Deck 6: Perception and Individual Decision Making

Question 1

Why do we make judgements about people?

A)We tend to stereotype.
B)We make assumptions about their internal state.
C)We judge as a result of justice theories.
D)We engage in organisational behaviour.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of externally caused behaviour?

A)An employee was late because he was partying late and then overslept.
B)An employee was promoted because he was intelligent.
C)An employee was sacked because he did not possess the necessary skills.
D)An employee was late because of a major accident that tied up traffic.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a factor that influences perception?

A)target
B)perceiver
C)situation
D)society

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Factors in the perceiver that influence perception include:

A)experiences.
B)interests.
C)expectations.
D)all of the above.

Question 5

Internally caused behaviours are those:

A)that are believed to be under the personal control of individual.
B)resulting from outside causes.
C)forced upon a person by the situation.
D)resulting from personality traits.

Question 6

What one perceives can be substantially different from:

A)what is behaviourally important.
B)factors in the perceiver.
C)objective reality.
D)context.

Question 7

Personal characteristics of the individual perceiver include all of the following EXCEPT:

A)location.
B)personality.
C)expectations.
D)attitudes.

Question 8

Tim,Luke and Esther are all attending the same training course for their organisation.Tim has previously been on other training courses and has found them to be a waste of time.Luke,on the other hand,is looking forward to the course as he is rather interested in its content.Esther is keen to complete the training course as she expects that it will lead to a promotion. Based on the information,Luke's perception of the training course will most likely be influenced by:

A)motives.
B)interests.
C)experience.
D)expectations.

Question 9

A process by which individuals organise and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment is called:

A)outlook.
B)interpretation.
C)environmental analysis.
D)perception.

Question 10

The determination of whether an individual's behaviour is externally or internally caused depends on all of the following factors EXCEPT:

A)consistency.
B)consensus.
C)perception.
D)distinctiveness.

Question 11

The time at which an object or event is seen is an example of the _______ that influences the perceptual process.

A)context
B)target
C)perceiver
D)reality

Question 12

Tim,Luke and Esther are all attending the same training course for their organisation.Tim has previously been on other training courses and has found them to be a waste of time.Luke,on the other hand,is looking forward to the course as he is rather interested in its content.Esther is keen to complete the training course as she expects that it will lead to a promotion. Based on the information,Tim's perception of the training course will most likely be influenced by:

A)motives.
B)interests.
C)experience.
D)expectations.

Question 13

The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors is known as:

A)self-serving bias.
B)attribution theory.
C)fundamental attribution error.
D)selective behaviour theory.

Question 14

Kate is the new recruit of a prestigious accounting firm.On her first day there,she begins to classify her co-workers into different groups based on their role in the firm.Kate finds that this makes it easier for her to understand the relationships between the different people and roles within the firm. This is most accurately defined as:

A)stereotyping.
B)projection.
C)perception.
D)bias.

Question 15

All of the following helps explain attribution theory EXCEPT:

A)Behaviour can be attributed to one's heredity.
B)The cause of behaviour may be internal.
C)The cause of behaviour may be external.
D)It tries to attribute causes to specific behaviours.

Question 16

Attribution theory explains why we judge people differently to determine the:

A)internal or external causality.
B)self-serving bias.
C)influence of internal factors.
D)person to blame for external factors.

Question 17

Tim,Luke and Esther are all attending the same training course for their organisation.Tim has previously been on other training courses and has found them to be a waste of time.Luke,on the other hand,is looking forward to the course as he is rather interested in its content.Esther is keen to complete the training course as she expects that it will lead to a promotion. Based on the information,Esther's perception of the training course will most likely be influenced by:

A)motives.
B)interests.
C)experience.
D)expectations.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT true about our perceptions of a target?

A)Motion,sounds,size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.
B)Targets are usually looked at in isolation.
C)The relationship of a target to its background influences perception.
D)Similar things tend to be grouped together.

Question 19

_______ occurs when a person takes the credit for success but casts blame on others when things go wrong.

A)Self-serving bias
B)Attribution theory
C)Fundamental attribution error
D)Selective behaviour theory

Question 20

When two people go to a party and have two very different experiences,the factors that operate to shape their dissimilar perceptions reside in the:

A)context of the situation in which the perception is made.
B)target being perceived.
C)timing.
D)perceiver.

Question 21

Chloe is the new project manager for a cosmetics company.She has brought her vast experience to the new job and is confident in deviating a little from the project plan.Her associate Isabella finds no problem with this as she always manages to get the job done.Lucy,on the other hand,prefers things to be clearly stated and has been debating whether she should raise the issue with Chloe. Which of the following explains this situation?

A)One person's problem is another person's satisfactory state of affairs.
B)Decision making occurs in reaction to a problem.
C)Problems are not always clear-cut.
D)Once a problem is identified,decision making is a swift process.

Question 22

_______ make decisions in organisations.

A)Non-managerial employees
B)Middle- and lower-level managers
C)Top managers
D)All of the above

Question 23

When all relevant options can be identified in an unbiased manner and the decision maker has complete information,it is likely that:

A)a rational decision-making model is being implemented.
B)intuition is guiding the decision-making process.
C)overconfidence bias will lead to an incorrect decision.
D)anchors will be needed to prepare for subsequent information.

