Appreciating Individual Differences: Self-Concept,

Personality, Emotions

Chapter Five

Copyright © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

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After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to:

• Distinguish between self-esteem and self-efficacy.

• Contrast high and low self-monitoring individuals, and describe resulting problems each may have.

• Identify and describe the Big Five personality dimensions, specify which one is correlated most strongly with job performance, and describe the proactive personality.

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After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain the difference between an internal and external locus of control.

• Identify the three components of attitudes and discuss cognitive dissonance

• Identify at least five of Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences, and explain “practical intelligence”

• Explain the concepts of emotional intelligence, emotional contagion and emotional labor

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Focusing on the “Self”

• Self - core of one’s conscious existence

• Self-concept - a person’s self-perception as a physical,

social, spiritual being.

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Focusing on the “Self”

• Cognitions - a person’s knowledge, opinions, or beliefs.

• Self-esteem - Belief about one’s own self worth based on an

overall self-evaluation.

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An OB Model for Studying Individual Differences

Figure 5-1

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Can General Self-Esteem Be Improved?

• Low self-esteem can be raised more by having a person think of desirable characteristics possessed rather of undesirable characteristics from which he is free

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How to Build Self-Esteem in Yourself and Others

1. Live consciously2. Be self-accepting3. Take personal responsibility4. Be self-assertive5. Live purposefully6. Have personal integrity

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Question?

Bianca, a manager for Oil Traders, Inc., has been offered a promotion. Her preference is to work in a culture where the correlation between self-esteem and life satisfaction is not strong. Based on what research tells us, which of these countries should Bianca choose?

A.CanadaB.NetherlandsC.JapanD.New Zealand

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Self-Efficacy

• Self-efficacy - a person’s belief about his chances of

successfully accomplishing a specific task

• Learned Helplessness - debilitating lack of faith in one’s ability

to control the situation

Self-Efficacy Beliefs Pave the Way for Success or Failure

Figure 5-2

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Managerial Implications

• On-the-job research evidence encourages managers to nurture self-efficacy, both in themselves and in others

• Significant positive correlation between self-efficacy and job performance

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Self-Monitoring

• Self-monitoring - extent to which a person observes their own

self-expressive behavior and adapts it to the situation

• Positive relationship between high self-monitoring and career success

Question?

Kevin is a high self-monitor. What advice would you offer him, based on research?

A.Don't overdo it by turning into someone who is widely perceived as insincere, phony, dishonest, and untrustworthy.

B.You can bend without breaking, so try to be a bit more accommodating while being true to your basic beliefs.

C.Don't wear out your welcome when communicating.D.Practice reading and adjusting to non-verbal cues in

various public situations.

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Personality Dynamics

• Personality - stable and mental characteristics responsible

for a person’s identity

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The Big Five Personality Dimensions

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Question?

If Clint is dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent, he is demonstrating which of these Big Five personality dimensions?

A.ExtraversionB.Emotional stabilityC.Locus of controlD.Conscientiousness

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Personality and Job Performance

•Conscientiousness has the strongest positive correlation with job and training performance

•Extraversion is associated with success for managers and salespeople

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Proactive Personality

• Proactive Personality - an action-oriented person who shows initiative and perseveres to change things.

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Locus of Control

• Internal locus of control - attributing outcomes to one’s own actions

• External locus of control - believing performance is the product of

circumstances beyond one’s immediate control

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Build Your Stamina and Get More Done

• Take care of your body• Take breaks• Notice what brings on negative emotions• Cultivate positive feelings by expressing

appreciation to others• When you can, do one thing at a time• Set priorities to do the things that really matter

to you and express your values

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Humility

• Humility - considering the contributions of others and

good fortune when gauging one’s success- The silent virtue

Question?

Joe believes his past performance in college is due to the difficulty of courses he has taken and his bad luck in getting tough instructors. Based on this, Joe:

A.has an external locus of control.B.is a proactive personality.C.is an extravert.D.has a low degree of conscientiousness.

