Perception And Cognition

Perception & Cognition

Sep 16, 2008

By Jayati Singh

We will broadly cover….      

What is Cognition ? In psychology, it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions. Other interpretations of the meaning of cognition link it to the development of concepts; individual minds, groups, organizations, and even larger coalitions of entities, can be modeled as societies which cooperate to form concepts "understanding and trying to make sense of the world".

What is Perception ? Perception is the cognitive process of attaining awareness Or understanding of sensory information. The key to understanding perception is that –It is a unique Interpretation of the situation , not an exact recording of it.

The Sub processes of Perception Confrontation Registration

Interpretation Feedback Behavior (eg rushing off or change in attitude) Consequence(eg reinforcement/punishment)

Why is Perception Important? “ Perceived reality, not actual reality is the key to understanding behavior. How we perceive others and ourselves is at the root of our actions and intentions. Understanding the perceptual process and being aware of it complexities is essential for developing insights into managing others. The words we use and the body language we display communicates our view of the world. The power of the perceptual process in guiding our behavior needs to be unpacked and understood for effective relationships with others. ”

Perception………..

Perception…….

Application to OB   

 6. 7. 8. 9.

When applied to OB, employee perception can be thought of as a “filter” Each employee has a Unique Filter Thus, the same situation/stimuli may produce different reactions/ behaviors It is mainly important in Interviews Performance Expectations Performance Evaluation Employee Effort

External Attention Factors in Selectivity/ Factors in the Target Numerous stimuli are constantly confronting everyone, so what do people notice  Intensity

 Size    

Contrast Repetition Motion Novelty & Familiarity

Internal Factors in Selectivity/Factors in the Perceiver People will select out stimuli based on their   

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Learning Motivation Personality "Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. -George Bernard

Factors in the Situation   

Perceptual Organization 

2. 3. 4. 5.

Whereas Perceptual selectivity is concerned with external & internal variables that gain an individual’s attention , perceptual organization focuses on what takes place in the perceptual process once the information from the situation is received Figure Ground is usually considered to be a basic form perceptual organization Perceptual Grouping Perceptual Constancy Perceptual Context

FIGURE AND GROUND ILLUSION

FIGURE AND GROUND ILLUSION The "figure and ground" illusion is commonly experienced when one gazes at the illustration of a black vase the outline of which is created by two white profiles. At any moment one will be able to see either the black vase (in the centre area) as "figure" or the white profiles on each side (in which case the black is seen as "ground"). The fluctuations of figure and ground may occur even when one fails deliberately to shift attention, appearing without conscious effort. Seeing one aspect apparently excludes seeing the other.

Perceptual Grouping 

Closure: Bases on the gestalt principle which says person will sometimes perceive a whole when none exist. Person's perceptual process will close the gaps that are unfilled by sensory inputs.

Perceptual Grouping 2.

Closure: For example, head of a project team may take the view that the entire team agrees to his plan of action whereas there are differing views among the team members, which remains unarticulated in a formal manner.

Perceptual Organization 2. Continuity –An individual tend to perceive continuous lines/patterns. This leads to inflexible thinking on the part of organizational members (both managers and employees). Thus, only the obvious, continuous patterns or relationships are perceived. For example, a new design for some production process or product may be limited to obvious flows or continuous lines/patterns. New innovative ideas or designs may not be perceived.

Perceptual Organization 3. Proximity- states that the group of stimuli that are close together will be perceived as a whole pattern of parts belonging together. For eg. Due to physical proximity of some employees they may be regarded as a group & in case of bad performance all these may be branded as poor while this group may include some good, loyal, dedicated workers.

Perceptual Organization 4.Similarity –in dressing etc may brand employees as groups –danger of stereotyping. Eg. Minority or women may be regarded as a group while each employee may be different This might also lead to perceptual error termed as stereotyping.

Perceptual Organization Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Perceptual Organization 

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Perceptual Constancy: A More sophisticated form of perceptual organization .Provides stability in a changing world. Main role is played by learning. For eg Snow appears white in the low illumination moonlight as well as 800,000 times bright sunlight. In spite of the changes in the appearance of the dog moving toward you from a distance, you still perceive the shape as that of a dog (shape constancy) no matter the angle from which it is viewed.

Perceptual Organization Perceptual Context:  

Most sophisticated form of perceptual organization The organization culture & structure provide the primary context in which employees do their perceiving

A Simple Question The Gestalt principle of ______________ suggests that objects that are near one another are likely to be grouped together. C) D) E) F)

Similarity continuity proximity closure

A Simple Question Q Your ability to identify a penny as being a penny regardless of the angle at which the penny is presented to you is best described by: A) figure-ground relations. B) monocular depth cues. C) the Gestalt principle of continuity. D) perceptual constancies.

Social Perception 

Stereotyping: It is the belief that all members of a specific groups share similar traits and behavior. Most often, a person is put into a stereotype because the perceiver knows only the overall category to which the person belongs. However, because each individual is unique, the real traits of the person are generally quite different from those that stereotype would suggest.

Social Perception 

Halo effect: Under halo effect, a person is perceived on the basis of a single trait. It generally occurs during performance appraisal where the supervisor rates an employee on the basis of only one trait e.g. intelligence, punctuality, cooperativeness appearance etc. Opposite is Horn’s Effect

Social Perception 

Projection: It is the tendency of seeing one’s own traits in others. Thus, individuals project their own feelings, personality characteristics attitudes, or motives onto others. Projection may be especially strong for undesirable traits that the perceivers possess but fail to recognize in themselves. People whose personality traits include stinginess, obstinacy, and disorderliness tend to rate others higher on these traits than do people who do not have these traits.

Social Perception- Attribution Theory 

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Attribution refers to how people explain the cause of other’s or own behavior Conclusions about factors that influence one another’s behavior

Attribution Theory 

2. 3.

The theory divides the way people attribute causes to events into two types. "External" or "situational" attribution assigns causality to an outside factor, such as the weather. "Internal" or "dispositional" attribution assigns causality to factors within the person, such as their own level of intelligence or other variables that make the individual responsible for the event.

Attribution Theory Example of OB poor performance of subordinate Coworkers are also performing poorly on this task The subordinate does not do well on this task only one time period The subordinate does well on other tasks but not this one Coworkers are performing very well on this task The subordinate does not do well on this task at any time The subordinate does poorly on other tasks as well

Type of information/ observation

Attribution Made

High Consensus

Low Consistency

Externa l

High Distinctiveness

Low Consensus

Internal High Consistency

Low Distinctiveness

Attribution Theory

Please make a note of this…… 