chapter 6.doc

Organizational Behavior, 16e  (Robbins/Judge) Chapter 6 Perception and Individual Decision Making

1) ________ is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. A) Sensation B) Impression C) Apprehension ) Attribution !) "erception Answer# ! !$planation# !) "erception is de%ined as a process by which individuals individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their env ironment. "eople&s behavior is  based on their perception o% what reality is' and not on reality itsel%. (hat (hat a person perceives can  be substantially di%%erent %rom %rom obective reality. reality. *+# 1 i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place ) (hich o% the %ollowing statements is true regarding perception/ A) "erception o% reality is independent o% one&s personality. B) +ur perception o% a target is not a%%ected by the conte$t o% the situation in which the  perception is made. C) +ur perception o% reality can be di%%erent %rom the obective reality. ) +ur perception o% reality is independent o% our past e$periences. !) (e %orm %orm a perception o% a target by loo-ing at it in isolation. Answer# C !$planation# C) +ur perception o% reality can be di%%erent %rom the the obective reality. +ur  perception o% reality is a%%ected by our personality' personality' past e$periences' and the conte$t o% the situation in which the perception is made. (e do not loo- at targets in isolation. *+# 1 i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place

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3) (hen two people witness something at the same time and in the same situation yet interpret it di%%erently' di%%erently' %actors that operate to shape their perceptions reside in the ________. A) perceivers B) target C) timing ) conte$t !) situation Answer# A !$planation# A) Since the time and situation are the same' the %actors that that operate to shape  perception must be in the perceivers themselves. "ersonal characteristics that can a%%ect a%%ect  perception include perceiver attitudes' personality' personality' motives' interests' past e$periences' and e$pectations. *+# 1 i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place 4) avid 5yers is o% the opinion that people pe ople who drive S67s are rash drivers. 8e %eels that  people driving S67s do not respect road rules and always violate tra%%ic tra%%ic regulations. (hat  personal %actor is most li-ely to be a%%ecting a%%ecting 5yers& perception o% S67 drivers/ A) his %inancial bac-ground B) his e$pectations C) his interest ) his motive !) his personality Answer# B !$planation# B) 5yers e$pects all S67 drivers to to be dangerous. 8is e$pectations are what color  his perception. 9he e$ample doesn&t e$plain why he e$pects this' although it could be %rom a  previous bad e$perience. *+# 1 AACSB# Analytic S-ills i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Application *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place

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3) (hen two people witness something at the same time and in the same situation yet interpret it di%%erently' di%%erently' %actors that operate to shape their perceptions reside in the ________. A) perceivers B) target C) timing ) conte$t !) situation Answer# A !$planation# A) Since the time and situation are the same' the %actors that that operate to shape  perception must be in the perceivers themselves. "ersonal characteristics that can a%%ect a%%ect  perception include perceiver attitudes' personality' personality' motives' interests' past e$periences' and e$pectations. *+# 1 i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place 4) avid 5yers is o% the opinion that people pe ople who drive S67s are rash drivers. 8e %eels that  people driving S67s do not respect road rules and always violate tra%%ic tra%%ic regulations. (hat  personal %actor is most li-ely to be a%%ecting a%%ecting 5yers& perception o% S67 drivers/ A) his %inancial bac-ground B) his e$pectations C) his interest ) his motive !) his personality Answer# B !$planation# B) 5yers e$pects all S67 drivers to to be dangerous. 8is e$pectations are what color  his perception. 9he e$ample doesn&t e$plain why he e$pects this' although it could be %rom a  previous bad e$perience. *+# 1 AACSB# Analytic S-ills i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Application *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place

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2) !$tremely attractive or unattractive individuals are most li-ely to be noticed in a group. (hich o% the %ollowing statements best describes the reason behind this/ A) +ur perception o% reality depends on our past e$periences. B) +ur perception o% reality depends on our personality. C) (e don&t loo- at targets in isolation. ) 9he time at which we see an obect can in%luence our perception o% the obect. !) +ur motives and e$pectations a%%ect our perception o% a target. Answer# C !$planation# C) Characteristics o% the target we observe observe can a%%ect what we perceive. *oud  people are more li-ely to be noticed in a group than :uiet ones. So' too' are e$tremely attractive or unattractive individuals. Because we don&t loo- at targets in isolation' the relationship o% a target to its bac-ground in%luences our perception o% the target. *+# 1 i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the the wor-place ;) uring team meetings Amber owning always notices that Copyright 0 12 "earson !ducation' Inc.

