1. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: PERSONALITY AND ABILITIES

2. After reading this chapter you should be able to:
1. Define personality, and describe its role in the study of OB.
2. Distinguish between a test’s reliability and its validity.
3. Identify the big five dimensions of personality, and explain how they relate to serveral aspects of OB.
4. Explain positive and negative affectivity and how they affect behavior in organizations.
5. Distinguish between Type A and Type B behavior patterns and how they influence behavior in organizations.
6. Describe the nature of self-efficacy, and explain how this differs from self-monitoring.
7. Describe Machiavellianism and the conditions under which individuals possessing high amounts of this trait tend to be most successful.
8. Explain achievement motivation (or need for achievement) and the performance differences between people showing high and low amounts of this characteristic.
9. Describe the difference between morning and evening persons and the relevance of this individual difference to on the job behavior.
10. Describe practical intelligence, emotional intelligence, and the roles each plays in career success relative to cognitive intelligence.

3. Personality: Its Basic Nature and Key Issues (Pp. 97-101)
Personality - the unique and relatively stable pattern of behaviors, thoughts,
and emotions shown by an individual
Role of Personality in Organizational Behavior - knowledge, skills, and
ability determine whether a person can do the job
- personality determines whether a person wants to do the work
Interactionist perspective - behavior results from a comlex
interplay between personality and situational factors
Person-job-fit - extent to which individuals possess the
traits required for specific jobs
Personality Measurement
Objective tests - questionnaires and inventories that measure various
aspects of personality
- most widely used measurement method
- normative available as a basis for comparison
Essential requirements
Reliability - consistency in measurement
Validity - test measures what it claims to measure

4. Work-Related Aspects of Personality (Pp. 102-116)
Big Five Dimensions of Personality - most fundamental traits
Conscientiousness - degree of diligence, perseverance, and
organization
- related to job performance across many occupations
- related to absenteeism
Extroversion-introversion - degree of gregarious, assertiveness,
and sociability
- related to performance in jobs that required interpersonal
interaction
Agreeableness - degree of cooperativeness and warmth
Emotional stability - degree of calmness , self-confidence, and
sense of security
Openness to experience - degree of creativeness, curiosity, and
culture
- related to success in training

5. Tendencies Toward Feeling Good or Bad
Work-Related Aspects of Personality (cont.)
Tendencies Toward Feeling Good or Bad
Mood states - temporary feelings based on current conditions
Positive affectivity - tendency to experience positive moods and
feelings in many settings and under many different conditions
- overall sense of well-being; experience other people and
conditions in a positive light
Negative affectivity - tendency to experience negative moods in
many settings and under many different conditions
- individuals and teams with negative affective tone do not
perform as well as those with positive affective tone
The 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
- Type A - overall edge in job performance, especially tasks involving
time pressure or solitary work; impatient with coworkers
- Type B - perform better on complex tasks that require accuracy
rather than speed

6. Why Type A’s Often Don’t Make It to the Top
Figure 3.6
Why Type A’s Often Don’t Make It to the Top
The Top!
Irritability,
conflict with others
Increased
health risks
Poor
decision making
Type A’s

7. Self-Efficacy - an individual’s beliefs concerning her/his ability to
Work-Related Aspects of Personality (cont.)
Self-Efficacy - an individual’s beliefs concerning her/his ability to
perform specific tasks successfully
- components
Magnitude - level of performance believed possible
Strength - confidence in ability to perform at that level
Generality - extent to which feelings of self-efficacy extend across situations
- development
Direct experience - feedback from past performance
Vicarious experience - observing the success of others
- formal training based on these elements can
increase feelings of self-efficacy

8. specific situations, primarily to make the best possible impression
Work-Related Aspects of Personality (cont.)
Self-Monitoring - the extent to which individuals adapt their behavior to
specific situations, primarily to make the best possible impression
on others
Work performance - high self-monitors do better in jobs requiring
boundary spanning activities
Career success - high self-monitors tend to be promoted more often
Interpersonal relationships - form less stable relationships
Social chameleons - viewed as manipulative
Machiavellianism - a willingness to manipulate others for one’s own
purposes in a ruthless manner
Characteristics - glib and charming
- little remorse about harming others
- display little empathy
Job success - not related to performance on jobs with a great deal of
autonomy where coworkers can avoid the clutches of high
Machiavellianism individual
- high Machiavellianism individuals are more successful in
loosely structured organizations

9. succeed at difficult tasks, and to do them better than others
Work-Related Aspects of Personality (cont.)
Achievement Motivation - strength of an individual’s desire to excel, to
succeed at difficult tasks, and to do them better than others
Attraction to difficult tasks - high need achievers prefer tasks that
are moderately challenging and of intermediate difficulty
Managerial success - high need achievers tend to be:
- promoted more rapidly
- less inclined to delegate
- more interested in performance feedback
- more interested in merit-based pay than in seniority-based
pay

10. Achievement Motivation and Task Preference
Figure 3.9
Achievement Motivation and Task Preference
High
Low Need for Achievement
High Need for Achievement
Task Preference
Low
Easy
Difficult
Task Difficulty

11. real and important when it comes to job performance
Work-Related Aspects of Personality (cont.)
Individual Differences in Times of Day When People Feel Alert - are both
real and important when it comes to job performance
Morning persons - feel most energetic and alert early in the day
Evening persons - feel most energetic and alert late in the day

12. Time of Day and Academic Performance
Figure 3.10
Time of Day and Academic Performance
Early classes
3.27
2.78
Late Classes
3.18
3.07
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
Morning persons
do better in
early classes.
Evening
persons
do better
in late
classes
Grades
Morning Students
Evening Students

13. Intellectual Abilities (Pp. 117-120)
Cognitive Intelligence - ability to understand complex ideas, adapt
effectively to the environment, learn from experience, engage in various forms of reasoning, and overcome obstacles
- information processing
Practical Intelligence - adeptness at solving practical problems of everyday
life
Tacit knowledge - knowledge about how to get things done
- action oriented
- allows one to achieve personal goals
- acquired without help from others
Emotional Intelligence - cluster of skills relating to the emotional side of life
- ability to recognize and regulate our own emotions, to influence
others, to self-motivate, to form effective long-term
relationships
Other Cognitive Abilities

14. Physical Abilities (P. 120)
Types of Physical Abilities
Strength - capacity to exert physical force
Flexibility - capacity to move one’s body in an agile manner
Stamina - capacity to endure physical activity for prolonged periods
Speed - the ability to move quickly
- many jobs require blend of physical and intellectual abilities
- companies are introducing measures to promote the health
and well-being of employees performing physical
tasks