Self is the core of one’s conscious existence. Self-concept is defined as the concept the individual has of him or herself as a physical, social, and spiritual or moral being. Cognitions represent any knowledge, opinion, or belief about the environment, oneself, or one’s behavior.
Self-esteem is a belief about one’s own worth based on an overall self-evaluation. Self-esteem is shaped by circumstances and treatment by others and is positively correlated with life satisfaction, especially for individualistic cultures. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief about his or her chances of successfully accomplishing a specific task. The sources of self-efficacy include prior experience, behavior models, persuasion from others, and assessment of one’s physical and emotional states. Self-efficacy beliefs influence actions which, in turn, become feedback for one’s base of personal experience. Chronically low self-efficacy is affiliated with learned helplessness, the severely debilitating belief that one has no control over one’s environment. Managers can promote self-efficacy through a variety of means including recruiting/selection/job assignments, job design, training and development, and self-management.
Self-monitoring represents the extent to which a person observes his or her own behavior and adapts it to situational demands. High self-monitors regulate their self-presentation to present the appropriate public appearance. Low self-monitors lack either the ability or the motivation to regulate their expressive selfpresentations. Those on the high self-monitoring side experienced greater career success.
Organizational identification occurs when one comes to integrate beliefs about one’s organization into one’s identity. Employees with a strong organizational identification may be more loyal, committed, and harder working, but if employees suspend their critical thinking and lose their objectivity.
Personality is defined as the combination of stable characteristics that give the individual his or her identity. Recently, the myriad of personality dimensions have been distilled into the Big Five. They are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. Of these, conscientiousness had the strongest positive correlation with job performance. Also covered is the proactive personality, defined as an action-oriented person who shows initiative and perseveres to change things. Despite controversy over personality testing, knowledge of personality facilitates understanding.
Individuals differ in terms of how much personal responsibility they take for their behavior and its consequences. Locus of control helps explain these differences. People with an internal locus of control believe they control the events and consequences that affect their lives. Those with an external locus of control tend to attribute outcomes to environmental causes.
An ability represents a broad and stable characteristic responsible for a person’s maximum performance on mental or physical tasks, while a skill is the specific capacity to physically manipulate objects.
Together, abilities and skills are known as competencies. Organizations are looking for competency in oral communication, initiative, decisiveness, tolerance, problem solving, adaptability, and resilience.
Intelligence represents a person’s capacity for constructive thinking, reasoning, and problem solving.
Intelligence can be separated into two components: a general mental ability required for all cognitive tasks, and a second component unique to the task at hand. The seven most frequently cited mental abilities are verbal comprehension, work fluency, numerical, spatial, memory, perceptual speed, and inductive reasoning. A new paradigm for human intelligence includes the concept of multiple intelligences including not only cognitive abilities but social and physical abilities and skills.

Chapter 5
Emotions are complex, patterned, organismic reactions to how we think we are doing in our efforts to flourish and achieve what we desire. Emotions can be characterized as negative or positive. Negative emotions are caused by frustration and failure in pursuing one’s goals. They are goal incongruent.
Positive emotions are goal congruent. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage oneself and one’s relationships in mature and constructive ways and has four components: self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness, and relationship management.
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Self-Concept, Personality, Abilities and Emotions
I.
II.
Self-Concept (PPT Slides: 4-12 apply here)
A.
Self-Esteem ( Supplemental PPT Slides: 38-39 apply here)
1. Those with low self-esteem are hampered by self-doubts whereas those with high selfesteem individuals see themselves as worthwhile, capable, and acceptable.
2. Self-esteem is shaped by circumstances and treatment received by others. It can be improved by thinking of the desirable characteristics one does possess.
B.
Self-Efficacy (Supplemental PPT Slide: 37 applies here)
1. Researchers have documented a strong linkage between high self-efficacy expectations and success in a wide variety of endeavors, while those with low self-efficacy expectations tend to have low success rates.
2. According to Figure 5-2, the four sources of self-efficacy beliefs are prior experience
(the most important source), behavior models, persuasion from others, and assessment of physical or emotional states.
3. Managers can foster self-efficacy through recruiting/selection/job assignments, job design, training and development, self-management training, goal setting and quality improvement, coaching, leadership/mentoring, and rewards.
C.
Self-Monitoring (Supplemental PPT Slide: 43, Self-Exercise: What Are Your Self-Monitoring Tendencies?, and Ethical Dilemma: Can We Talk About Your Body Art? apply here)
1. High self-monitors regulate their expressive self-presentation in order to present the desired public appearance whereas low self-monitors lack either the ability or the motivation to regulate their expressive self-presentations.
