Mgt 4620 - Organizational Behavior - Test 1

Front 1

1. What is Organizational Behavior (OB)?

Back 1

• An applied behavior science that seeks knowledge of all aspects of behavior through systematic study of individual, group, and organizational processes.
• The Human Side Approach: What makes people tick?
• Individual and group analysis is emphasized the most.
o OB researchers attempt to solve organizational problems

Front 2

2. What are the three goals of OB?

Back 2

• Increase our understanding of people (scientific goal)
• Increase organizational effectiveness (applied goal)
o To increase the bottom line, be more productive
• Improve the quality of work life (applied goal)

Front 3

3. What are the characteristics of OB?

Back 3

• Uses the scientific method
• Involves three levels of analysis: individual, group and organizational
o Organizational is deemphasized
• Consistent with a Theory Y approach, but it is not naïve
o If environment is set up to where hard work pays off, people will work hard
o If people don’t work hard, will employ theory X and manage closely/get rid of
• Employs a contingency approach. (It depends on the situation; there are no simple answers.)
• Views organizations as an open system-dynamic & constantly changing
• Focuses on international perspective
o How people differ across cultures
o American = very individualistic, very competitive
o Collectivistic societies like China and some parts of Israel aren’t competitive

Front 4

4. What are the problems with common sense notions about OB?

Back 4

• They fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny
• Provide a starting point, but does not improve our understanding of behavior
• Too general, miss many of the subtleties and contingencies involved in OB
• Often contradictory

Front 5

5. **What is common sense useful for in OB?**

Back 5

• Providing a Starting Point

Front 6

6. What is a theory?

Back 6

• Useful way of describing the relationships between several different basic concepts and assertions concerning their interrelationships
• Consists of several basic concepts and assertions concerning their interrelationships
• An over-simplification of reality – Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS)
o Equity sensitivity theory
• People have different perceptions of what is fair
• Accurate reward is fair
• Want to hire these second
o Entitleds
• Take more than they give
• Over reward is fair
• Least productive
• Least likely to quit because they have nowhere else to go and they have it better where they are
• Don’t hire entitleds
• Within 90 days they will reveal their true nature – when entitled shows themselves move your performance up or move out
o Benevolent
• Give more than they take
• Under reward is fair
• Most productive
• Want to hire these most
• Theory helps us explain, predict, control

Front 7

7. What are the three functions of a theory? – ongoing process

Back 7

• Organize: simplify large amounts of information into meaningful statements
• Summarize: what we know about the topic at hand
• Guide: future research by suggesting research questions (hypothesis)

Front 8

8. What are the steps in testing a theory? → Skip

Back 8

• Form Hypothesis: predictions are derived from the theory
• Test Hypothesis: empirically in laboratory or field research
• Either Confirmed or Not Confirmed:
o Confirmed: confidence in the accuracy of the theory increases
o Not Confirmed: confidence in the theory decreases, may be rejected and discarded

Front 9

9. What does a good theory do for OB researchers?

Back 9

• Must explain, predict, & *control behavior*
• Accurate to stand the test of time
• Has to be testable

Front 10

10. What are the three steps in survey/correlational research?

Back 10

• Identifying: the variable that may affect some aspect of OB
o Get job satisfaction survey and those peoples supervisor’s measure of their performance
o Job satisfaction accounts for only 9% of job performance
• Measuring: these variables as precisely as possible using surveys/questionnaires
• Determining: whether or not there is a relationship using statistical procedures (usually correlational or regression analysis)
o Survey/correlational is cheaper, easier to administer than experimental

Front 11

11. **What is a correlation coefficient? (rxy)**

Back 11

• Indicates the *strength and direction* of the relationship between two variables
• Need to know
• -1 to 0 to +1
• correlation of 1
o perfect prediction
o if x is high, y is high
o same directions
• correlation of -1
o goes in the opposite direction of +1
o if x is low, y is high
o perfect prediction
o different directions

