Organizational Behavior - Chapter 6

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Chapter 6 concepts of perception, attribution, shortcuts in judgment, decision-making models, and behavioral ethics.

Perception

The process where the brain selects what it wants to focus on; individuals base their behavior on their interpretation of reality rather than what is actually true.

Internal Perception

behavior that is believed to be under the personal control of the individual.

External Perception

behavior that is believed to result from outside (external) causes.

Attribution Theory

The perception of why someone performed an action, categorized as either internal (dispositional) or external (situational) reasons.

Internally caused (dispositional) behavior

Behaviors believed to be under the personal control of the individual.

Externally caused (situational) behavior

Behaviors resulting from outside causes rather than personal control.

Distinctiveness

A factor determining attribution based on whether a behavior is rare across different situations.

Consensus

A factor determining attribution based on whether everyone else responded the same way in a situation.

Consistency

A factor determining attribution based on whether an individual exhibits the same behavior across time.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to underestimate external causes and overestimate internal factors when judging the behavior of others.

Actor-Observer Effect

The tendency to blame our own behavior on the situation or circumstances.

Self-Serving Bias

Crediting our own successes to internal factors while blaming failures on external ones.

Selective Perception

Noticing only things of interest while the brain blocks out the rest; often influenced by first impressions.

Halo Effect

When one positive trait (often good looks) creates an overall positive impression without further evidence.

Horns Effect

When one negative trait creates an overall negative impression of an individual.

Contrast Effect

Evaluating people by comparing them to others recently encountered rather than on their own merits.

Stereotyping

Judging someone based on their group (e.g., country or religion) to make faster, though often inaccurate, decisions.

Pygmalion Effect (Self-Fulfilling Prophecy)

The phenomenon where your expectations shape your behavior and outcomes, making those expectations become real.

Problem

A gap between the current state and a desired state that triggers decision making.

Rational Model

A perfect, non-emotional 8-step theoretical model involving problem definition, criteria identification, weighting, and alternative evaluation to select the best outcome.

Bounded Rationality

The reality of human decision making where we are limited by our nature and 'satisfice' by picking a 'good enough' option instead of the absolute best.

Intractable Problem

A situation where wasting too much time searching for a perfect solution results in the problem changing or resolving itself before a decision is made.

Intuition

A non-rational gut feeling based on experience, culture, feelings, or subconscious processing.

Models of Decision-Making

The five types of intuitive decision-making are experience-based, affect-initiated, cognitive-based, values/ethics-based, and subconscious processing.

Experience-based decision

decisions made using past experiences and learned patterns.

Affect-initiated decisions

Intuitive decisions driven by feelings or emotions.

Cognitive-based decisions

Intuitive decisions based on an individual's skills, knowledge, and training.

Values/Ethics-Based decisions

decisions guided by personal values, morals, and ethical principles.

Subconscious Processing decisions

decisions that occur unconsciously as the brain processes information in the background, leading to a better-than-random guess (a “gut feeling”).

Overconfidence Bias

When individuals with the least knowledge overestimate their own abilities.

Anchoring Bias

The tendency for the first piece of information received to fix a starting point that is difficult to change.

Confirmation Bias

Searching for information specifically to prove that a decision already made was rational.

Availability Bias

When the most recent information drives the decision-making process.

Escalation of Commitment

Sticking with a bad decision due to pride, money already spent, or biological self-interest.

Randomness Error

The belief that one can predict random events, such as having a "lucky seat."

Hindsight Bias

Saying 'I knew it!' after a result is known to avoid feeling stupid.

Risk Aversion

Preferring a safe outcome; stress levels can increase risk-seeking for negative outcomes and risk-aversion for positive ones.

Organizational Constraints

Organizational factors that limit or influence employees’ ability to make decisions freely.

Utilitarianism

An ethical criterion focusing on providing the greatest good for the greatest number through a comparison of benefits and costs.

Rights

An ethical criterion focusing on moral principles and infringing as little as possible on entitlements like safety, freedom, and learning.

Justice

An ethical criterion based on fairness and the belief that even unfairly distributed consequences should be handled fairly to maintain a long-term reputation.

Behavioral Ethics

The study of how people actually behave in ethical dilemmas, exploring why good people may not follow their own standards.

Issue Intensity

Factors determining the ethical weight of an action, including greatness of harm, consensus of wrong, probability of harm, and immediacy of consequences.