Perceptual bias occurs as a result of our brain taking shortcuts in the processing of information. According to Nahandi et al. (2015), “our mind will ignore information that does not fit our expectations or make assumptions based on perceptions rather than objective facts” (p. 154). Unfortunately, these types of biases take place every day in the workplace. It is important to recognize when we use these preferences so that we can guard ourselves against these shortcuts in the future.
One of the more common perceptual misconceptions is the stereotype bias, which I was guilty of using recently. In my line of work, the workforce is predominately female. When my company was hiring administrative assistants, were interviewing several men for the position, eventually offering one gentleman the job. Many of my colleagues and I thought that our new coworker was going to be bad at this job or took the position as a fallback because he was a male. However, as I got to know my coworker on a more personal level, I discovered that this was the position he wanted all along because of his desire to organize and help people. My male colleague is also more than capable at the position.
Looking back at this situation, I wonder why my coworkers and I used this type of bias. Studies have shown that using stereotypes help members in a community connect (Clark & Kashima, 2007). This sense of community in the face of change (a new hire) is the reason why I resorted to using the stereotype bias at work. From this experience, I now know that I need to take the time to fully process the environment and my coworkers before I resort to using perceptive shortcuts.
References
Clark, Anna E., Kashima, Yoshihisa. (2007) Stereotypes help people connect with others in the community: A situated functional analysis of the stereotype consistency bias in communication. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(6), 1028-1039. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1028
Nahavandi, A., Denhardt, R., Denhardt, J., & Aristigueta, M. (2015). Organizational behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
