McShane CdnOB10 IM03

Chapter 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations

Instructor’s Manual to Accompany

Canadian Organizational
Behaviour 10/e
by Steven L. McShane, Kevin Tasa, and Sandra Steen
Chapter 3:
Perceiving Ourselves and
Others in Organizations

Prepared by:  
Steven L. McShane (Curtin University and
University of Victoria) 
Kevin Tasa (York University) 
Sandra L. Steen (University of Regina)
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Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Perceiving Ourselves and 
3 Others in Organizations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

3-1 Describe the elements of self-concept and explain how each affects an individual’s behaviour and well-being.
3-2 Outline the perceptual process and discuss the effects of categorical thinking and mental models in that process.
3-3 Discuss how stereotyping, attribution, self-fulfilling prophecy, halo, false consensus, primacy, and recency effects
influence the perceptual process.
3-4 Discuss three ways to improve perceptions, with specific application to organizational situations.
3-5 Outline the main features of a global mindset and justify its usefulness to employees and organizations.
CHAPTER GLOSSARY
attribution process — the perceptual process of deciding fundamental attribution error — the tendency to see the
whether an observed behaviour or event is caused person rather than the situation as the main cause of that
largely by internal or external factors person’s behaviour
categorical thinking — organizing people and objects global mindset — an individual’s ability to perceive,
into preconceived categories that are stored in our long- appreciate, and empathize with people from other
term memory cultures and to process complex cross-cultural
information
confirmation bias — the processing of screening out
information that is contrary to our values and halo effect — a perceptual error whereby our general
assumptions, and to more readily accept confirming impression of a person, usually based on one prominent
information. characteristic, colours our perception of other
characteristics of that person
contact hypothesis — a theory stating that the more we
interact with someone, the less prejudiced or Johari Window — a model of mutual understanding that
perceptually biased we will be against that person encourages disclosure and feedback to increase our own
open area and reduce the blind, hidden, and unknown
empathy — a person’s understanding of and sensitivity
areas
to the feelings, thoughts, and situation of others
locus of control — a person’s general belief about the
false-consensus effect — a perceptual error in which we
amount of control he or she has over personal life events
overestimate the extent to which others have beliefs and
characteristics similar to our own mental models — knowledge structures that we develop
to describe, explain, and predict the world around us.
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perception — the process of receiving information self-enhancement — a person’s inherent motivation to

about, and making sense of, the world around us have a positive self-concept (and to have others perceive
him or her favourably), such as being competent,
positive organizational behaviour — a perspective of
attractive, lucky, ethical, and important
organizational behaviour that focuses on building
positive qualities and traits within individuals or self-fulfilling prophecy — the perceptual process in
institutions as opposed to focusing on what is wrong which our expectations about another person cause that
with them person to act in a way that is consistent with those
expectations
primacy effect — a perceptual error in which we quickly
form an opinion of people based on the first information self-serving bias — the tendency to attribute our
we receive about them favourable outcomes to internal factors and our failures
to external factors
recency effect — a perceptual error in which the most
recent information dominates our perception of others self-verification — a person’s inherent motivation to
confirm and maintain his or her existing self-concept
selective attention — the process of attending to some
information received by our senses and ignoring other social identity theory — a theory stating that people
information define themselves by the groups to which they belong or
have an emotional attachment
self-concept — an individual’s self-beliefs and self-
evaluations stereotype threat — an individual’s concern about
confirming a negative stereotype about his or her group
self-efficacy — a person’s belief that he or she has the
ability, motivation, correct role perceptions, and stereotyping — the process of assigning traits to people
favourable situation to complete a task successfully based on their membership in a social category 
CHAPTER SUMMARY BY LEARNING OBJECTIVE
3-1 Describe the elements of self-concept and explain how each affects an individual’s behaviour and well-being.
Self-concept includes an individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations. It has three structural characteristics—
complexity, consistency, and clarity—all of which influence employee well-being, behaviour, and performance.
People are inherently motivated to promote and protect their self-concept (self-enhancement) and to verify and
maintain their existing self-concept (self-verification). Self-evaluation consists of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus
of control. Self-concept also consists of both personal identity and social identity. Social identity theory explains
how people define themselves by the groups to which they belong or have an emotional attachment.
3-2 Outline the perceptual process and discuss the effects of categorical thinking and mental models in that
process.
Perception involves selecting, organizing, and interpreting information to make sense of the world around us.
Perceptual organization applies categorical thinking—the mostly nonconscious process of organizing people and
objects into preconceived categories that are stored in our long-term memory. Mental models—knowledge
structures that we develop to describe, explain, and predict the world around us—also help us make sense of
incoming stimuli.
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3-3 Discuss how stereotyping, attribution, self-fulfilling prophecy, halo, false-consensus, primacy, and recency
effects influence the perceptual process.
Stereotyping occurs when people assign traits to others based on their membership in a social category. This
assignment economizes mental effort, fills in missing information, and enhances our self-concept, but it also lays
the foundation for stereotype threat as well as systemic and intentional discrimination. The attribution process
involves deciding whether an observed behaviour or event is caused mainly by the person (internal factors) or the
environment (external factors). Attributions are decided by perceived consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus
of the behaviour. This process is subject to self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error. A self-fulfilling
prophecy occurs when our expectations about another person cause that person to act in a way that is consistent
with those expectations. This effect is stronger when employees first join the work unit, when several people hold
these expectations, and when the employee has a history of low achievement. Four other perceptual errors
commonly observed in organizations are the halo effect, false-consensus effect, primacy effect, and recency effect.
3-4 Discuss three ways to improve perceptions, with specific application to organizational situations.
One way to minimize perceptual biases is to become more aware of their existence. Awareness of these biases
makes people more mindful of their thoughts and actions, but this training sometimes reinforces rather than
reduces reliance on stereotypes and tends to be ineffective for people with deeply held prejudices. A second
strategy is to become more aware of biases in our own decisions and behaviour. Self-awareness increases through
formal tests such as the IAT and by applying the Johari Window, which is a process in which others provide
feedback to you about your behaviour, and you offer disclosure to them about yourself. The third strategy is
meaningful interaction, which applies the contact hypothesis that people who interact will be less prejudiced or
perceptually biased toward one another. Meaningful interaction is strongest when people work closely and
frequently with relatively equal status on a shared meaningful task that requires cooperation and reliance on one
another. Meaningful interaction may improve empathy, which is a person’s understanding and sensitivity to the
feelings, thoughts, and situations of others.
3-5 Outline the main features of a global mindset and justify its usefulness to employees and organizations.
A global mindset refers to an individual’s ability to perceive, know about, and process information across cultures.
This includes (1) an awareness of, openness to, and respect for other views and practices in the world; (2) the
capacity to empathize and act effectively across cultures; (3) an ability to process complex information about novel
environments; and (4) the ability to comprehend and reconcile intercultural matters with multiple levels of
thinking. A global mindset enables people to develop better cross-cultural relationships, to digest huge volumes of
cross-cultural information, and to identify and respond more quickly to emerging global opportunities. Employees
develop a global mindset through self-awareness, opportunities to compare their own mental models with people
from other cultures, formal cross-cultural training, and immersion in other cultures.
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LECTURE OUTLINE
Slide 1: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations
Slide 2: Perceptions and Self-Concept in Technology