Question 24

Whether an individual displays different behaviours in different situations is referred to as:

A)distinctiveness.
B)integrity.
C)continuity.
D)flexibility.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in the rational decision-making model?

A)identifying the decision criteria
B)computing the decisions that satisfice
C)evaluating the alternatives
D)defining the problem

Question 26

The more consistent a behaviour,the more the observer is inclined to:

A)attribute it to internal causes.
B)attribute it to external causes.
C)attribute it to consensus.
D)depend on the behaviour.

Question 27

A _____ is a discrepancy between the current state of affairs and some desired state.

A)perceptual distortion
B)problem
C)conflict
D)distortion

Question 28

Rational decision making is characterised by making value-maximising choices that:

A)require maturity.
B)require high intelligence.
C)have limited choices.
D)are consistent.

Question 29

The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behaviour of others is termed:

A)self-serving bias.
B)selective perception.
C)consistency.
D)fundamental attribution error.

Question 30

Janice is late for work each day by about 10 minutes.This behaviour exhibits:

A)consistency.
B)consensus.
C)reliability.
D)similarity.

Question 31

________ requires us to interpret and evaluate information

A)Making decisions
B)Complying with the request by the boss
C)Influencing other people's perceptions
D)Taking immediate action

Question 32

A solution that is the first acceptable choice encountered represents a choice that is:

A)suboptimising.
B)simplifying.
C)seeking an implicit favourite.
D)satisficing.

Question 33

Your boss never gives you the benefit of the doubt.When you were late this morning,he assumed that you had overslept.He never considered that there might have been a traffic delay.He is guilty of:

A)inconsistency.
B)selective perception.
C)fundamental attribution error.
D)self-serving bias.

Question 34

Jean is difficult to work with.Whenever she is successful,she takes full credit for what has happened,but whenever she is unsuccessful,she attributes her failure to bad luck or to one of her fellow employees.She is guilty of:

A)consensus.
B)fundamental attribution error.
C)self-serving bias.
D)distinctiveness.

Question 35

Of the following steps in the rational decision-making model,which should come first?

A)allocate weights to the criteria
B)develop the alternatives
C)identify the decision criteria
D)evaluate the alternatives

Question 36

__________ can bias analysis and conclusions.

A)Perceptual distortions
B)Satisfactory states
C)Evaluating strength and weaknesses
D)Organisational goals

Question 37

If everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way,attribution theory states that the behaviour shows:

A)reliability.
B)consensus.
C)similarity.
D)consistency.

Question 38

_______ occurs as a reaction to a problem.

A)Perceptual distortion
B)Decision making
C)Discrepancy
D)Analysis bias

Question 39

If a person responds the same way over time,attribution theory states that the behaviour shows:

A)continuity.
B)consistency.
C)distinctiveness.
D)consensus.

Question 40

Decision makers operate within the confines of _________.They construct simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity.

A)bounded rationality
B)intuitive decision making
C)optimal decision making
D)biases

Question 41

We need to recognise that the cultural background of a decision maker can have a significant influence on:

A)the selection of problems.
B)the depth of analysis.
C)whether organisational decisions should be made by an individual manager or collectively in groups.
D)all of the above.

Question 42

The tendency of people to avoid seeking difficult information when making decisions is known as _____ bias.

A)overconfidence
B)anchoring
C)availability
D)confirmation

Question 43

An Australian manager might make an important decision intuitively but knows it's important to proceed:

A)rationally.
B)collectively.
C)slowly.
D)quickly.

Question 44

The satisficing decision maker is best characterised as someone who:

A)follows a decision confirmation process.
B)considers all alternatives.
C)operates within the confines of bounded rationality.
D)carries out a search for consistency.

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT a bias in decision making?

A)heuristic fallacy
B)escalation of commitment
C)availability bias
D)confirmation bias

Question 46

Women are more likely to take longer to make a decision than men.Which of the following is a probable reason for this?

A)Women are generally more careless in selecting problem alternatives.
B)Women are depressed twice as often as men.
C)Women are more likely to need to consult other staff to make their decision.
D)Women are more likely to overthink the problem.

Question 47

Confirmation bias occurs when people refuse to give credit to information that:

A)contradicts previous decisions.
B)affirms previous decisions.
C)contradicts current decisions.
D)affirms current decisions.

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT an organisational constraint on decision making?

A)performance evaluation
B)personality
C)reward system
D)formal regulations

Question 49

__________ is an unconscious process created out of distilled experience.

A)Satisficing
B)Intuitive decision making
C)Bounded rationality
D)Optimising decision making

Question 50

Sarah's manager has informed her that the old computer software cannot accommodate their new customer load.Sarah is responsible for finding new software for her department.Sarah has to work out the functions that need to be carried out by the software and then look at all of the possible software programs to see how well they meet the weighted criteria.She then selects the alternative with the highest total score. Sarah's manager informing her of the need for new software exemplifies:

A)identification of decision criteria.
B)defining the problem.
C)rating each alternative of each criterion.
D)computing the optimal decision.

