Deck 3: Perception and Individual Decision Making

Question 1

What is the term used for a general impression about an individual based on a single characteristic such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance?

A) personal bias
B) contrast effects
C) projection
D) the halo effect
E) prejudice

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The students in your class are presenting their oral presentations in front of the entire class. You have heard that there are several frequently used shortcuts to judging others and are wondering if any of these are being used by your teacher.
Camilla has already presented two excellent reports. The report she has just presented is clearly not as good as the first two reports, yet she is given the same high grade as before. What shortcut has the teacher used in this case?

A) stereotyping
B) assertion
C) the halo effect
D) the contrast effect
E) projection

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following statements is not an example of stereotyping?

A) She was good at her last job, so she will be good at this one.
B) There is no need to offer child-care to him; men aren't interested in child care.
C) The new hire will be emotionally insensitive, since he is a man.
D) Don't hire an older worker; they can't learn new skills.
E) She won't relocate for a promotion, since women don't relocate.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Your rating in a job interview is high in contrast to the candidate who was interviewed directly before you, who was rated extremely low. Your own high rating might be partially attributed to which of the following?

A) projection
B) contrast effects
C) stereotyping
D) prototyping
E) the halo effect

Question 5

Hani has the opinion that people who drive trucks are dangerous drivers. He often perceives that people driving trucks are doing so in a dangerous manner, even when other observers can see nothing wrong with the behavior of the truck drivers. What factor in Hani is affecting his perception in this case?

A) his background
B) his motives
C) his expectations
D) his interests
E) his experiences

Question 6

What is another name for a self-fulfilling prophecy?

A) prototyping
B) projection
C) halo effect
D) Pygmalion effect
E) self-selecting bias

Question 7

Shortcuts in judging others include all of the following except .

A) selective perception
B) self-serving bias
C) contrast effects
D) stereotyping
E) halo effect

Question 8

In the real world what do people typically do?

A) seek the optimal decision
B) remain unbiased and objective
C) obtain complete information
D) follow the rational decision-making model
E) find an acceptable solution

Question 9

What term is used for the tendency of an individual to attribute his own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors?

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

Question 10

Investors bragged about their investing expertise during the US stock market rally between 1996 and early 2000, then blamed analysts, brokers, and the US Federal Reserve when the market imploded in 2000. These investors were most probably guilty of what?

A) fundamental attribution error
B) the halo effect
C) self-serving bias
D) selective perception
E) distinctiveness

Question 11

Well after you have started trying to make a decision, new information comes to light that implies that the drug may be able to be synthesized much more cheaply than was previously thought.
What must you try to avoid when integrating this new information?

A) overconfidence bias
B) availability bias
C) anchoring bias
D) representative bias
E) confirmation bias

Question 12

Who is most likely to engage in rumination?

A) a 70-year old man
B) a 50-year old man
C) a 40-year old woman
D) a 15-year old boy
E) a 10-year old girl

Question 13

A committee is made up of 12 managers: three each from the sales, production, accounting, and human resources departments. They read a comprehensive study of the company they work for, and are asked which of its recommendations are most important. In discussion they find that the managers perceive that the most important recommendations are those concerning their own departments. This finding is most likely the result of what type of bias?

A) Pygmalion effect
B) selective perception
C) halo effect
D) self-serving bias
E) projection

Question 14

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 want to teach the decision criterion that currently dominates business decision-making.
If you wish to emphasize the importance of making decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges, the focus of your teaching will also be on which of the following?

A) privilege
B) utilitarianism
C) justice
D) rights
E) service

Question 15

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

A) Persons that are similar to each other tend to be grouped together.
B) Motion, sounds, size, and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.
C) Targets are usually looked at in isolation.
D) Objects that are distant from one another will be perceived separately rather than as a group.
E) Objects that are close together will be perceived together rather than separately.

Question 16

When the police began searching for a serial killer, they stopped only vehicles carrying Caucasian males. What are the police engaging in?

A) prototyping
B) the halo effect
C) contrast effects
D) selective perception
E) profiling

Question 17

What are the three classes of factors that influence perception?

A) factors in the setting, factors in the environment, and factors in the motives
B) factors in the personality, factors in the character, and factors in the values
C) factors in the perceiver, factors in the target, and factors in the situation
D) factors in the character, factors in knowledge, and factors in experience
E) factors in the senses, factors in the surroundings, and factors in the lighting

Question 18

What is perhaps the least rational way of making a decision?