Front 12

12. **What does the absolute magnitude of the correlation indicate?**

Back 12

• Strength: the greater the absolute magnitude of the coefficient, the stronger relationship between the 2 variables
• Ignore the sign!
• Best prediction

Front 13

13. **What does the sign of the correlation coefficient indicate?**

Back 13

• Indicates direction
o Positive, as one variables increases (decreases), so does the other
o Negative, as one variable increases (decreases), the other decreases (increases) → inverses relationship
• Correlation of 0 no prediction, just random data points

Front 14

14. Why are correlations important in OB?

Back 14

• Allow us to make predictions
• Stronger the correlation, more accurate the prediction

Front 15

15. **What is the coefficient of determination? What information does it provide OB researchers?**

Back 15

• The correlation coefficient squared
o .5 correlation between IQ and performance; coefficient of determination you square that .25, meaning 25% of IQ is determinate of performance
• Indicates the percentage of variance accounted for in one variable by another variable
• How much of y is explained by x, or how much of x is explained by y

Front 16

16. **What magnitude of a correlation is poor? fair? good? excellent?**

Back 16

• Poor → less than .2
• Fair → .2 or so
• Good → .3 or so
• Excellent → .4 or so
• Outstanding → .5

Front 17

17. **What are the disadvantages of correlational research?**

Back 17

• Can’t yield cause and effect conclusions → Causation

Front 18

18. What are the reverse causality problem and the third variable problem in correlational research?

Back 18

• Reverse Causality Problem → Did X cause Y or did Y cause X?
o Can’t assume causation, they’re only related
o Supervisor friendliness and performance there is a .4 correlation
• Are supervisors nice because you’re a good performer
• Or are you a good performer because your supervisor is nice
• Third Variable Problem → Z could be the cause of X and Y (there could be no relation)
o Positive correlation between ice cream consumption and deaths due to drowning
• What would you conclude?
• These two are only related because of third variable (heat), because it’s summer (hot) more people are eating ice cream and more people are swimming and drowning

Front 19

19. What are the two steps in an experiment?

Back 19

• Presence of a variable believed to affect some aspect of OB is systematically varied
• The effects, if any, of such variations or manipulations are then measured
• Vary, then measure – cause then effect – keep everything else the same or else you introduce a third variable

Front 20

20. What is provided by experiments that is not provided by survey/correlational research?

Back 20

• Experiments allow us to establish the fact that one variable directly determines another = causality

Front 21

21. What are the three key features of an experiment?

Back 21

• Independent Variable
o The one that researchers manipulate
o Cause
• Dependent Variable
o The one they measure
o Effect
• Extraneous Variables
o Keep everything else constant
o Random assignment controls experiment

Front 22

22. What is the Independent Variable in an experiment?

Back 22

• This is the variable that is systematically *manipulated by the researcher* so as to determine its effect on the behavior of interest (cause)

Front 23

23. What is the Dependent Variable in an experiment?

Back 23

• This is the variable that is supposedly influenced by the independent variable and is measured (effect)

Front 24

24. How are extraneous subject variables controlled in experiments?

Back 24

• Held constant
• [Randomly assign people to different experiments ]

Front 25

25. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a laboratory experiment?**

Back 25

• Advantages:
o Greater control over extraneous variables
o Makes stronger causality statements
• Disadvantages:
o Lower Realism
o You know you’re being tested, so may change your behavior
o May not generalize to the real world

Front 26

26. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a field experiment?**

Back 26

• Advantages:
o Higher Realism
• Disadvantages:
o Less control over extraneous variables
o Makes weaker causality statements

Front 27

27. What is internal validity and which type of experiment, in general, possess greater amounts of it?

Back 27

• When one can make a strong case for causality
• Laboratory Experiments

Front 28

28. What is external validity and which type of experiment, in general, possess greater amounts of it?

Back 28

• When one can generalize the findings of the research to other settings/situations
• Field Experiments

