Unit-II

Organizational behavior is the study of both group and

individual performance and action within an enterprise. This
field of study scans human behavior in the working
atmosphere.

It determines its effect on job structure, performance,

communication, motivation, leadership, decision making
abilities etc. The way an individual behaves and behavior as a
group have two perspectives - internal and external.

Behavior Analysis at Different Levels

Behavior as an individual or in a group is always analyzed by
everyone in the organization. It is analyzed at three different
levels:

 Individual level of analysis

 Group level of analysis
 Organizational level of analysis

Individual Level of Analysis

Organizational behavior, at this level of analysis massively
draws upon psychology, engineering, and medicine. At the
individual level of analysis, organizational behavior includes
the study of learning, perception, creativity, attitude, values and
[Link] addition, it also includes the study of turnover,
task performance and evaluation, coordinated behavior, deviant
work behavior, ethics, and cognition.

For example: Ram joins a company as an intern and is very

open to learning new things but as time passes and he gets
promoted his attitude towards his interns becomes rude. This is
a fine example of individual level of analysis.

Group Level of Analysis

Organizational behavior, at this level of analysis, draws upon
the sociological and socio-psychological discipline. At the
group level of analysis, organizational behavior includes the
study of group gesture, intra-group and intergroup dispute and
attachment.

It is further extended to the study of leadership, power, norms,

interpersonal communication, networks, and roles.
An example of this level of analysis: Board of directors of
company X decide to give bonus to their workers as they have
really worked hard on a certain project.

Organizational Level of Analysis

Organizational behavior, at this level of analysis draws upon

sociology and political science. At this level of analysis,
organizational behavior includes the study of organizational
culture, structure, cultural diversity, inter-organizational
cooperation and coordination.

It further includes the study of dispute, change, technology, and

external environmental forces. Some other fields of study that
adds to the interest of organizational behavior are ergonomics,
statistics, and psychometrics.

To have a clear understanding on the topic and avoid any kind

of confusion let’s look at an example at different levels and try
to analyze it.

Rohit is interested in becoming a singer as he is interested in

music and feels he can do better in this field. While his parents
force him to pursue his job as a software engineer, as according
to his father’s perception a software job pays well and is far
better than struggling to become a singer.
In this case, we see Rohit and his father have a clash of
opinions, hence this is a case of individual level of analysis.
Extending this example further, if Rohit seeks help from his
friends on this matter his friends will support him as they have
the same mindset support the idea of following their own
dreams, struggling and achieving their goal. Meanwhile Rohit’s
father’s friend circle might find the idea of pursuing singing as
a career insane and support his father’s decision of opting for a
software.
Here we see two different groups of people with contradicting
ideologies, this becomes a case of group level of analysis.

Individual Behaviour
Individual behavior can be defined as a mix of responses to
external and internal stimuli. It is the way a person reacts in
different situations and the way someone expresses different
emotions like anger, happiness, love, etc.
To get a brief idea about the individual behavior let us learn
about the individual behavior framework and other key
elements related to it.

Individual Behavior Framework

On the basis of these elements, psychologist Kurt Lewin stated

the Field theory and outlined the behavior framework. This
psychological theory studies the patterns of interaction between
an individual and the environment. The theory is expressed
using the formula

B = F(P,E)

where, B – Behavior, F - Behavior Function, P – Person, and E

- Environment around the [Link] for example, a well payed
person who loses his job in recession may behave differently
when unemployed.
Causes of Individual Behavior
Certain individual characteristics are responsible for the way a
person behaves in daily life situations as well as reacts to any
emergency situations. These characteristics are categorized as:

 Inherited characteristics
 Learned characteristics

Inherited Characteristics
The features individuals acquire from their parents or from our
forefathers are the inherited characteristics. In other words, the
gifted features an individual possesses by birth is considered as
inherited characteristics.

Following features are considered as inherited characteristics:

 Color of a person’s eye

 Religion/Race of a person
 Shape of the nose
 Shape of earlobes

Learned Characteristics
Nobody learns everything by birth. First our school is our
home, then our society followed by our educational institutions.
The characteristics an individual acquires by observing,
practicing and learning from others and the surroundings is
known as learned characteristics.
 It consists of the following features:

Attitude: Positive or negative attitude like expressing one’s thought.

