Question 1

Suppose, for example, that a sales manager is evaluating the performance of his employees.One employee does not get along well with colleagues and rarely completes sales reports on time.This employee, however, generates the most new sales contracts in the office.The sales manager chooses to ignore the negative information and evaluates the salesperson only on contracts generated.The manager is exercising:

Accepted Answer

The sales manager is exhibiting selective perception by focusing only on the positive attribute of the employee's ability to generate new sales contracts and ignoring the negative attributes of poor relationship building and failure to complete sales reports on time. Selective perception occurs when a person selectively attends to information that reinforces their preexisting beliefs and attitudes while ignoring information that contradicts them.

Question 2

The tendency to make attributions to internal causes when focusing on someone else's behavior is:

Accepted Answer

The tendency to make attributions to internal causes when focusing on someone else's behavior is known as the fundamental attribution error. This is a common psychological bias that causes individuals to overemphasize dispositional factors (internal causes) when explaining someone else's behavior, while often ignoring situational factors (external causes).

Question 3

When a student attributes a high test grade to his or her diligent study habits and a low grade to the instructor's poorly worded questions, the student is displaying:

Accepted Answer

The student is exhibiting self-serving bias by attributing their successes to internal factors (their own hard work) and their failures to external factors (the instructor's poorly worded questions). This bias helps protect the student's self-esteem and self-image.

Question 4

The largest civil rights class action lawsuit in U.S.history centered around gender discrimination at Walmart. The U.S.Supreme Court ruling in this case is best supported by which of the following statements?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court's ruling in this case was that the class of over one million women who had brought the discrimination case against Walmart could not be certified as a class because their individual circumstances and experiences were too diverse and did not have enough in common to band together in a class action lawsuit. Therefore, option C is the best supported statement. The other answer choices address different aspects of the case but do not accurately reflect the Supreme Court's ruling.

Question 5

Which of the following results regarding impression management and employment interviews has not been supported by research?

Accepted Answer

Research has generally supported the idea that impression management can positively influence interview performance, the likelihood of a site visit, and the chances of getting hired. However, there is less evidence to suggest that impression management directly leads to higher starting salaries. The impact on salaries may be more indirect, influenced by factors such as the job level, negotiation skills, and the organization's pay structure rather than impression management techniques used during the interview process.

Question 6

Research shows that successful candidates make:

Accepted Answer

Successful candidates tend to make more internal attributions for negative events, meaning they take personal responsibility and see these events as opportunities for growth and improvement.

Question 7

Achievement-oriented individuals attribute their success to:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Achievement-oriented individuals attribute their success to:
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Question 8

Attribution theory helps to __________ behavior in organizations.

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory helps to explain the causes of behavior in organizations by examining how individuals perceive and interpret the actions of others. It focuses on identifying and analyzing the factors that people use to explain the behavior of others, including their own biases, expectations, and mental models. By recognizing the underlying causes of behavior, organizations can develop strategies to improve performance, communication, and collaboration among their employees.

Question 9

When you attribute the performance in this class to the type of exams and their relative difficulty, you are making what type of attribution?

Accepted Answer

When attributing the performance in this class to the type of exams and their relative difficulty, you are making an external attribution. This means that you are attributing the cause of the performance to factors outside of the individual, such as the difficulty of the tests or the quality of the instruction.

Question 10

Achievement-oriented individuals attribute their failures to:

Accepted Answer

Achievement-oriented individuals tend to believe that they are in control of their outcomes, so they are more likely to attribute their failures to something within their locus of control, such as a lack of effort.

Question 11

Attributional biases implies that managers must:

Accepted Answer

Attributional biases suggest that managers need to understand individual differences and accurately determine the causes of behavior and responsibility, as biases can affect their judgment and decision-making.

Question 12

Increasing workforce diversity is likely to reduce __________ as a barrier to social perception.

Accepted Answer

Stereotyping is a barrier to social perception that involves making assumptions about individuals based on their demographic characteristics, rather than getting to know the individual as a unique person. Increasing workforce diversity means that individuals from a variety of backgrounds will be working together, challenging stereotypes and encouraging people to see others as individuals rather than members of a group. Therefore, increasing workforce diversity is likely to reduce stereotyping as a barrier to social perception.

Question 13

The primacy effect is also known as:

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the tendency of people to remember the first information presented about a topic or person, and it can lead to making judgments and forming impressions based on this initial information. This is also known as the first-impression error. Therefore, the best choice is C. Selective perception refers to the process of filtering information based on personal beliefs and biases. Self-fulfilling prophecy is a phenomenon where a belief or expectation affects the outcome of a situation. A stereotype is a generalized and oversimplified belief about a group of people. While these concepts are related to cognitive biases and perception, they do not specifically refer to the primacy effect.

Question 14

When a female softball player is given more applause for a home run hit than a male teammate, the reason would most likely be due to:

Accepted Answer

The differential treatment based on the gender of the players is a clear example of prejudice or bias against a stereotype. It is assumed that men are generally stronger and better than women at sports, which is an erroneous and discriminatory belief. Therefore, the female player's achievement of hitting a home run is more surprising and challenging to the stereotype, which leads to more positive attention and appreciation from the audience.

Question 15

Assume you are an employment interviewer.An applicant's physical appearance could cause you to commit an incorrect hiring decision because of all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

The self-fulfilling prophecy is not directly related to physical appearance, but rather occurs when a belief held by the interviewer influences their behavior towards the applicant, leading the applicant to conform to that belief. Stereotypes, selective perception, and first impression errors can all be influenced by physical appearance and can lead to an incorrect hiring decision.

Question 16

Projection occurs most often when you:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Projection occurs most often when you:
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Question 17

In which of the following organizational situations is impression management more likely to occur?

Accepted Answer

Impression management is more likely to occur in a job interview as a candidate will try to put their best foot forward and present themselves positively to the interviewer. The other options involve either discipline, which may not be a situation where impression management is at play, or situations where an employee is leaving the organization, which may reduce their motivation to manage their impression.

Question 18

An achievement-oriented sales representative might attribute his failure to meet a monthly sales quota to:

Accepted Answer

An achievement-oriented sales representative focuses on achieving results and meeting goals, so he is less likely to blame external factors such as changing economic conditions or cutbacks in product advertising. If a sales representative was not able to meet his sales quota, it is more likely that he did not put in enough effort. Therefore, option C is the best choice.

Question 19

When a manager makes the attribution that an employee's lack of effort or ability is the basis for poor performance, they are probably making an error called:

Accepted Answer

The attribution made by the manager is an example of fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to attribute others' behavior to internal factors, such as personality traits or abilities, rather than external factors. In this case, the manager is overlooking external factors that may be contributing to the poor performance, such as lack of training or resources.

Question 20

Individuals who make external attributions will be more likely to:

Accepted Answer

Individuals who make external attributions for their actions or outcomes tend to attribute success or failure to factors outside their control. This can lead to feelings of incompetence, as they may believe they lack the ability to influence their own outcomes, potentially leading to depression.

Quiz 3: Personality, Perception, and Attribution