This document discusses individual differences and personality traits. It begins by defining individual differences as the unique qualities that distinguish one person from another. It then explores several types of individual differences, including differences in physique, intelligence, attitudes, aptitudes, interests, achievements, and personality. The document also discusses factors that influence individual differences, such as heredity, environment, and psychological factors. It explains the complementary roles of heredity and environment in shaping a person's growth and development. Additionally, the concepts of personality, personality traits, and theories of personality like trait theory are introduced. Specifically, theories by Gordon Allport, Raymond Cattell, and the Big Five model of personality traits are summarized.

1. INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOUR,
PERSONALITY,
ATTITUDE

2. Individual Differences
• Every individual is unique, no two persons are alike.
• Children born of the same parents and even the-twins are not alike. This
differential psychology is linked with the study of individual differences.
• Individual differences mean those differences in a particular person that
distinguish that person from another person and makes that particular
person a unique person.
• All individuals differ from each other in many respects.
This change is seen in physical forms like in height, weight,
colour, complexion strength etc., difference in intelligence,
achievement, interest, attitude, skills, aptitude, learning etc.
• Each man has an intellectual capacity through which
he gains experience and learns.

3. Inter and Intra Individual Differences
Inter – Individual Differences
Differences in a particular
characteristic among various
individuals.
E.g. Differences among persons
in their attitude, interests,
learning etc.
Intra – Individual Differences
Differences among various
characteristics possessed by the
same person.
It reflects the strengths and
weaknesses of an individual.
Different abilities are present in
different quantities within the
same person.
E.g. A person may be good at
drawing but not at singing.

4. Individual Differences
Class Activity:
1. My Name:
2. Exact age:
3. Gender:
4. Nationality:
5. Languages spoken:
6. Hobbies/interests:
7. Favorite subjects:
8. Subject I find difficult:
9. Where do I see myself after 10 years:

6. Types of Individual Differences
1. Difference in Physique
2. Difference in Intelligence

7. Types of Individual Differences
3. Difference in Attitude
4. Difference in Aptitude

8. Types of Individual Differences
5. Difference in Interests
6. Difference in Achievement

9. Types of Individual Differences
7. Difference in Expression of Emotions
8. Difference in Personality

10. Factors Influencing Individual Differences
Factors
Affecting
Individual
Differences
Environmental
Factors
Personal
Factors
Psychological
Factors
Organizational
Factors

11. Heredity and Environment
Heredity
Environment
Growth &
Development/
Personality of an
Individual

12. Role/ Influence of Heredity
• Every human being is born as a result of conception which takes place
due to certain biological factors and process.
• The child carries with himself several physiological and psychological
peculiarities that are present in the parents.
• It is the heredity that determines body structure,
complexion, hair texture etc. of the child.
Thus different types of the genes help in the formation
of a body.
Heredity is passing on the traits such as eye colour,
hair colour, height, body structure, facial features, skin
colour etc. from parents to their children

13. Role/ Influence of Environment
• Environment is nothing but the sum total of the surroundings in
which an individual has to live.
• Psychologically an individual’s environment is related to all those
stimuli which he faces from the moment of fertilization till death.
• Environment is generally divided into two categories- natural and
social.

14. Role/ Influence of Heredity and Environment
• Both heredity and environment have their share in moulding the life
and personality of the individual.
• Heredity is responsible for all the inborn traits, the instincts,
emotions, physical traits.
• Environment is responsible for the growth and development of the
physical, mental and social traits.
• The two forces heredity and environment are not opposed to each
other, but are complementary.
• Two individuals of the same heredity might differ when put in
dissimilar environments. Two individuals of differing heredity would
differ inspite of identical environments.

15. Class Activity
“Heredity and Environment are 2 sides of the same coin”
- Comment

16. Personality
• The word “personality” has been derived from the Latin word
“persona” which means a mask worn by an actor while performing a
character on the stage.
• Thus personality means the characteristic pattern or style of
behaviour of the person revealed from his external appearance.
• The external properties of a person include his dress, speech, bodily
actions, postures, habits and expressions.
• Generally a person endowed with good external properties is
considered to possess a good personality and vice versa
• However that may not be the reality. It was realized that personality
included something more than external properties

17. Personality
Personality is the sum total of an individual’s properties as a
distinct and unique human being.
According to Allport (1961) personality is the “dynamic
organization within the individual of those psycho-physical
systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought”
Personality is generally defined as individual’s unique and
relatively stable patterns of behaviour, thoughts and emotions.
(Baron, 1993).

