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Tracy is working on a project, the process for which was decided by her manager. She is aware that the process is inefficient and not the best way to do the project, but her manager insists that it gets done this way. Tracy is most probably suffering due to _________

A. Selective perception
B. Fundamental attribution error
C. Cognitive dissonance
D. Teleopathy
E. Actor-observer bias

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Tracy is most likely experiencing Cognitive dissonance, a state of mental discomfort occurring when one's beliefs or values conflict with another imposed behavior, such as following an inefficient work process decided by her manager.

Step-by-step explanation:


Tracy is working on a project where the process, as decided by her manager, is known by Tracy to be inefficient. In this scenario, Tracy is most probably suffering due to Cognitive dissonance. This term refers to the mental discomfort that a person experiences when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values simultaneously, or when they are presented with new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values. Tracy clearly perceives a discrepancy between her understanding of the most efficient process and the mandated process by her manager, which leads her to experience cognitive dissonance.

Actor-observer bias is the tendency to attribute other peoples behaviors to internal factors while attributing our own behavior to situational forces, which isn’t precisely what Tracy is experiencing. She isn't assessing her own behavior or others purely from her perspective or an observer’s perspective but is in a state of conflict due to the differing methods. This is unlike the situation where someone subject to actor-observer bias would attribute the manager’s insistence on the process to the manager’s personal disposition.
Considering that Tracy’s situation is not about underestimating the situational influence but rather experiencing a conflict between her belief and actions imposed by authority, Teleopathy, or becoming fixated on achieving goals and losing sight of the underlying purpose or ethical concerns, would also not be the correct term.

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