This document discusses several topics related to individual differences that are of interest to managers, including mental functioning, emotional intelligence, personality, perception, attitudes, and values. It provides information on intelligence and cognitive styles, the Myers-Briggs personality test, the dimensions of emotional intelligence, major personality theories and traits, locus of control, sources of perceptual distortions, types of values and work values across generations, and models of attitude formation and change. Understanding these individual differences can help managers with selection, placement, training, motivation, and leadership of employees.

1. Individual Differences:
Mental Functioning, Emotional Intelligence,
Personality Perception, Attitudes, and
Values
B = f (P,E)
(Behavior is a function
of the person and the
environment.)

2. Why is the study of
Individual Differences of
interest to managers?
 Selection
 Placement
 Training
 Motivation
 Leadership

3. Mental Ability
 General Intelligence (g factor)
 Correlates with most tests of specific ability
 Correlates with performance in most jobs
 Specific Intelligences (s factors)
 e.g., memory verbal comprehension, numerical ability,
word comprehension, perceptual speed
 Correlate with Job Satisfaction in work utilizing the
specific ability in question

4. Cognitive Styles
 How do we gather information?
 Sensing - Look at the facts, details.
 Intuiting - Brainstorm, get a general overview.
 How do we choose between alternatives?
 Thinking - Analyze objectively, reason.
 Feeling - Consider the impact on people.

5. Cognitive Styles
 Sensation / Thinking (ST) (e.g., technician)
 Intuitive / Thinking (NT) (e.g., planner)
 Sensation / Feeling (SF) (e.g., teacher)
 Intuitive / Feeling (NF) (e.g., artist)

6. Myers-Briggs Test
Has 4 dimensions:
 Sensing vs. Intuiting
 Thinking vs. Feeling
 Extraversion vs. Introversion
 Judger vs. Perceiver
 (decisive vs. flexible)
Higher and lower positions in each of the dimensions
are used to classify people into one of 16 different
personality categories.

7. Emotional Intelligence
Dimensions
1) Knowing one’s own emotions
2) Controlling one’s emotions
3) Recognizing others’ emotions (Empathy)
4) Influencing others’ emotions
Author Daniel Goleman says incompetence in
management occurs more often from lack of EQ
than lack of IQ

9. Personality
Nature of Personality
 Internal State
 Uniqueness
 Consistency
 Stability
 Managers should be aware of subordinates’
characteristics.
 Managers should also be aware of their own
characteristics.

10. Personality Theories
 Developmental Stage (Psychodynamic)
 (Freud, etc.)
 Trait-Based (“Big Five”, etc.)
 e.g., Neurotic, Extraversion, Authoritarian (Eysenck)
 Motive-Based
 e.g., Achievement, Affiliation, Power (McClelland)
 Belief-Based
 e.g., Internal vs. External Locus of Control (Rotter)

11. Personality Theory: The Big
Five Traits:
Extraversion (vs. Introversion)
Sociable, friendly.
Emotional Stability (vs. Neuroticism):
Neurotics are often critical and feel angry with
others and themselves.
Agreeableness
Likable, care about others.
Conscientiousness
Careful, persevering.
Openness to Experience:
Flexible, with broad interests.

12. Other Characteristics
 Self-Monitoring: Tendency to manage impressions
others have of you
 Risk taking and thrill seeking
 Self-Esteem: Degree to which people feel good about
themselves and abilities.

13. Locus of Control
 People who believe that they are in control of their
own lives are said to have an Internal locus of
control.
 People who think that forces beyond their control
dictate what happens to them are said to have an
External locus of control.

14. Testing Intelligence and
Personality
 When using in
selection and
placement: Back up
with validity studies.
 In General:
 Intelligence Tests-
Moderate Validity
 Personality Tests- Low
Validity

15. Perception
 “The link between the person and the
environment”
 Broadly defined, includes Social Perception
(impressions of people)

16. The Perception Process
Organizing the
Screening the
Observing “data” selected “data” into
“data” and
via the senses patterns for
selecting what to
interpretation and
process
response

17. Perception
 Why are perceptions often distorted?
 Why do people not always perceive things as they are?
 Why do people perceive things differently?
 Different people
 Same person at different times

18. Sources of Perceptual Distortions
Selectivity (perceiving only part of envir. or
some parts more than others)
 External Factors (i.e., currently in physical
environment)
 Similarity, Size, Nearness, Motion
 Internal Factors
 Experience, Motivation
 Closure (adding to your perception)
 Stereotyping
 Halo Effects
 Projection

19. General Perception Problems
 Selectivity
 Only notice stimuli which are consistent
with our values and beliefs
 Closure
 Assume that what we don’t know is
consistent with what we do know

20. VALUES AND ATTITUDES
Values (Basic Convictions – What is right, good, desirable)
» General - Contain many attitudes
» e.g., Conservative, Liberal, etc.
Attitudes (Beliefs, Assumptions)
» Evaluative judgments focused on specific objects,
concepts
» e.g., Attitude toward welfare payments

21. Types of Values
 Terminal Values
 Desired Goals
 e.g., World Peace, Happiness, Freedom, True
Friendship, Equality, Family Security
 Instrumental Values
 Means of Achieving Terminal Values
 e.g., Ambition, Politeness, Self-Reliance, Honesty,
Cheerfulness, Open-Mindedness

22. Work Values Across Generations
Group Entered Workforce Values
Veterans 1945-1964 Loyal to Organization
Conforming
Boomers 1965-1984 Loyal to Careers
Dislike Authority
Xers 1985-1999 Loyal to Relationships
Seek Work-Life Balance
Nexters 2000-Present Loyal to Self & Relationships
Self-Reliant but
Team-oriented

23. ATTITUDES: THE ABC MODEL
Affect
» Feelings for an object
Behavioral Intentions
» Observed Behavior toward it
Cognition
» Beliefs about it

24. ATTITUDE CHANGE TECHNIQUES
Persuasion
» Cognition -> Behavior
Conditioning
» Affective -> Cognition -> Behavior
Cognitive Dissonance Production
» Behavior -> Cognition -> Affective
(Based on the assumption that people are motivated to
protect their self-concepts. This requires a perceived
consistency among the three components.)

25. Thanks