ADMN 2220 Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations

Learning Objectives

• Understand self-concept and its four processes.

• Explore how we perceive ourselves and others in organizations.

• Learn about attribution theory.

• Find ways to improve perceptions.

Self-Concept Defined

• Self-Concept: Refers to an individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations.

• Key questions: "Who am I?" and "How do I feel about myself?"

• Self-concept guides decisions and actions.

• Distinction between current self and desired self.

• Levels of Self-Concept: Individual, relational, collective.

• Characteristics of Self-Concept: Three characteristics and four processes.

Self-Concept Model: Three Cs and Four Selves

• Three Cs of Self-Concept:

  • Complexity: Having multiple selves, such as professional and personal identities.

  • Consistency: The alignment of attributes across different selves.

  • Clarity: The degree to which self-concept is clearly and confidently expressed.

Self-Concept Characteristics (3 Cs)

• Complexity:

  • Multiple selves (e.g., executive, spouse, activist).

  • Increased complexity with:

    • More selves.

    • Greater separation among selves (e.g., distinct work and home identities).

• Consistency:

  • Higher when multiple selves require similar attributes and align with one’s self-concept.

• Clarity:

  • Higher when self-concept is well-defined, stable, and aligns with one’s attributes.

  • Increases with age and consistent roles.

Outcomes of Self-Concept Characteristics

• Benefits of complexity, consistency, and clarity:

  • Better well-being from having multiple selves (complexity).

  • Higher performance and leadership rooted in high self-concept clarity.

  • Risks of high complexity: stress and need for more resources to manage identities.

  • Dangers of high clarity: potential role inflexibility.

Know Yourself (Johari Window)

• Framework for understanding self-identity through feedback.

  • Open Area: Known to self and others.

  • Blind Area: Known to others but unknown to self.

  • Hidden Area: Known to self but hidden from others.

  • Unknown Area: Unknown to both self and others.

Self-Concept: Self-Enhancement

• Self-Enhancement: The drive to promote/protect a positive self-view (e.g., seeing oneself as competent and ethical).

• Outcomes: Better mental health, increased motivation, riskier decisions due to inflated self-perceptions.

Self-Concept: Self-Verification

• Self-Verification: Motivation to confirm/maintain one’s self-concept.

• Outcomes: Tendency to seek feedback that aligns with self-view, which stabilizes self-concept.

Self-Concept: Self-Evaluation

• Self-Esteem: Overall positive assessment of oneself; related to resilience and persistence.

• Self-Efficacy: Belief in one’s abilities to perform tasks successfully.

• Locus of Control: Beliefs about control over life events; internal locus leads to higher self-evaluations.

Social Self - Social Identity Theory

• Describes how we define ourselves by group membership (e.g., nationality, education).

• Contrasting needs for distinctiveness (personal identity) and inclusion (social identity).

Perception and Selective Attention

• Perception: Process of interpreting sensory information.

• Selective Attention: Choosing what information to focus on, influenced by personal biases.

• Biases in Selective Attention:

  • Influenced by assumptions and expectations (confirmation bias).

Perceptual Organization/Interpretation

• Perceptual Grouping: Methods to organize information (e.g., similarity and proximity).

• Categorical Thinking: Simplifying by organizing people/things into categories.

Stereotyping

• Defining individuals based on group traits.

• Reasons for stereotyping include:

  • Cognitive shortcuts (categorical thinking).

  • Social identity reinforcement.

Problems with Stereotyping

• Risks: Overgeneralization, discrimination, and stereotype threat.

• Strategies to counter stereotypes:

  • Aware of biases and minimize their impact.

Attribution Process

• Attribution Theory: Explains how we interpret behaviors as internally or externally caused.

• Internal Attribution: Behavior attributed to personal qualities.

• External Attribution: Behavior attributed to situational factors.

• Distinctiveness: how often does the person do this in other situations?

• Consensus: how often do other people do this in similar situations?

• Consistency: how often did the person do this in the past?

Attribution Rules

• Fundamental Attribution Error: Overestimating internal causes and underestimating external causes when judging others.

• Self-Serving Bias: Attributing successes to internal factors and failures to external ones.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle

• Interaction of expectations between supervisors and employees, influencing behaviors.

Other Perceptual Effects

• Halo Effect: One trait influences perceptions of other traits.

• False-Consensus Effect: Overestimating the extent to which others share one’s beliefs.

• Primacy Effect: First impressions are hard to alter.

• Recency Effect: Most recent information has a dominant effect on perceptions.

Improving Perceptions

1. Awareness of Perceptual Biases: Understanding personal biases to mitigate their effects.

2. Improving Self-Awareness: Tools like the Johari Window can aid in self-awareness.

3. Meaningful Interaction: Engages under conditions that promote empathy and understanding.