Kelley’s Theory of Causal Attribution

Perception - we select, organize, & interpret information - active processing of sensory inputs - very subjective Social Perception - the process of combining, integrating, and interpreting information about others to gain an accurate understanding of them Personal and Social IdentityAttribution -determine the causes behind others’ behavior Correspondent Inferences - judging people’s dispositions, traits, and characteristics from their behavior Challenges in judging others accurately - many possible causes of behavior - people sometimes disguise their true characteristics Making accurate inferences about others - focus on behavior in situations with low demand for social acceptability - focus on behavior for which there is only one logical explanationCausal Attribution of Responsibility Internal causes of behavior -the individual is responsible for the action External causes of behavior - actions are due to situations over which the individual has no control Kelly’s theory of causal attribution: Consensus - extent to which other people behave in the same manner as the person who we’re judging Consistency - extent to which the person who we’re judging acts the same way at other times Distinctiveness - extent to which a person behaves in the same manner in other contextsKelly’s Theory of Causal Attribution: A Summary You observe an individual complaining about the food, service, and decor in a restaurant. To answer “Why? ” you note that..

. You conclude that... No one else complains (consensus is low) This person always complains in this restaurant (consistency is high) This person also complains in other settings (distinctiveness is low) She complained because s/he is difficult to please (internal attribution) Several others also complain (consensus is high) This person always complains in this restaurant (consistency is high)This person does not complain in other settings (distinctiveness is high) S/he complained because the restaurant is terrible (external attribution) Stereotypes: Fitting Others into Categories: Example: Construction Worker, Nurse, Accountant Assuming all members of a specific group share similar traits & are prone to behave in a similar way Why do we rely on stereotypes? Dangers of using stereotypes in organizations - run the risk of causing miscommunication and conflict Self Fulfilling Prophecy: Positive and NegativePerceptual Biases Fundamental attribution error - tendency to attribute other’s actions to internal causes while largely ignoring external factors Why? Halo effect - tendency for overall impressions of others to affect objective evaluations of their specific traits Positive halo Negative halo Why? The Halo Effect: A Demonstration of Positive Halo Characteristic 1 low Characteristic 2 low Characteristic 3 low Characteristic 4 low high high high high The more favorably someone is perceived on some characteristics, the more likely that s/he will be perceived favorably on another characteristic, too.

Characteristic N low high Perceptual Biases (cont. ) Similar-to-me-effect - greater empathy for and better relations with others who seem similar Leniency: consistently evaluating other people or objects in an extremely positive fashion Central Tendency avoiding all extreme judgements and rate people and objects as average or neutral Recency tendency to remember recent information more easily and allowing it to influence how a person or object is evaluatedPerformance Appraisal An inherently biased process -rater’s initial expectations -similar-to-me bias -attributions made about performance Impression Management (Employment Interview) Self-promotion - asserting that one has desirable characteristics Corporate Image - result of impression management by organizations - strongly relates to people’s interest in seeking employment with it.Learning- a relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience - cannot be observed directly - must be inferred from permanent changes in behavior Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning - impact of consequences Law of Effect - behaviors leading to desirable consequences tend to be strengthened and behaviors leading to undesirable consequences tend to be weakened.Reinforcement contingencies Positive reinforcement: perform a behavior because it leads to a desirable outcome Negative reinforcement (avoidance) - perform a behavior that leads to the removal of undesired events Punishment - decreasing undesirable behavior by following it with undesirable consequences Extinction - process through which responses that are no longer reinforced tend to gradually diminish in strengthSchedules of reinforcement - rules governing the timing and frequency of administering reinforcement Continuous reinforcement - schedule in which all desired behaviors are reinforced Partial (intermittent) reinforcement - only some desired behaviors are reinforced - fixed interval - a fixed period of time must elapse - variable interval - a variable period of time (based on some average) must elapse - fixed ratio - a fixed number of responses must occur - variable ratio - a variable number of responses based on some average) must occurObservational Learning (Modeling) - observing the rewards and punishments given to others - knowledge acquired vicariously - behavior of a model is imitated Examples - formal job training - absorbtion of norms and traditionsTraining Varieties of training - both formal and informal Apprenticeship programs - formal program, often used in the skilled trades, involving both on-the-job and classroom training, usually over a long period Cross-cultural -30% of Expatriates return home Executive training - systematic development of top company leaders, either in specific skills or in general managerial skills Corporate universities - centers devoted to handling a company’s training needs on a full-time basisKeys to effective training Participation - active involvement Repetition - repeatedly performing a task so that it may be fully learned Transfer of training - - training is more effective to the degree that it matches the demands and conditions on a job Feedback - knowledge of the results of one’s behavior.Organizational Behavior Management (OB Mod): Pinpoint the desired behavior: specify new, desired behavior Perform baseline audit: measure level of behavior to be changed Define a criterion standard: performance goal Choose a reinforcer: nature of reward for desired behavior Selectively reward desired behavior: shaping Periodically re-evaluate the program: careful monitoring - OB Mod has successfully stimulated a variety of behaviors in many different organizationsDiscipline: Progressive: Keys to using punishment effectively -Deliver punishment immediately after undesirable behavior occurs -Give moderate levels of punishment -Punish the undesirable behavior, not the person -Use punishment consistently -Clearly communicate reasons for the punishment -Do not follow punishment with noncontingent rewards -Clarify contingencies - publicize punishment rules as employees should know what behavior will not be tolerated -Punish all instances of inappropriate behavior.