CHAPTER 2: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, MENTAL ABILITY, AND
PERSONALITY
Individual Differences
Variations in how people respond to the same situation based on personal characteristics.
Each person is different from others, and these differences are substantial.
Consequences of Individual Differences - Individual differences become serious
concerns when people are situated in the workplace.
Productivity – the rate of output per worker.
Quality of Work – the level or standard of work produced.
Empowerment – giving authority and responsibility to an individual.
Leadership Style – the manner in which leaders guide subordinates.
Need for Social Contact – the level of interaction required by a person.
Commitment to the Organization – loyalty and dedication to the organization.
Self-esteem – the confidence and value a person places on himself or herself.
Demographic Diversity
Performance and behavior in the workplace are affected by demographic differences such
as gender, age, and culture.
Gender Differences
Differences in the perception of male and female roles. Research shows very few differences
between men and women affecting job performance such as problem-solving ability,
analytical skills, motivation, learning ability, and sociability.
-Generational and Age-Based Differences
Differences in behavior based on generation and age. Age is often associated with
experience, but this is not always true.
-Culture
Learned and shared ways of thinking and acting among a group of people. It includes social
culture and organizational culture.
2 dimension of culture
1.$ocial culture — which refers to the social environment
of human-created beliefs, customs, knowledge, and practices that define conventional
behavior in a society.
2. Organizational culture — is the set of values, beliefs, and norms that is shared among
members of an organization.
Aptitude and Ability - are essential considerations when people are considered
for employment in an organization.
Aptitude refers to the capacity to learn or acquire skills. Ability refers to the capacity to
perform tasks in a job. These affect training cost and employee performance.
Physical Ability
The capacity to perform tasks demanding stamina, strength, dexterity, balance, and
coordination.
Nine Physical Abilities
Dynamic Strength – ability to exert muscular force repeatedly.
Trunk Strength – ability to exert strength using trunk muscles.
Static Strength – ability to exert force against external objects.
Explosive Strength – ability to use maximum energy quickly.
Extent Flexibility – ability to stretch the trunk and back.
Dynamic Flexibility – ability to make rapid, repeated movements.
Body Coordination – ability to coordinate body movements.
Balance – ability to maintain equilibrium.
Stamina – ability to continue prolonged effort.
Intellectual Ability
The capacity to perform mental activities such as thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving.
Dimensions of Intellectual Ability
Cognitive Intelligence – ability to acquire and apply knowledge.
Social Intelligence – ability to relate effectively with others.
Emotional Intelligence – understanding one’s own emotions and empathy.
Cultural Intelligence – ability to interpret unfamiliar behavior correctly.
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Developed by Robert Sternberg. It includes;Componential (analytical), Experiential
(creative), and Contextual (practical) intelligence.
Multiple Intelligences
Proposed by Howard Gardner. Includes Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Musical, Spatial,
Bodily-Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Naturalist intelligences.
Personality
The sum total of ways an individual reacts and interacts with others. It is influenced by
hereditary and environmental factors.
Hereditary-defines the limits by which environment can develop personality
characteristics
Hereditary Factors
Factors determined at conception such as physical structure, facial attractiveness, gender,
temperament, muscle composition, energy level, and biological rhythms.
Environmental Factors
Cultural factors, social factors, and situational factors that influence behavior.
-Cultural factor - which refer to the established norms, attitudes, and
values that are passed along from one generation to the next and creates
consistency over time.
-Social factor - which refer to those that reflect family life, religion and the many kinds of
formal and informal groups in which the individual participates throughout his life.
-Situational factors - which indicate that the individual will behave differently in different
situations
Personality Traits
8 FACTORS
Emotional Stability-calm, self-confident, and secure.
Extraversion-someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive.
Openness to Experience-person who is imaginative, cultured, curious, original, broad-
minded,
Agreeableness-the person’s interpersonal orientation.
Conscientiousness-person's reliability.
Self-monitoring Behavior-person's ability to adjust his or her behavior to external,
situational or environmental factors.
Risk Taking-refers to the person's willingness to take risk
Optimism-tendency to experience positive emotional state
Emotional Intelligence-The ability to perceive, evaluate, express, and regulate emotions as
discussed by Daniel Goleman(EQ refers to the ability of a person to accurately perceive,
evaluate, express and regulate emotions and feelings.)
Five Components of Emotional Intelligence
Self-regulation – control of emotions.
Motivation – passion beyond money or status.
Empathy – understanding others’ feelings.
Self-awareness – awareness of one’s own emotions.
Social Skills – ability to manage relationships.
More on Physical Ability
Differences in sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch affect individual behavior and
job performance.