Deck 6: Perception and Individual Decision Making

Question 1

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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Randy always turns in reports with punctuation errors. The reports of the three other employees on the QA report writing team always produce grammatically clean reports. Randy is about to turn in another report, and his manager has already noticed errors. Randy demonstrates ________. His sloppy reports can be attributed to an ________ cause.

A) low distinctiveness, low consensus, and high consistency; internal
B) high distinctiveness, low consensus, and high consistency; external
C) low distinctiveness, high consensus, and high consistency; internal
D) low distinctiveness, low consensus, and high consistency; external
E) high distinctiveness, high consensus, and high consistency; internal

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What does consensus refer to in attribution theory?

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

Question 5

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

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

Question 6

Last year Elaine had her purse snatched on the street bytwo teens who wore their jeans very low. All she can remember is seeing, as the teens ran away, was their plaid boxer shorts sticking out above their pants. Whenever Elaine sees boys with low-riding jeans her face tightens and she mumbles something about "delinquents". She is extremely bothered that her own grandson, an honor student, has begun to wear his jeans low. Elaine's perception of her grandson is influenced by ________.

A) motives
B) interests
C) setting
D) reality
E) experience

Question 7

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

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

Question 8

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

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

Question 9

Your boss never gives you the benefit of the doubt. When you arrived late 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 boss is guilty of ________.

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

Question 10

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

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

Question 11

What term is used for the extent to which an individual displays different behaviors in different situations?

A) continuity
B) integrity
C) stability
D) flexibility
E) distinctiveness

Question 12

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

A) It shows consensus.
B) It shows similarity.
C) It shows reliability.
D) It shows consistency.
E) It shows distinctiveness.

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

A) his interests
B) his work setting
C) his expectations
D) his motives
E) his background

Question 15

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

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

Question 16

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 target
C) the timing
D) the context
E) the situation

Question 17

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

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

Question 18

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

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

Question 19

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

Question 20

The more consistent a behavior, the more the observer is inclined to ________.

A) attribute it to interpretation
B) attribute it to internal causes
C) attribute it to consensus
D) attribute it to external causes
E) attribute it to distinctiveness

Question 21

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

Question 22

Whenever Jane 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) distinctiveness
E) self-serving bias

Question 23

Investors bragged about their investing expertise during the stock market rally between 1996 and early 2000. Knowing individuals rely on the self-serving bias to explain failure, which of the following explanations would an investor be most likely to state after the market imploded in 2000?

A) The Federal Reserve did all they could.
B) The analysts did not look at the numbers properly.
C) I really should have seen it coming.
D) My broker advised me to pull out, but I was blind.
E) I really should have been diversifying my earnings.

Question 24

Why is decision making a perceptual issue?

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

Question 25

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

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

Question 26

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

Question 27

Shortcuts in judging people are applied in organizations. Which of the following is not an application of a judgement shortcut?

A) performance evaluations
B) setting high expectations
C) unwittingly maintaining low expectations
D) employment interviews
E) market evaluations

Question 28

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

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

Question 29

Shortcuts in judging others include all of the following except ________.

A) stereotyping
B) halo effect
C) projection
D) self-serving bias
E) the Pygmalion effect

Question 30

When F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "The very rich are different from you and me," and Hemingway replied, "Yes, they have more money," Hemingway refused to engage in what shortcut to judge others?

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

Question 31

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

Question 32

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

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

Question 33

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

A) decision
B) self-fulfilling prophecy
C) problem
D) expectation
E) stereotype

Question 34

It's Marisol's first day on a new job. At first she was very nervous, but when she was introduced to her cubicle neighbor, Hanna, she was taken aback by Hanna's soothing smile. Marisol knew that a person with such a beautiful smile could not be bad, and that she would enjoy having her in such close proximity.

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

Question 35

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

Question 36

What is another name for a self-fulfilling prophecy?

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

Question 37

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

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

Question 38

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

Question 39

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

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

Question 40

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

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

Question 41

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 his back 25 acres. 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 ________.

A) hindsight bias
B) availability bias
C) risk aversion
D) randomness error
E) escalation of commitment

Question 42

The tendency to prefer a sure thing describes which decision making bias?

A) hindsight bias
B) bounded rationality
C) escalation of commitment
D) randomness
E) risk aversion

Question 43

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

A) defining the problem
B) identifying the decision criteria
C) evaluating the alternatives
D) computing the decision perceptions
E) selecting the best alternative

Question 44

Which of the following is not an organizational constraint to decision making?

A) performance evaluations
B) reward systems
C) personality
D) formal regulations
E) system-imposed time constraints

Question 45

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

Question 46

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

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

Question 47

Who is most likely to engage in rumination?

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

Question 48

The three criteria for making ethical decisions are ________.

A) utilitarianism, creativity, and rights
B) whistle-blowing, rights, and utilitarianism
C) history, regulations, and time
D) utilitarianism, rights, and justice
E) evaluation, reward, and justice

Question 49

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

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

Question 50

Researchers today believe that intuition can be helpful in decision making because it ________.