Front 29

29. What is feedback?

Back 29

• Knowledge of results
• Any communication to a person that gives him/her information about some aspect of his/her behavior and its effects on another person
EXTRA CREDIT: JOHARDI WINDOW

Front 30

30. Why do we give feedback in organizations?

Back 30

• Increase that person’s performance
• Build and maintain a trusting relationship

Front 31

31. Why does feedback improve performance?

Back 31

• Because its Motivation + Instruction
**• Indirect form of recognition

Front 32

32. What are the guidelines for effective feedback?

Back 32

• Focus on Specific Behaviors
• Keep it Impersonal
• Focus on the Effects of the Behavior
• Keep it Goal Oriented
• Make it Well-Timed
• Ensure Understanding
• Tailor the Feedback to Fit the Individual



**EXTRA CREDIT: Poor Performers who can’t perform the task:**
TRAIN>TRANSFER>TERMINATE

Front 33

33. What happens when a person is given general feedback to improve his performance?

Back 33

• When feedback is not specific it can cause **confusion and frustration**. It leaves questions in the employee’s mind
• Problems don’t get corrected

Front 34

34. What happens when a manager is more specific in her feedback to employees?

Back 34

• The more specific the feedback, the easier it is for the person to understand exactly what you mean, to believe what you say, and to develop a plan for change (if the feedback is negative).

Front 35

35. What does the term, “keep it impersonal”, mean when giving feedback?

Back 35

• [Attack the behavior and not the person]
• Go hard on the behavior and soft on the person

Front 36

36. What does the term, “focus on the effects of the behavior”, mean when giving feedback?

Back 36

• Effective feedback focuses on the effects the behavior has on you. Share your thoughts and feelings about the behavior with the employee. This helps build trust.
• “I liked…” “I didn’t like...”
**• Consequences to others
**• Consequences to self

Front 37

37. What does the term, “make it well-timed”, mean when giving feedback?

Back 37

• Feedback is most meaningful when given within a short period of time between the behavior and the delivery of feedback about the behavior. However both parties have to be ready for feedback

Front 38

38. How does one ensure understanding when giving feedback to another person?

Back 38

• Get feedback on our message
• Have the person rephrase the content of your feedback to see whether it fully captures the meaning you intended (Most important for negative feedback)

Front 39

39. What are the problems encountered relative to ensuring understanding of feedback?

Back 39

• With negative feedback you forget to ensure understanding
• Employee may rephrase and add things you didn’t say

Front 40

40. What does the term, “tailor the feedback to fit the individual”, mean in giving feedback?

Back 40

• Feedback, its frequency, amount, and content should be tailored to the individual’s past performance and future potential

Front 41

41. What are the different defense reactions individuals can exhibit in response to negative feedback?

Back 41

• Defensiveness is manifested in the employee in several different ways such as denial, retreating into shell, anger, aggression, and scape-goating.

Front 42

42. **What are the different sources of information in face-to-face communication and what percent of the message is communicated by each source?**

Back 42

• Words Used = 7%
• Tone of Voice/Facial Expressions = 38%
• Body Language = 55% → best indicator

Front 43

43. **What is non-verbal leakage?**

Back 43

• Our bodies will leak out our true feelings or thoughts on the matter that does not match what we are saying

Front 44

44. What are the different body language signals that may indicate defensiveness?

Back 44

• **Look for 3-4 to max out accuracy**
• Crossed arms (either relaxed or fist like)
• Crossed legs and ankles
• Very little to no eye contact (feel guilty or uncomfortable) or too much eye contact (feel angry). Also, side to side glances.
• Clenched fists
• Steepling (a bringing together of the hands and is a form of confidence)
• Palm to the back of the neck or hair grooming action (pain in the neck or he gets in my hair – a bother)
• Body turned away – face turned away – leaning away from you
• Pinching the bridge of the nose (“I don’t see it”)