Values: Influences perception of a situation, decision making process.
Learning : Learning can be defined as the permanent change in
behaviour due to
direct and indirect experience. It means change in behaviour, attitude
due to education and training, practice and experience. It is completed
by acquisition of knowledge and skills, which are relatively permanent.
Perception: Result of different senses like feeling, hearing etc.
Personality: Patterns of thinking, feeling, understanding and behaving.

Attitude
Attitude is the abstract learnt reaction or say response of a
person’s entire cognitive process over a time span.
For example: A person who has worked with different
companies might develop an attitude of indifference towards
organizational citizenship.
Now we have a clear idea about what are the factors
responsible for the way we behave. We never think about these
elements and how they affect our daily life but we can’t ignore
the fact that they are responsible for the way we walk, talk, eat,
socialize, etc.

In simple words, an “attitude” is an individual’s way of looking or an individual’s point of

view at something.
To be more specific, an “attitude” may be defined as the mental state of an individual,
which prepares him to react or make him behave in a particular pre-determined way. It is
actually an acquired feeling.
Attitude is the mixture of beliefs and feelings that people have about situations, specific ideas
or other people.

Components of Attitude

1. Cognitive component
Cognitive component of attitude is associated with the value statement. It consists of values,
belief, ideas and other information that a person may have faith in.
Example: Quality of sincere hard is a faith or value statement that a manager may have.
2. Affective component
Affective component of attitude is associated with individual feelings about another
person, which may be positive, neutral or negative.
Example: I don’t like Sam because he is not honest, or I like Sam because he is sincere. It is
an expression of feelings about a person, object or a situation.
3. Behavioral component
Behavioral component of attitude is associated with the impact of various condition or
situations that lead to person behavior based on cognitive and affective components.
Example: I don’t like Sam because he is not honest is an affective component, I, therefore,
would like to disassociate myself with him, is a behavioural component and therefore I would
avoid Sam.
Cognitive and affective components are bases for such behaviour. Former two components
cannot be seen, only the behaviour component can be seen. Former is important because it is
a base for the formation of attitude.

Characteristics of Attitude

Characteristics of attitude are discussed below:

1. Attitude are predispositions Attitude are predispositions of purpose, interest or opinion
of the person to assess some objects in a favourable or an unfavourable manner
2. Attitude are different from values Attitude are different from values: Values are the
ideals, whereas attitudes are narrow, they are our feelings.
3. Attitude are evaluative statement Attitude are evaluative statements: either favourable or
unfavourable concerning the objects, people or events.
4. Attitude influence human behaviorA positive attitude towards a thing will influence
human behavior towards the thing favorably and vice-versa.
5. Attitude have intensityIt refers to the strength of the effective component. For example,
we may dislike an individual but the extent of our disliking would determine the intensity
of our attitude towards the person.
6. Attitude are learntAttitude is not inborn phenomenon. Attitude are learnt through social
interaction and experience.

FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE
Four important functions of attitude which are crucial in organizational behavior viewpoint
are:
1. Adjustment Function
Attitudes often help individuals to adjust to their work environment.

Example: Well-treated employees tend to develop a positive attitude towards their

management or job.

2. Ego-Defensive Function Attitudes help people to retain their self- image and dignity.
Example: Older faculty might feel somewhat threatened by a young and new faculty member
who is full of fresh ideas and enthusiasm
3. Value-Expressive Function Attitudes provide individuals with a basis for expressing their
values.

Example, a manager who values honest and sincere work will be more vocal against an
employee who is having a very casual approach towards work.
Knowledge Function Attitudes provide frames of reference or standard that allow
individuals to understand and perceive the world around him.
 Example, If a student has a strong negative attitude towards the college, whatever the college
does, the student will be perceived as something ‘bad’ and as actually against them.

Types of Attitude
There are broadly three types of attitude in term of organisational behavior
1. Job satisfaction
2. Job involvement
3. Organizational commitment
Job satisfaction
A collection of positive and/or negative feelings that an individual holds toward his or her
job.

A person will hold a positive attitude if had a high level of satisfaction, while dissatisfied
people will generally display a negative attitude towards life.