A) to use complete information
B) to rely on intuition
C) to use bounded rationality
D) to remain objective
E) to use a conscious thought-process

Question 19

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 want to teach the decision criterion that currently dominates business decision-making.
Which decision criterion will you teach?

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

Question 20

According to _____, what is expected of people helps determine their behavior.

A) the fundamental attribution error
B) the halo effect
C) projection
D) self-selecting bias
E) the Pygmalion effect

Question 21

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

A) allocating weights to the criteria
B) defining the problem
C) selecting the best alternative
D) identifying the decision criteria
E) computing the decision alternatives

Question 22

Where is overconfidence most likely to surface?

A) among higher wage earners
B) among older workers
C) with more education and training
D) in your area of expertise
E) outside your area of expertise

Question 23

Why do people satisfice?

A) In general, people lack the motivation to perform rational decision-making fully.
B) Any solution that solves a problem will be considered to be acceptable if the other possible options are not explored.
C) Resource restraints usually prevent people from entertaining all the options possible.
D) Solutions that solve a problem, even if they are not the best solution, are generally satisfactory.
E) They lack the capability to assimilate and understand all the information necessary to optimize.

Question 24

What do we call it when we judge someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he/she belongs?

A) stereotyping
B) assimilating
C) prototyping
D) grouping
E) categorizing

Question 25

You are part of a group making a decision about whether it is appropriate to discontinue research on a new drug. This new drug would save lives, but it is uncertain whether you can develop it within a reasonable time frame and at a reasonable cost. Your firm has already spent a small fortune on this drug. You have gathered so much information in preparation to making the decision that you are unable to sort the good information from the superfluous data. Your experience tells you that this project has merit.
What form of decision making are you using if you decide to continue the project on the basis that the project has merit?

A) rational
B) compulsive
C) satisficing
D) compelling
E) intuitive

Question 26

What does consensus refer to in attribution theory?

A) Different people perceive a situation similarly.
B) There is general agreement about a perception.
C) Different people respond the same way in the same situation.
D) All people behave precisely the same way in certain situations.
E) There is general agreement about how people desire to respond to the same situation.

Question 27

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

A) An employee is late because he was partying late and then overslept.
B) An employee was promoted because he was hard working.
C) An employee was fired because he slept on the job.
D) An employee is late because of a flat tire.
E) An employee died from lung cancer after excessive tobacco use.

Question 28

What is the segment in the three-component model of creativity that turns creative potential into actual creative ideas?

A) intuition
B) realization
C) expertise
D) intrinsic task motivation
E) creative thinking skills

Question 29

What is the relationship between what one perceives and objective reality?

A) They can be substantially different.
B) They cannot be the same.
C) They are rarely if ever the same.
D) They are the same.
E) They should be the same.

Question 30

Why is decision making a perceptual issue?

A) Before a decision is made, a problem must be perceived to exist.
B) Decision making is generally by consensus.
C) Decisions must be made on how to move from the current state of affairs to some desired state.
D) There may be more than one way to solve a problem.
E) Middle and lower level managers may have different perceptions on how to solve a problem than their underlings or top level managers.

Question 31

People with high self-esteem appear to be especially susceptible to what?

A) bounded rationality
B) escalation of commitment
C) hindsight bias
D) randomness
E) the self-serving bias

Question 32

Fatima is being interviewed for a position as an editor. At the start of the interview she is flustered and repeatedly mispronounces the name of the company she is applying to work for. She thinks the rest of the interview goes very well and she is confident about getting the job. Why might her confidence be misplaced?

A) Interviewers will use stereotypes to judge her, so what she says and does at the interview will be of little importance.
B) Most employment decisions have been made before the interview is conducted.
C) Employers gain most of their knowledge of a potential employee's skill set through interviewing.
D) Interviewers make perceptual judgments that are often inaccurate.
E) Most interviewers make their decision by the first 5 minutes of the interview.

Question 33

What is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment?

A) environmental analysis
B) perception
C) outlook
D) interpretation
E) social verification

Question 34

One of the shortcuts used to judge others involves evaluating a person based on how he/she compares to other individuals on the same characteristic. What is this shortcut called?

A) the halo effect
B) prejudice
C) stereotyping
D) contrast effects
E) selective perception.

Question 35

What term is used for the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behavior of others?