18. Determinants of Personality
1. Heredity – Genetic Source
2. Environment – Surroundings, Culture
3. Situation – Day-to-Day Events Repeated
4. Locus of Control – The perception of Individual whether he
feels in charge of a situation (Internal) or not (External)

19. Traits
Trait is the distinguishing characteristic that makes an individual different
from the others.
It is a way in which an individual perceives, feels, believes or acts
Traits are relatively stable over time
Traits differ among individuals
Traits influence behaviour
Examples of traits are: Intelligence, anger, Reserved, Kind, Short –
tempered, extraversion–introversion etc.

20. Personality Traits
Personality traits reflect people’s characteristic patterns of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviour.
Personality traits imply consistency and stability. For instance, someone
who scores high on a specific trait like Extraversion is expected to be
sociable in different situations and over time.
According to Ramond Cattell, there are 16 personality traits, known as
primary factors.

21. Trait Theory
Trait theorists believe personality can be understood by positing that all
people have certain traits, or characteristic ways of behaving.
Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of traits, which
can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion.
The idea of categorizing people by traits can be traced back as far as
Hippocrates; however more modern theories have come from Gordon
Allport, Raymond Cattell, and Hans Eysenck.
Cattells theory is one of the most important personality traits theory.

22. Trait Theory {Gordon Allport (1897–1967)}
Allport organized traits into a hierarchy of three levels:
• Cardinal traits dominate and shape an individual’s behavior. They stand
at the top of the hierarchy and are collectively known as the individual’s
master control. They are considered to be an individual’s ruling passions.
• Central traits come next in the hierarchy. These are general
characteristics found in varying degrees in every person (such as loyalty,
kindness, agreeableness, friendliness, sneakiness, wildness, or
grouchiness). They are the basic building blocks that shape most of our
behavior.
• Secondary traits exist at the bottom of the hierarchy and are not quite as
obvious or consistent as central traits. They are plentiful but are only
present under specific circumstances; they include things like
preferences and attitudes.

23. Trait Theory {Raymond Cattell (1905–1998)}
In an effort to make Allport’s list of 4,500 traits more manageable,
Raymond Cattell took the list and removed all the synonyms, reducing the
number down to 171. However, saying that a trait is either present or
absent does not accurately reflect a person’s uniqueness, because
(according to trait theorists) all of our personalities are actually made up
of the same traits; we differ only in the degree to which each trait is
expressed.
Cattell believed it necessary to sample a wide range of variables to capture
a full understanding of personality.
The first type of data was life data, which involves collecting information
from an individual’s natural everyday life behaviors.
Experimental data involves measuring reactions to standardized
experimental situations, and questionnaire data involves gathering
responses based on introspection by an individual about his or her own
behavior and feelings.

24. Trait Theory {Raymond Cattell (1905–1998)}
Using this data, Cattell performed factor analysis to generate sixteen
dimensions of human personality traits: abstractedness, warmth,
apprehension, emotional stability, liveliness, openness to change,
perfectionism, privateness, intelligence , rule consciousness , tension,
sensitivity, social boldness, self-reliance, vigilance, and dominance.
Based on these 16 factors, he developed a personality assessment called
the 16PF. Instead of a trait being present or absent, each dimension is
scored over a continuum, from high to low. For example, your level of
warmth describes how warm, caring, and nice to others you are. If you
score low on this index, you tend to be more distant and cold. A high score
on this index signifies you are supportive and comforting.
Despite cutting down significantly on Allport’s list of traits, Cattell’s 16PF
theory has still been criticized for being too broad.

25. What is Big 5?
In psychological trait theory, the Big Five personality traits, also
known as the five-factor model and the OCEAN model, is a
suggested taxonomy, or grouping, for personality traits,
developed from the 1980s onwards
The "big five" are broad categories of personality traits that form
the overall personality dimensions.
Individual differences in social and emotional life organized into a
five-factor model of personality

26. The Big Five Model

27. Extroversion,
Sociability
High
Social
Energetic
Adventurous
Enthusiastic
Outgoing
Like being
center of
attention
Low
Quite
Reserved
Shy
Take time to
develop new
relationships
Agreeableness
High
Forgiving
Kind
Appreciative
Trusting
Sympathetic
Low
Cold
Do not trust
Unfriendly
Quarrelsome
Like to compete
and not cooperate
Conscientiousness
High
Organized
Hard working
Responsible
Precise
Desire to
complete task
Low
Careless
Disorderly
Unreliable
Disorganized
Emotional
Stability
High
Stable
Calm
Contented
Relaxed
Do not get
upset easily
Low
Tense
Nervous
Depressed
Mood Swings
Fearful
Touchy
Openness to
Experience
High
Intellectually
Curious
Imaginative
Wide interests
Adopt new ideas
Intelligent
Low
Narrow interests
Simple
Conservative

28. The Big Five Model
➢Agreeableness: An individuals ability to have good social
interactions.
➢Conscientiousness: Being thorough and careful
➢Neuroticism/ Emotional Stability: An individuals capacity to
deal with stress and being emotionally stable
➢Openness to Experience: An individuals range of interest and
liking for doing new things
➢Extroversion: An individuals ability to be comfortable in his
relationship with others.