Front 45

45. What are the four ways of effectively dealing with defensiveness?

Back 45

• 1. Recognize it’s normal
• 2. Never attack a person’s defensiveness
• 3. Allow time for a more reasoned reaction to take place
• 4. Realize that you cannot help some people because their defensiveness may be at a dysfunctional level

Front 46

46. What are the guidelines for making negative feedback more effective?

Back 46

• Make sure the behavior is controllable by the individual
• Give the negative feedback in private
• Make the negative feedback objective in content
• Provide negative feedback first, then supportive feedback
• Don’t gunnysack
• If you engage in destructive feedback, apologize as soon as possible. (Leading by example)

Front 47

47. Why should you not give negative feedback to someone for a result that was not under her control? When is negative feedback useless?

Back 47

• It only reminds them of their shortcomings and leads to frustration and resentment → possibly lead to lower performance levels
• Feedback is useless when it’s about:
o Personal characteristics/previous experiences
o Missed or lost opportunities

Front 48

48. Where should you give negative feedback: public or private?

Back 48

• In private → “punish in private principle”

Front 49

49. Is it always best to give positive feedback in public? If not, then why?

Back 49

• No, in private. This will help to reduce defensiveness

Front 50

50. What does the term, “make it objective in content”, mean when it comes to giving negative feedback?

Back 50

• Negative feedback is more likely to be accepted when its objective is in form or is backed up by hard data. It’s hard to argue with the facts. This will increase your credibility and make your feedback more influential in bringing about change in the employee.

Front 51

51. What happens to positive feedback when one uses the psychological sandwich approach to negative feedback (i.e., positive-negative-positive)?

Back 51

• Positive feedback loses its motivational ability when it’s paired too often with negative feedback. The employee will recognize what you’re up to (thru body language cues) and it will seem disingenuous.

Front 52

52. What approach is preferred to giving negative feedback (psychological sandwich or negative then supportive/positive)?

Back 52

• Negative feedback then SUPPORTIVE FEEDBACK

Front 53

53. What is meant by the term, “don’t gunnysack”, in giving negative feedback? How does one overcome such a problem?

Back 53

• Don’t let the little things that happen on time get under your skin. If they are too minor to talk about with someone else, then let it go.

Front 54

54. What should you do when you have engaged in destructive feedback? What should you not do?

Back 54

• DO: Apologize
• DON’T: Bring your employees into your office to get things off their chest and to blow off some steam.

Front 55

55. What are the other techniques you should use to make negative feedback more effective?

Back 55

• Keep the feedback as simple as possible
• Don’t focus on too many behaviors at once
• Write the feedback down on a piece of paper
• Bounce the feedback off another supervisor who is not emotionally involved

Front 56

56. What are the different emotional and behavioral reactions that people experience when they are given only negative feedback to locate an object?

Back 56

• The volunteer under negative feedback showed signs of anger, of feeling like he was being deliberately deceived or made fun of. Also, The volunteer under negative feedback was confused, was less willing to search for the object, was extremely frustrated, showed signs of wanting to retaliate, and did not locate the object.

Front 57

57. What are the different emotional and behavioral reactions that people experience when they are given only positive feedback to locate an object?

Back 57

• Positive feedback creates a positive attitude. The volunteer under positive feedback was enjoying himself and was willing to experiment and search for the object He was also able to locate the object in a short amount of time (1 and ½ minutes). The volunteer under positive feedback appeared to be enjoying himself and having fun.

