MAN3025 Module 9: Individual Differences

the halo effect

Occurs when we form an impression of an individual based on a single trait.

employee assistance program (EAPs)

Includes a host of programs aimed at helping employees cope with stress, burnout, substance abuse, health problems, family and marital issues, and any general problem that negatively influences job performance.

correlates of job satisfaction

Stronger motivation, performance, job involvement, organizational commitment, and life satisfaction

Less absenteeism, tardiness, turnover, and perceived stress

stereotyping

The tendency to attribute to an individual the characteristics one believes are typical of the group to which that individual belongs.

emotional intelligence

The ability to monitor your own feelings and those of others and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions

The Big Five personality dimensions

Extroversion

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Emotional stability

Openness to experience

4 Core Self-Evaluations

1. Self-efficacy

2. Self-esteem

3. Locus of control

4. Emotional stability

values

Abstract ideals that guide one’s thinking and behavior across all situations

attitudes

Learned predispositions toward a given object. Consists of an affective, cognitive, and behavioral component.

cognitive dissonance

The psychological discomfort a person experiences between their cognitive attitude and incompatible behavior.

perception

The process of interpreting and understanding one’s environment

5 Distortions of Perception

1. Stereotyping

2. Implicit bias

3. The halo effect

4. The recency effect

5. Casual attribution

self-fulfilling prophecy

The phenomenon in which people’s expectations of themselves or others lead them to behave in ways that make those expectations come true.

work-related attitudes

Employee engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment

employee engagement

An individual’s involvement, satisfaction, and enthusiasm for work

job satisfaction

The extent to which you feel positive or negative about various aspects of your work

organizational commitment

The extent to which an employee identifies with an organization and is committed to its goals

stress

The tension people feel when they are facing or enduring extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities and are uncertain about their ability to handle them effectively

7 Sources of Job Stress

1. Demands created by individual differences

2. Individual task demands

3. Individual role demands

4. Group demands

5. Organizational demands

6. Nonwork demands

7. Demands created by remote and hybrid work schedules

buffers to reduce stressors

Roll out employee assistance programs, recommend a holistic wellness approach, create a supportive environment, make jobs interesting, and make career counseling available.

organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)

Employee behaviors that are not directly part of employees’ job descriptions

counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs)

Types of behavior that harm employees and the organization as a whole

organizational behavior (OB)

The field dedicated to better understanding and managing people at work

4 Steps in the Perceptual Process

1. Selective attention

2. Interpretation and evaluation

3. Storing in memory

4. Retrieving from memory to make judgements and decisions

The Stress Process

1. Demands

2. Appraisal

3. Coping

4. Outcomes

holistic wellness program

Focuses on self-responsibility, nutritional awareness, relaxation techniques, physical fitness, and environmental awareness

implicit bias

The attitudes or beliefs that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner

the recency effect

The tendency to remember recent information better than earlier information

casual attribution

The activity of inferring causes for observed behavior

self-serving bias

Tendency to take more responsibility for our own successes than our failures

self-efficacy

The belief in one’s personal ability to do a task

generalized self-efficacy

The belief in one’s general ability to perform across different situations

4 Components of Emotional Intelligence

1. Self-awareness, the ability to read your own emotions

2. Self-management, the ability to control your emotions

3. Social awareness, having empathy to show others you care

4. Relationship management, the ability to communicate clearly and convincingly, disarm conflicts, and build strong personal bonds

extroversion

How outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive a person is

agreeableness

How trusting, good-natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted a person is

conscientiousness

How dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent someone is

emotional stability

How relaxed, secure, and unworried a person is

Openness to experience

How intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broad-minded someone is