29. Personality Traits for OB
Authoritarianism
Locus of Control
Machiavellianism
Introversion -
Extroversion
Achievement
Orientation
Self - Esteem
Risk Taking
Self Monitoring
Type A and B

30. Authoritarianism
➢‘The Authoritarianism Personality’ theory was given by Theodar W.
Adorno.
➢The term ‘authoritarianism’ means demanding strict obedience of
authority and rules.
➢The personality type can be identified by the following traits:
i. Conventionalism – very conventional, they don't like change
ii. Authoritarian Submission - they like the work to be done as per the
rules of formal authority
iii. Authoritarian Anger - they get angry at people who challenge authority
iv. Superstition - authoritarians believe in fate
v. Power and Toughness - means that they are dominating

31. Authoritarianism
➢Authoritarians believe that obedience to authority is important.
➢Those with authoritative personality believe that there are two types of
people in this world, strong people and weak people. The world would
be a better place it the strong were leaders and the weak were
followers. They do not like people who do not agree with this
philosophy.
➢Authoritarians give high moral values on their beliefs towards
conformity to rules and regulation.
➢Authoritarians are rigid in their positions. They prefer stable and
structured work environment.

32. Locus of Control
➢Locus of control means whether an individual believes that he can
control events or events control him
➢There are two types of people internals and externals
➢Internals believe that they can control events or outcome while
externals believe that events or outcomes control them.
➢E.g. Managers with a strong internal locus of control may believe that
the targets were achieved through their own abilities and efforts while
those with a strong external locus of control may believe that the
targets were achieved because of their good luck.
➢Thus externals do not work hard for their targets, are less satisfied with
their jobs, have higher rate of absenteeism, are less involved in their
jobs etc.

33. Personality Traits of the Dark Triad
All three traits are about trying to get away with putting yourself first to get
what you want. But they each have a different focus.
1. Machiavellianism is most about manipulation for personal gain.
2. Narcissism is most about believing you deserve admiration and to be
treated differently than others.
3. Psychopathy is most about being cold and
insensitive to others needs.

34. Machiavellianism
• The personality traits of Machiavellianism derives from a reference to the
Niccolò Machiavelli, a diplomat and philosopher in the Renaissance whose
most well-known work was his book “The Prince”
• This book adopted his views that strong rulers should be harsh with their
subjects and enemies, and that glory and survival justified any means, even
ones that were considered immoral and brutal.
• The term Machiavellianism is used to describe a person's tendency to
deceive and manipulate others for personal gain.
• Machiavellianism in psychology refers to a personality trait which sees a
person so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and
exploit others to achieve their goals.

35. Machiavellianism
Machiavellian's are pragmatic, maintain emotional distance and believe that
ends can justify means.
Machiavellians approach situations logically and thoughtfully many times and
may also lie to achieve their goals.
They rarely believe in being loyal, maintain friendships, keeping their own
promises or the opinions of other people
They have a high self-esteem.
They do well in jobs that require bargaining skills or where there are
substantial rewards for winning.

36. Machiavellianism
Someone with the trait of Machiavellianism will tend to have the following
tendencies:
✓Only focused on their own ambition and interests
✓prioritize money and power over relationships
✓come across as charming and confident
✓exploit and manipulate others to get ahead
✓lie and deceive when required
✓capable of causing others harm to achieve their means
✓low level of empathy
✓often avoid commitment and emotional attachment
✓lack in principles and values

37. Introversion – Extroversion
Ambiverts (outgoing introverts)

38. Achievement Orientation
• Achievement orientation is also called achievement motivation
• It is about working towards excellence and getting results
• Individuals who are achievement oriented set high standards and try hard
to improve their performance
• Achievement oriented individuals are never fully satisfied but they
constantly work towards doing things in a better way.
• They try to overcome difficulties and take calculated risks if the situation
demands, to achieve their goals
• They rely on others to set targets and standards
• On the other hand, employees who lack achievement like to work in their
comfort zone and do not complete their work.