Front 58

58. What is the leave-alone zap trap? What effects does it have on employees?

Back 58

• The LEAVE-ALONE ZAP MANAGER manages by exception! He/she notices only the bad things you do and when a bad thing is recognized by this manager negative feedback is given. (He/she fails to praise or even notice the good things you do!)
• The leave-alone zap manager creates a climate full of fear and avoidance! His/ her employees become alienated and frustrated. As a result, they hide their problems away from the leave-alone zap manager. This state of affairs does not allow the leave-alone zap manager to effectively manage because a manager’s job is to help his/her subordinates solve their performance problems. But now they are so afraid of the leave-alone zap manager that they will not bring their problems to him/her for fear of being zapped. This creates an unproductive work climate.
• Don’t take risks and Cover Your Ass behavior

Front 59

59. How does one overcome the leave-alone zap trap?

Back 59

• THE SOLUTION IS TO MBWA (MANAGE BY WALKING AROUND) AND CATCH PEOPLE DOING THINGS RIGHT! THAT MEANS PROVIDING POSITIVE FEEDBACK FOR GOOD PERFORMANCE!!!!

Front 60

60. How many positive feedbacks to every negative feedback, in general, does it take for the subordinates to not perceive the manager as punishing?

Back 60

• Leave-alone managers are seen as punitive by their employees!
• The critical number is 4 +’s to every 1 –

Front 61

61. What is the jelly-bean motivation trap? What effects does it have on employees?

Back 61

• Hand out positive feedback INDISCRIMINATELY (give something for nothing), it will lose its power to motivate people BECAUSE IT’S NOT TIED TO PERFORMANCE.
• Manager passes out positive feedback without regard to performance.
• Poor performing employees like this and high performing employees don’t.

Front 62

62. How does one overcome the jelly-bean motivation trap?

Back 62

• When you give positive feedback it must be GENUINE and RELATED TO ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. Otherwise, people will see right through it and your credibility will be dramatically reduced and your employees will feel like you are trying to manipulate them.

Front 63

63. **What does the research by Brownell reveal about managers’ listening skills?**

Back 63

• Managers may be clueless when judging their listening skills (most managers thought their skills were “good” or “very good”)

Front 64

64. **What is the average listening efficiency of a manager? What are two reasons provided for this finding?**

Back 64

• Managers listen with about 25% efficiency
• Managers usually talk about 85% of the time
• Managers have 75% slack time b/c you can process 400-600 words/per minute and most people speak at about 125-150 words/per minute

Front 65

****65. What are the four aspects of active listening? → Test question

Back 65

• 1. Be intense
• 2. Be empathetic
• 3. Be accepting → biggest problem is here
• 4. Take responsibility for completeness

Front 66

66. Why does one have to be intense to be an active listener?

Back 66

• Focus on what they are saying
• Our brains can handle more than a person can speak leaving time for our minds to wander while listening
• Summarize and integrate what has being said

Front 67

67. What does empathy have to do with active listening?

Back 67

• Put yourself in their shoes (their perspective)
• Tries to understand what the speaker wants to communicate
• Requires KNOWLEDGE of the speaker and FLEXIBILITY on the part of the listener

Front 68

68. What does the term, “be accepting”, mean when it comes to active listening?

Back 68

• Listens objectively without judging content and jumping to conclusions until the speaker is finished

Front 69

69. What does the term, “take responsibility for completeness”, mean as it applies to active listening?

Back 69

• Ensure you receive the full intended meaning from the speaker’s communication
• 2 techniques: Paraphrasing & Asking Questions
• Understanding the message is responsibility of the sender AND receiver

Front 70

70. What are the skills of an active listener?

Back 70

• Make eye contact
• Give Affirmative Head nods and appropriate facial expressions
• Avoid distracting actions/gestures
• Ask questions
• Paraphrase
• Don’t over talk

Front 71

**71. What is back channel-feedback and how does it affect the sender of the message? **

Back 71

• Feedback to the sender... lets them know if you are understanding or not
• Lets them know to move on

Front 72

72. What is perception? What’s involved in perceiving?

Back 72

• Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information into a meaningful, coherent picture of the world
• In perceiving: we select, organize, and interpret

Front 73

73. What is selective perception and what are the factors that influence it?

Back 73

• Selective Perception: the tendency of the brain to select only the most pertinent sensory input to be perceived or processed. These selected aspects are usually consistent with our values, attitudes, and needs.
• Influenced by:
o 1. Nature of the stimuli involved (intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motivation, novelty)
o 2. Previous experience and learning (perceptual set)
o 3. Needs and motives at the time of perception

Front 74

74. **For which applicants do contrast effects occur in employment interviews?**

Back 74

• Average applicants
• Does not occur for poor or good applicants

Front 75

75. How do contrast effects affect the weighting of information in employment interviews?

Back 75

• ***Only hurts average applicant
• Tare rated higher than they should be when followings poor applicants and rated lower when following a good applicant. Again, contrast effects do not occur for poor or good applicants.

