Individual Processes: Personality, Emotions, Perception, and Learning Chapter Three Individual Processes: Personality, Emotions, Perception, and Learning

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Three Good Reasons Why You Should Care About . . . Individual Processes Understanding people’s personalities helps us know what to expect of them, and understanding our own personalities provides valuable insight into our own behavior The process by which we perceive others is fundamental to a wide variety of organizational activities Effectively training, managing, and disciplining employees requires knowing the basic principles of learning © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 2

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Individual Processes Psychological processes that occur within individuals that cannot be seen but whose existence can be inferred on the basis of people’s behavior © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Personality Concepts Personality can be defined as the unique and relatively stable pattern of behavior, thoughts, and emotions shown by individuals Key personality dimensions The “Big Five” Type A, Type B, and Type C behavior patters Achievement motivation Self-monitoring (self-perception) Self-efficacy Self-esteem Locus of control © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Sources of Personality Personality from an interactionist perspective: personality can change, develops over time, and can change with the situation Key sources of personality Heredity (50%) Culture (existing values) Family (role models, reward/punish) Group membership (church, clubs) Life experiences (maturation process) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

The Big Five Dimensions of Personality © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Type A vs. Type B Type A Behavior Pattern: A pattern of behavior involving high levels of competitiveness, time urgency, and irritability. Type B Behavior Pattern: A pattern of behavior characterized by a casual, laid-back style; the lack of the Type A behavior pattern. Type C Behavior Pattern: Converse of Type A, with Type B falling between A and C, characterized by non-expressiveness of neg/pos emotion, depression, helplessness/hopelessness. © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Personality Types A, B, and C Type A Behavior Pattern: Studies began in the 1950’s relating Type A behavior to CHD (Chronic Heart Disease) Type A and B Behavior Pattern: Popularized in the late 1960’s in studies of stress. Type C Behavior Pattern: Converse of Type A, with more recent studies linking Type C behavior to cancer © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Achievement Motivation The strength of an individual’s desire to excel – to succeed at difficult tasks and to do them better than anyone else nAch, need for achievement can be learned (‘Two Faces of Power’) nAch: closely related to self-efficacy which can be increased through training (Bandura’s Social Learning Model) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Task Attraction © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 “Self” Concepts Self-monitoring: the extent to which individuals attempt to exercise control over the way they present themselves to others (self-perception/self-presentation) Self-efficacy: one’s belief in his or her own capacity to perform a task (lack of self-efficacy leads to learned helplessness-Seligman) Self-esteem: the extent to which people hold positive or negative views about themselves © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 “Self” Concepts Self-perception: can result from how others view us, develop a role or set of behaviors expected of us from a group Self-presentation: impression management: control how boss perceives us or construct specific self-concept or social image (Presentation of Self in Everyday Life – Goffle, 1959) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Boosting Low Self-Esteem Suggestion Make people feel uniquely valuable Make people feel competent Make people feel secure Make people feel empowered Description Create opportunities for people to feel accepted by finding ways to make use of their unique skills and experiences Recognize the good things that people do and praise them accordingly. That is, “catch someone in the act of doing something right” Employees’ self-esteem will be enhanced when managers make their expectations clear and are forthright with them People given opportunities to decide how to do their jobs feel good about themselves and their work © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 9

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Emotions Emotions can be defined as overt reactions that express feelings about events Emotional dissonance is a phenomenon that occurs when people are required to display emotions on the job that are inconsistent with how they actually feel Emotional intelligence can be defined as a cluster of skills related to the emotional aspects of life, such as the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ emotions, to discriminate among emotions, and to use such information to direct one’s thoughts and actions © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Categories of Emotion (usually all expressed on face-Ekman) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Characteristics of a High EQ Skill in regulating one’s own emotions: People with high EQs are aware of their own feelings and display the most appropriate emotions Ability to monitor others’ emotions: People with high EQs are very good at judging how they are affecting other people, and behave accordingly Interest in motivating oneself: People with high EQs are able to motivate themselves to sustain their performance, directing their emotions toward personal goals, and resisting the temptation to quit Highly developed social skills: People with high EQs are very good at keeping a great number of relationships going over long periods of time © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Moods Moods can be defined as unfocused, relatively mild feelings that exist as background to our daily experiences Moods result from both Feeling states: short-term differences in the way we feel Personality traits: consistent differences between people’s predispositions toward experiencing positive or negative affect Positive affectivity Negative affectivity © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Positive and Negative Affectivity High Positive Affectivity (joy, enthusiasm) Negative Affectivity Positive Affectivity Low Negative Affectivity (calm, relaxed) High Negative Affectivity (fear, nervousness) Low Positive Affectivity (apathy, sluggishness) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Fig. 3.2