39. Achievement Orientation
Characteristics of people high in achievement orientation are:
• Produce high quality work
• Not satisfied with current performance
• Demonstrate leadership
• Take moderate risk
• Take responsibility
• Take feedback constructively
• Patient

40. Self - Esteem
Self-Esteem means the extent to which an individual likes or dislikes
himself
It shows an individual's overall sense of self-worth
Self-esteem is described as a personal evaluation that an individual makes
of her or himself, their sense of their own worth, value, importance, or
capabilities
Individuals with high self-esteem like to take more risk in job selection and
are more likely to choose unconventional jobs compared to people with
low self-esteem.

42. Self - Esteem
Individuals with high self esteem:
• Avoid dwelling on past, negative experiences
• Express their needs
• Feel confident
• Have a positive outlook of life
• Say "no" when they want to
• See overall strengths and weaknesses and accept them

43. Self - Esteem
Individuals with low self esteem:
• Believe that others are better than them
• Find it difficult expressing their needs
• Focus on their weaknesses
• Frequently experience feelings such as shame, depression, or anxiety
• Have a negative outlook on life
• Have an intense fear of failure
• Have trouble accepting positive feedback
• Have trouble saying "no"
• Put other people's needs before their own

44. Risk Taking
Risk-taking means to what extent an individual risk, for achieving a positive
outcome
People have different capacities for taking or avoiding risks
In organizations, high risk taking managers make quick decisions while low
risk taking managers are slow in making decisions, they also need more
information for making decisions
It is very important to consider the manager's risk-taking capacity. Some
organizations need high risk-taking managers while others need low risk
taking managers.
E.g. The job of an investment manager requires individuals with high risk
taking capacity while the job of a clerk requires individual with low-risk
taking capacity.

45. Self Monitoring
It means an individuals ability to adjust his behaviour to external
situational factors
High Self Monitors:
• Show considerable adaptability
• Can behave differently in different situations
• Concerned about how they are perceived by others and change their
behaviour to fit in different situations.
• Think that they will be perceived negatively by others, change their
behaviour to be perceived positively.
• Pay close attention to the behaviour of others.
• These managers are more mobile in their careers and receive more
promotions.

46. Self Monitoring
Low Monitors:
• Less concerned with how people perceive them
• Cannot disguise themselves like high monitors
• Tend to show their true dispositions and attitudes in almost every
situation. They cannot change their behaviour as per the situation

47. Type A and B Personality
According to Friedman and Rosenman: Type A Personality is always
impatient, excessively time conscious, insecure about status, highly
competitive, hostile and aggressive and incapable of relaxation
Characteristics of Type A Personality:
• Always moving, walking and eating rapidly
• Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place
• Strive to think or do two more things at a time
• Cannot cope with leisure
• Obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how much
of everything they acquire.

48. Type A and B Personality
According to Friedman and Rosenman: Type B personality is rarely hurried
by the desire to obtain an increasing number of things or participate in
events demanding an ever-decreasing amount of time
Characteristics of Type B Personality:
• Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with accompanying patience
• Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements of
accomplishment unless which exposure demanded by the situation
• Do not show their superiority at any cost
• Can relax without guilt
In organizations, great sales persons are Type A individuals and Type B
make good senior executives as they are wise, creative and tactful.

49. JOHARI WINDOW
➢The Johari window was created by psychologists Joseph Luft and
Harrington Ingham in 1955 as a way to better understand oneself and
the communication between us and others.
➢It is a model for soliciting (seeking) and giving feedback.
➢It is a communication model that has four quadrants and two
dimensions (Myself and Others)
➢The model is a 2x2 grid which represents things that a person knows
about themselves on one axis and things that others know about them
on the other axis.
➢By plotting the levels of self-knowledge and the knowledge held by
others the person can develop a greater understanding of their
personality and how they are perceived by others.

50. JOHARI WINDOW

51. JOHARI WINDOW
Open Self - Here the information about the person his attitudes,
behaviour, emotions, feelings, skills and views will be known by the person
as well as by others.
‘Feedback solicitation’ is a process which occurs by understanding and
listening to the feedback from another person.
Through this way the open area can be increased horizontally decreasing
the blind spot.
The size of the arena can also be increased downwards and thus by
reducing the hidden and unknown areas through revealing one’s feelings
to other person.

52. JOHARI WINDOW
Blind Self or Blind Spot – Information about yourselves that others know
in a group but you will be unaware of it. Others may interpret you
differently than you expect. The blind spot is reduced for an efficient
communication through seeking feedback from others.
Hidden Area or Façade – Information that is known to you but will be kept
unknown from others. This can be any personal information which you
feel reluctant to reveal.
This includes feelings, past experiences, fears, secrets etc. we keep some
of our feelings and information as private as it affects the relationships
and thus the hidden area must be reduced by moving the information to
the open areas.