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

Question 36

Leona thinks that because her employee Yusuf went to a very good university that he is very knowledgeable, and always asks his opinion on the firm's investments. In reality, Yusuf knows very little about investing, but makes sure he reads up on it so that he can give an informed opinion to Leona. What has occurred in this situation?

A) a projection event
B) the fundamental attribution error
C) a self-serving bias
D) a self-fulfilling prophecy
E) profiling

Question 37

The students in your class are presenting their oral presentations in front of the entire class. You have heard that there are several frequently used shortcuts to judging others and are wondering if any of these are being used by your teacher.
You have heard that the teacher believes that men perform better in oral presentations than women. What shortcut has the teacher used in this case?

A) the halo effect
B) prototyping
C) the contrast effect
D) stereotyping
E) projection

Question 38

Because it is impossible for us to assimilate everything we perceive, we engage in .

A) memorization
B) mental desensitization
C) linear clustering
D) selective perception
E) periodic listening

Question 39

What is the name of the theory that deals with how we explain behavior differently depending on the meaning we assign to the actor?

A) equality theory
B) behavioral theory
C) attribution theory
D) judgment theory
E) selective perception theory

Question 40

What is the first step in the rational decision-making model?

A) developing alternatives
B) weighing the decision criteria
C) defining the problem
D) collecting relevant data
E) identifying the decision criteria

Question 41

Your manager never gives you the benefit of the doubt. When you were late back from lunch, he assumed that you had simply taken too much time. He never considered that the elevators were out and you had to walk up 10 flights of stairs. Your manager is guilty of _____ .

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

Question 42

What segment of the three-component model of creativity encompasses personality characteristics that are associated with imagination?

A) creative thinking skills
B) expertise
C) intuition
D) intrinsic task motivation
E) realization

Question 43

If a person responds the same way over time, attribution theory states that the behavior shows _____ .

A) consensus
B) continuity
C) consistency
D) stability
E) distinctiveness

Question 44

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

A) consensus
B) consistency
C) stability
D) reliability
E) similarity

Question 45

The students in your class are presenting their oral presentations in front of the entire class. You have heard that there are several frequently used shortcuts to judging others and are wondering if any of these are being used by your teacher.
Ayeisha has just presented her paper and has done a really good job. Why should you not want to present your own paper directly after she does?

A) to avoid the projection effect
B) to avoid the ultimate attribution error
C) to avoid the halo effect
D) to avoid the contrast effect
E) to avoid the stereotyping effect

Question 46

What trait does a decision maker need to have if they are to fully appraise a problem and even see problems that others are not aware of?

A) intuition
B) creativity
C) individuality
D) rationality
E) conceptual style

Question 47

Which of the following terms involves making decisions so as to provide the greatest good for the greatest number?

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

Question 48

When individuals observe another person's behavior, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused. This phenomenon is most directly relevant to which of the following?

A) projection theory
B) the Pygmalion effect
C) selective perception theory
D) expectancy theory
E) attribution theory

Question 49

Avoiding making decisions on a Monday could be an example of which bias?

A) commitment
B) substitution
C) confirmation
D) randomness
E) representative

Question 50

The time at which an object or event is seen is an example of what type of factor influencing the perceptual process?

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

Question 51

What do we call the tendency for people to base their judgments on information that they can easily obtain?

A) availability bias
B) principality
C) confirmation bias
D) representative bias
E) anchoring bias

Question 52

What is the most relevant application of perception concepts to OB?

A) the perceptions people form about external reality
B) the perceptions people form about their employer
C) the perceptions people form about society
D) the perceptions people form about their culture
E) the perceptions people form about each other

Question 53

Which of the following is not a factor in the individual perceiver?

A) expectation
B) perception
C) attitude
D) motive
E) location

Question 54

Well after you have started trying to make a decision, new information comes to light that implies that the drug may be able to be synthesized much more cheaply than was previously thought.
The group decides to continue the project so that all the resources already spent on it will not have been wasted. In this case the group has done which of the following?

A) made an escalation of commitment
B) used the anchoring bias
C) used the availability bias
D) made the ultimate attribution error
E) satisficed

Question 55

Two people see the same thing at the same time yet interpret it differently. Where do the factors that operate to shape their dissimilar perceptions reside?

A) the perceivers
B) the situation
C) the timing
D) the target
E) the context

Question 56

What is the segment of the three-component model of creativity that is the foundation for all creative work?