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Social Perception Social perception is the process of integrating and interpreting information about others so as to accurately understand them, trying to make sense of the world Paradigm: Humans as information processors or ‘naïve scientists’ with cognitions leading to emotions leading to behaviors © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Social Perception: framed by perception itself Perception: sensation, selection, organization, interpretation (making sense of reality) Perceptual Selectivity: external and internal Perceptual Organization: assimilate or accomodate © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Perceptual Selectivity External: intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motion, novelty, familiarity Internal: see objects compatible with: Learning: single biggest role in perceptual set Motivation: need for affiliation Personality: young vs. old © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Perceptual Organization Assimilate: easy – incorporates information into current cognitive structure Accommodate: hard – changes cognitive structure Mechanisms: Recency: most current Constancy: person’s height same from a distance Proximity: people in a group Similarity: male/female © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Social Identity Theory Personal Identity: The characteristics that define a particular individual Social Identity: Who a person is, as defined in terms of his or her membership in various social groups (ingroup/outgroup) Social Identity Theory: A conceptualization recognizing that the way we perceive others and ourselves is based on our unique characteristics and our membership in various groups – and we are influenced by visible traits: status and roles of sender and receiver (Weick’s theory of enactment) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Social Identity Theory © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Attribution Attribution: The process through which individuals attempt to determine the causes behind others’ behavior Correspondent inferences: Judgments about people’s dispositions, traits, and characteristics, that correspond to what we have observed of their actions © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Causal Attribution Causes of Behavior: Internal: Explanations based on actions for which the individual is responsible External: Explanations based on situations over which the individual has no control Kelley’s Theory of Causal Attribution: The approach suggesting that people will believe others’ actions to be caused by internal or external factors based on three types of information: consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Kelley’s Theory of Attribution Consensus: Information regarding the extent to which other people behave in the same manner as the person being judged Consistency: Information regarding the extent to which the person being judged acts the same way at other times Distinctiveness: Information regarding the extent to which a person behaves in the same manner in other contexts © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Kelley’s Theory of Attribution © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Biases in Social Perception Fundamental attribution error: Individuals are generally prone to assume that others’ behavior is due to the way they are, their traits and dispositions Halo effect: The tendency for a person’s overall impression to bias his or her assessment of another on specific dimensions Stereotypes: Beliefs that all members of specific groups share similar traits and behaviors Self-fulfilling prophecies: The tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that individual to behave in a manner consistent with those expectations © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Other Biases in Social Perception Self-serving bias: Individuals are generally prone to present themselves favorably assuming own successful behavior is due to internal factors and failure is to due external factors – increases self-esteem Actor/Observer effect: The tendency for a person to explain own behavior to situational factors and others to dispositional factors Gender bias: A woman’s promotion is due to luck and a man’s promotion is due to abilities Self-fulfilling prophecies: The tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that individual to behave in a manner consistent with those expectations © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 The Team Halo Effect © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (enactment) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Overcoming Biases Do not overlook the external cases of others’ behaviors Identify and confront your stereotypes Evaluate people based on objective factors Avoid making rash judgments © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Learning Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience Operant conditioning (Skinner) describes the process of learning that results when the consequences of our behaviors determine whether we will be likely to repeat them in the future When our behaviors produce pleasant consequences, we are likely to repeat them When our behaviors produce unpleasant consequences, we are not likely to repeat them Observational (social) learning occurs when someone acquires new knowledge vicariously -- that is, by observing what happens to others © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Learning: rewards as reinforcers response theories Classical conditioning: Pavlov (1927) S-R a learned response or a conditioned response Operant conditioning: Skinner (1938) R-S a behavioral theory derived from Thorndike’s Law of Effect (1911): a response followed by a reward is strengthened Weak law – reinforcers change behavior Strong law – Hull’s drive reduction theory, a motivational theory requiring drive reduction necessary for reinforcment © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Learning: rewards as incentives stimulus theories Cognitive approach: Tolman (1932) S-S, incentives motivate, ‘if I do this then this will occur’: behavior is purposeful and directed towards goals, learning is a function of expectancy, valence, and instrumentality. Social Learning Model: Bandura (1980’s) learn from observing others, incorporates both behavioral and cognitive aproaches © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Operant Conditioning Process © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Operant Conditioning Concepts Positive Reinforcement: The process by which people learn to perform behaviors that lead to the presentation of desired outcomes Negative Reinforcement: The process by which people learn to perform acts that lead to the removal of undesired events Punishment: The process of decreasing undesirable behavior by following it with undesirable consequences Extinction: The process through which responses that are no longer reinforced tend to gradually diminish in strength © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Contingencies of Reinforcement © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Applications of Learning Training: The process through which people systematically acquire and improve the skills and abilities needed to better their job performance Organizational Behavior Management: The systematic application of positive reinforcement principles in organizational settings for the purpose of raising the incidence of desirable organizational behaviors Discipline: The systematic administration of punishment Knowledge Management: The process of gathering, organizing, and sharing a company’s information and knowledge assets © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Tips for Improving Training Participation: People not only learn more quickly, but also retain the skills longer when they have actively participated in the learning process Repetition: Practice enhances the effectiveness of the learning experience Transfer of Training: The more closely a training program matches the demands of a job, the more effective the training will be Feedback: Knowledge about the effectiveness of one’s training enhances the learning experience © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Examples of Training Efforts © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Tips for Effective Discipline Deliver punishment immediately after the undesirable response occurs Give moderate levels of punishment -- nothing too high or too low Punish the undesirable behavior, not the person Use punishment consistently -- all the time, for all employees Clearly communicate the reasons for the punishment given © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004