Ladies Learning Code is working to correct the under-representation of women in
information technology, computer science, and related fields by improving their self-concept
and self-evaluation in this line of work.
Slide 3: Self-Concept Defined

An individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations
• We ask ourselves “Who am I?” and “How do I feel about myself?”
• Self-concept guides our decisions and actions
We compare our images of a job with our current (perceived self) and desired (ideal self)
to determine fit
Three levels of self-concept:
• Individual self — personal traits
• Relational self — connections to friends and coworkers
• Collective self — membership in teams, organizations, social groups, etc
Includes three self-concept characteristics (3 Cs) and four “selves” processes
Slide 4: Self-Concept Model: Three Cs and Four Selves

Three Cs — characteristics of self-concept
• Complexity
• Consistency
• Clarity
Four selves — four self-concept processes
• Self-enhancement
• Self-verification
• Self-evaluation
• Social self
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Slide 5: Self-Concept Characteristics (3 C’s)

Complexity
• Number of distinct and important roles/identities people perceive about themselves
• People have multiple self-concepts — e.g. student, friend, daughter, etc.
• Self-expansion — human motivation to increase one’s complexity
➡ Higher complexity with self-expansion
• Degree of separation of selves — less complexity when selves are related (all work-
related)
• Specific selves dominate at different times
➡ Domain specific (e.g. parent at home, manager at work)
➡ Potential problem when competing selves supported by a domain (e.g. telecommuters
struggle to separate family vs. work selves)
Consistency
• Higher when
(a) multiple selves require similar personality traits, values, other attributes and  
(b) attributes are compatible with current and ideal self
• Lower when multiple selves require conflicting personal characteristics (e.g. cautiousness
in one identity, risk-oriented in another identity)
Clarity
• High clarity when person's self-concept is clear, confidently defined, and stable
➡ Confident about “who we are”
➡ Can describe our important identities to others
➡ Can provide the same self-view description across time
• Clarity increases with age — develop better self-awareness through life experiences
• Clarity higher when multiple selves have higher consistency
Slide 6: Outcomes of Self-Concept Characteristics

Better well-being with:
• Multiple selves (complexity)
➡ Protects self-esteem when some identities are threatened or damaged
• High consistency selves — identities are similar to each other and compatible with
personal traits (consistency)
➡ Too much variation causes internal tension and conflict
• Well-established selves (clarity)
➡ Less ambiguity, less swayed by influential people, less stress in decisions, less threatened
by threats to self-esteem
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Effects on individual behaviour/performance

• Self-concept complexity
➡ More adaptive — easily alter thinking and behaviour to suit new tasks and work
environments
➡ Often produces more diverse social networks — more resources and social support
➡ More effort to maintain and juggle — stressful
➡ Effects of lower complexity — enables more resources to develop those fewer identities
• Self-concept clarity
➡ Higher performance, vital for leadership
➡ More focused career development paths
➡ Feel less threatened by interpersonal conflict — more constructive problem-solving
➡ Problem with very high clarity — role inflexibility — less adaptive to change
Slide 7: Self-Concept: Self-Enhancement

An innate human drive to promote/protect a positive self-view
• Being competent, attractive, lucky, ethical, valued
• Most evident in situations that are common and important
Self-enhancement outcomes:
• Better personal adjustment and mental/physical health
• Higher motivation due to “can-do” beliefs (self-efficacy)
• More risk-oriented decisions, inflated estimate of personal causation, slower to
recognize mistakes
Slide 8: Self-Concept: Self-Verification

Motivation to confirm and maintain our existing self-concept
Stabilizes our self-concept — anchors our thoughts and actions
• We actively communicate our self-concept (tell others who we are)
• Seek and welcome feedback consistent with our self-concept — even if not flattering
(e.g., not good at accounting)
Self-verification outcomes:
• Tend to recall information consistent, screen out inconsistent, with our self-concept
• High self-concept clarity people more likely to dismiss feedback contradicting self-
concept
• Motivated to interact with others who affirm individual’s self-concept — affects how
well employees get along with team members and bosses
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Slide 9: Self-Concept: Self-Evaluation

Our evaluation of ourselves has three elements
Self-esteem
• Global self-evaluation
• High self-esteem — less influenced by others, more persistent, think more logically
Self-efficacy
• Believe we can successfully perform a task (“can-do” attitude)
➡ Perceived ability, motivation, role clarity, and favourable situation (MARS elements)
• Defined in terms of specific task but is also a general trait across situations
Locus of control
• General beliefs about the amount of control over personal life events
• More positive self-evaluation with an internal locus of control
Slide 10: Self Concept: Social Self

Two opposing human motives:
(a) to be distinctive and different from other people and  
(b) for inclusion and assimilation with other people
Personal identity (internal self-concept)
• Supports need to be distinctive and different from others
• Includes attributes that highlight a person’s uniqueness (unusual skill or
accomplishment)
Social identity (external self-concept)
• People define themselves by the groups to which they belong or have an emotional
attachment.
• Supports need for inclusion and assimilation with others
• Several factors influence social identity:
1. How easily others identify you with a social group (gender, race, etc.)
2. Your minority status in a social setting (e.g. gender where most people are the opposite
gender)
3. Social groups status — we identify with groups that make us feel better about ourselves
— Self-enhancement (e.g. high status groups)
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People differ in priority for uniqueness (personal identities) vs. belongingness (social
identities)
People with strong social identity self-concepts
• More motivated to abide by team norms
• More easily influenced by peer pressure
Those with strong personal identity self-concepts
• Speak out more frequently against the majority
• Less motivated to follow the team’s wishes
• Expressing disagreement — a sign of distinctiveness, forms clearer (personal identity)
self-concept
Slide 11: Perception and Selective Attention

Perception defined: process of receiving information about and making sense of the world
around us
• Determining which information gets noticed
• Determining how to categorize this information
• Determining how to interpret information within the framework of our existing
knowledge
Selective attention: Process of attending to some information received by our senses and
ignoring other information
Influences on selective attention:
• Characteristics of the person or object being perceived — size, intensity, motion,
repetition, novelty, context
• Characteristics of the perceiver
➡ Assumptions, expectations, needs, etc.
Emotional marker process — Our brain quickly and nonconsciously assesses incoming
stimuli and attaches emotional markers (worry, happiness, etc.)
• Help us store information in memory, later reproduced when recalling information
Selective attention biases
• Assumptions/expectations — focus on some types of incoming stimuli, but screen out
other useful information
• Confirmation bias — nonconsciously screen out information contrary to our decisions,
beliefs, values, and assumptions and to more readily accept confirming information
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Slide 12: Perceptual Organization/Interpretation