When we talk about attitude, we generally speak about job satisfaction because they are inter-
related in organizational behaviour.

Job involvement
Job involvement refers to the degree to which a person identifies himself (psychologically)
with his job, actively participates and considers his perceived performance level important to
self-worth. (Robbins)
Higher job satisfaction leads to low absenteeism & employee turnover and indicates that the
individual cares for his job.

Organizational commitment
Organizational commitment refers to a degree to which an employee identifies himself with
the organizational goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization.

Resigning from the job or absenting versus job satisfaction is a predictor of organizational
commitment. Organizational commitment depends upon the degree of autonomy & freedom
job and job enrichment factor.

ATTITUDE Formation

The question often arises, ‘how are the attitudes and subsequent behaviors formed?’
While attitudes are basically learned over the years, some inherited characteristics do affect
such attitudes
Some of the learned characteristics responsible for attitude formation are:
1. Experiences
2. Perceptual biases
3. Observation of other person attitude
4. Association
5. Personality

Perception
 Perception is an intellectual process of transforming sensory
stimuli into meaningful information. It is the process of
interpreting something that we see or hear in our mind and use
it later to judge and give a verdict on a situation, person, group,
etc.
It can be divided into six types namely:
 Of sound: The ability to receive sound by identifying vibrations.
 Of speech: The competence of interpreting and
understanding the sounds of language heard.
 Touch: Identifying objects through patterns of its surface by touching
it.
 Taste: The ability to detect flavor of substances by
tasting it through sensory organs known as taste buds.


Other senses: Other senses include balance,

acceleration, pain, time, sensation felt in throat and lungs
etc.
 Of the social world: It permits people to understand
other individuals and groups of their social world.
For example: Priya goes to a restaurant and likes their customer
service, so she will perceive that it is a good place to hang out
and will recommend it to her friends, who may or may not like
it. However, Priya’s perception about the restaurant remains
good.

What is Perception?
Perception is defined as the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets
stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world.
It is a cognitive process by which people attend to incoming stimuli, organise and interpret
such stimuli into behaviour.

Nature of perception
1. Perception is the process by which an individual gives meaning to the environment.
2. People‘s actions, emotions, thoughts and feelings are triggered by their perceptions of their
surroundings.
3. Perception has been defined in a variety of ways; it basically refers to the manner in which
a person experiences the world.
4. Perception is an almost automatic process and works in the same way within each
individual, yet it typically yields different perceptions.

Factors that Influence Perception

1. Characteristics of the Perceiver
 Attitude
The attitude and aptitude of employees influence perception formation. If they have positive
attitudes towards the management, they directly perceive the stimuli given by management.
In the case of negative attitudes, the employees suspect the management’s approach.
Employees of high aptitude have a desire and attitude for growth. They behave positively
toward the management of an organization.

Motives
The motives and desires of employees cause them to view stimuli differently as per their
level and angle. Helpful motives of the employees will always assist the management. If they
desire to develop themselves and the organization, they will perceive objects and situations
positively. Employees having low motives will not work sincerely. The perception will differ
depending on different types of motives.

Interest
The interest of individuals draws more attention and recognition to stimuli. Less attention and
recognition lowers the impact of stimuli or objects on behaviour. If employees lack interest,
behaviour pattern will be less effective, and the perception will be weak.

Experience
The experience of employees results in different levels of perception. A young employee
takes time to understand the object and situation. Experienced employees generally
understand objects quickly and correctly. However, in contradictory situations, it is difficult
to correct aged persons, whereas the young are easily moulded towards achieving the
objectives of the organization.

Expectation
Expectations distort perceptions. People see what they expect to see. If they see the object
and the situation differently from their expectations, they get frustrated. They are unable to
modify their behaviour. The employees may expect more pay and so they perceive the
management from that angle. The real stimuli are not properly perceived if expectations exist
there on. The management has to evolve expectations for proper perception.

Self-Concept
Another factor that can affect social perception is the perceivers’ selfconcept. An individual
with a positive self-concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person. In contrast, a
negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out negative traits in another person.
Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others.

2. Characteristics of the Target

Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived. Physical
appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. Extremely attractive or unattractive
individuals are more likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary looking individuals.

Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.

1. Physical appearance
2. Verbal communication
3. Non-verbal communication
4. Objects

Physical appearance
Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. The perceiver will notice the
target’s physical features like height, weight, estimated age, race and gender. Perceivers tend
to notice physical appearance characteristics that contrast with the norm, that are intense, or
that are new or unusual.

Verbal communication
Verbal communication from targets also affects our perception of them. We listen to the
topics they speak about, their voice tone, and their accent and make judgements based on this
input.

Non-verbal communication
Non-verbal communication conveys a great deal of information about the target. The
perceiver deciphers eye contact, facial expressions, body movements, and posture all in an
attempt to form an impression of the target.

Targets are not looked at in isolation; the relationship of a target to its background influences
perception because of our tendency to group close things and similar things together.

Objects
Objects that are close to each other will tend to be perceived together rather than separately.
As a result of physical or time proximity, we often put together objects or events that are
unrelated.

People, objects or events that are similar to each other also tend to be grouped together. The
greater the similarity, the greater the probability we will tend to perceive them as a group.

3. Characteristics of the Situation

Time
The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place has an
influence on the perceiver’s impression of the target.

For Example, a person decked up for a party may not be noticeable but the same dress in
office would be noticed distinctly, though the person has not changed.
Work setting
You would have very frequently heard people say that their manager is different during
working hours and 1800 opposite while in a social setting.

Social setting
The strength of the situational cues also affects social perception. Some situations provide
strong cues as to appropriate behaviour. In these situations, we assume that the individual’s
behaviour can be accounted for by the situation and that it may not reflect the individual’s
disposition. This is the discounting principle in social perception.
 For example, you may encounter an automobile salesperson who has a warm and personable
manner, asks you about your work and hobbies, and seems genuinely interested in your taste
in cars. Can you assume that this behaviour reflects the salesperson’s personality? You
probably cannot, because of the influence of the situation. This person is trying to sell you a
car, and in this particular situation, he probably treats all customers in this manner.
4.
Managerial Implications of Perception
People in organisations are always judging each other. Managers must appraise their
subordinate’s performance. Let us look at the more obvious applications of perceptions in
organisations.
1. Employment Interview
2. Performance Evaluation
3. Performance Expectations
4. Employee Loyalty
Employment Interview
A major input into who is hired and who is rejected in any organisation is the employment
interview. Evidence indicates that interviewers often make inaccurate perceptual judgements.
Interviewers generally draw early impressions that become very quickly entrenched.

Performance Evaluation
An employee’s performance appraisal very much depends on the perceptual process. The
performance appraisal represents an assessment of an employee’s work. While this can be
objective, many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms. Subjective measures are, by
definition, judgemental.

Performance Expectations
A manager’s expectations of an individual affect both the manager’s behaviour towards the
individual and the individual’s response.

Employee Loyalty
Another important judgement that managers make about employees is whether they are loyal
to the organisation. Few organisations appreciate employees, especially those in the
managerial ranks openly disparaging the firm.

Perception is an important process in an organisation. It plays a vital role in forming the basis
of one’s behaviour by which one formulates a view of the world.

Implications of Perception on Performance and Satisfaction

1. Productivity
2. Absenteeism and Turnover
3. Job Satisfaction
Productivity
What individuals perceive from their work situation will influence their productivity. More
than the situation itself than whether a job is actually interesting or challenging is not
relevant. How a manager successfully plans and organizes the work of his subordinates and
actually helps them in structuring their work is far less important than how his subordinates
perceive his efforts. Therefore, to be abl
Absenteeism and Turnover
Absence and Turnover are some of the reactions to the individual’s perception. Managers
must understand how each individual interprets his job. and where there is a significant
difference between what is seen and what exists and try to eliminate the distortions.

Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is a highly subjective, and feeling of the benefits that derive from the job.
Clearly his variable is critically linked to perception. Clearly his variable is critically linked
to perception. If job satisfaction is to be improved, the worker’s perception of the job
characteristics, supervision and the organisation as a whole must be positive.

