1. Personality, Perception, and Attribution
Personality, Perception, and Attribution
Chapter 3 Organizational Behavior
Nelson & Quick, 6th edition

2. Individual Differences
Individual Differences - the way in which factors such as skills, abilities, personalities, perceptions, attitudes, values, and ethics differ from one individual to another

3. Variables Influencing Individual Behavior
The environment
Organization
Work group
Job
Personal life
The person
Skills & abilities
Personality
Perceptions
Attitudes
Values
Ethics
Behavior 5 4 4 4

4. Interactional Psychology
Interactional psychology - a psychological approach that says in order to understand human behavior, we must know something about the person and about the situation
B = f(P,E)

5. Propositions of Interactional Psychology
Behavior is a function of a continuous, multi-directional interaction between person and situation
Person is active in process
Changed by situations
Changes situations
People vary in many characteristics
Two situational interpretations
The objective situation
Person’s subjective view of the situation

6. Definition of Personality
Personality - A relatively stable set of characteristics that influences an individual’s behavior
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7. Personality Theories
Trait Theory - understand individuals by breaking down behavior patterns into a series of observable traits Integrative Approach - describes personality as a composite of an individual’s psychological processes 7 7 7 7

8. Big Five Personality Traits
Big Five Personality Traits
SOURCES: P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, The NEO-PI Personality Inventory (Odessa, Fla.: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992); J. F. Salgado, “The Five Factor Model of Personality and Job Performance in the European Community,” Journal of Applied Psychology 82 (1997): 8 8 8

9. Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Locus of Control
Internal
External
I control what
happens to me!
People and circumstances control my fate!
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10. Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Self-Efficacy - beliefs and expectations about one’s ability to accomplish a specific task effectively
Sources of self-efficacy
Prior experiences and prior success
Behavior models (observing success)
Persuasion
Assessment of current physical &
emotional capabilities 9 10 10 10

11. Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Self-Esteem
Feelings of Self-Worth
Success tends
to increase
self-esteem
Failure tends
to decrease
self-esteem 10 11 11 11

12. Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Self-Monitoring
Behavior based on cues from others & situations
High self monitors
flexible: adjust behavior according to the situation and the behavior of others
can appear unpredictable & inconsistent
Low self monitors
act from internal states rather than from situational cues
show consistency
less likely to respond to work group norms or supervisory feedback 11 12 12 12

13. Make a job-related geographic move
Who Is Most Likely to . . .
Low-self monitors
High-self monitors
Get promoted 
Accomplish tasks, meet other’s expectations, seek out central positions in social networks
Change employers 
Self-promote
Make a job-related geographic move 
Demonstrate higher levels of managerial self-awareness; base behavior on other’s cues and the situation

14. Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) Traits
Positive Affect - an individual’s tendency to accentuate the positive aspects of oneself, other people, and the world in general Negative Affect - an individual’s tendency to accentuate the negative aspects of oneself, other people, and the world in general 12 13 13 13

15. Personality Characteristics in Organizations
Personality Characteristics in Organizations
A strong situation can
overwhelm the effects
of individual personalities
by providing strong cues
for appropriate behavior
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16. Personality Characteristics in Organizations
Strong
personalities
will dominate
in a weak
situation
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17. Four Measures of Personality
Four Measures of Personality
Projective Test - elicits an individual’s response to abstract stimuli Behavioral Measures - personality assessments that involve observing an individual’s behavior in a controlled situation 16 16 16

18. Four Measures of Personality
Four Measures of Personality
Self-Report Questionnaire - assessment involving an individual’s responses to questions Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - instrument measuring Jung’s theory of individual differences. 16 16 16

19. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Based on Carl Jung’s theories
People are fundamentally different
People are fundamentally alike
People have preference combinations for extraversion/introversion, perception, judgment 17 17 17

20. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Based on Carl Jung’s theories
Human similarities/differences understood by combining preferences
Ways of doing things
Extraversion or introversion
No preferences better than others
Understand, celebrate, and appreciate differences

21. Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Briggs & Myers developed the MBTI to understand individual differences by analyzing the combinations of preferences

22. MBTI Preferences 18 18

23. MBTI Scales ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ ISTP ISFP INFP INTP ESTP ESFP ENFP
ISTJ
ISFJ
INFJ
INTJ
ISTP
ISFP
INFP
INTP
ESTP
ESFP
ENFP
ENTP
ESTJ
ESFJ
ENFJ
ENTJ
Introverts
Extroverts
Sensing Types
Intuitive Types
SOURCE: Modified and reproduced by special permission of the Publisher. CPP, Inc. Palo Alto, CA from Introduction to Type, Sixth Edition by Isabel Briggs Myers. Copyright 1998 by CPP, Inc. All rights reserved. Further reproduction is prohibited without the publisher’s written consent.

24. Uses of MBTI Identify learning and teaching styles
Identify learning and teaching styles
Decide on careers (Example: many managers are ESTJs)
Determine decision making style
Determine management style
Build teams

25. Social Perception Model
Perceiver Characteristics
Familiarity with target
Attitudes/Mood
Self-Concept
Cognitive structure
Target Characteristics
Physical appearance
Verbal communication
Nonverbal cues
Intentions
Barriers
Selective perception
Stereotyping
First-impression error
Projection
Self-fulfilling prophecies
Social Perception
Social Perception Model
Situational Characteristics
Interaction context
Strength of situational cues 22 22

26. Impression Management
Impression Management - process by which individuals try to control the impression others have of them
Name dropping
Appearance
Self-description
Flattery
Favors
Agreement with opinion
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27. Attribution Theory
Attribution theory - explains how individuals pinpoint the causes of their own behavior or that of others Internal attribution - attributing success to ability or effort External attribution - attributing success to sources beyond your control 25 25

28. Attribution Biases
Fundamental Attribution Error - tendency to make attributions to internal causes when focusing on someone else’s behavior Self-serving Bias - tendency to attribute one’s own successes to internal causes and one’s failures to external causes 25 25

29. The Breakfast Club Video Clip
Chapter 3: Reflect & Discuss
The Breakfast Club Video Clip
What to Watch for and Ask Yourself
Which Big-Five personality dimensions describe each character in this scene?
Which characters show positive affect? Which show negative affect?
Refer to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) section in this chapter. Which of the 16 types shown in Table 3.3 best describes each character? Why?
The Breakfast Club
John Hughes’s careful look at teenage culture in a suburban Chicago high school focuses on a group of teenagers from the school’s different subcultures. They start their Saturday detention with nothing in common, but over the course of a day, they learn each other’s innermost secrets. The highly memorable characters—the Jock, the Princess, the Criminal, the Kook, and the Brain—leave lasting impressions. If you have seen the film, try to recall which actor or actress played each character.
The scene from The Breakfast Club is an edited version of the “Lunchtime” sequence that appears in the first third of the film. Carefully study each character’s behavior to answer the questions below. The rest of the film shows the growing relationships among the detainees as they try to understand each other’s personality.
What to Watch for and Ask Yourself
Which Big-Five personality dimensions describe each character in this scene?
Which characters show positive affect? Which show negative affect?
Are any of these characters Type A personalities or Type B personalities? If so, which ones?