Explain the Nature of Perceptual Selection, and Comment on How

question 216

Essay

Explain the nature of perceptual selection, and comment on how the factors that influence it may have been involved in affecting Patricia's fears for her job in the following scenario:

Patricia is a 63-year-old administrative manager in the Training and Development Department of a mid-sized federal agency, known for its highly political climate and unexpected employee turnover. Her supervisor of 10 years, Austin (also age 63, the previous director of Training and Development), has just accepted a transfer to become Director of Procurement for the same agency. Austin had always been very protective of Patricia, since she occasionally had personal conflicts with other members of the agency staff. For years, Patricia has experienced significant stress and anxiety relating to her job, but felt very comfortable working with Austin. Austin' replacement was Jeff, an enthusiastic, 20-year veteran of the agency in his mid-forties, who in the past had been on opposite sides of several political battles with Austin. Jeff wanted to develop a new direction for the Training and Development Department in order to boost productivity and staff member satisfaction throughout the agency, a goal endorsed by his boss, the Agency Director.

During his first few months on the job, Jeff found considerable reluctance on the part of Patricia to take on new tasks as assigned, since she was already overloaded with existing work. Budget shortfalls had left the department understaffed, and Jeff knew that he would need to add staff if the planned revamping of the Department was to be effective. Six months after taking over the department, he scheduled a meeting with the agency's Director of Human Resources and his boss (the Agency Director), along with Patricia, to outline his plans for the future and make an argument for bringing on an additional staff member to provide assistance to Patricia immediately. However, when Patricia heard about the meeting, she refused to attend unless Austin accompanied her. She apparently feared that she was going to be fired. Jeff had no intention of replacing Patricia, since her knowledge of agency processes was unavailable anywhere else, and her ability to perform her job with minimal supervision was excellent. However, Patricia had consistently felt that Jeff was not satisfied with her work, in spite of being told otherwise on many occasions.

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Definitions:

Group Dynamics

Group dynamics refers to the study of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups.

Increases Conformity

Refers to factors or situations that enhance the likelihood of individuals to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of a group.

Social Loafing

The phenomenon where individuals exert less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group compared to when they work alone.

Social Influence

The effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our attitudes, beliefs, or actions.