Learning

Nature of Learning
Nature of learning means the characteristic features of learning. Learning
involves change; it may or may not guarantee improvement. It should be
permanent in nature, that is learning is for lifelong.
The change in behavior is the result of experience, practice and training.
Learning is reflected through behavior.
Factors Affecting Learning
Learning is based upon some key factors that decide what changes will be
caused by this experience. The key elements or the major factors that affect learning
are motivation, practice, environment, and mental group.
Coming back to these factors let us have a look on these factors −
Motivation − The encouragement, the support one gets to complete a task, to
achieve a goal is known as motivation. It is a very important aspect of
learning as it acts gives us a positive energy to complete a task. Example −
The coach motivated the players to win the match.
Practice − We all know that ”Practice makes us perfect”. In order to be a
perfectionist or at least complete the task, it is very important to practice
what we have learnt. Example − We can be a programmer only when we
execute the codes we have written.
Environment − We learn from our surroundings, we learn from the people
around us. They are of two types of environment – internal and
external. Example − A child when at home learns from the family which is an internal
environment, but when sent to school it is an external environment.
Mental group − It describes our thinking by the group of people we chose to
hang out with. In simple words, we make a group of those people with whom
we connect. It can be for a social cause where people with the same mentality work in
the same direction. Example − A group of readers, travelers, etc.
These are the main factors that influence what a person learns, these are the
root level for our behavior and everything we do is connected to what we
learn.
 Theories of Learning

Theories of Learning
1. Classical conditioning theory
2. Operant conditioning theory
3. Cognitive learning theory
4. Social learning theory

Personality
The traits we use to find out the careers and college majors we
should opt for, and will fit us the best is known as occupational
personality traits.
Some Definitions

1. The sum totals of ways in which in individual reacts to and

interacts with other.
2. Personality means how a person affects other and how he
understands and views himself
as well as the patterns of inner and outer measurable traits and the situation interaction.
3. Macionis define as “It is the constant pattern of thinking,
feeling and acting.”
4. Ogburn and Nimkoff define it as the totality of sentiments,
attitudes, idea, habits,
skills and behaviors of an individual.”

Personality can be further classified on the basis of an individual’s

occupation and vocational options. John Holland grouped these
features into six personality types:
 Realistic Personality – These types of individuals have
a realistic personality. They are shy in nature, stable,
and practical. They belong to professions like
agriculture, engineering, fashion designing, etc.

 Investigative Personality – These types of individuals

are analytical, curious, and have an independent
 mindset. They belong to professions like writing,
teaching, medicine, etc.

 Artistic Personality – These types of individuals have

great imagination and are idealistic. They belong to
professions like fine arts, music, photography, etc.

 Social Personality – These types of individuals are

sociable, helpful and cooperative in nature. They belong
to professions like teaching, social work, counseling,
etc.
 Enterprising Personality – These types of individuals
are ambitious, adventurous and energetic. They belong
to professions like business, journalism, consultancy,
etc.
 Conventional Personality – These types of individuals
are practical, organized, and logical. They belong to
professions like training, nursing, finance, etc.

Determinants of Personality
The determinants of personality can be grouped in five broad categories:
1. Biological Factors
2. Cultural Factors
3. Family Factors
4. Social Factors
5. Situational Factors

7 personality characteristics that influence individual are:

1. Locus of Control
2. Self-Efficacy
3. Self-Esteem
4. Self-Monitoring
5. Positive/Negative Affect
6. Risk-Taking
7. Type A and Type B Personality
Personality Characteristics

Locus of Control
The degree to which individuals perceive control over a situation being internal or external is
called locus of [Link] of control refers to the range of beliefs that individuals hold in
terms of being controlled by self (internal locus) or controlled by others or the situation
(external locus).
Self-Efficacy
Generalized self-efficacy refers to a belief about one’s own ability to deal with events and
challenges.

High self-efficacy results in greater confidence in one’s job-related abilities to function

effectively on the job. Success in previous situations leads to increased self-efficacy for
present and future challenges.

Self-Esteem
An individual’s self-worth is referred to as self-esteem. Individuals with high self-
esteem have positive feelings about [Link] self-esteem individuals are strongly
affected by what others think of them, and view themselves negatively.