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The Nature of Attitudes

• Attitude - learned predisposition to respond in a

consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object

The Nature of Attitudes

• Affective component - the feelings or emotions one has about an

object or situation

• Cognitive component - beliefs or ideas one has about an object or

situation

• Behavioral component - how one intends to act or behave toward

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When Attitudes and Reality Collide: Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance - psychological discomfort a person

experiences what his or her attitudes or beliefs are incompatible between their attitudes and beliefs and their behavior

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Cognitive Dissonance

How people reduce dissonance1.Change your attitude or behavior, or both2.Belittle the importance of the inconsistent behavior

3.Find consonant elements that outweigh the dissonant ones

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Question?

Alexa dreads going to work each day. She hates her job and her supervisor, but will not take time to look for a different job. She is experiencing ___________.

A.External locus of controlB.Cognitive dissonanceC.Internal locus of controlD.Halo error

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Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior

Figure 5-3

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Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities

• Intelligence – capacity for constructive thinking, reasoning, and problem solving

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Two Types of Abilities

1. General mental ability needed for all cognitive tasks

2. Unique to the task at hand

Fitness Isn’t Just about Your Body Anymore

• Expose yourself to important experiences• Take time to play• Study and analyze• Try something new• Exercise

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Mental Abilities

Question?

Jimmy can remember the order preferences of each of his clients. This the mental ability of ________.

A.Word fluencyB.NumericalC.SpatialD.Memory

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Positive and Negative Emotions

• Emotions - complex human reactions to personal

achievements and setbacks that may be felt and displayed

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Positive and Negative Emotions

Figure 5-4

Emotional Intelligence

• Emotional Intelligence - ability to manage oneself one’s relationships in

mature and constructive ways

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Question?

Dave is not very patient with restaurant service and will often complain loudly if things don’t go as expected. He is not very high in __________.

A.AggressivenessB.Positive affectivityC.Emotional intelligenceD.Behavioral attitude

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Supplemental Slides

• Slides 40-45 contain extra non-text examples to integrate and enhance instructor lectures

- Slide 40: Self Efficacy- Slides 41: Work Applications of Self-Efficacy- Slide 42: Practical Tips for Building On-the-Job Self-

Esteem- Slide 43: The Dark Side of Self-Monitoring- Slide 44-45: Video discussion slide

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Self-Efficacy

See an article on self-efficacy by Judge and Bono

Work Applications of Self-Efficacy

• Recruiting/Selection/job assignments- What questions would you ask to determine

one’s self-efficacy for performing the job well?

• Job design- Are challenging or boring tasks more likely to

improve one’s self efficacy?

• Training and development- How do training and development programs

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Practical Tips for Building On-the-Job Self-Esteem

• Be supportive by showing concern for personal problems, interests, status, and contributions

• Offer work involving variety, autonomy, and challenges that suit the individual’s values, skills, and abilities

• Strive for management-employee cohesiveness and build trust

• Have faith in each employee’s self-management ability

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The Dark Side of Self-Monitoring

• Frank Abignale stole $21 million in fraudulent checks; after serving prison time has helped the FBI

• “When I talk to people about con-artists,” Abnigale writes, “they always ask me, ‘Well is there a certain type of person to beware of?’ It’s been my experience, on both sides of the law, that there is no profile of who’s a con artist or forger.”

• But there is this common trait: “There’s this thing they always say about con men: They live a chameleon existence. That was certainly true for me. I’d find myself in an unfamiliar situation, and I’d quickly adapt.”

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Video: Toying with Success: The McFarlane Companies

• What personality traits do entrepreneurs like Todd McFarlane possess that distinguish them from other individuals? Do you think McFarlane has an internal or external locus of control?

• What cognitive abilities do you think contributed most to McFarlane’s success?

• Why is the development of new products such as sports figures critical to the McFarlane Companies?

• How important are self-efficacy beliefs and intelligence in the creative process that leads to new products concepts?

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Video Case: Generation Next Changes the Face of the Workplace

• What characteristics of Generation Y employees are so different from Generation X or Baby Boomer employees?

• How much responsibility for change should the organization take on and how much should the workers?

• What programs have you seen in the workplace today that are designed to address these issues? Do most employers recognize this as an important issue?

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