Exam 6: Perception and Individual Decision Making

While negotiating salary with your prospective employer, if you suggest an initial target salary of $55,000, your employer will consider $50,000 to $60,000 a reasonable range for negotiation, but if you mention $55,650, your employer is more likely to consider $55,000 to $56,000 the range of likely values for negotiation. In this example your employer is exhibiting the ________ bias.

William believes Ronnie is a hardworking individual because Ronnie always dresses nicely and wears well-tailored suits. Which short-cut is William using to judge Ronnie?

People are not that perceptive about their own abilities.

Tom knows that the title insurance company made a mistake on his property title. Because of their mistake, his neighbor now has access to an easement road through the 25 acres located at the back of his property. He can't use the acreage for pasture, because his neighbor insists that the gates remain open. The title company has offered a $40,000 settlement. Tom has decided to take the settlement rather than possibly lose in court if he were to sue the title company for more money. Tom's decision is based on ________.

The ________ bias is typically associated with negotiation.

For many people, a 50-50 flip of a coin for $100 might not be worth as much as a sure promise of $50, even though the gamble is mathematically worth twice as much as the sure thing. This is an example of ________.

Gene is regarded by his peers as an extremely creative designer of watercraft. He attributes much of his success to his family: he was raised by a traditional boat builder and from a very early age was surrounded by boats and the people who made them. To what element of creativity does Gene attribute his success?

Discuss some of the errors in perceptual judgment made by interviewers in job interviews.

Those who spend extensive periods of time in other cultures generate more innovative solutions to problems.

The three criteria for making ethical decisions are ________.

We tend to accept at face value information that is consistent with our preconceived views, while we are critical and skeptical of information that challenges these views. This represents the ________ bias.

Which of the following statements is true regarding perception?

One of the core problems that created the financial meltdown of 2008 was that large loans were made to individuals who could not repay them, and the finance companies purchased these bad debts without realizing how poor the prospects of repayment were. Which of the following decision-making errors was made by the lenders and borrowers?

Janice is late for work each day by about ten minutes. How would the attribution theory describe this behavior?

Sarah and Holly started working at a Human Resources firm as recruiters on the same day and have the same position. Both women have been meeting their placement goals and are both very well liked within the organization. Because Holly lives almost 60 miles away, she sometimes works 9-6 to avoid traffic rather than the 8-5 that Sarah works. Johnson, their supervisor, awarded Sarah the "Employee of the Month" award for her outstanding work. Which influence of perception is at work in this situation?

You are the manager of a development group in a large computer software company. You have decided that it is important for your group to understand the many ways that ethical decisions can be made and you are designing a training program on the subject of ethics. If you wish to emphasize the importance of making decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges, the focus of your teaching will be on ________.

Discuss the attribution theory.

People who carefully gather and consider information consistent with the rational decision-making model are more likely to engage in escalation of commitment than those who spend less time thinking about their choices.

List and explain any three decision biases or errors.

The first ethical yardstick is utilitarianism, in which decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally to provide the greatest good for the greatest number.