A) allows systematic biases and errors to creep into their judgments
B) is a developed form of reasoning that is based on years of experience and learning
C) gathers a great deal of information about all the options
D) reduces problems to a simple level, easing the understanding
E) chooses the option with the highest utility

Question 51

Why do people satisfice?

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

Question 52

When Martha submitted a formal complaint to OSHA about unsafe work conditions in her company's warehouse, she acted as a ________.

A) utilitarian thinker
B) judge
C) creative thinker
D) whistle-blower
E) humanitarian

Question 53

Manuwer's firm won a bid on a small programming project for $26,000. The client recently changed the project specifications, and when Manuwer explained that the new work could not be included in the price of the original bid because it involves completely changing the already written code, the client got angry and said, "I'm only asking you to add one thing! You're charging me $30,000 and you can't do this one thing?" Manuwer's client is engaging in ________.

A) overconfidence bias
B) confirmation bias
C) anchoring bias
D) availability bias
E) escalation commitment

Question 54

Avoiding making decisions on Friday the 13^th can be an example of which bias?

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

Question 55

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

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

Question 56

David's boss has just moved his software testing deadline up by two days. David was working overtime to complete the assignment with the previous deadline, but now he doesn't see how it will be physically possible to test every aspect of the software by the new deadline. As a result, David will have to cut corners and only test certain aspects of the product. He is sure there will be bugs that go unnoticed. David is a victim of which organizational constraint?

A) performance evaluations
B) reward systems
C) historical precedents
D) formal regulations
E) system-imposed time constraints

Question 57

In the real world, what do people typically do when making a decision about a problem?

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

Question 58

A satisficing decision maker ________.

A) looks for complete information
B) seeks solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient
C) identifies all the relevant options to solutions
D) analyzes all options in an unbiased manner
E) chooses the option with the highest utility

Question 59

Mariana has purchased her paper from Acme Paper Company for years. When she started her business they offered the best paper for the lowest price, and they delivered it to her office with friendly service. Recently Mariana's office manager submitted a report on various prices for paper supply companies in the city. Mariana quickly skimmed the report and saw that Acme was in the same ball park price per ream, although a little more expensive than two of the companies, but they continued to deliver free of charge. Mariana decided to stay with Acme. Her decision was based on ________.

A) overconfidence bias
B) availability bias
C) confirmation bias
D) anchoring bias
E) randomness error

Question 60

Where is overconfidence most likely to surface?

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

Question 61

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

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

Question 62

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 63

The contrast effect suggests a candidate will be more highly evaluated if the previous interviews were also highly evaluated.

Question 64

In attribution theory, "distinctiveness" refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations.

Question 65

Rashid and a group of friends from Pakistan are going out to eat. At the restaurant the hostess tells them a bit distractedly, that there is no seating for the next two hours. Monica, a young Hispanic woman, and her boyfriend, arrive at the same restaurant a few minutes later, and are told the same thing by the same hostess in the same tone. They will probably perceive the situation similarly.

Question 66

Nicole's department sales have gone done recently. She told her husband that all of the sales representatives were lazy and that she was the only one holding the numbers up. In reality, all of the sales numbers have gone done, including Nicole's. Nicole's statement can be attributed to the tendency to use the self-serving bias to explain successes and failures.

Question 67

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

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

Question 68

Which is not a reason why it is difficult to base decision making on ethics when working abroad?

A) Because some countries accept corruption as a part of business practices .
B) Because there are different consequences for corruption.
C) Because there are no global ethical standards.
D) Because the United States is the only nation without corruption.
E) Because it is difficult to know what the ethical standards are for each nation.

Question 69

An individual's expectations have little effect on perception.

Question 70

The halo effect occurs because it is impossible for us to assimilate everything we see.

Question 71

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

Question 72

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

Question 73

The relationship of a target to its background influences our perception of that target.

Question 74

Which of the following is not a way to increase creativity?

A) spend time with creative people
B) establish a happy work environment
C) avoid risks and trying new things
D) travel to another country
E) increase your knowledge about the subject

Question 75

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

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

Question 76

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

Question 77

Nikolas needs to come up with a creative design logo for his new client. What should Nikolas do to increase his creativity.

A) Get a calming, relaxing massage and clear his mind to think.
B) Get anxious about how important this account is to his firm.
C) Put on some up-beat happy music and run ideas by coworkers.
D) Think about a sad moment, because emotions stimulate creativity.
E) Play meditation music and spend twenty minutes meditating.

Question 78

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

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

Question 79

Because attribution is perceived differently in Eastern cultures, which response is not likely to be made by a manager from Japan whose department is failing.

A) I take full blame.
B) One of our employees was corrupt.
C) The organization has not been supportive.
D) I will need to reevaluate my strategy.
E) The organization has been very supportive.

Question 80

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