Front 76

76. What is perceptual set and how does it affect selective perception?

Back 76

• The readiness to be sensitive to certain cues in the environment
• People see and hear what they expect to see and hear
• Old lady/Young lady example
o It increases selective perception

Front 77

77. How do needs and motives affect selective perception?

Back 77

• If you have been treated unfairly, you tend to notice all the injustice around you
• If you’re hungry, you notice food more

Front 78

78. What are the different forms of perceptual grouping?

Back 78

• Tendency to group several stimuli together into a recognizable pattern
o 1. Closure
o 2. Continuity
o 3. Proximity
o 4. Similarity → Strongest

Front 79

79. What is the figure-ground relationship?

Back 79

• Most basic form
• The ability to distinguish between objects or figures and the field or background on which they appear

Front 80

80. What is closure?

Back 80

• A person will perceive a whole when one does not actually exist
• A person will close the gaps which are unfilled with sensory input

Front 81

81. What is continuity? What’s a problem with this perceptual grouping?

Back 81

• A person will perceive continuous lines or patterns
• “We have always done it this way”
• Can lead to inflexible, non-creative thinking
• [Helps identify trends]

Front 82

82. What is proximity? What’s a problem with this perceptual grouping?

Back 82

• Stimuli that are close together will be perceived as a whole pattern of parts that belong together
• [Things that occur together in time and space *are related*]

Front 83

83. What is similarity? What does this lead to?

Back 83

• **STRONGEST PRINCIPLE**
• The greater the similarity of the stimuli, the greater the tendency to group those stimuli together and perceive them as a common group
• This principle [leads to stereotyping]
o Ex: women or men

Front 84

84. What is perceptual constancy? Why is this helpful?

Back 84

• The tendency of the target of perception to be perceived in the same way over time and across situations
• “First Impressions are Lasting Impressions”
• Helpful: Gives stability to our world

Front 85

85. What is perceptual context? How does this affect the perception of positive non-verbal behaviors in employment interviews?

Back 85

• Gives meaning and value to simple stimuli, objects, events, situations, and people in the environment
• Highest and most sophisticated form of organization
• **EX: Smiling frequently, maintaining eye contact, and leaning forward can improve your ratings UNLESS you have poor qualifications, seen as trying to cover something up**

Front 86

86. **What is the highest form of perceptual grouping?**

Back 86

• Perceptual Context

Front 87

87. How does cultural background affect perception?

Back 87

• Different meaning is taken from nonverbal behaviors
• Relates to context

Front 88

88. How does social role influence perception?

Back 88

• One filter through which we view others that can greatly affect how we perceive messages from them
• Perceptual context
• “What are you doing?” from manager vs. trainee

Front 89

89. What bias do expectations/perceptual set lead to in perception? What are the effects of this bias?

Back 89

• Confirmatory bias → tend to see and remember what we already believe.
• Leads to Belief Perseverance → slow to change our minds even with disconfirming information

Front 90

90. What is an implicit personality theory? Why can it lead to inaccurate perceptions?

Back 90

• Use the existence of 1 trait to infer the existence of others
• Mini theories of how people look and behave
o Ex: If they’re hardworking then they must be honest
• Inaccurate Perceptions:
o Treat people as the same (ignore individual differences)
o Assume that certain traits are consistently found together in people
• Theory X and Theory Y are examples of Implicit Trait Theory

