Part Two
C H A P T E R T H R E E
Individual Processes:
Personality, Social
Perception, and
Learning 3
Lecture Outline
Personality: What Makes Us Each Unique
What Is Personality and What Is Its
Role in Behavior?
The Big Five Dimensions of
Personality
Positive and Negative A)ectivity:
Tendencies Toward Feeling Good
or Bad
Core Self Evaluation: How Do We
Think of Ourselves?
Social Perception: Understanding and
Judging Others
Social Identity Theory: Who Are
You?
Attribution: Judging What People
Are Like and Why They Do What
They Do
Causal Attribution of Responsibility:
Answering the Question “Why?”
The Biased Nature of Social
Perception
Learning: Adapting to the World of Work
Operant Conditioning
Applications of Learning in Organizations
Training: Learning and Developing
Job
Skills
Principles of Learning: E)ective
Training
Organizational Behavior
Management
Discipline: Eliminating Undesirable
Behavior
This chapter introduces the roles that personality,
social perception, and learning play in explaining and
understanding organizational behavior. Personality
dimensions are discussed beginning with the cluster
of personality traits known as the “Big Five.”
Tendencies toward feeling good or bad are known as
positive and negative a)ectivity. Peoples’
fundamental evaluations of themselves, or core
self-evaluations, are based on four personality traits:
self-esteem, locus of control, emotional stability, and
generalized self-e:cacy. Social perception is a very
important process in a wide variety of organizational
situations. Several di)erent approaches as to how the
process works are examined in the chapter. Social
identity theory, attribution, and making
correspondent inferences a)ect our social perception.
Several important types of biases interfere with
making accurate judgments of others. Fundamental
attribution error, stereotypes, the halo e)ect, and
self-ful<lling prophecies are examined in this light.
The broad and fundamental process of learning is
explored in detail. Two of the most prevalent forms of
learning that occur in organizations are operant
conditioning and observational learning. Finally, the
application of learning in organizations is considered
in depth. Four systematic approaches include
training; principles of learning; organization behavior
management; and discipline.
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ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1. PERSONALITY: WHAT MAKES EACH OF US UNIQUE
Individual processes – basic psychological processes responsible for key
aspects of people’s behavior in organizations
A. What is personality and what is its role in behavior?
1. Personality is de<ned as the unique and relatively stable pattern of
behavior, thoughts, and emotions shown by individuals.
a. How personality is determined
b. The role personality plays in the workplace
c. Interactionist perspective – personality predisposes people
to act in certain ways, but whether they do so depends on the
situations in which they <nd themselves
B. The “Big Five” dimensions of personality: our most fundamental traits
1. Extraversion ― gregariousness, assertiveness, and sociability versus
reserved, timid, and quiet
2. Agreeableness ― cooperative, warm, and agreeable versus
belligerent, cold, and disagreeable
3. Conscientiousness ― work ethic, organization, dependability, and
persevering versus laziness, disorganization, and unreliability
4. Neuroticism ― insecure, anxious, and depressed versus secure, calm,
and happy
5. Openness to experience – creative, curious, and cultured versus
practical and having narrow interests
C. Positive and negative a)ectivity: tendencies toward feeling good or bad
1. Positive a%ectivity ― those high on this dimension have an overall
sense of well-being, see people and events in a positive light, and tend
to have a positive emotional state.
2. Negative a%ectivity ― those high on this dimension are generally
angry, nervous, and anxious.
a. Decision making
b. Team performance
c. Aggressive behavior
D. Core self-evaluations: how do we think of ourselves?
1. People’s core self-evaluations are based on four personality traits.
a. Self esteem – overall value one places on oneself as a person
b. Locus of control – extent to which individuals feel that they
are able to control things in a manner that a)ects them
c. Emotional stability – tendency to see oneself as con<dent,
secure, and steady
d. Generalized self-e+cacy – a person’s beliefs about his or her
capacity to perform speci<c tasks successfully
1. Boosting low self-esteem
i. Make people feel uniquely valuable
ii. Make people feel competent
iii. Make people feel secure
iv. Make people feel empowered
Self-Assessment Exercise How Much Self-Esteem Do You Have?
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Students should consider the following upon completion of the exercise.
1. Based on this questionnaire, how high or low is your self-esteem? Does your score
make sense to you? In other words, does the questionnaire tell you something you
already believed about yourself, or did it provide new insight?
2. Why do you think items 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 are scored opposite from items 3, 5, 8, 9,
and 10?
3. Do you think the techniques outlined in Table 3.2 may help raise your self-esteem?
Winning
Practices
Boosting Employees’ Self E+cacy
Use Winning Practices Case for Class Discussion.
2. SOCIAL PERCEPTION: UNDERSTANDING AND JUDGING OTHERS
A. Social Identity theory: answering the question, “Who are you?”
1. Personal identity ― individual characteristics including appearance,
B. Attribution: judging what people are like and why they do what they do
1. Correspondent inferences ― judgments about people’s dispositions
C. Causal attribution of responsibility: answering the question “Why?”
1. Causal attribution of responsibility
a. Internal
D. The biased nature of social perception
1. The fundamental attribution error
a. Fundamental attribution error ― tendency to explain
b. The halo e%ect ― tendency for a person’s overall impression
c. Team halo e%ect ― tendency for people to credit teams for
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 13
2. Stereotypes ― beliefs that all members of speci<c groups share
3. Self-ful<lling prophecies: the Pygmalion e)ect and the Golem e)ect
a. Self-ful6lling prophecy ― tendency for someone’s
3. LEARNING: ADAPTING TO THE WORLD OF WORK
Learning ― a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result
A. Operant conditioning: ;earning through rewards and punishments
1. Operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning) ― behavior
a. Law of e%ect ― if actions have unpleasant e)ects, less likely
b. Contingencies of reinforcement ― relationships between
c. Punishment ― presenting undesirable consequences to an
d. Extinction ― withholding rewards to weaken behavior
B. Observational learning: learning by imitating others
1. Modeling (operational learning) ― acquiring new knowledge
4. APPLICATIONS OF LEARNING IN ORGANIZATIONS
A. Training: learning and developing job skills
1. Training ― process through which people systematically acquire and
improve the skills and abilities needed to better their job performance
a. Classroom training
B. Principles of training: keys to e)ective training
1. Promote active participation
2. Encourage repetition
3. Capitalize on the transfer of training
4. Give feedback
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C. Organizational behavior management
1. Organizational behavior modi6cation ― OB mod ― systematic
2. Discipline: eliminating undesirable organizational behaviors
a. Discipline ― systematic administration of punishment
1. Useful for absenteeism, theft, lateness, and substance
abuse problems
i. Deliver punishment immediately after the
You Be the Consultant Suggested Answers
1. What personality characteristics would you recommend the company seek to nd in
its prospective employees? Which ones should it avoid? Explain your answers.
Student answers will vary. Key points are presented in bullet form.
2. What types of biases and inaccuracies may be expected in the process of appraising
employees’ job performance? What can be done to minimize the impact of these
factors?
3. Given that the company invests a great deal of money in its training program, you
are interested in seeing that it works as e&ectively as possible. What specic steps
can you take to ensure that learning of job skills occurs at a high level?
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 15