Nelson & Quick: Personality, Perception, and Attribution
Nelson & Quick: Personality, Perception, and Attribution
Variables Influencing
Individual Behavior
P
The Person
Skills & abilities
Personality
Perceptions
Attitudes
Values
Ethics
E
The Environment
Organization
Work group
Job
Personal life
B
Behavior
B = f(P,E)
Propositions of
Interactional Psychology
Behaviorfunction of a continuous, multi-directional
interaction between person and situation
Personactive in process
Changed by situations
Changes situations
People vary in many characteristics
Two situational interpretations
The objective situation
Persons subjective view of the situation
Definition of Personality
Personality - A relatively stable set of characteristics
that influences an individuals behavior
Personality Theories
Trait Theory - understand individuals by breaking
down behavior patterns into observable traits
Psychodynamic Theory - emphasizes the
unconscious determinants of behavior
Humanistic Theory - emphasizes individual growth
and improvement
Integrative Approach - describes personality as a
composite of an individuals psychological
processes
Gregarious, assertive,
sociable
Agreeableness
Cooperative, warm,
agreeable
Conscientiousness Hardworking, organized,
dependable
Emotional stability Calm, self-confidant, cool
Openness to
experience
Creative, curious,
cultured
Sources: P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, The NEO-PI Personality Inventory (Odessa, Fla.: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992); J. F. Salgado, The
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
happens to me!
People and
circumstances
control my fate!
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Efficacy - beliefs and expectations about ones ability to
accomplish a specific task effectively
Sources of self-efficacy
Prior experiences and prior success
Behavior models (observing success)
Persuasion
Assessment of current physical & emotional
capabilities
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Esteem
Feelings of Self Worth
Success tends
to increase
self-esteem
Failure tends
to decrease
self-esteem
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Monitoring
Behavior based on cues from people & situations
High self-monitors
flexible: adjust behavior
according to the
situation and the
behavior of others
can appear
unpredictable &
inconsistent
Low self-monitors
act from internal states
rather than from
situational cues
show consistency
less likely to respond to
work group norms or
supervisory feedback
High-self
monitors
Get promoted
Change employers
Self-promote
Make a job-related
geographic move
Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Positive Affect - an individuals tendency to
accentuate the positive aspects of oneself, other
people, and the world in general
Negative Affect - an individuals tendency to
accentuate 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
MBTI Preferences
Preferences
Represents
Extraversion Introversion
How one
re-energizes
How one gathers
information
How one makes
decisions
How one orients to the
outer world
Sensing
Intuiting
Thinking
Feeling
Judging
Perceiving
Social Perception
Barriers
Selective perception
Stereotyping
First-impression error
Projection
Self-fulfilling prophecies
Social Perception
Perceiver Characteristics
Familiarity with target
Attitudes/Mood
Self-Concept
Cognitive structure
Target Characteristics
Physical appearance
Verbal communication
Nonverbal cues
Intentions
interpreting information
about another person
Situational Characteristics
Interaction context
Strength of situational cues
Impression Management
Impression Management - process by which
individuals 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 pinpoint
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
to make attributions to internal causes when
focusing on someone elses behavior
Self-serving Bias - tendency to attribute ones
own successes to internal causes and ones
failures to external causes