We reduce the huge volume and complexity of incoming information through various
perceptual grouping strategies
Categorical thinking
• Perceptual grouping process — organizing people/things into preconceived categories
that are stored in our long-term memory
• Mostly nonconscious
Perceptual grouping principles
• Similarity or proximity to others
• Closure — Filling in missing information
• Perceiving trends in otherwise ambiguous information
Interpreting incoming information
• Emotional markers automatically evaluate information as good or bad
Slide 13: Mental Models in Perceptions

Knowledge structures we develop to describe, explain, and predict the world around us
• Visual — image road maps
• Relational — cause-effect
Important for sense making — fill in missing information, predict events
Problem: Mental models make it difficult to see the world in different ways
• Block recognition of new opportunities
Need to constantly question our mental models
Slide 14: Systemic Discrimination in the Boardroom

Women represent about 45 percent of the Canadian workforce and almost one-third of
middle managers. Yet in 2010, only 12 percent of TSX board members were female.
Various initiatives against systemic discrimination have increased female board
representation to about 20 percent today
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Slide 15: Stereotyping

Process of assigning traits to people based on their membership in a social category
(a) Assign (usually difficult to observe) traits to identifiable groups
(b) Automatically transfer those features to people we believe belong to that group
Why people stereotype:
• Categorical thinking — energy-saving process, simplifies perceptions
• Fulfills drive to comprehend and predict others — stereotypes quickly fill in missing
information
• Supports self-enhancement and social identity — categorization, homogenization,
differentiation
Slide 16: Categorization, Homogenization, Differentiation

Combination of social identity and self-enhancement occurs through:
1. Categorization process — naturally tend to categorize people into identifiable groups
2. Homogenization process — assign similar traits to members within a group; different
traits to other groups
3. Differentiation process — tend to assign more favourable characteristics to our groups than
to other groups
➡ Fulfills inherent need to have a distinct and positive self-concept
➡ Generates negative stereotypes of people outside our social identity groups
Slide 17: Problems with Stereotyping

1. Overgeneralizes
• Stereotypes do not accurately describe everyone in a social category
2. Stereotype threat effect
• Individual’s concern about confirming a negative stereotype about his/her group
• Occurs because:
➡ Stereotyped group member anxiously tries to avoid confirming the undesirable trait
➡ Tries to push the negative image from their mind
➡ Weakens self-efficacy (less confident in performing tasks)
➡ Results in poorer behaviour/performance — often displays the stereotype trait they are
trying to avoid
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3. Foundation for discriminatory attitudes and behaviour

• Unintentional (systemic) discrimination — person who doesn’t fit the “ideal” person in
a specific role receives a less favourable evaluation
• Intentional (prejudice) discrimination — unfounded negative attitudes toward people
belonging to a particular stereotyped group
Difficult to prevent stereotype activation — hardwired in our brain cells
• Possible to minimize stereotype application — consciously minimize the extent to
which we rely on that stereotypic information
Slide 18: Attribution Theory

Forming beliefs about the internal vs. external causes of behaviour or events
Internal Attribution — perceiving that behaviour/event is caused mainly by the person
(ability or motivation)
External Attribution — perceiving that behaviour/event is caused mainly by factors beyond
the person’s control (resources, coworkers, luck)
Slide 19: Attribution Rules

Consistency — Did this person act this way in this situation in the past?
Distinctiveness — Does this person act this way in other situations?
Consensus — Do other people act this way in this situation?
Internal attribution when:
• High consistency — person has had same behaviour/outcomes in this situation in the
past (e.g. employee produces poor quality on this machine)
• Low distinctiveness — person has same behaviour/outcomes in other situations (e.g.
employee produces poor quality on other machines)
• Low consensus — other people have different behaviour/outcomes in this situation
(e.g. others produce good quality on this machine)
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External attribution when:

• High consistency — person has had same behaviour/outcome in this situation in the
past (e.g. employee produces poor quality on this machine)
• High distinctiveness — person has different behaviour/outcomes in other situations
(e.g. employee produces good quality on other machines)
• High consensus — other people also behave this way in similar situations (e.g. others
produce poor quality on this machine)
NOTE: Both internal and external attribution have high consistency because consistency
increases our confidence in our perception of internal or external causality. Low consistency
gives us less confidence in our attribution perception because the person’s behaviour varies
Slide 20: Attribution Errors

Self-Serving Bias
• Tendency to attribute our successes to internal causes (e.g. personal qualities) and
our failures to external causes (e.g. bad luck)
Fundamental attribution error (correspondence bias)
• It is the tendency to overemphasize internal causes of another person’s actions (i.e.
their motivation, ability) whereas we recognize both internal and external causes of
our own actions.
• Research suggests this error is not as common as once thought.
Slide 21: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle

Expectations about another person cause that person to act in a way that is consistent with
those expectations
1. Supervisor forms expectations about the employee
• e.g. Supervisor develops expectations about employee's future behaviour and
performance
2. Supervisor’s expectations affect behaviour toward employee — high-expectancy
employees receive:
• More emotional support through nonverbal cues (e.g. more smiling and eye contact)
• More frequent/valuable feedback/reinforcement
• More challenging goals and better training
• More opportunities to demonstrate their performance
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3. Effects of supervisor’s behaviour on employee

• Better training/more practice — results in more skills and knowledge
• Employee gains self-confidence/self-efficacy
4. Employee’s behaviour/performance matches expectations
• High-expectancy employees have higher motivation and better skills — resulting in
higher performance.
• Opposite effect on low-expectancy employees
Slide 22: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Effect is Strongest…

Self-fulfilling prophecy effect is strongest:
• At the beginning of the relationship — e.g. when employee is first hired
• When several people hold same expectations of the person
• When the employee has a history of low achievement
Main lesson from the self-fulfilling prophecy — leaders need to develop and maintain a
positive, yet realistic, expectation toward all employees
• Positive organizational behaviour — focuses on building positive qualities and traits
within individuals or institutions as opposed to focusing on what is wrong with them
Side 23: Other Perceptual Effects

Halo effect
• General impression of a person, usually based on one prominent characteristic,
colours our perception of other characteristics of that person.
• General impression (halo) fills in missing information — when concrete information is
missing or perceiver lacks motivation to search for it.
False-consensus effect (similar-to me effect)
• Overestimate extent that others have beliefs/characteristics similar to our own
• Occurs because:
1. Comfort from belief that others engage in similarly unfavourable behaviour
2. More interaction with people who do that behaviour, not representative of population
3. Confirmation bias — we remember events consistent with our own views
4. Social identity homogenization process — we believe everyone in the group has similar
behaviour
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Primacy effect (first impressions are lasting impressions)

• Tendency to quickly form an opinion of people based on the first information we
receive about them
• Negative first impressions are difficult to change
Recency effect
• Most recent information dominates our perceptions
• Most common when people make a complex evaluation
Slide 24: Improving Perceptions

