Understanding Individual Differences &

Perception

Perception is Reality

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

Why is this topic worth studying?

Perception refers to the process through which we receive, organize and interpret information from the environment

If we understand ourselves and those around us, we can be more effective

If we integrate factual and perceptual inputs into our belief system, we can change the way we think and behave

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

What is perception?

Our interpretation of reality A cognitive process of simplifying and mentally

organizing the environment A series of mental models of common characteristics A series of scripts to make events predictable

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

What influences perception? Cognitive functions Personality Past experiences Education Gender, age, ethnicity, culture

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

Our perception of a situation: Affects how we view our managers,

coworkers, and subordinates Impacts the way we manage people Affects how we make decisions Can lead to inappropriate behavior

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

Common perceptual biases Stereotyping: assumptions about others based on

belonging to a certain category or group Halo effect: one characteristic influences your

overall evaluation of a person Selective perception: tendency to consider

information that reinforces your existing beliefs

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

Biases related to decision-making: Availability bias: tendency to base decisions

on information that is readily available Representative bias: assessing the likelihood

of an occurrence based on pre-existing data Escalation of commitment: increasing the

commitment to a decision in spite of negative information

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

So What?

Our perceptions in the workplace are biased by our experience, the culture, our education, and socialization

We tend to make assumptions and act on our perceptions as if they were objective truth that were obvious to everyone

We rarely check the accuracy or validity of our assumptions People make inferences about others and situations without

regard to factual information

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

What is personality?

Personality is the sum of total ways an individual reacts to and interacts with others

Understanding one’s personality can help a manger predict employee behavior

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

We can understand personality through testing

Myers Briggs Type Indicator, categorizes individuals into one of sixteen personality types, extroverted vs. introverted, sensing vs. intuitive, thinking vs. feeling, perceiving vs. judging

Big Five Model, five basic dimensions underlie all others and explain most of the variation in human personality, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to new experience

Understanding Individual Differences & Perception

Why should you take this seriously?

There is irrefutable evidence that tests have predictive validity and can help us interpret performance

There is a link between personality dimensions and job performance

Whether you believe in this or not, many employers do