Abstract
Models of job cognition have neglected the perceptual process by which units of task behavior are organized prior to making task judgments. Perceptual organization was examined in this study using an unobtrusive observational technique adapted from the psycholinguistic literature. In each of two experiments, the structure of a task was manipulated to vary the relationship between task behavior and feedback. These manipulations were found to be reflected in the measure of perceptual organization. In Experiment 2, perceptual organization was found also to correlate with higher order judgments about the task. The implications of these results for expanding models of job cognition to include perceptual processes are discussed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 287-306 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1987 |
Funding
The authors gratefully acknowledge the expert assistance provided by Jeanne Brett, Peter Bretz, Larry Cummings, Steve Hoch, Al Isenman, Joe Moag,A vi Mund, Phil Schoggen, and Barry Staw during various stages of this research. Special thanks also to Art Brief, Judy Harackiewicz, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Center for Career Research, Columbia University. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Lloyd E. Sandelands, 720 Uris Hall, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management