1. Awareness of perceptual biases
• Knowing perceptual biases exist — e.g. diversity awareness training
• Become more mindful of our thoughts and actions
• Problems:
➡ Limitedeffect on reducing perceptual biases and prejudices
➡ Unintended effect of reinforcing reliance on those stereotypes
2. Improving self-awareness
• Become more aware of our beliefs, values, and attitudes
• Recognize biases in our own decisions and behaviour
• Implicit association test — potentially indicates implicit biases toward others
• Johari Window — self-awareness and mutual understanding (see next slide)
3. Meaningful interaction
• Contact hypothesis — the more we interact with people in other groups, the less
prejudiced or perceptually biased we will be toward them
• Best conditions for meaningful interaction
➡ Close, frequent interaction
➡ Shared goal and meaningful task
➡ Task requires mutual cooperation and reliance
➡ Equal status
• Improves empathy — understanding and being sensitive to the feelings, thoughts, and
situations of others, i.e. cognitive and emotional aspects
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Slide 25: Know Yourself (Johari Window)

Model of self-awareness and mutual understanding — developed by Joseph Luft and Harry
Ingram (hence "Johari")
Four “windows”
1. Open area — information about you known to you and others
2. Blind area — information known to others but not to yourself
3. Hidden area — information known to you, unknown to others
4. Unknown area — values, beliefs, and experiences not known to you or others
Objective is to increase size of open area so that both you and colleagues are aware of
your perceptual limitations:
• Disclosure — tell others about yourself (reduces hidden area)
• Feedback — receive feedback about your behaviour (reduces blind area)
Slide 26: Global Mindset Abilities

An individual’s ability to perceive, know about, and process information across cultures
1. Ability to understand and respect other views and practices around the world
• A global frame of reference rather than just locally-focused about business and its
environment
• Knowledge and appreciation of other cultures
• Avoid judging others by their national/ethnic origins
2. Ability to empathize and act effectively across cultures
• Understand mental models used by people from other cultures
• Understand emotional experiences felt by others in a given situation
• Ability to select words and behaviours that are more compatible with other cultures
3. Ability to process and analyze large volumes of information in new/diverse situations
4. Ability to comprehend and reconcile intercultural matters with multiple levels of thinking
• Capacity to quickly develop useful mental models of situations, at both local and
global levels of analysis
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Slide 27: Developing a Global Mindset

