Chapter 3: Social Perception & Understanding of Self & Others (Continued)

1. International Aspects of Perception, Attitudes, and Personality

• Perception, attitudes, and personality are shaped by culture, which influences how people behave and interpret behavior in different settings.

Culturally-Based Stereotypes

• Swiss: Punctual

• Germans: Task-oriented

• Americans: Energetic

• These stereotypes can cause surprise or confusion when people from these cultures do not match the stereotype.

Cultural Projection

• People tend to project their own cultural values and norms onto people from other cultures.

• They assume others think and act the same way they do, which can lead to misunderstanding.

Example:

• A Korean manager visiting Sweden may assume that all women sitting at desks are secretaries because that’s common in Korean culture.

• In Sweden, however, many women hold management positions, making this assumption inappropriate and potentially offensive.

2. Attitudes Toward Organizational Design, Management, and Decision Making

Country/Region	Attitude Towards Organizational Design
United States	Favors hierarchical design to divide labor and solve problems.
France & Italy	Hierarchy helps define authority relationships.
Italy	Bypassing managers to speak to subordinates is seen as insubordination.
Sweden & Austria	Prefer decentralized decision-making (decisions spread across levels).
Philippines & India	Prefer centralized decision-making (decisions made at the top).

3. Personality Characteristics Across Cultures

Cultural Type	Personality Trait Emphasis
Individualistic Cultures (e.g., USA)	Stronger need for autonomy (independence).
Collectivist Cultures (e.g., Japan)	Emphasis on group harmony and collective identity.
Uncertainty Avoidance Cultures (e.g., Belgium, Peru)	Strong need for security and predictability.
Low Uncertainty Avoidance Cultures (e.g., Singapore, Ireland)	More comfortable with ambiguity and change.

4. Ethical Issues in Perception, Attitudes, and Personality

Stereotypes & Workforce Diversity

• Stereotypes can result in inaccurate assumptions about individuals from different social, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

• These assumptions can unfairly influence how others judge their ethical behavior at work.

Self-Presentation & Ethics

• Some people deliberately manage their self-presentation to appear more ethical than they actually are.

• Limited evidence shows that people can sometimes successfully shape how ethical others perceive them to be.

Attribution & Accountability

• Personal responsibility is a core aspect of ethical behavior.

• People can attribute responsibility for actions to:

  • The individual (the person is responsible for their behavior).

  • The situation (the person acted under external pressure).

Example:

• If someone believes an unethical action happened due to a direct order, they may excuse the person who carried out the act.

Attribution Errors in Ethics

• People can make errors when assigning responsibility, wrongly concluding someone is not responsible for unethical acts.

Ethical Attitudes

• There is little reliable data about managers' ethical attitudes.

• Research suggests there is no fixed set of ethical attitudes; instead, attitudes depend on:

  • The situation.

  • The social context.

• Ethical decisions are shaped more by context than by absolute moral principles.

5. Real-Life Perception Scenarios

Situation 1: At a Party

• You see an attractive person glance at you and smile.

• Do you interpret the smile as:

  • An invitation to start a conversation?

  • A reaction to something funny they just heard?

• This demonstrates how perception and interpretation depend on context and assumptions.

Situation 2: Buying a Used Car

• The seller looks you in the eye and says the car is in "perfect shape."

• Do you believe the seller?

• This example highlights how trust, prior experiences, and cultural expectations shape perception.

Situation 3: Student Excuse for Missing Exam

• A student claims they missed the exam due to a field trip.

• Do you believe the excuse?

• This example illustrates how people use attribution processes to decide if someone is truthful.