Front 91

91. What is projection?

Back 91

• Tendency to unconsciously attribute one’s own characteristics and feelings (both positive and negative) to others
o Ex: if you are a happy person you believe that other people are basically happy

Front 92

92. Who does projection tell you more about: the other person or yourself?

Back 92

*• Yourself

Front 93

93. How can projection be a defense mechanism?

Back 93

• You project negative traits on to other people to make yourself feel better

Front 94

94. What trap does projection lead to in managing others?

Back 94

• Rewarding on assumed needs trap

Front 95

95. What is the halo/horns effect? What can this lead to in performance appraisals and reward distribution?

Back 95

• Tendency to draw a general impression about an individual based on a singled “valued” characteristic
• Positive Impression = Halo
• Negative Impression = Horns
• Rewards in the organization are based on performance appraisals, which are subject to this error. Thus, you may have rewards that are not based on actual performance

Front 96

96. Is halo/horns always inaccurate?

Back 96

• No, is inaccurate many times but also times when it is true

Front 97

97. **How is halo/horns different from implicit personality theory?**

Back 97

• Halo/Horns= Specific trait to general impression
• Implicit Personality Theory= From one trait we infer another trait

Front 98

98. What are the three aspects of a stereotype?

Back 98

• 1. We distinguish some category of people (Based on similarities)
• 2. We assume that individuals in this category have certain traits
• 3. We perceive that everyone in this category possesses these traits

Front 99

99. Are stereotypes always negative and/or inaccurate?

Back 99

• Not always negative
• Not always inaccurate
• Not always ridged
• Anger makes people stereotype more

Front 100

100. Why do we use stereotypes?

Back 100

• Provide a useful way of dealing with information overload
• COGNITIVE MISER PRINCIPLE → provide us a lot of information with minimal amount of effort

Front 101

101. What can stereotypes obscure? Why is this the case?

Back 101

• Individual Differences
• Because:
o We remember stereotype consistent information
o We forget stereotype inconsistent information
o We complete impression of others with information never observed

Front 102

102. What did the research by Hartley reveal about stereotypes?

Back 102

• Help us gather information about groups we don’t know much about
• Did not stop them from assigning traits and those traits were usually negative

Front 103

103. Rigid stereotypes develop for what kind of targets/groups?

Back 103

• Groups that we have little or non contract with

Front 104

104. Why do inaccurate stereotypes persist?

Back 104

• Help us process information quickly and efficiently
• It is easier than trying to find out what people are really like
• Reinforced by selective perception/retention

Front 105

105. **What has the research revealed about sex-role stereotypes in employment interviews?**

Back 105

• Male applicants favored in masculine jobs (ex: manager)
• Female applicants favored in feminine jobs (ex: secretary)

Front 106

106. What significantly decreases the influence of sex-role stereotypes in employment interviews?

Back 106

• [Good information] about the applicant and the job (use data)

Front 107

107. **Which type of rater is less likely to use sex-role stereotypes to determine interview ratings: sex-typed or non-sex-typed? Why is this the case?**

Back 107

• Non-sex-typed: because they don’t act accordingly to their own stereotypes

Front 108

********108. **How does attractiveness of the applicant influence employment interview ratings for males? females?** → Test question

Back 108

• Males: attractiveness leads to higher interview ratings
• Females: double-edged sword
o In feminine jobs, attractive females were given higher ratings
o In masculine jobs, attractive females were given lower ratings

Front 109

109. What are the beliefs in age stereotypes?

Back 109

• Older worker are seen as:
o Having less capacity for performance
o Being less productive, creative, logical, and capable of performing under pressure
o Having less potential for development
o Being more rigid and dogmatic and less adaptable
o [Have less turnover]

Front 110

110. What are facts concerning how age relates to performance, absenteeism, and turnover?

Back 110

• AGE and PERFORMANCE are unrelated
• Older workers have more unavoidable absences but are also less likely to quit their jobs than younger workers
• Overall, older workers are [likely to be good workers]