Use same strategies for improving perceptions — awareness, self-awareness, and
meaningful interaction
• Begins with self-awareness — understanding one’s own beliefs, values, and attitudes
• Compare own mental models with those of people from other cultures/regions
• Develop better knowledge of people and cultures, preferably through immersion —
embed in the other culture, follow local practices, use local language
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SOLUTIONS TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
1. You are manager of a district that has just hired several recent university and college graduates. Most of these
people are starting their first full-time job, though most of them have held part-time and summer positions in
the past. They have general knowledge of their particular skill area (accounting, engineering, marketing, etc.)
but know relatively little about specific business practices and developments. Explain how you would nurture
the self-concepts in these new hires to strengthen their performance and maintain their psychological well-
being. Also explain how you might reconcile the tendency for self-enhancement while preventing the new
employees from forming a negative self-evaluation.
This question asks students to apply the core information about self-concept to this specific situation. The answer
can be approached systematically by reviewing each of the three characteristics and four processes:
Complexity — Well-being and likely performance can be enhanced by encouraging employees to develop diverse
strengths. within the organization, manager might help employees to become better technically as well as nurture
their leadership talents. Managers should also encourage employees to develop personal strengths outside of
work, such as sports and volunteering, and to recognize/reward these outside interests.
Consistency — Managers can support self-concept by discovering the employee’s personality, values, and
competencies, and then guiding them into careers that are consistent with those personal attributes. They can also
help employees to understand “who they are,” so they personally recognize when a role (at work or outside work)
is incompatible with their personal attributes and with other aspects of self.
Clarity — Clarity tends to develop through experience and maturity. However, managers can help this dimension
of self-concept by developing the employee’s self-confidence when dilemmas arise and by giving them experience
and feedback in various roles. For example, if the employee opposes or strongly encourages something in a
meeting, the manager can later thank the employee for standing up for his/her beliefs. Similarly, the manager can
offer supportive feedback when an employee recognizes that a particular role or situation is incompatible with
his/her strengths or character.
Self-enhancement — This is perhaps the most difficult self-concept process to manage because people tend to have
more favourable image of themselves than is the case. The most important task for a manager would be to ensure
that the employee engages in some self-enhancement (which then relates to a positive self-evaluation). At the same
time, managers (and coworkers) are challenged by employees who have substantially inflated self-concept (i.e. too
much self-enhancement). The latter part of this question refers to this issue. The best advice might be the evidence
on feedback that is discussed in Chapter 5. Specifically, people prefer to receive negative feedback from nonsocial
sources. If self-enhancement is too strong, then the employee should experience more accurate information about
themselves, but it should arrive through nonsocial sources and privately. This “reality check” will sting, but less so
than if delivered by the boss or publicly displayed.
Self-verification — This process refers to the motivation to receive feedback that is consistent with our self-concept
and to maintain that self-concept. Managers can play a role in this process by (a) monitoring how well coworkers
recognize the employee in terms of his/her self-concept, and (b) coaching and giving the employee opportunities
to develop and demonstrate his or her self-concept strengths.
Self-evaluation — This is likely the most widely discussed self-concept process in managing employees.
Essentially, managers need to help employees to develop a strong, positive self-concept around specific selves. This
occurs by recognizing and rewarding employees for their positive performance and other behaviours and by
supporting them when they experience negative shocks to their self-concept. Positive organizational behaviour
practices (such as strengths-based or appreciative coaching) apply here. When employees experience significant
failures in one of their significant selves (e.g., failing a professional entrance exam; losing a promotion
opportunity), the manager can offer emotional support and coach them to develop strengths in one or more of
their other selves. Indeed, managers can help avoid these majors shocks by nurturing a complex self-concept in
employees (as discussed above).
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Social self (social identity) — Managers can develop employee performance and wellbeing by steering employees
toward peers with desirable characteristics and away from those who can undermine the employee’s self-concept.
specifically, employees work better around peers who appreciate and support the employee’s talents, accept their
self-views, and have a positive, performance-oriented (yet balanced) orientation toward their work and careers. As
employees define themselves with teams and work units where these values and norms operate, they will guide
the employee’s behaviour and performance.
2. Do you define yourself in terms of the school you attend? Why or why not? What are the implications of your
answer for your university or college?
This question offers open discussion of social identity as well as several topics throughout this organizational
behaviour book. Usually, the status of the college plays an important role. Another factor is the difficulty of entry
(which also relates to status). A third factor that student will usually mention is the “brand” of the college. Many
students will identify with a college that is a highly practical school with close ties to industry.
The implications of social identity with the college are varied. One outcome is how often students mention the
college. Another is how they defend the college when it might be criticized by people from other schools.
Attendance at social and sporting events related to the college possibly is a fourth outcome.
3. A high-performance company has launched a “total focus” initiative that requires all employees to give
complete attention and dedication to the company’s growth and success. In an email to all staff members, the
CEO wrote: “We live in a competitive world, and only those businesses whose employees give their total focus
to the business will survive. As such, we are offering a generous severance to employees leaving because they
can’t devote 110 percent to this firm.” The company announced that it will invest heavily in employee training
and career development, but employees who hold second jobs or have side businesses will be asked to leave.
Discuss the company’s “total focus” initiative and its consequences from the perspective of employee self-
concept complexity, consistency, and clarity.
This question mostly relates to the issue of an employee’s self-concept complexity. The “total focus” initiative
clearly attempts to increase everyone’s time, effort, and ultimately self-view around the workplace. This results in
lower complexity for employees who follow this path because they devote themselves to the job and reduce or, in
some cases, completely separate themselves from other aspects of their lives.
Many students will be quick to condemn the “total focus” initiative for reducing self-concept complexity. They will
argue that higher complexity improves personal well-being and protects the individual from any sudden threat or
damage to any one of his or her identities. The “total focus” initiative will concentrate a person around work-
related identities. If the person subsequently experiences job loss or significant failure at work, her or she is more
likely to experience significant loss of self-esteem and its associated psychological damage because the person’s
other identities represent a declining part of the person’s overall self-view and self-value.
Without denying the risk of lower self-concept complexity, a few students may point out that the “total focus”
initiative has the potential advantage of reducing the stress of maintaining a wide diversity of self-views.
Furthermore, by concentrating one’s time and effort on work-related identities, employees are able to invest more
in their career development. Indeed, the initiative will include a heavy investment in employee training and
development. Research suggests that people with lower complexity tend to perform better in the identities that
dominate their self-concept.
A few students may also observe that the “total focus” initiative may be primarily seeking out people who are
performing double-shift jobs. Specifically, the company is asking employees to leave if they hold (and want to
continue holding) second jobs or have side businesses. Assuming that these people have full-time jobs at the
company, they are clearly spreading out their time and effort to such an extent that they cannot devote full
attention to their job at this organization.
The “total focus” initiative may have some adverse impact on self-concept consistency where the person’s job
duties are already incompatible with their personality, values, and other identities. By increasing their attention
and ultimately their self-concept around the job, these people will experience increased levels of internal conflict.
For instance, some employees may be very entrepreneurial, but their job at the company is bureaucratic,
monotonous, or otherwise does not fulfill the entrepreneurial spirit. They may have been able to work in their job
Page 3-!19
by having a side business that enables entrepreneurship. The “total focus” initiative will cut off the size business
and thereby make these employees less comfortable with their main jobs at the company.
The "total focus” initiative may strengthen self-concept clarity to the extent that people will focus more on their
jobs and thereby more quickly gain self-awareness of their strengths in this work. But that effect depends on many
personal and organizational support factors, not just this increased attention on the job. Clarity increases when
people spend time in roles that are compatible with their personal attributes and with their other identities.
Therefore, for those whose personal attributes are not particularly compatible with the work (such as
entrepreneurs working in un-entrepreneurial jobs at the company), self-concept clarity may actually diminish.
They will experience increased conflict between the work and their personality, values, and related attributes,
which could make their self-view more obtuse.
4. Several years ago, senior executives at Canadian energy company CanOil wanted to acquire an exploration
company (HBOG) that was owned by an American energy company, AmOil. Rather than face a hostile takeover
and unfavourable tax implications, CanOil’s two top executives met with the CEO of AmOil to discuss a
friendly exchange of stock to carry out the transaction. AmOil’s chief executive was unaware of CanOil’s plans,
and as the meeting began, the AmOil executive warned that he was there merely to listen. The CanOil
executives were confident that AmOil wanted to sell HBOG because energy legislation at the time made HBOG
a poor investment for AmOil. AmOil’s CEO remained silent for most of the meeting, which CanOil executives
interpreted as an implied agreement to proceed to buy AmOil stock on the market. But when CanOil launched
the stock purchase a month later, AmOil’s CEO was both surprised and outraged. He thought he had given the
CanOil executives the cold shoulder, remaining silent to show his lack of interest in the deal. The
misunderstanding nearly bankrupted CanOil because AmOil reacted by protecting its stock. What perceptual
problem(s) likely occurred that led to this misunderstanding?
This incident describes true events in Dome Petroleum’s acquisition of Conoco, Inc. subsidiary Hudson Bay Oil
and Gas (HBOG). (See: J. Lyon, The Rise and Fall of the House that Jack Built (Toronto: McMillan, 1983)). HBOG’s high
acquisition price (due to Conoco’s resistance strategy) along with other debts, increasing interest rates, and falling
oil prices put Dome on the brink of bankruptcy. The company was later acquired by Amoco.
This incident is a classic example of false-consensus effect. The CanOil executives interpreted the AmOil CEO’s
silence as tacit agreement with the plan, likely because they wanted to believe AmOil would support the stock
swap strategy. Not only was this plan critical to the CanOil’s executives’ personal goals; it was also a high risk
strategy that relied on questionable accounting procedures. These conditions likely further added to the CanOil
executives’ perceptual bias that the AmOil CEO was on board.
5. What mental models do you have about attending a lecture in your program? Are these mental models helpful?
Could any of these mental models hold you back from achieving the full benefit of the lecture?
Students may raise a variety of issues based on their individual experiences and perceptions. Encourage students
to focus on their mental images and their assumptions and expectations of what a class in progress looks like e.g.
how people arrive, arrange themselves in the room, ask and answer questions, behaviour of the instructor, etc.
Our mental models help us make sense of our environment, however, they may prevent us from seeing
opportunities. For example, if our mental model of a lecture is for students to passively observe and make notes
only, then the opportunity to engage in discussion and more active forms of learning which could increase
understanding and retention of the material may be lost.
6. During a diversity management session, a manager suggests that stereotypes are a necessary part of working
with others. “I have to make assumptions about what’s in the other person’s head, and stereotypes help me do
that,” she explains. “It’s better to rely on stereotypes than to enter a working relationship with someone from
another culture without any idea of what they believe in!” Discuss the merits of and problems with the
manager’s statement.
This question raises the fundamental dilemma that stereotyping is both a necessary and a troublesome activity in
the perceptual process. On the one hand, the manager is correct that stereotyping helps us to fill in missing
information, such as the non-observable characteristics of a person that only become apparent after a long time.
Page 3-!20
Also, stereotyping helps us to organize information more efficiently by placing people into predetermined
categories.
Although most stereotypes have some truth to them, there is also plenty of error and distortion which could lead
to employment discrimination. It is unlikely that someone perfectly fits the stereotype category, so we tend to
assign traits that are untrue. Stereotyping makes it difficult for people to alter their beliefs about a person
regarding traits that conflict with the stereotype.
7. Describe how a manager or coach could use the process of self-fulfilling prophecy to enhance an individual’s
performance.
Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our expectations about another person causes that person to act in a way that
is consistent with those expectations. When the boss/coach believes in others, individuals can achieve increased
levels of performance. In other words, the boss/coach can influence reality. Steps include:
a) Form a positive expectation about the individual’s future behaviour and performance and increase individual
self-efficacy by displaying confidence in his/her skills and ability.
b) Develop a learning orientation i.e. appreciate the value of the individual’s learning, not just completing tasks.
c) Apply leadership behaviours including skill development, emotional support, feedback, challenging goals, etc.
as appropriate to the situation.
8. Self-awareness is increasingly recognized as an important ingredient for effective leadership. Suppose that you
are responsible for creating a leadership development program in a government organization. What activities
or processes would you introduce to help participants in this program constructively develop a better self-
awareness of their personality, values, and personal biases?
This is an important question because it lays the foundation for leadership development as well as improving
perceptions about ourselves and others. The quick answer here is for leadership trainees to receive more feedback
about themselves. This can occur through novel experiences which then provide feedback to the participant about
his or her behaviour and performance. One such example is an assessment centre, where observers monitor
participant behaviours during exercises and later provide confidential feedback to those participants. A related
activity is 36-degree feedback, where trainees receive systematically compiled feedback from peers, subordinates,
and bosses in a form that offers clarity about strengths and areas for improvement.
9. Almost everyone in a college or university business program has developed some degree of a global mindset.
What events or activities in your life have helped nurture the global mindset you have developed so far? What
actions can you take now, while still attending school, to further develop your global mindset?
This question provides an opportunity for the class to reflect on and discuss their personal experiences that they
believe have developed their global mindset. Probably the most common response will be the various countries
where students have visited or lived. Some students might discuss an immersion experience, where they actively
worked in another culture and tried to adopt some of the local practices (such as food, dress, talking style). Some
students might describe the nature of their work within this country that required frequent interaction or
communication with coworkers, suppliers, and others located in other countries and cultures. some might note
dilemmas they faced in their multicultural teams. Global mindset also refers to processing a large volume of novel
information from other cultures, so a few students might refer to their experiences of information overload or how
they dealt with being in a strange place with no clear guidelines on how to act.
Page 3-!21
CASE STUDY: HY DAIRIES, LTD.
Case Synopsis
Syd Gilman, the vice-president of marketing at Hy Dairies Ltd., is pleased with the performance of Rochelle Beauport,
the brand manager for gourmet ice cream. In his meeting with Beauport, Gilman makes a few comments about the
favourable sales results, then proceeds to tell Beauport that she would be transferred to the recently-vacated position of
market research coordinator. Gilman views this as an important career opportunity, although only a lateral transfer.
Beauport perceives that she has been sidelined. She is neither aware of Gilman’s true perceptions nor his past career
experiences. However, a similar experience with a previous employer leaves her with the impression that Gilman
doesn’t want women and visible minorities to get ahead in this organization.
Suggested Answers to Case Questions
1. Apply your knowledge of stereotyping and social identity theory to explain what went wrong here.
Many students will jump on the idea that this case involve stereotyping, specifically that Syd Gilman has
stereotyped Rochelle Beauport. In fact, there is no apparent evidence of this stereotyping. From all accounts,
Gilman is sincere in assigning Beauport to the marketing research coordinator job. He seems to be providing -- or
believes that he is providing a good career opportunity for further advancement. If stereotyping exists in this case,
it is that Rochelle Beauport is stereotyping Syd Gilman as a typical sexist and racist white male.
Social identity theory applies to this case in that Rochelle Beauport has a explicit sense of her social identity as a
women and visible minority in a management position. This likely occurs because these are distinctive features for
someone in management, as indicated by her statement that she was “one of the top women and few minorities in
brand management” at Hy Dairies. This strong social identity may have contributed to her perceptual
interpretation of her boss, Syd Gilman, namely that she grouped him in with other men in management positions.
In other words, Beauport may have engaged in categorization, homogenization, and differentiation.
2. What other perceptual error is apparent in this case study?

