Perception and Learning in Organizations

Regina Peruggi, Back to the Floor

• Regina Peruggi, president of New York’s Central Park Conservancy, got her perceptions back in focus by spending a week working on the front line. © BBC Photolibrary

Emotions andEmotions andBehaviorsBehaviors

Organization andOrganization andInterpretationInterpretation

Selective AttentionSelective Attention

Perceptual Process Model

Feeling Hearing Seeing Smelling TastingFeeling Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting

Environmental StimuliEnvironmental Stimuli

Selective Attention

• Characteristics of the object– size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty

• Perceptual context

• Characteristics of the perceiver– attitudes– perceptual defense– expectations -- condition us to expect events

Splatter Vision Perception

• Fighter pilots, police detectives, and truck drivers use splatter vision -- scanning everything and focusing on nothing. This reduces the chance of screening out potentially important information.

© Corel Corp. Used with permission

An Individual’sAn Individual’sSocial IdentitySocial Identity

IBMIBMEmployeeEmployee

Social Identity Theory

Live inLive inU.S.A.U.S.A.

Univ. of VermontUniv. of VermontGraduateGraduate

Employees atEmployees atother firmsother firms

People livingPeople livingin other countriesin other countries

Graduates fromGraduates fromother schoolsother schools

Social Identity Theory Features

• Comparative process– define ourselves by differences with others

• Homogenization process– similar traits within a group; different traits across

groups

• Contrasting process– develop less favorable images of people in groups

other than our own

Ottawa Citizen

Sex Role Stereotyping in Engineering

• Women are underrepresented in engineering partly because:– Social identity -- few women

identify with the “geek” image portrayed of engineers

– Sex role stereotyping -- women are not encouraged to become engineers because the profession has a male stereotype

Stereotyping

• Process of assigning traits to people based on their membership in a social category– Categorical thinking– Strong need to understand

and anticipate others’ behavior

– Enhances our self-perception and social identity

Ottawa Citizen

Minimizing Stereotyping Biases

• Diversity awareness training– Educate employees about the benefits of

diversity and dispel myths

• Meaningful interaction– Contact hypothesis

• Decision-making accountability– Use objective criteria in decision-making

Attribution Process

• Internal Attribution– Perception that outcomes are due to

motivation/ability rather than situation or fate

• External Attribution– Perception that outcomes are due to

situation or fate rather than the person

Rules of Attribution

External AttributionExternal Attribution

FrequentlyFrequently

ConsistencyConsistency

SeldomSeldom

Internal AttributionInternal Attribution

FrequentlyFrequently

DistinctivenessDistinctiveness

SeldomSeldom

SeldomSeldom

ConsensusConsensus

FrequentlyFrequently

Attribution Errors

• Fundamental Attribution Error– attributing own actions to external factors

and other’s actions to internal factors

• Self-Serving Bias– attributing our successes to internal

factors and our failures to external factors

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle

SupervisorSupervisorformsforms

expectationsexpectations

ExpectationsExpectationsaffect supervisor’saffect supervisor’s

behaviorbehavior

Supervisor’sSupervisor’sbehavior affectsbehavior affects

employeeemployee

Employee’sEmployee’sbehavior matchesbehavior matches

expectationsexpectations

Other Perceptual Errors

• Primacy– first impressions

• Recency– most recent information dominates perceptions

• Halo– one trait forms a general impression

• Projection– believe other people do the same things or have

the same attitudes as you

Improving Perceptions

• Empathy– Sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and situation

of others– Cognitive and emotional component

• Self-awareness– Awareness of your values, beliefs and prejudices– Applying Johari Window

Known to Self Unknown to SelfKnown

to Others

Unknownto Others

OpenOpenAreaArea BlindBlind

AreaArea

UnknownUnknownAreaArea

HiddenHiddenAreaArea

Know Yourself (Johari Window)

OpenOpenAreaArea

BlindBlindAreaArea

HiddenHiddenAreaArea

UnknownUnknownAreaArea

DisclosureDisclosure

FeedbackFeedback

Definition of Learning

• A relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavior tendency) that occurs as a result of a person’s interaction with the environment

Behavior Modification

• We “operate” on the environment– alter behavior to maximize positive and minimize

adverse consequences

• Learning is viewed as completely dependent on the environment

• Human thoughts are viewed as unimportant

A-B-Cs of Behavior Modification

ConsequencesConsequences

What happensWhat happensafter behaviorafter behavior

Co-workersCo-workersthank thank

operatoroperator

ExampleExample

BehaviorBehavior

What personWhat personsays or doessays or does

Machine Machine operator turnsoperator turns

off poweroff power

AntecedentsAntecedents

What happensWhat happensbefore behaviorbefore behavior

WarningWarninglightlight

flashesflashes

Contingencies of Reinforcement

Behaviorincreases/maintained

Behaviordecreases

Consequenceis introduced

Consequenceis removed

PunishmentPunishment

PositivePositivereinforcementreinforcement

ExtinctionExtinction PunishmentPunishment

NegativeNegativereinforcementreinforcement

Noconsequence

Schedules of Reinforcement Behaviors

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Continuous

Fixed ratio

Variable ratio

Fixed interval

Time (Days)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Variable interval

Behavior Modification Limitations

• More difficult to apply to conceptual activities• Reward inflation • Ethical concern that variable ratio schedule is

a lottery • Behaviorist philosophy vs. learning through

mental processes

Social Learning Theory

• Behavioral modeling– Observing and modeling behavior of others

• Learning behavior consequences– Observing consequences that others

experience

• Self-reinforcement– Reinforcing our own behavior with

consequences within our control

Experiential Learning in Warwick, RI

• These Warwick, Rhode Island, fire department recruits are recapping an experiential learning exercise in which their task was to control the fire and save victims (dummies lying on the ground in this photo).© Bill Murphy/The Providence Journal

ConcreteConcreteexperienceexperience

ReflectiveReflectiveobservationobservation

AbstractAbstractconceptualizationconceptualization

ActiveActiveexperimentationexperimentation

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model

Developing a Learning Orientation

• Value the generation of new knowledge• Reward experimentation• Recognize mistakes as part of learning• Encourage employees to take reasonable risks

Action Learning

• Experiential learning in which employees are involved in a ‘real, complex and stressful problem’, usually in teams, with immediate relevance to the company– Concrete experience– Learning meetings– Team conceptualizes and applies a solution to a

problem