9/1/2019

CHAPTER 2:
FOUNDATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
Instructor: Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy

CONTENT

I. BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS

II. ABILITIES

III. PERSONALITY

IV. LEARNING

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I. BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Biographical characteristics Personal characteristics –

such as age, gender, race, and length of tenure – that
are objective and easily obtained from personnel
records.

I. BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Age
 Older workers bring experiences, judgement, a strong work
ethic, and commitment to quality.
 Gender
 Few differences between men and women that affect job
performance.
 Race
 Contentious issues: differences exist, but could be more
culture-based than race-based.

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I. BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
 Tenure
 People with job tenure (seniority at a job) are more
productive, absent less frequently, have lower turnover,
and are more satisfied.
 Religion
 Islam is especially problematic in the workplace.
 Sexual orientation
 Employers differ a lot in how they treat sexual orientation.
 Gender identity
 Relatively new issue – transgendered employees.

II. ABILITY

 Ability An individual’s capability to perform various tasks

in a job.

 Including two types:

 Intellectual abilities

 Physical abilities

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II. ABILITY

 Intellectual abilities The capacity to do mental activities –

thinking, reasoning, and problem solving.

 General mental ability (GMA) An overall factor of

intelligence, as suggested by the positive correlations among
specific intellectual ability dimensions.

 Jobs differs in the demands they place on incumbents to use

their intellectual abilities.

 No correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction.

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II. ABILITY

 Physical abilities The capacity to do tasks that demand

stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics.

 Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of

these abilities.

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III. PERSONALITY

The sum total of ways in which an

individual reacts to and interacts with
others
Most often described in terms of
measurable traits that a person exhibits,
such as shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy,
ambitious, loyal and timid

III. PERSONALITY
3.1 Personality determinants

Heredity is the most dominant factor

Twin studies: genetics more influential than
parents
Environmental factors do have some
influence
Situational condition influences the effects of
heredity and environment on personality.

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III. PERSONALITY
3.2 Measuring Personality Traits:
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
 Most widely used personality-assessment
instrument in the world
 Individuals are classified as:
Extroverted or Introverted (E/I)
Sensing or Intuitive (S/N)
Thinking or Feeling (T/F)
Judging or Perceiving (J/P)
 Classifications combined into 16 personality types
(i.e. INTJ or ESTJ)
 Unrelated to job performance

III. PERSONALITY
3.3 Measuring Personality Traits:
The Big-Five Model
 Five Traits:
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience
 Strongly supported relationship to job
performance (especially Conscientiousness)

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III. PERSONALITY
3.4 Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB

Core self- • Self like/dislike

evaluation
Type A • Competitive, urgent, and driven
personality
• Adjusts behavior to meet external,
Self-monitoring situational factors

Proactive • Identifies opportunities, shows initiative,

personality takes action and perseveres

IV. LEARNING

 Learning A relatively permanent change in behavior

that occurs as a result of experience.

Learning
• Involves change
• Is relatively permanent
• Is acquired through experience

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IV. LEARNING
4.1 Principles of learning

Trainee must be motivated to learn

Information must be meaningful

Learning must be reinforced

Organization of material

IV. LEARNING
4.2 Theories of learning
Classical Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some
stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a response.

Key Concepts
• Unconditioned stimulus
• Unconditioned response
• Conditioned stimulus

2–18
• Conditioned response

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IV. LEARNING
4.2 Theories of learning

2–19

IV. LEARNING
4.2 Theories of learning
Operant Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior
leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.

Key Concepts
• Reflexive (unlearned) behavior
• Conditioned (learned) behavior
• Reinforcement

© 2005 Prentice
2–20 Hall Inc. All rights
reserved.

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IV. LEARNING
4.2 Theories of learning

Social-Learning Theory
People can learn through observation and direct experience.

Key Concepts
• Attentional processes
• Retention processes
• Motor reproduction processes
• Reinforcement processes
© 2005 Prentice
2–21 Hall Inc. All rights
reserved.

IV. LEARNING
4.2 Theories of learning
Shaping Behavior
Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an
individual closer to the desired response.

Key Concepts
• Reinforcement is required to change behavior.
• Some rewards are more effective than others.
• The timing of reinforcement affects learning speed
and permanence.

© 2005 Prentice
2–22 Hall Inc. All rights
reserved.

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