False-consensus effect. There is evidence of false-consensus effect. Syd Gilman overestimated the extent to which
Beauport had beliefs and characteristics similar to his own. Specifically, he assumed Washington would welcome a
transfer to the position of marketing research coordinator, and incorrectly interpreted Beauport’s nonverbal
behaviour as evidence supporting his assumption.
Some students might refer to self-fulfilling prophecy (SFP) as a relevant perceptual concept in this case. However,
SFP occurs when the supervisor’s expectations influence the employee in a way that eventually becomes consistent
with the supervisor’s initial expectations. Gilman’s initial expectations seem to be positive about Beauport, yet the
eventual behaviour is that she is thinking of quitting.
NOTE: Concepts from other chapters are relevant to this case. These include equity theory (Chapter 5) and exit-
voice-loyalty-neglect (Chapter 4).
3. What can organizations do to minimize misperceptions in these types of situations?

The clearest answer to this question is to improve mutual understanding. Syd Gilman needs to understand and be
more sensitive to Rochelle Beauport’s past, and vice versa. Beauport might discover that Gilman was once the
marketing research coordinator and had profited from the experience. Gilman could find out that Beauport had
experienced blatant gender discrimination with her previous employer and that staff jobs (such as marketing
research coordinator) are not always valued. This recommendation relates to the Johari Window, in which both
parties need to increase the “open” window area.
Page 3-!22
In addition to gaining mutual understanding, both parties should become aware of the perceptual process and the
opportunities for perceptual errors in that process. By being knowledgeable of social identity theory distortions,
for example, Beauport might evaluate Gilman for carefully rather than automatically label him within a category.
similarly, Gilman might be more sensitive to this incident of false-consensus effect.
Finally, both parties might communicate with others to compare perceptions and gain additional information
about the event and the other person. Beauport could talk to other employees. They might clarify her
misconception that the marketing research coordinator job is a "sideline" position. Or she might muster enough
courage to ask Gilman (without anger) why she should be transferred. Gilman could talk to other managers about
the transfer to find out how others may react differently.
WEB EXERCISE: DIVERSITY AND STEREOTYPING

