INDIVIDUAL

DIFFERENCES,
MENTAL
ABILITY, AND
PERSONALITY
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Individual Differences
- variation in how people respond to the same situation based on personal characteristics.

Consequences:
1. difference in productivity
2. difference in the quality of work
3. difference in reaction to empowerment
4. difference in reaction to any style of leadership
5. difference in relating with other people
6. difference in commitment to the organization
7. difference in level of self-esteem
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What makes people different from each other?
1. Demographics
2. Aptitude and ability
3. Personality
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Demographic Diversity
1. Gender Differences – differences in the perception of male and female roles
a. Problem solving abilities
b. Analytical skills
c. Competitive drive
d. Motivation
e. Learning ability
f. Sociability
2. Generational and Age-Based Differences
3. Culture
a. Socio culture
b. Organizational culture
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Aptitude and Ability
Aptitude – capacity to learn or acquire skills
Ability – capacity to perform various tasks in a job

Ability:
Physical – dynamic strength, trunk strength, static strength, explosive strength, extent flexibility,
dynamic flexibility, body coordination, balance, and stamina

Mental – cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.

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Personality
- sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.

Determinants:
1. Hereditary
- physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes,
energy level, and biological rhythms
2. Environmental
- cultural, social, and situational

Factors and Traits
FACTORS
1. Emotional stability
a. Emotionally stable person
b. Emotionally unstable person
2. Extraversion
a. Extravert
b. Introvert
3. Openness to experience
a. Open-minded person
b. Close-minded person
4. Agreeableness
a. Agreeable person
b. Disagreeable person
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TRAITS
- calm, self-confident, secure
- nervous, depressed, insecure
- sociable, gregarious, assertive
- reserved, timid, quiet
- imaginative, cultured, curious
- conventional, finds comfort in the familiar
- cooperative, warm, trusting
- cold, antagonistic
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Factors and Traits

FACTORS TRAITS
5. Conscientiousness
a. Highly conscientious person - responsible, organized, dependable
b. Lowly conscientious person - easily distracted, disorganized, unreliable
6. Self-monitoring behavior
a. High self-monitor - pragmatic
b. Low self-monitor - inflexible
7. Risk taking
a. Risk taker - adventurous
b. Play safe person - coward
8. Optimism
a. Optimist - tends to experience positive emotional state
b. Pessimist - tends to experience negative emotional state