Question

question 23

which of the following is the most likely defense mechanism to be used by someone who is presented with a description of a factory worker that includes the word \intelligent\ and yet describes them as a less than ideal employee?

denial

recognition, but refusal to change

modification and distortion

change in perception

Explanation:

Analyze the perceptual conflict

The scenario describes a situation where an individual holds a pre-existing stereotype or schema (e.g., that factory workers are not highly intelligent). They are then presented with contradictory information: a description of a factory worker that explicitly includes the word "intelligent," while still describing them as a less-than-ideal employee overall. This creates cognitive dissonance or a conflict with their existing social perception.

Evaluate the defense mechanisms

When faced with information that conflicts with our existing schemas or stereotypes, we employ perceptual defense mechanisms to handle the inconsistency:

• Denial: Completely ignoring or refusing to admit the existence of the conflicting information.
• Modification and distortion: Altering the conflicting information so that it fits into our existing schema. In this case, because the description contains both "intelligent" and "less than ideal," the person is highly likely to distort or modify the meaning of "intelligent" (e.g., interpreting it as "sly" or "troublemaker") to maintain their original stereotype of factory workers while accepting the negative evaluation.
• Change in perception: Actually updating one's schema to accommodate the new reality, which is less common than defensive distortion when stereotypes are deeply held.

Determine the most likely mechanism

In organizational behavior and social perception, when a person is presented with mixed information that challenges a stereotype, they most commonly use Modification and distortion to reconcile the conflicting details without completely discarding their original schema. They distort the positive trait ("intelligent") to align with the negative context ("less than ideal employee") and their pre-existing beliefs.

Answer:

• Denial
• Recognition, but refusal to change
• Modification and distortion (Correct answer)
• Change in perception