Front 111

111. A problem with stereotypes is that they can become self-fulfilling prophecies, what does this mean?

Back 111

• Also the Pygmalion Effect
• Treat them with less expectations and they will live up to only those lower expectations

Front 112

****112. What is the first impression bias? What perceptual principle leads to the long-lasting effects of this bias?

Back 112

• The anchor and adjustment bias
• Law of Primacy → the first thing we see has a lasting impact on what we see in the future
• ****[Perceptual constancy leads to the long lasting effects] → Test Question

Front 113

113. What is the opposite of the first impression bias?

Back 113

• The availability bias
• Recency Bias: the last impressions make the greater impressions

Front 114

114. What is tunnel vision?

Back 114

• **Opposite of closure**
• Limits your creativity and innovation by restricting what you perceive as possible

Front 115

115. How does emotional state affect perception?

Back 115

• **Narrow focus, making you more detail oriented**
• In a positive mood, we create positive perceptions of others → *creativity increases *
• In a negative mood, we create negative perceptions of others

Front 116

116. How does happiness affect decision-making?

Back 116

• This is a the tendency to unconsciously attribute one’s own characteristics and feelings (both positive and negative) to others.
• For example, if you are a happy person you believe that other people are basically happy.
• We have all had the experience of misperceiving the innocent comment of a friend when angry (e.g. a worker who is upset about not getting promoted might perceive the consolation provided by a coworker who got promoted as gloating). On the other hand, consider the worker is so happy about being promoted that she fails to notice (selective perception) how upset her coworker is because she was not promoted.
• Let’s reproduce (that event).
• Happiness: Achievement of a goal results in happiness. It’s a signal that we’ve done something good that we value. This feeling inspires and motivates us to do it again and repeat the success

Front 117

117. How does anxiety affect decision-making?

Back 117

• These anxieties and doubts, in turn, may interfere with their actual performance. The result: an inaccurate stereotype gains confirmation.
• Fear: It’s a signal that something bad is happening or about to happen. Worry, anxiety, and fear are the red flags of danger that indicate something needs to be attended to. Fear is often future-directed. We anticipate something bad is going to happen. There is a feeling of uncertainty as well. Fear signals that we might be missing something.
• Act now to avoid negative consequences.

Front 118

118. How does sadness affect decision-making?

Back 118

• Sadness: Disappointment or loss results in sadness. When we don’t achieve our goals or when something is taken away from us, we mourn its loss. It allows you to come to terms with the loss. There is also an interpersonal aspect to sadness: it invites support and assistance of others at a critical time when it’s most needed.
• Sadness motivates the evolutionary behavior: “Help me, I’m hurt”
• Sadness motivate behavior now: “Ask others for their help and support.”

Front 119

119. What is meant by the term, cognitive miser?

Back 119

• Lot of information given little effort

Front 120

120. How does one make the most of subjective perceptions?

Back 120

• Become Self-Aware
• Reality Test
• Articulate Your Prejudges
• Redefine Problems into Opportunities/Challenges
• See the World with New Eyes
o Free Your Mind
• We are never deceived, we only deceive ourselves

Front 121

121. How does happiness affect decision-making?

Back 121

• Consider the worker is so happy about being promoted that she fails to notice (selective perception) how upset her coworker is because she was not promoted.

Front 122

121. What is the difference between an observation and an inference?

Back 122

OBSERVATION
- Can be made during or after observation
- Must stay within what one has observed
- Can be made only by the observer
- Statements approach certainty

INFERENCE
-Can be made anytime
-Can go beyond observation to the limits of imagination
-Can be made my anyone
-Statements involve only degrees of probability

Front 123

122. What is a problem that people have in relation to observations and inferences?

Back 123

• When we behave on the basis of an inference as if it is a fact, we take an unrecognized and uncalculated risk because we assume that it’s a certainty (the probability of failure is ZERO). This can result in decisions being made that are costly, dangerous, or even FATAL.