A) intrinsic task motivation
B) realization
C) intuition
D) expertise
E) creative thinking skills

Question 57

Which of the following is not a typical constraint on decision makers within an organization:

A) the precedents of previous organizational decisions
B) the need to copy competitors' decisions
C) the need to meet organizationally imposed time constraints
D) the need to comply with the organization's formal regulations
E) the desire to reflect the organization's evaluation and reward system

Question 58

What sort of actions are most likely to be attributed to external causes?

A) actions that have low distinctiveness, low consistency, and high consensus
B) actions that have low distinctiveness, low consensus, and low consistency
C) actions that have high distinctiveness, low consensus, and low consistency
D) actions that have high distinctiveness, high consensus, and low consistency
E) actions that have high distinctiveness, high consensus, and high consistency

Question 59

Whenever Jana is successful she takes full credit for what has happened, but whenever she is unsuccessful she attributes her failure to bad luck or blames one of her fellow employees. She is guilty of _____ .

A) fundamental attribution error
B) attribution bias
C) the halo effect
D) self-serving bias
E) distinctiveness

Question 60

The more consistent a behavior, 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) attribute it to distinctiveness
E) attribute it to interpretation

Question 61

Cultures differ in their emphasis on the importance of rationality.

Question 62

People with high self-esteem generally are not susceptible to a self-serving bias.

Question 63

Perception refers to the way we organize and interpret the world around us.

Question 64

Decision makers construct simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity. That is, they operate within the confines of _____.

A) rationality
B) intuitive decision making
C) common sense
D) bounded rationality
E) optimal decision making

Question 65

How is the satisficing decision maker best characterized?

A) as using rationality
B) as using creativity
C) as affected by anchoring bias
D) as relying on others to make decisions
E) as using bounded rationality

Question 66

Giving an attribution an external causation means you assume that the individual is responsible for his or her own behavior.

Question 67

Gadi 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 the three-component model of creativity does Gadi attribute his success?

A) creativity skills
B) insight
C) expertise
D) task motivation
E) intuitiveness

Question 68

Maysun has exceeded her budget by at least $200 every month for the last three months. After recognizing that this is a problem, she decides to use the rational decision-making model to decide what to do. What might be the next step she takes if she follows this model?

A) evaluate different ways that she could use to either reduce her expenses or increase her income
B) come up with different ways that would either reduce her expenses or increase her income
C) determine what she needs to take into account when making her decision
D) choose a method to cut her expenses
E) weigh the relative importance of each of her expenses

Question 69

The more consistent the behavior, the more the observer is inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

Question 70

In attribution theory, what is distinctiveness?

A) whether an individual displays different behavior from other people
B) whether an individual displays consistent behaviors in different situations
C) whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations
D) whether an individual displays different behaviors in similar situations
E) whether an individual displays consistent behaviors in similar situations

Question 71

Decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem.

Question 72

You are on a team with two individuals who are "difficult." The work has been divided among the three of you, and each time your team meets, Jamelia and Jasper disagree about the progress of the team project. Jamelia is convinced that Jasper's lack of progress is because he is inherently lazy and not because of some overwhelming problem with the project itself. The truth seems to be that Jamelia is not doing her part of the work.
What might you use to try to understand Jamelia and Jasper's behavior?

A) satisficing theory
B) decision-making theory
C) attribution theory
D) Surber's theory
E) perception theory

Question 73

Interviewers make perceptual judgments that are generally accurate during an employment interview.

Question 74

Personal characteristics affecting perception include the time at which an object or event is seen.

Question 75

The concept of bounded rationality assumes that the decision maker will complicate the problem.

Question 76

An individual's place in the interview schedule may affect the interviewer's evaluation of the applicant. This is an example of the halo effect.

Question 77

What is the term used for an increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information?

A) rose-colored-glasses
B) satisficing
C) representative
D) escalation of commitment
E) hindsight

Question 78

Selective perception allows us to "speed read" others.

Question 79

You are on a team with two individuals who are "difficult." The work has been divided among the three of you, and each time your team meets, Jamelia and Jasper disagree about the progress of the team project. Jamelia is convinced that Jasper's lack of progress is because he is inherently lazy and not because of some overwhelming problem with the project itself. The truth seems to be that Jamelia is not doing her part of the work.
What error or bias does Jamelia seem to be making?

A) the ultimate attribution error
B) selective perception
C) self-serving bias
D) an external bias
E) the fundamental attribution error

Question 80

Organizations can constrain decision makers by rewarding risk aversion.