1>) (ith re%erence to the attribution theory' which o% the %ollowing terms indicates the e$tent to which an individual displays di%%erent behaviors in di%%erent situations/ A) %le$ibility B) integrity C) consensus ) consistency !) distinctiveness Answer# ! !$planation# !) istinctiveness is one o% three determining %actors that contribute to attribution theory perceptions. istinctiveness re%ers to whether an individual displays di%%erent behaviors in di%%erent situations. *+#  i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place 1@) I% a person responds to a particular situation in the same way over a long time period' then the attribution theory states that the behavior demonstrates ________. A) distinctiveness B) consensus C) consistency ) discontinuity !) traceability Answer# C !$planation# C) Consistency in a person&s actions means that the person responds in the same way to the same situation over a long period o% time. ?or instance' an employee who has not  been late %or several months is perceived di%%erently %rom an employee who is late two or three times a wee-. 9he regularly late employee demonstrates high consistency in tardiness. *+#  i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place ) According to the attribution theory' i% a behavior scores ________' we tend to attribute it to e$ternal causes. A) low on distinctiveness B) low on adaptability C) low on consistency ) high on stability !) low on consensus Answer# C !$planation# C) Consistency indicates that the person responds the same way over time. 9he less consistent the behavior' the more we are inclined to attribute it to e$ternal c auses. *+#  i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place @ Copyright 0 12 "earson !ducation' Inc.

1) anice oder wor-s in an environmental campaigning organization and o%ten needs to interact with a large team %or proect implementation activities. 8owever' she always %inds it di%%icult to wor- as a part o% a team. She always seems to have maor disagreements with team members which lead to antagonistic relations between them. 9hough she has moved %rom one team to another' her relations with colleagues always seem to be hostile and cold. 8ow would the attribution theory describe this behavior/ A) low on consensus B) high on reliability C) high on adaptability ) high on consistency !) low on distinctiveness Answer#  !$planation# ) Consistency in a person&s actions means that the person responds the same way over time to the same situation. oder has had hostile relationships with colleagues over a long  period o% time. 9hus' her behavior shows consistency. *+#  AACSB# Analytic S-ills i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Application *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place ) According to the attribution theory' i% everyone who %aces a similar situation responds in the same way' we can say the behavior shows ________. A) distinctiveness B) tractability C) consensus ) consistency !) manageability Answer# C !$planation# C) I% everyone who %aces a similar situation responds in the same way' we can say the behavior shows consensus. *+#  i%%iculty# !asy ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place

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3) anice is late %or wor- each day by about ten minutes. 8ow would attribution theory describe this behavior/ A) It shows consensus. B) It shows similarity. C) It shows consistency. ) It shows reliability. !) It shows distinctiveness. Answer# C !$planation# C) Consistency in a person&s actions means that the person responds the same way over time to the same situation. An employee who hasn&t been late %or several months is  perceived di%%erently than an employee who is late two or three times a wee-. anice demonstrates high consistency in tardiness. *+#  AACSB# Analytic S-ills i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Application *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place 4) According to the attribution theory' which o% the %ollowing behaviors is most li-ely to be attributed to an e$ternal cause/ A) a behavior that scores high on consensus B) a behavior that scores low on distinctiveness C) a behavior that scores high on consistency ) a behavior that scores low on traceability !) a behavior that scores high on rigidity Answer# A !$planation# A) According to the attribution theory' i% a behavior scores high on consensus' we tend to attribute it to e$ternal causes. *+#  i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Concept *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place

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2) Samantha is never late %or wor-' but last 5onday she arrived an hour late because o% heavy tra%%ic. According to the attribution theory' Samantha&s behavior on that d ay scores ________. A) high on reliability B) low on distinctiveness C) high on traceability ) low on consistency !) high on stability Answer#  !$planation# ) I% a person responds the same way over time then his or her behavior displays consistency. Since Samantha is generally in the o%%ice on time' her behavior scores low on consistency. *+#  AACSB# Analytic S-ills i%%iculty# 5oderate ,uest. Category# Application *earning +utcome# Apply the study o% perception and attribution to the wor-place ;) 5egan Cardova' who wor-s as a sales e$ecutive at +rbit Ban-' has been %ailing to meet her sales targets %or the last 1 months. ) ________ re%ers to the tendency o% people to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis o% a single characteristic. A) Con%irmation bias B) Sel%serving bias C) ;) Stereotyping helps individuals ma-e :uic- dec ision through generalizations. Answer# 9