Page 147 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Unit 7: Perception and Communication

Perception of internal and external forces has resulted in the fundamental attribution error. The Notes
fundamental attribution error occurs when one views the bad behavior of others as internal and
their own bad behavior as external. It is much more difficult for others to see the external forces
surrounding the individual conducting the bad behavior, where as, it is clear to the individual
conducting the bad behavior, to relate their own behavior to their surrounding forces. Managers
who acknowledge the personality differences between themselves and other employees can
begin to appreciate those personality differences and create a more effective communication
environment.

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Case Study Selective Group Perception

The Hastorf and Cantril case study

Background of the study
Hastorf and Cantril’s case study analyzed what proved to be selective group perception of
a football game contested between the Dartmouth Indians and Princeton Tigers. The
football game the students watched had been played in 1951, and in that game Princeton
won. It was a tough game, with a lot of penalties and caused uproar in series of editorials
in campus newspapers.
The Princeton quarterback, who is an All-American, in his last game for college, left the
game in its second quarter with a broken nose and a mild concussion. When third quarter
came, Dartmouth quarterback ended up with a broken leg after being tackled in the
backfield.
Methodology
A week after the game, Hastorf and Cantril asked both Dartmouth and Princeton students
of psychology to answer a questionnaire. The researchers then analyzed and interpreted
the answers of those who had seen the game either in real or in a recorded movie.

They had two other groups view a film of the game and then tabulated the number of
infractions seen.
Results

The Dartmouth and Princeton students noticeably had varying responses. When asked
who started the rough play, almost no one said that Princeton did. Furthermore, 36% of
the Dartmouth students and 86% of the Princeton students said it was Dartmouth who
started it. On the other hand, 53% of the Dartmouth students and 11% of the Princeton
students that both did start it.
In detail, here are the questions and the respective tallied answers from Dartmouth students
and Princeton students:

“Which team do you feel started the rough play?”
Percent Dartmouth Students Percent Princeton Students
Princeton started it 2 0
Both started it 53 11
Dartmouth started it 36 86
Neither/no answer 9 3

Contd....

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