53. JOHARI WINDOW
Unknown Area – The Information which are unaware to yourselves as well
as others.
This includes the information, feelings, capabilities, talents etc.
This can be due to traumatic past experiences or events which can be
unknown for a lifetime.
The person will be unaware till he discovers his hidden qualities and
capabilities or through observation of others.
Open communication is also an effective way to decrease the unknown
area and thus to communicate effectively.

54. ATTITUDE
➢Attitude is an important element in human behaviour.
➢In psychology, an attitude refers to a set of emotions, feelings, beliefs,
and behaviors toward a particular object, person, thing, or event.
➢An attitude can be defined as ‘a psychological tendency to view a
particular object or behaviour with a degree of favour or disfavour’
➢Attitudes are often the result of experience or upbringing, and they can
have a powerful influence over behaviour.
➢Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things
in a certain way. This can include evaluations of people, issues, objects,
or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can
also be uncertain at times.

55. FEATURES OF ATTITUDE
• Feelings and beliefs of individuals and groups
• Not Inborn but learnt
• Result in behaviour or action
• Last long and is difficult to change
• Strongly influence our thinking about others
• Influence ones bahaviour
• Attitudes can be explicit and implicit -
Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that
clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs.
Implicit attitudes are unconscious but still have an effect on our beliefs
and behaviors.

56. FEATURES OF ATTITUDE
Attitude may be positive, negative or ambivalent
a. Positive Attitude: means a favourable attitude towards a stimuli
E.g. I like chocolates and I shall eat them
b. Negative Attitude: means an unfavourable attitude towards the stimuli
E.g. I do not like chocolates and I shall not eat them
c. Attitude Ambivalence refers to the fact that an individuals evaluation of
a stimuli are not always uniformly positive or negative, they are mixed
consisting of both positive and negative reactions.
E.g. I like chocolates but I will not eat them because they are fattening

57. COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE
Researchers have suggested that there are several different components
that make up attitudes. These components of attitudes are sometimes
referred to as CAB or the ABC's of attitude.
1. Cognitive or Informational Component: Our thoughts and beliefs about
the subject. E.g.: I like driving the car
2. Affective or Emotional Component: How the object, person, issue, or
event makes us feel. E.g. Driving the car is challenging and interesting
3. Behavioral Component: How attitude influences our behavior. E.g. I am
hard working and I will master the skill of driving in a month.

58. FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE
(1) Adjustment Function
It directs people towards pleasurable or rewarding objects and away from
unpleasant, undesirable ones. The attitudes of consumers depend to a
large degree on their perceptions of what is need satisfying and what is
punishing.
Because consumers perceive products, services and stores as providing
need satisfying or unsatisfying experiences we should expect their
attitudes toward these object to vary in relation to the experiences that
have occurred.

59. FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE
(2) Ego Defensive Function
Attitudes that protect the ego or self image from threats help fulfill the
ego defensive function. For example a consumer who has made a poor
purchase decision or a poor investment may defend the decision as being
correct at the time or as being the result of poor advice from another
person.
Such ego defensive attitude helps us to protect our self image and often
we are unaware of them.

60. FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE
(3) Value Expressive Function
Whereas ego defensive attitudes are formed to protect a person’s self
image, value expressive attitudes enable the expression of the person’s
centrally held values. Therefore consumers adopt certain attitudes in an
effort to translate their values into something more tangible and easily
expressed. For example, a conservative person might develop an
unfavorable attitude towards bright clothing.
(4) Self Esteem Function
Attitudes help us to maintain or enhance our feelings of self – worth. We
sometimes feel that we are superior to others as we believe that the views
which we hold are right ones held by intelligent or sensible persons.

61. FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE
(5) Knowledge Function
Humans have a need for a structured and orderly world, and therefore
they seek consistency, stability and understanding. Out of this need
develops attitudes towards acquiring knowledge. In addition, the need to
know tends to be specific. For example, an individual who does not play
golf, nor wishes to learn the sport is unlikely to seek knowledge or an
understanding of the game. This will influence the amount of information
search devoted to this topic.

62. WAYS OF CHANGING ATTITUDE
Providing new Information
Fear
Persuasion (Media)
Co – opting Approach
Influence of Friends and Peers

63. READING EMOTIONS

64. Thank You
Dr. Parveen Nagpal
www.linkedin.com/in/dr-parveen-kaur-nagpal-82965b15