Chapter 3
Nelson & Quick
Personality, Perception,
and Attribution
Copyright ©2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Variables Influencing
Individual Behavior
P
The Person
• Skills & abilities E
The Environment
• Personality • Organization
• Perceptions • Work group
• Attitudes • Job
•Values • Personal life
• Ethics
B
Behavior
B = f(P,E)
Propositions of
Interactional Psychology
Behavior—function of a continuous, multi-directional intera
ction between person and situation
Person—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
Definition of Personality
Personality - A relatively stable set of characteristic
s that influences an individual’s behavior
Personality Theories
Trait Theory - understand individuals by breaking d
own behavior patterns into observable traits
Psychodynamic Theory - emphasizes the unconscio
us determinants of behavior
Humanistic Theory - emphasizes individual growth
and improvement
Integrative Approach - describes personality as a c
omposite of an individual’s psychological process
es
Big Five Personality Traits
Extraversion Gregarious, assertive,
sociable
Agreeableness Cooperative, warm,
agreeable
Conscientiousness Hardworking, organized,
dependable
Emotional stability Calm, self-confidant, cool
Openness to Creative, curious,
experience cultured
Sources: P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, The NEO-PI Personality Inventory (Odessa, Fla.: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992); J. F. Salgado, “Th
e Five Factor Model of Personality and Job Performance in the European Community,” Journal of Applied Psychology 82 (1997): 30-43.
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Locus of Control
Internal External
I control what People and circu
happens to me! mstances control
my fate!
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Efficacy - beliefs and expectations about one’s ability to a
ccomplish a specific task effectively
Sources of self-efficacy
Prior experiences and prior success
Behavior models (observing success)
Persuasion
Assessment of current physical & emotional capabilitie
s
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Esteem
Feelings of Self Worth
Success tends Failure tends
to increase to decrease
self-esteem self-esteem
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Monitoring
Behavior based on cues from people & situations
High self-monitors Low self-monitors
flexible: adjust behavior act from internal states r
according to the situatio ather than from situatio
n and the behavior of ot nal cues
hers show consistency
can appear unpredictabl less likely to respond to
e & inconsistent work group norms or su
pervisory feedback
Who Is Most Likely to . . .
Low-self High-self
monitors monitors
Get promoted
Accomplish tasks, meet other’s expectat
ions, seek out central positions in social
networks
Change employers
Self-promote
Make a job-related geog
raphic move
Demonstrate higher levels of managerial s
elf-awareness; base behavior on other’s c
ues and the situation
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Positive Affect - an individual’s tendency to accentu
ate the positive aspects of oneself, other people, an
d the world in general
Negative Affect - an individual’s tendency to accent
uate the negative aspects of oneself, other people,
and the world in general
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
A strong
situation can
overwhelm the effects
of individual personalities
by providing strong cues
for appropriate
behavior
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Strong
personalities
will dominate
in a weak
situation
How is Personality Measured?
Projective Test - elicits an individual’s response to abstra
ct stimuli
Behavioral Measures - personality assessments that invo
lve observing an individual’s behavior in a controlled s
ituation
Self-Report Questionnaire - assessment involving an in
dividual’s responses to questions
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - instrument mea
suring Jung’s theory of individual differences.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Based on Carl Jung’s work
People are fundamentally different
People are fundamentally alike
People have preference combinations for extrave
rsion/introversion, perception, judgment
Briggs & Myers developed the MBTI to understand
individual differences
MBTI Preferences
Preferences Represents
Extraversion Introversion How one
re-energizes
Sensing Intuiting How one gathers
information
Thinking Feeling How one makes
decisions
Judging Perceiving How one orients to the
outer world
Social Perception
Barriers
• Selective perception • Projection
• Stereotyping • Self-fulfilling prophecies
• First-impression error
Social Perception -
interpreting information a
bout another person
Social Perception
Perceiver Characteristics Target Characteristics
• Familiarity with target • Physical appearance
• Attitudes/Mood • Verbal communication
• Self-Concept • Nonverbal cues
• Cognitive structure • Intentions
Social Perception -
interpreting information a
bout another person
Barriers
Situational Characteristics
• Interaction context
• Strength of situational cues
Impression Management
Impression Management - process by which indivi
duals try to control the impression others have of
them
Name dropping
Appearance
Self-description
Flattery
Favors
Agreement with opinion
Attribution Theory
Attribution theory - explains how individuals pinpoi
nt the causes of their own behavior or that of others
Information cues for attribution information gathering
consensus
distinctiveness
consistency
Attribution Biases
Fundamental Attribution Error - tendency t
o make attributions to internal causes when f
ocusing on someone else’s behavior
Self-serving Bias - tendency to attribute one’s
own successes to internal causes and one’s fa
ilures to external causes