Question 51

If you are satisficing,then you are:

A)exploring all possible options in a rational manner.
B)exploring a majority of options in a rational manner.
C)seeking a solution that is satisfactory and sufficient.
D)seeking a solution that will provide the best outcome.

Question 52

Which of the following decision-making biases are people with high and low levels of intelligence likely to fall prey to?

A)overconfidence bias
B)hindsight bias
C)availability bias
D)confirmation bias

Question 53

Sarah is responsible for purchasing a new computer system for her department.Given the significant financial investment,Sarah has decided to use the rational decision-making model. The first step will be:

A)computing the optimal decision.
B)identifying decision criteria.
C)rating each alternative of each criterion.
D)defining the problem.

Question 54

All of the following statements are correct EXCEPT:

A)Decision making by Japanese managers is much more group oriented than in Australia.
B)Cultures differ in the importance they put on rationality.
C)There is a set of global ethical standards.
D)Criteria defining right and wrong are much clearer in Western countries than in Asia.

Question 55

Our tendency to believe that we can predict the outcome of random events is known as:

A)chance bias.
B)gambling effect.
C)risk aversion.
D)none of the above.

Question 56

The ___________ bias is a tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information.

A)overconfidence
B)anchoring
C)availability
D)confirmation

Question 57

An increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information is called:

A)reengineering.
B)satisfying decision making.
C)optimising decision making.
D)escalation of commitment.

Question 58

Decisions are made over time,and they have a ________ as a result of choices made over the years.

A)context
B)deadline
C)formal regulation
D)payoff

Question 59

Overconfidence bias occurs when people overestimate their abilities to make sound decisions.What type of person is most likely to fail through overconfidence bias?

A)50-70-year olds
B)people with weak interpersonal abilities
C)people with high knowledge of the problem
D)people with high knowledge of the solution

Question 60

Which organisational constraint is more likely to occur in bureaucracies?

A)performance evaluation
B)historical precedents
C)reward system
D)formal regulations

Question 61

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. You will probably teach the __________ criterion because it is the decision criterion that currently dominates business decision making.

A)justice
B)utilitarian
C)rights
D)privilege

Question 62

Utilitarianism is most preferred by:

A)for-profit organisations.
B)whistle-blowers.
C)nonprofit organisations.
D)managers.

Question 63

The segment of the three-stage model of creativity that encompasses personality characteristics associated with creativity is:

A)intuitive decision making.
B)creative potential.
C)intrinsic task motivation.
D)expertise.

Question 64

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. You decide to teach the group about the importance of making decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges.You are planning to focus on:

A)rights.
B)utilitarianism.
C)privilege.
D)justice.

Question 65

Discuss the three different criteria for ethical decision making.

Question 66

Why is creativity important to decision making?

A)It helps the decision maker understand the problem.
B)It allows the decision maker to more fully appraise the problem.
C)It allows the decision maker to see problems others cannot see.
D)All of the above.

Question 67

Explain the process of bounded rationality for the typical individual.

Question 68

Define the concept of perception and describe why it is important in the study of OB.

Question 69

________ is the ability to produce novel and useful ideas.

A)Expertise
B)Decision making
C)Talent
D)Creativity

Question 70

Which of the following is NOT listed in the text as a way to frame decisions ethically?

A)rights
B)utilitarianism
C)justice
D)satisficing

Question 71

Each of the following are indicators of creative behaviours EXCEPT:

A)intuitive decision making.
B)idea generation.
C)information gathering.
D)problem formation.

Question 72

The foundation for all creative work is:

A)creative thinking skills.
B)intrinsic task motivation.
C)expertise.
D)intuitive decision making.

Question 73

Mason is in charge of the production facility.He has recognised a problem with the flow of the goods and has prepared a program to change the steps of production.He has made the decision in order to improve the workflow for his employees and the profitability of the organisation. Mason's decision is a reflection of his:

A)dutiful commitment.
B)achievement orientation.
C)organisational constraints.
D)reward system.

Question 74

Decisions made so as to provide the greatest good for the greatest number are based on:

A)utilitarianism.
B)justice.
C)profit.
D)rights.

Question 75

Mason's employees at the production facility have been in conflict.One individual,Tyler,keeps blaming others for his errors on the production line. Tyler's behaviour suggests he is perpetuating:

A)self-serving bias.
B)achievement orientation.
C)organisational constraints.
D)dutiful commitment.

Question 76

Discuss why organisational constraints are necessary to an organisation.

Question 77

What role does perception make in individual decision making?

Question 78

Susan is involved in making a very important decision for her university.The university is searching for a new vice chancellor and Susan is a member of the selection committee.She wants to make certain that all information is considered and the best candidate is chosen. Susan wants the committee to produce novel and useful ideas.Susan is trying to stimulate the _______ of the committee members.

A)clarity
B)creativity
C)diversity
D)consensus

Question 79

Contrast fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias.

Question 80

Are individual differences more important than organisational constraints in the decision-making process? Explain your answer.