Chapter 3 Personality Perception and Attribution Individual differences

Chapter 3 Personality, Perception, and Attribution

Individual differences & O. B. The Person Skills & ability Personality Perception Attribution Attitudes Values Ethics The Environment Organization Workgroup Job Personal life Behavior

Personality n A relative stable set of characteristics that influence an individual’s behavior. n It combines a set of physical & mental characteristics that reflect how a person looks, thinks, acts, & feels.

What Determines Individual’s Personality? Personality Heredity Environment Physical characteristics Gender Genetics Culture Family Group membership Life experience

Personality Development n Chris Argyris n People develop along a continuum of dimensions from immaturity to maturity n n n n From immaturity Passivity Dependence Limited behavior Shallow interests S. T. perspective Little self-awareness To maturity Activity Independence Diverse behavior Deep interests L. T. perspective Much self-awareness

Personality Development (Cont. ) n Late adulthood Daniel Levinson n 65 Late adulthood transition Individual’s personality develops in a series of stages over time 45 60 55 Age 50 transition 50 Midlife transition 40 33 Age 30 transition 28 22 Early adult transition 17 Childhood & adolescence

Personality Development (Cont. ) n Management implications n n Personality develops in predictable ways over time These developments require different management responses

Personality Characteristics in Organizations n n n Locus of control Self-Efficacy Self-Esteem Self-Monitoring Positive / Negative Affect

Locus of control n Definition: n n 2 types of people n n n An individual’s generalized belief about internal control (self-control) versus external control (control by other situation or by others). Internals Externals Implications

Self-Efficacy n Definition: n n 2 types of people n n n An individual’s generalized belief that he/she is capable of meeting job demands in a wide variety of situations. High general self-efficacy Low general self-efficacy Implications

Self-Esteem n Definition: n n 2 types of people n n n An individual’s general feeling of self- worth. High self-esteem Low self-esteem Implications

Self-Monitoring n Definition: n n 2 types of people n n n The extent to which people base their behavior on cause from other people and situations. High self-monitors Low self-monitors Implications

Positive/Negative Affect n Definition: n n An individual’s tendency to accentuate the positive (or negative) aspect of himself, other people, and the world in general. 2 types of people n ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺘﺄﻜﻴﺪ Positive affect Negative affect Implications

Measuring Personality n The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instument

Matching Personality & Job Personality Characteristics Sample Occupations Realistic Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, conforming, practical Mechanic, drill press operator, assembly-line worker, farmer Investigative Analytical, original, curious, independent Biologist, economist, mathematician, news reporter Social Sociable, friendly, cooperative, understanding Social worker, teacher, counselor, clinical psychologist Conventional Conforming, efficient, practical, Accountant, corporate unimaginative, inflexible manager, bank teller, file clerk Enterprising Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, domineering Lawyer, real estate agent, public relations specialist, small business manager Artistic Imaginative, disorderly, realistic, emotional, impractical Painter, musician, writer, interior decorator

Organizational Implications Your goal is not to change (or control) employee personality The challenge n n is to understand the crucial role played by personality in explaining some aspects of human behavior in the workplace Remember n Give the right person the right job

Perception & Attribution

What do you see in the picture?

Which of the three men is the tallest?

Which of the two shapes is lager?

hich of the two blue circles is larger? W Organizational Behavior, Hellriegel et al. , 9 th edition, Figure 3 -2 : ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺪﺭ

Put the following lines in a descending order: AX, AB, BC, CX,

hat do you see in this picture? W

Perception n A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment n n n ﺣﺴﻲ ﺇﺩﺭﺍﻙ No one of us sees reality We interpret what we see and call it reality Why do people behave differently in the same situation?

Social Perception n The process of interpreting information about another person Characteristics of the perceiver Barriers Selective perception Stereotyping First-impression error Projection Self-fulfilling prophecies Characteristics of the target Social Perception Characteristics of the situation

Barriers to social perception n Selective Perception n n The process of selecting information that supports our individual viewpoints while discounting information that threatens our viewpoint Stereotype n A generalization about a group of people

Barriers to social perception n First-impression error n n The tendency to form lasting opinions about an individual based on initial perceptions ﺣﻮﻝ ﺍﻵﺮﺍﺀ ﻓﻲ ﺩﺍﺋﻢ ﺷﻜﻞ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﻴﻞ Projection n ﺍﻷﻮﻟﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﺼﻮﺭﺍﺕ ﺃﺴﺎﺱ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻓﺮﺩ Overestimating the number of people who share our own beliefs, values, and behaviors ﻭﺍﻟﺴﻠﻮﻛﻴﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﻌﺘﻘﺪﺍﺕ ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺘﻨﺎ ﻓﻲ ﻳﺸﺘﺮﻛﻮﻥ ﺍﻟﺬﻳﻦ ﺍﻷﺸﺨﺎﺹ ﻋﺪﺩ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺒﺎﻟﻐﺔ

Barriers to social perception n Self-fulfilling prophecy n The situation in which our expectations about people affect our interaction with them in such a way that our expectations are fulfilled ﺍﻟﻮﻓﺎﺀ ﺗﻮﻗﻌﺎﺗﻨﺎ ﺃﻦ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﻨﺤﻮ ﻫﺬﺍ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﻌﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﻨﺎﺱ ﺗﻔﺎﻋﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻳﺆﺜﺮ ﻧﺤﻮ ﻧﺘﻮﻗﻌﻪ ﻛﻨﺎ ﺍﻟﺬﻱ ﺍﻟﻮﺿﻊ

Impression Management n The process by which individuals try to control the impressions other have of them

Attribution Theory Consistency: s Ye External attribution Does person usually behave this way in this situation? Yes Distinctiveness: Yes Does person behave differently in different situations? Consensus: Ye s Do others behave similarly in this situation? No No Internal attribution

Attribution Theory (cont. ) n Attributional Biases: n Fundamental attribution error n n The tendency to make attributions to internal causes when focusing on someone else’s behavior Self-serving bias n The tendency to attribute one’s own success to internal causes and one’s failures to external causes