ON DISPLAY IN CORPORATE WEBSITES
Purpose
This exercise is designed to help you diagnose evidence of diversity and stereotyping in corporate websites.
Materials
Students need to complete their research for this activity prior to class, including selecting one or more medium-large
sized public or private organizations and retrieving sample images of people from the organization’s website.
Instructions
The instructor may have students work alone or in groups for this activity. Students will select one or more medium-
large sized public or private organizations. Students will closely examine images in the selected company’s website in
terms of how women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, and older employees and clients
are portrayed. Specifically, students should be prepared to discuss and provide details in class regarding:
1. The percentage of images showing (i.e. visual representation of) women, visible minorities, people with
disabilities, native (Aboriginal) peoples, and older employees and clients. Students should also be sensitive to the
size and placement of these images in the website or documents therein.
2. The roles in which women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, native (Aboriginal) peoples, and older
employees and clients are depicted. For example, are women shown more in traditional or nontraditional
occupations and roles in these websites?
3. Pick one or more of the best examples of diversity on display and one stereotypic image you can find from the
website to show in class, either in printed form, or as a weblink that can be displayed in class.
Page 3-!23
Comments or Instructors
This exercise is an excellent way to bring out the issue of a “gendered” organization, in which men and women serve
different roles and, usually, women are shown in inferior roles. The exercise similarly investigates perceptual (and
cultural) bias with respect to employment equity groups, age, and other factors. Companies have become more
sensitive to these issues in recent years, however, other organizations continue to display traditional representations of
women and underrepresentation of people in other groups.
Where companies provide a balanced display of people in various groups, it would be useful to discuss the reasons
why these organizations have provided this representation. For example, students might notice how the organization
receives public recognition for its diversity initiatives.
This exercise was initially inspired by a study that looked at gender representation in annual reports of Dutch
companies in 1996. Although a decade and a half old, and in a different culture than most students (the Netherlands
vs. Canada, for example), these results of that study might provide a useful comparison with student findings in this
class. Notice from these results (shown below), that men dominate the photos in 1996 Dutch annual reports.
Furthermore, when women are shown, they are much more likely to be depicted in the company of one or more men.
The study also found that women were more likely to be shown wearing casual clothing in a non-job location as a
customer.
Percentage of Annual Report Photos (from 30 Companies in 1996)
Men individually (alone) 71%

Women individually (alone) 15%
Both women and men 12%
Undetermined gender 1%
TOTAL 100%
Percentage of Photos Featuring Men

Men individually (alone) 61%
Men with other men 23%
Men with women 15%
TOTAL 100%
Percentage of Photos Featuring Women

Women individually (alone) 50%
Women with other women 5%
Women with men 45%
TOTAL 100%
Source: Y. Benschop and H. E. Meihuizen, “Keeping Up Gendered Appearances: Representations of Gender in

Financial Annual Reports,” Accounting, Organizations and Society, 27 (2002), 611-636.
Page 3-!24
SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.1: HOW MUCH DOES

WORK DEFINE YOUR SELF-CONCEPT?
Overview and Instructions
Work is an important part of our lives, but some people view it as secondary to other life interests whereas others view
work as central to their identity as individuals. This scale estimates the extent to which students view work as a central
or not-so-central life interest.
Students are asked to read each of the statements below and decide how accurate each one is in describing their focus
in life. Class discussion will focus on the meaning of this scale and its relevance to self-concept and perceptions.
Feedback for the Work Centrality Scale
The work centrality scale measures the extent that work is an important part of the individual’s self-concept. People
with high work centrality define themselves mainly by their work roles and view nonwork roles as much less
significant. Consequently, people with a high work centrality score likely have lower complexity in their self-concept.
This can be a concern because if something goes wrong with their work role, their nonwork roles are not of sufficient
value to maintain a positive self-evaluation. At the same time, work dominates our lives, so those with very low scores
would be more of the exception than the rule in most societies.
Scores range from 6 to 36 with higher scores indicating higher work centrality. The norms in the following table are
based on a large sample of employees in North America (average score was 20.7). However, work centrality norms
vary from one group to the next. For example, the average score in a sample of nurses was around 17 (translated to the
scale range used here).
Work Centrality Norms
Score Interpretation
29 to 36 High work centrality
24 to 28 Above average work centrality
18 to 23 Average work centrality
13 to 17 Below average work centrality
6 to 12 Low work centrality
Page 3-!25
SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.2: HOW MUCH GENERAL

SELF-EFFICACY DO YOU HAVE?
Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief that he or she has the ability, motivation, and resources to complete a task
successfully. Self-efficacy is usually conceptualized as a situation-specific belief. You may believe that you can perform
a certain task in one situation, but are less confident with that task in another situation. However, there is also evidence
that people develop a more general self-efficacy.
Students are asked to read each of the statements and circle the response that best fits their personal belief. This self-
assessment is completed alone so that students rate themselves honestly without concerns of social comparison.
However, class discussion will focus on the meaning of self-efficacy, how this scale might be applied in organizations,
and the limitations of measuring self-efficacy in work settings.
Comments for Instructors
One issue is where this scale may be applied in organizational settings. It is probably easy to fake the results—people
who want to look good will answer each item so that a high self-efficacy score results. Thus, it is probably
inappropriate for employment selection. Instead, students might suggest that this scale may be useful for coaching and
career development where employees are more willing to be honest with themselves.
Students can identify several ways to improve self-efficacy. One way is through supportive coaching from leaders and
coworkers. Someone with low self-efficacy may develop a stronger “can-do” attitude when his or her supervisor
indicates a strong belief in the employee’s potential. (This is discussed under the topic of effort-to-performance
expectancy in the motivation chapter and self-fulfilling prophecy in the chapter on perceptions.) Feedback may also
increase self-efficacy where employees learn that their actions are having a favourable result. For example, knowing
that you are serving customers well would increase your self-efficacy regarding this customer service task. The third
strategy is to match people with jobs for which they possess the necessary competencies. The more we possess the
necessary skills and knowledge, the more confidence we have in performing the task.
Scores on the general self-efficacy scale range from 8 to 40. Higher scores indicate that you have a higher general self-
efficacy. The following graph shows the range of scores compared to undergraduate psychology students in the United
States (77% female; average age=23).
General Self-Efficacy Norms
Above 34 High self-efficacy
32 to 34 Above average
28 to 31 Average
24 to 27 Below average
Below 24 Low self-efficacy
Page 3-!26
SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.3: WHAT IS YOUR LOCUS

OF CONTROL?
Locus of control is one component of self-evaluation, which is part of an individual's self-concept. It is a person’s
general belief about the amount of control he or she has over personal life events. Individuals who feel that they are
very much in charge of their own destiny in the workplace have an internal locus of control; those who think that
events in their work life are due mainly to fate/luck or powerful others have an external locus of control.
The Work Locus of Control Scale is designed to assess control beliefs in the workplace. For each statement, students are
asked to select the response that best indicates the degree to which they agree or disagree with that statement. This
instrument has 16 statements, which concern beliefs about jobs in general. They do not refer only to the person’s
present job.
Feedback for the Work Locus of Control Scale
Scores on the scale can range from 16 to 96. Higher scores indicate that you have a higher external work locus of
control. Lower scores indicate more of an internal work locus of control. The average score for employees and students
in Canada and the United States is 40.
Work Locus of Control Scale Norms
70 to 96 External locus of control
43 to 69 In-between locus of control
16 to 42 Internal locus of control
Page 3-!27
SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.4: HOW MUCH

