes

High Achiever: Motivated to accomplish, hate to fail They need to achieve and feel the outcome is due

to their actions. Hence challenge them with tough jobs with a 50/50 chance of success.

Authoritarian: Thank goodness for hierarchy They believe there should be status and position

differences between people. Rigid and judgmental, they require highly structure jobs that require conformity; Not good in a job that requires flexibility and sensitivity.

Managing Various Personality Attributes

Machiavellianism: Pragmatic; Ends justify the means; Emotional distance; Manipulative. Good in jobs that have face to face interactions and

minimum rules and regulations. High Self Esteem: (As opposed to self

confidence) Im ok, your ok. No need to control others: They like themselves. A bit more unconventional; less dependent on

others (less need to please others). Give jobs that require initiative, and they take

feedback well.

Managing Various Personality Attributes

High Self-Monitoring: Can adjust behavior to suit the situation because they can see how others are reacting to the situation. Do well in jobs that require flexibility.

Risk-Takers: Comfortable in uncertainty and take risks. Do well in jobs that require quick decisions with

little information.

Hollands Typology of Personality and Occupations

Realistic Investigative

Conventional Artistic

Enterprising Social

Cultural Environment

Customs, norms, values, beliefs Language(s), communication styles Attitudes Motivations Social institutions Status symbols Religious beliefs

Value Dimensions of National Culture

Individualism versus Collectivism Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculine versus Feminine (Quantity

versus Quality of life) Long term versus short term

Learning A relatively permanent change in behavior that

occurs as a result of experience. Operant Conditioning: Behavior is a function of

its consequences, hence desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.

Social Learning: People can learn through observation and direct experience. The influence of models is central to this theory, and the amount of a models influence is determined by four processes.

Social Learning Processes Attentional processes. People only learn when they

recognize and pay attention to its critical factors. We are most influenced by models who are attractive, repeatedly available, we think are important, or we see as similar to us.

Retention Processes: A models influence is dependent on remembering the models action.

Motor reproduction processes. A new observed behavior must be converted to doing so the person knows he or she can perform it.

Reinforcement processes:Motivation to exhibit the modeled behavior is reinforced with incentives.