Perception and Decision Making
Dawn Eytcheson
Axia College of University of Phoenix
Perception and Decision Making
Perception is a part of life and everyone perceives diverse situations in their own way. Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged edition defines perception as the capacity for comprehension. People do not want to admit that perception is used to make decisions; however, it is the basis of many conclusions or assessments.
A person's perception of others or a certain situation can impact an organization's behavior in different ways. Since all people react differently in certain situations, the attribution theory suggests ways to develop explanations in which to judge people. This theory may help someone decide whether the issue is caused internally or externally. Internal behaviors are believed to be controlled by the individual as external behaviors are believed to beyond a person's control.
The different perceptions are based on certain circumstances, whether positive or negative. It is easy to make a fast judgment or assumption about a situation or a person without understanding the causes or the individual. By making fast assumptions about someone or a situation, we are not given them a fair chance and are more likely to make errors in judgment.
Everyone is guilty of using "shortcuts" when judging others. People who use shortcuts are able to make judgments quickly. These shortcuts can be valuable; however, they should not be the sole determining factor in any situation. There are a variety of shortcuts used to form perceptions about people. Some examples are selective perception, the halo effect, the contrast effect, and stereotyping. Selective perception occurs when a certai ...