Self-Monitoring
The extent to which people base their behavior on cues from other people and situations is
self-monitoring. Individuals high in self-monitoring pay attention to what behavior is
appropriate in certain situations by watching others and behaving accordingly. Low self-
monitoring individuals prefer that their behavior reflects their attitudes, and are not as
flexible in adapting their behavior to situational cues.

Positive/Negative Affect
Individuals exhibit attitudes about situations in a positive or negative [Link] individual’s
tendency to accentuate the positive aspects of situations is referred to as positive affect, while
those accentuating less optimistic views are referred to as having negative affect. Employees
with positive affect are absent from work less often. Negative affect individuals report higher
levels of job stress.

Risk-Taking
People differ in their willingness to take chances. High-risk-taking managers made more
rapid decisions and used less information in making their choices than low risk-taking
managers.

Type A and Type B Personality

Type A personality individual is aggressively involved in a chronic, struggle to achieve
more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing efforts of
other things or other persons.

Type B personalities are rarely harried by the desire to obtain a wildly increasing number of
things or participate in an endless growing series of events in an ever decreasing amount of
time.

Personality Theory
 The theories of personality have been grouped as:
1. Psychoanalytic Theory
2. Type Theories
3. Trait Theories
4. Self Theory

1. Psychoanalytic Theory
The Psychoanalytic theory of personality has held the interest of psychologists and
psychiatrists for a long time. Sigmund Freud, its formulator, was quite an influence. It attends
to emphasizes three main issues i.e. the id, the ego and the superego.
Components of Psychoanalytic Theory
Id
The id is the only part of the personality that is present at birth. It is inherited, primitive,
inaccessible and completely unconscious.
The id operates according to the pleasure principle, that is, to seek pleasure, avoid pain
and gain immediate gratification of its wishes.
The id contains:
(a) The life instincts, which are sexual instincts and biological urges such as hunger and thirst

(b) The death instinct, which accounts for our aggressive and destructive impulses.
Ego
The ego is the logical, rational, realistic part of the personality. The ego evolves from the id
and draws its energy from the id.
One of the functions of the ego is to satisfy the id’s urges. But the ego, which is mostly
conscious, acts according to the reality principle. It must consider the constraints of the real
world in determining appropriate times, places, and object for gratification of the id’s wishes.
Superego
When the child is age 5 or 6 the superego – the moral component of the personality – is
formed.
The superego has two parts:
(a) The “conscience“, consisting of all the behaviours for which we have been punished and
about which we feel guilty

(b) The “ego ideal“, containing the behaviours for which we have been praised and rewarded
and about which we feel pride and satisfaction.
In its quest for moral perfection, the superego, a moral guide, sets up signposts that define
and limit the flexibility of ego.

2. Type Theories
The type theories represent an attempt to put some degree of order into the chaos of
personality theory.
The type theory represents an attempt to scientifically describe personality by classifying
individuals into convenient categories.
Two categories of type theories of personality are explained below:
 Sheldon Physiognomy Theory
William Sheldon has presented a unique body-type temperamental model that represents a
link between certain anatomical features and psychological traits with distinguishing
characteristics of an individual and his behaviour.
Sheldon identifies three body types:
 Endomorph: He is bulky and beloved. Sheldon’s endomorph to be rather fat, thick in
proportion to his [Link] personality temperament is viscerotonic (the person seeks
comfort, loves fine food, eats too much, is jovial, affectionate and liked by all).
 Mesomorph: He is basically strong, athletic and tough. All appreciate his physique. In
fact, it is this personality all other “morphs” wish [Link] to Sheldon, he will tend to
be somatotonic (he is fond of muscular activity; he tends to be highly aggressive, and self-
assertive).
 Ectomorph: These people are thin, long and poorly developed physically.

Though physically weak, he leads the league in the intelligent department.

Carl Jung Extrovert Introvert Theory
The way to type personality is in terms of behaviour or psychological factors. Jung’s
introvert and extrovert types are an example.
However, as Carl Jung himself pointed out, the introvert-extrovert typology turns out to be
more in the nature of a continuum than discrete, separate types. Carl Jung proposed his own
two-part theory of personality.
Carl Jung two types are:
1. Extrovert: They are optimistic, outgoing, gregarious and sociable. Extroverts are basically
objective, reality-oriented individuals who are more doers than thinkers.

