ADMS 2400 Chapter 2

Personality
What is personality?

 A consistent set of traits in a person that shapes how someone acts, thinks, and feel in
different situations.
Five Factor Model of personality “The Big 5”

 Conscientiousness  When a person is responsible and achievement oriented. People

who are conscientious are likely to perform well on most jobs given their tendency
towards hard work and achievement.
o Positive (+)
 Dependable
 Responsible
 Orderly
 Self-disciplined
 hardworking
o Negative (-) (opposites)
 Carless
 Impulsive
 Irresponsible
 unorganized
 Agreeableness  This is the extent where someone is friendly and approachable. This
trait is most likely to apply in job performances that require interactions and involve
helping and nurturing others, as well as jobs that teamwork and cooperation.
o Positive (+)
 Tolerant
 Cooperative
 Friendly
 Eager to help.
 Approachable
 Not confrontational
 sympathetic
o Negative (-)
 Cold
 Rude
 Argumentative
 Uncooperative
 Unapproachable
 confrontational
 Neuroticism/Emotional stability  This degree too which a person has appropriate
emotional control. Someone who scores high in emotional stability is likely to have more
effective interactions with co-workers and customers because they tend to be more calm
and secure.
o Positive (+)
 Stable
 Confident
 Appropriate emotional control
o Negative (-)
 Depressed
 Anxious
 Hostile
 Insecure
 Prone to stress
 Self-doubt
 Openness to Experience  This is the extent to which a person thinks flexibly and its
receptive to new ideas. More open type of people who tend towards creativity and
innovation.
o Positive (+)
 Curious
 Original
 Has original ideas
 Imaginative
 Broad interests
o Negative (-)
 Conventional
 Conservative
 Unimaginative
 Not curious
 Unwilling to be flexible with new/different ideas.
 Extraversion  The extent to which a person is outgoing versus shy. High extraverts
enjoy social situations, while those who don’t are considered introverts. Having this trait
can exceed expectations in jobs that include sales, management and customer services.
o Positive (+)
 Sociable
 Talkative
 Outgoing
 Energetic
 joyful
o Negative (-)
  Quiet
 Reserved
 Shy
 Reclusive
 Energized by alone time.
Personality Dimensions
 There are other personalities to research in OB other than just “The Big 5”

 HEXACO – Is a model used to understand and assess individual differences in personality

within the workplace. Stands for:
o H – Honesty/Humility
o E – Emotionality
o X – eXtraversion
o A – Agreeableness
o C - Conscientiousness
o O – Openness to Experience
 Self Esteem & Efficacy
o A general trait that refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to perform
successfully in a variety of challenging situations.
 Affectivity
o Positive
 The ability to consistently feel positive emotions and moods.
o Negative
 The tendency to experience negative emotions and moods consistently.
 Proactivity
o Refers to taking initiative and actively engaging in actions or behaviors to achieve
goals or solve problems. Proactive people don’t wait for things to happen but
instead anticipate, initiate, and influence their environment.
 Locus of control
o A set of beliefs about whether one’s behavior is controlled mainly by internal or
external forces.
 Internal Locus of control
 Individuals who believe they have a significant influence on the
events and outcomes in their lives. They tend to attribute their
success and failures to their own efforts, decisions, and abilities.
 External Locus of control
 Individuals who believe that external factors, luck, fate, or other
people predominantly determine the events of their lives.
What is Learning?
- A relatively permanent change in behavior potential that occurs due to practice or
experience.
Basic Principles of Learning
Classical conditioning (Pavlov)
o Demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov, which demonstrates with his experiments on dogs,
is a process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a reflexive
response through repeated pairings.
o Example: Phase 1: dog, bell, bone. Phase 2: Bone + bell = dog. Phase 3: bell =
dog.

Operant Learning Theory (B.F. Skinner)

 Law of effect
o The behavior that is followed by positive consequences are more likely to be
repeated, while behaviors followed by the negative consequences are less likely
to be repeated.
 Example: Positive consequences (reinforcement), Negative consequences
(punishment)
 Reinforcer
o Is something that follows a behavior and makes it more likely for that behavior to
happen again in the future. There are two types of reinforcers:
 Positive Reinforcement
 Something positive or rewarding is added after a behavior.
o Example: giving a dog a treat after commanding it to sit.
 Negative Reinforcement
 Something unpleasant is removed or avoided after a behavior
more likely to be repeated.
o Example: turning off a loud alarm by waking up on time,
which negatively reinforces the behavior of waking up
early. (punishment).
Increasing Probability of Behavior
Positive Reinforcement – The application or addition of a stimulus that increases or maintains a
certain behavior

 Why: Increase/maintain desired behavior

 How: Addition/applying pleasant stimulus
o Example: Hit sales target  Employee of the month  Maintain high
performance
Negative Reinforcement – The removal of a stimuli that increases the or maintains the
probability of some behaviors.

 Why: Increase/maintain desired behavior

 How: Remove/withdraw unpleasant stimulus
o Example: Hard to work in open office  Remove distraction  Improved Job
performance.
Decreasing Probability of Behavior
Punishment – The application of an aversive stimulus following some behavior designed to
decrease the probability of that behavior.

 Why: Decrease undesired behavior

 How: Add/apply unpleasant behavior

Client
Reprimanded
Yelled at Client Treatment
by Supervisor
Improved

Extinction – When a behavior decreases over time because it’s no longer being rewarded.

 Why: Decrease undesired behavior

 How: Remove/withdraw pleasant stimulus
 Medical sales rep
Remove Bonus
pushing medicines
that Incentivizes More Ethical Sales
to doctors and
Unethical Sales Practices
minimizing side
Practices
effects

Issues With Punishment

 Limited effectiveness in eliminating unwanted behavior because:

o Only indicates what is not wanted but does not demonstrate which behaviors
should replace the punished response.
o Temporarily suppresses unwanted behavior.
 Punishment can provoke a strong emotional reaction from punished individual.
Punishment is More Effective When

 Done immediately.
 Also clear on what the right behavior should be.
 It is consistent.
 It must be completely aversive.
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

 This theory suggests that people learn by observing others, imitating behaviors, and
being influenced by the social environment.
 Theory emphasizes on the importance of…
o Observational learning
 The process of observing and imitating the behavior of others.
 The process of imitating the behavior of others.
o Observe: what others are doing.
o Appraise: what are the consequences of those behaviors?
o Reflect: What will happen if I do the same.
o Decision: imitate behavior if favorable consequences.
o Self-Efficacy
 Beliefs people have in themselves in successfully performing specific
tasks.
o Self-Regulation
 The ability to manage and control one’s thoughts, emotions, and
behaviors to achieve a goal or maintain a desired state.