1. Individual Differences, Mental Ability, and Personality
Chapter Two
Individual Differences,
Mental Ability, and Personality

2. Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited
Objectives
After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain how individual differences influence the behaviour of people in organizations.
Describe key factors contributing to demographic diversity.
Explain how mental ability relates to performance.
Identify major personality variables that influence job performance.
Explain how emotional intelligence is an important part of organizational behaviour.
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3. Exhibit 2-1 Major Factors Underlying Individual Differences
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4. The Impact of Individual Differences
B = f (P x E)
Behaviour is a function of a person interacting with the environment.
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5. Individual Differences Influence the Task of Managing People
People differ in:
productivity.
ability and talent.
their propensity for achieving high-quality results.
how much they want to be empowered and involved.
People differ in:
the style of leadership they prefer and need.
their need for contact with other people.
their commitment and loyalty to the firm.
their level of self-esteem.
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6. Demographic Diversity
Sex and gender
Age and experience
Ethnicity and culture
Disability status
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7. Sex and Gender Differences
Men
Communicate to convey info or establish status
Emphasize immediate goals
More aggressive
Value equity
Less courteous
Women
Communicate to establish rapport & solve problems
Better understand nonverbal communication
More emotionally expressive
More trusting, nurturing
Value equality
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8. Age- and Experience-based Differences
Worker shortage looming, yet unemployment highest for those over 45
Age discrimination, negative stereotypes of older workers yet research shows:
Age and performance generally unrelated (except for complex jobs)
Older have lower absenteeism, illness, accident rates, higher job satisfaction, more positive work values
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9. Ethnic and Cultural Differences
Differences in group performance usually more attributable to culture than to ethnicity itself
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Disability Status
Duty to accommodate
Presence of physical disability not related to poorer performance
Low turnover in disabled
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Mental Ability
Components of intelligence:
g (general) factor
Strong predictor of performance, success in training, occupational prestige, accomplishments in job
s (special) factors
memory, verbal comprehension, word fluency, numerical, spatial, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning)
Contribute to overall mental aptitude & enjoyment of work associated with that aptitude
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12. Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Traditional view inadequate
Proposes three components:
Analytical – reasoning, problem solving
Creative – imagination, innovation
Practical – adapting to environment, “street smarts”
Analytical may decline with age but practical is maintained or increases
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13. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
People know and understand the world in different ways and through different lenses. Lenses formed by eight intelligences:
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Musical
Spatial
Bodily/kinesthetic
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Naturalist
“Your profile of intelligences influences how you will best learn, and for which types of jobs you are best suited.”
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14. Personality Differences
Personality refers to the persistent and enduring behaviour patterns of an individual that are expressed in a wide variety of situations
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15. Five Factor Model of Personality
Neuroticism
High: prone to psychological distress, anxiety
Low: high emotional stability, calm, confident
Extraversion
Social, assertive, talkative, active
Associated with successful leadership (however, some introverted leaders effective)
Openness to experience
Curious, broad-minded, artistically sensitive
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16. Five Factor Model of Personality (continued)
Agreeableness
Quality of interpersonal orientation; friendly, co-operative, courteous
Conscientiousness
Dependability; careful, thorough, responsible, organized, hard working, achievement oriented
At extreme can lead to workaholism and perfectionism
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17. More Personality Factors of Interest
Self-monitoring behaviour
Observing and controlling how appear to others
High: pragmatic, can be chameleon-like actors in social groups, often good at office politics
Low: avoid situations that require different outer images, can be inflexible
Risk taking and thrill seeking
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18. More Personality Factors of Interest
Locus of control
Where see causation in life
Internal: “I control what happens to me.”
External: “What happens to me depends on luck and circumstances.”
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19. Research Results on Personality
Personality structure seems universal
Conscientiousness widely related to job performance
Conscientiousness and intelligence combo especially powerful
Self-monitoring related to performance and leadership
Internal locus of control people more mature, responsible, self-reliant and have higher job satisfaction
Agreeableness and conscientiousness predict work-team performance
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20. Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited
Cognitive Styles
Cognitive styles refer to processes used to perceive & make judgements from information
Myers Briggs Type Indicator is widely used measure of personality and cognitive style
Based on Jung’s work
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21. Cognitive Styles (contd.)
Four-way classification:
Introverted versus extroverted
Thinking versus feeling
Sensing versus intuiting
Judging versus perceiving
Affect occupational preferences
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22. Cognitive Styles: Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Myers Briggs Typology – 16 types of cognitive styles. Four examples are:
ENTP – Conceptualizer
ISTJ – Traditionalist
INTJ – Visionary
ESTJ – Organizer
See fig 2.4, page 20 for more detail
Source: Figure 2.4, page 20. Original source: The personality descriptions are based on information from Myers-Briggs Type Indicator by Katharine C. Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. Copyright 1983 by Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc. Allrights reserved.
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23. Emotional Intelligence
Refers to qualities in understanding one’s own feelings, empathy for others and regulating emotions to enhance living
High emotional intelligence characteristic of effective leaders
Emotionally intelligent better able to cope with setbacks
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24. Key Factors in Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Relationship management
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Self-awareness
Most essential of four factors
Ability to understand one’s own emotions
Leads to awareness of own strengths and limitations, allows high self-esteem
Effective use of feedback to understand how one’s behaviours are received
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Self-management
Ability to control one’s emotions and act with honesty and integrity in consistent and adaptable manner
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Social awareness
Empathy for others
Intuition about organizational problems
Can “size up” situations, people, political forces
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28. Relationship Management
Interpersonal skills: communication, conflict management, persuasion, building network
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