2. Introverts: By contrast, introverts are more inward-directed people. They are less
sociable, withdrawn and absorbed in inner life. They tend to be guided by their own ideas
and philosophy.
Few people are complete introverts or extroverts, but the mixture of these two ingredients
determines the kind of overall personality of an individual.

3. Trait Theories
Some early personality researchers believed that to understand individuals, we must break
down behaviour patterns into a series of observable traits.

According to trait theory, a personality trait can be defined as an “enduring attribute of a

person that appears consistently in a variety of situations”. In combination, such traits
distinguish one personality from another.
A trait is a personal characteristic that is used to describe and explain personality. It is a list
of relatively stable and consistent personal characteristics.

Gordon Allport Personality Traits

Gordon Allport claims that personality traits are real entities, physically located somewhere
in the brain. We each inherit our own unique set of raw material for given traits, which are
then shaped by our experiences.
 Traits describe the particular way we respond to the environment and the consistency of that
response. If we are shy, we respond to strangers differently than if we are friendly; if we are
self-confident,

Gordon identified two main categories of traits:

1. Common Traits: Common traits are those we share or hold in common with most others
in our own culture.
2. Individual Traits: According to Allport, there are three individual traits: cardinal, central
and secondary traits.
 Cardinal Traits: A cardinal trait is “so pervasive and outstanding in a life that almost
every act seems traceable to its influence”.

 Central Traits: According to Allport, are those that we would “mention in writing a
careful letter of recommendation”.

 Secondary Traits: The secondary traits are less obvious, less consistent and not as critical
in defining our personality as the cardinal and central traits. Examples of secondary traits
are food and music preferences.
Raymond Cattell 16 Personality Factors
Raymond Cattell considered personality to be a pattern of traits providing the key to
understanding and predicting a person’s behaviour.
Cattell identified two types:
1. Surface Traits: Observable qualities of a person like honest, helpful, kind, generous etc.,
Cattell called these “surface traits”.

2. Source Traits: Make up the most basic personality structure and, according to Cattell,
actually cause behaviour. Intelligence is a source trait, and every person has a certain
amount of it but, obviously not exactly the same amount or the same kind.

4. Self theory
The psychoanalytic, type and trait theories represent the more traditional approach to
explaining the complex human personality.
Self theory rejects both psychoanalytic and behaviouristic conceptions of human nature as
too mechanistic, portraying people as creatures helplessly buffeted about by internal instincts
or external stimuli.
Carl Rogers is most closely associated with his approach of self-theory.
Rogers and his associates have developed this personality theory that places emphasis on the
individual as an initiating, creating, influential determinant of behaviour within the
environmental framework.

According to Rogers basic ingredients of personality:

Self Actualization
Carl Rogers believed that humans have one basic motive that is the tendency to self-actualize
– i.e. to fulfill one’s potential and achieve the highest level of ‘human-beingness’ we can.
Self concept
Self-concept is defined as “the organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about
oneself”.

The self-concept includes three components:

Self worth
what we think about ourselves. Rogers believed feelings of self-worth developed in early
childhood and were formed from the interaction of the child with the mother and father.

Self-image
How we see ourselves, which is important to good psychological health. Self-image includes
the influence of our body image on inner personality.

Ideal self
This is the person who we would like to be. It consists of our goals and ambitions in life, and
is dynamic – i.e. forever changing. The ideal self in childhood is not the ideal self in our teens
or late twenties etc.

MARS MODEL
MARS model of individual behavior is a model that seeks to
elaborate individual behavior as a result of internal and external
factors or influences combined together. The name itself is an
acronym for individual Motivation, Abilities, Role Perception
and Situational Factors.
These are marked as the four major factors in determining
individual behavior and results. The model can be implemented
to a variety of situations, but is usually applied in Management,
Industrial Psychology or Organizational Behavior studies. This
model represents that these four factors have a mixed effect on
individual performance. If any factor weakens, performance
will decrease.
Say for example, passionate salespeople who understand their
duties and have enough resources will not perform their jobs
well if they lack sufficient knowledge and sales skill.
Therefore, the Container Store and other enterprises that excel
in customer service pay attention to all four factors in the
MARS model.