Convenience

organizational
commitment
An attitude that
reflects an
individual’s
identification with
and attachment to
the organization
itself
positive affectivity
A tendency to be
relatively upbeat and
optimistic, have an
overall sense of well-
being, see things in a
positive light, and
seem to be in a good
mood
negative affectivity
A tendency to be
generally downbeat
and pessimistic, see
things in a negative
way, and seem to be
in a bad mood
Chapter 9:
Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations
2 7 1
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PERCEPTION AND INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
As noted earlier, an important element of an attitude is the individual’s perception of the
object about which the attitude is formed. Because perception plays a role in a variety
of other workplace behaviors, managers need to have a general understanding of basic
perceptual processes.
27
The role of attributions is also important.
Basic Perceptual Processes
Perception
is the set of processes by which an individual becomes aware of and inter-
prets information about the environment. As shown in Figure 9.3, basic perceptual pro-
cesses that are particularly relevant to organizations are selective perception and
stereotyping.