PERCEPTUAL STRUCTURE DO YOU NEED?
Some people have a greater need than do others to quickly or completely "make sense" of things around them. This
personal need for perceptual structure relates to selective attention as well as perceptual organization and
interpretation.
This self-assessment is designed to help you to estimate your personal need for perceptual structure. Students are
asked to read each of the statements and select the response that best indicates the degree to which they personally
agree or disagree with that statement. Class discussion will focus on the meaning of need for structure in terms of how
we engage differently in the perceptual process at work and in other settings.
Feedback for the Personal Need for Structure Scale

Some people need to “make sense” of things around them more quickly or completely than do other people. This
personal need for perceptual structure relates to selective attention as well as perceptual organization and
interpretation. For instance, people with a strong personal need for closure might form first impressions, fill in missing
pieces, and rely on stereotyping more quickly than people who don’t mind incomplete perceptual situations.
The Personal Need for Structure (PNS) Scale estimates the extent to which people are motivated to structure their
world in a simple and unambiguous way. Scores range from 12 to 72 with higher scores indicating a high personal
need for structure, that is, a higher need to quickly and unambiguously make sense of the world. PNS norms vary from
one group to the next. For instance, a study of Finnish nurses reported a mean PNS score of 34 whereas a study of 236
male and 303 female undergraduate psychology students in the United States had a mean score of 42. This graph
shows your score on the PNS scale compared with results from the U.S. sample of undergraduate psychology
students .
Personal Need for Structure Scale Norms
58 to 72 High personal need for structure
47 to 57 Above average personal need for structure
38 to 46 Average personal need for structure
27 to 37 Below average personal need for structure
12 to 26 Low personal need for structure
Page 3-!28
SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.5: HOW STRONG IS YOUR

PERSPECTIVE TAKING (COGNITIVE EMPATHY)?
Empathy refers to a person’s understanding of and sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and situation of others. The
“understanding” part of empathy is called perspective taking or cognitive empathy. It represents an intellectual
understanding of another person’s situational and individual circumstances.
This self-assessment is designed to help students estimate their propensity for perspective taking. It includes seven
statements, and students are asked to indicate the degree to which each statement does or does not describe them very
well.
Feedback for the Cognitive Empathy (Perspective-Taking) Scale
This self-assessment is designed to help students to estimate their propensity for perspective taking. Perspective taking
is an important part of the perceptual process because it makes us more aware of the external causes of another
person’s performance and behaviour. It also improves the communication process by helping us to put the words of
other people in their proper context.
This score represents a personal estimate of how well students can understand the feelings, thoughts, and situation of
others. Scores on this scale range from 7 to 35. A higher score indicates a higher level of perspective taking (also called
cognitive empathy).
The following graph shows the range of perspective taking scores and where students score in comparison. The
average score in recent studies across several U.S. and Canadian groups of people is approximately 20. Also, keep in
mind that women tend to score about 1.5 points higher than men on this perspective taking scale.
Perspective Taking (Cognitive Empathy) Scale Norms
26 to 35 High perspective taking
16 to 25 Moderate perspective taking
7 to 15 Low perspective taking
Page 3-!29
SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.6: HOW STRONG IS YOUR

EMOTIONAL EMPATHY?
Empathy refers to a person’s understanding of and sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and situation of others. The
“sensitivity” part of empathy is called emotional empathy. It refers to experiencing the feelings of the other person.
This self-assessment is designed to help students to estimate their propensity for emotional empathy. It includes 7
statements, and students are asked to indicate the degree to which each statement does or does not describe them very
well.
Feedback for the Emotional Empathy Scale
This self-assessment is designed to help students to estimate their propensity for emotional empathy. Emotional
empathy is an important part of the perceptual process because it makes us more aware of the external causes of
another person’s performance and behaviour. It also improves the communication process by helping us to put the
words of other people in their proper context.
This score represents a personal estimate of how sensitive students are to the feelings, thoughts, and situation of others.
Scores on this scale range from 7 to 35. A higher score indicates a higher level of emotional empathy.
The following graph shows the range of perspective taking scores and where students score in comparison. The
average score in recent studies across several U.S. and Canadian groups of people is approximately 23. Also, keep in
mind that women tend to score about 2 points higher than men on this emotional empathy scale.
Emotional Empathy Scale Norms
26 to 35 High perspective taking
16 to 25 Moderate perspective taking
7 to 15 Low perspective taking
Page 3-!30

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Chapter 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations

Instructor’s Manual to Accompany

Perceiving Ourselves and

After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

perception — the process of receiving information self-enhancement — a person’s inherent motivation to

CHAPTER SUMMARY BY LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Slide 1: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations

Slide 2: Perceptions and Self-Concept in Technology

Slide 3: Self-Concept Defined

Slide 4: Self-Concept Model: Three Cs and Four Selves

Slide 5: Self-Concept Characteristics (3 C’s)

Slide 6: Outcomes of Self-Concept Characteristics

Effects on individual behaviour/performance

Slide 7: Self-Concept: Self-Enhancement

Slide 8: Self-Concept: Self-Verification

Slide 9: Self-Concept: Self-Evaluation

Slide 10: Self Concept: Social Self

Slide 11: Perception and Selective Attention

Slide 12: Perceptual Organization/Interpretation

Slide 13: Mental Models in Perceptions

Slide 14: Systemic Discrimination in the Boardroom

Slide 15: Stereotyping

Slide 16: Categorization, Homogenization, Diﬀerentiation

Slide 17: Problems with Stereotyping

3. Foundation for discriminatory attitudes and behaviour

Slide 18: Attribution Theory

Slide 19: Attribution Rules

External attribution when:

Slide 20: Attribution Errors

Slide 21: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle

3. Effects of supervisor’s behaviour on employee

Slide 22: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Eﬀect is Strongest…

Side 23: Other Perceptual Eﬀects

Primacy effect (first impressions are lasting impressions)

Slide 24: Improving Perceptions

Slide 25: Know Yourself (Johari Window)

Slide 26: Global Mindset Abilities

Slide 27: Developing a Global Mindset

SOLUTIONS TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

CASE STUDY: HY DAIRIES, LTD.

Suggested Answers to Case Questions

2. What other perceptual error is apparent in this case study?

3. What can organizations do to minimize misperceptions in these types of situations?

WEB EXERCISE: DIVERSITY AND STEREOTYPING

Percentage of Annual Report Photos (from 30 Companies in 1996)

Men individually (alone) 71%

Percentage of Photos Featuring Men

Percentage of Photos Featuring Women

Source: Y. Benschop and H. E. Meihuizen, “Keeping Up Gendered Appearances: Representations of Gender in

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.1: HOW MUCH DOES

Overview and Instructions

Feedback for the Work Centrality Scale

Work Centrality Norms

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.2: HOW MUCH GENERAL

Overview and Instructions

Comments for Instructors

General Self-Eﬃcacy Norms

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.3: WHAT IS YOUR LOCUS

Overview and Instructions

Feedback for the Work Locus of Control Scale

Perceiving Ourselves and 