D.
Organizational Identification: A Social Aspect of Self-Concept with Ethical Implications
1. Managers hope that employees with high levels of organizational identity will be more loyal, committed, and harder working, however, if employees suspend their critical thinking and lose their objectivity, unhealthy groupthink can occur.
Personality: Concepts and Controversy (PPT Slides: 13-19 apply here)
A.
The Big Five Personality Dimensions (Self-Exercise: How Do You Score on the Big Five Personality
Factors? applies here)
1. The Big Five are extraversion (outgoing, talkative, sociable, assertive), agreeableness
(trusting, good natured, cooperative, soft hearted), conscientiousness (dependable, responsible, achievement oriented, persistent), emotional stability (relaxed, secure, unworried), and openness to experience (intellectual, imaginative, curious).
2. Recent evidence suggests the Big Five personality structure generalized across a number of culturally diverse nations.
3. Among the Big Five, conscientiousness has the strongest positive correlation with job and training performance. However, it was not a strong predictor.
4.
Extraversion correlated positively with promotions, salary level, and career satisfaction.
B.
The Proactive Personality
1. Research found the proactive personality to be positively associated with individual, team, and organizational success.
C.
Issue: What about Personality Testing in the Workplace?
1. Care should be taken when using personality testing in the workplace. According to
Table 5-3, managers should determine what you hope to accomplish, look for outside help to determine if a test exists or can be developed to screen applicants for the traits
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Chapter 5 that best fit the position, insist than any test be validated scientifically for the specific purpose defined, ask the test provider to document the legal basis for any assessment, and make sure that staff members who administer tests or analyze results are educated about proper procedures and keep results confidential.
D.
Locus of Control: Self or Environment?
(Self-Exercise: Where Is Your Locus of Control? applies here)
1. Studies show that, compared to externals, internals tend to experience greater work motivation, stronger effort-performance expectations, higher performance when performance leads to valued rewards, a stronger relationship between job satisfaction and performance, higher salaries and salary increases, and less anxiety.
III. Abilities (Intelligence) and Performance (PPT Slides: 21-25 and Supplemental PPT Slides: 31-32 apply here)
A. Abilities and the Need for Sleep
1. Staying awake for 24 hours impairs cognitive psychomotor performance to the same degree as having a .1 BAC level (illegal in most states).
B. Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities
1. Intelligence is a function of both genetic and environmental influences.
2. Intelligence has been rising steadily in developed countries over the last 70 years, probably due to better schooling, improved socioeconomic status, healthier nutrition, and greater technological complexity.
3. Charles Spearman proposed that all cognitive performance is determined by two types of abilities: a general mental ability needed for all cognitive tasks, and an ability unique to the task at hand.
4. According to Table 5-4, the seven most frequently cited mental abilities are: verbal comprehension, word fluency, numerical, spatial, memory, perceptual speed, and inductive reasoning.
C. Do We Have Multiple Intelligence?
1. Howard Gardner expanded the definition of intelligence to include: linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence.
2. Many psychologists and intelligence specialists criticize Gardner’s model as too subjective and poorly integrated.
IV. Emotions: An Emerging OB Topic (PPT Slides: 26-29 apply here)
A.
Positive and Negative Emotions (Group Exercise: Anger Control Role Play applies here)
1. We can distinguish between positive and negative emotions. Negative emotions are the result of frustration and failure when pursuing one’s goals. They are goal incongruent.
Positive emotions are goal congruent.
B.
Developing Emotional Intelligence
1. One way to deal effectively with fear and other emotions is to become more emotionally mature by developing emotional intelligence.
2. Emotional intelligence has four components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.
C.
Practical Research Insights about Emotional Contagion and Emotional Labor
1. Both foul moods and good moods are contagious (emotional contagion).
2. Emotional labor occurs when people have to mask their true feelings and emotions. This can be detrimental and lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout.
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Self-Concept, Personality, Abilities and Emotions
1. In terms of personality traits, abilities, and emotions, how can athletic experience pave the way to career success?
Personal opinions will differ, but answers should refer to the case’s focus on the advantages associated with team responsibility, time management, and dedication that can be gained through participation in athletics (i.e., the assumption that such skills transfer to a work environment).
1. How would you describe Wendy Kopp’s success, based on what you have learned in this chapter?
Wendy Kopp’s success seems to be based on ability, specifically intelligence (Princeton alum, class valedictorian) more than on personality (introvert). Probably the most interesting part of the case is that Ms.
Kopp went beyond the bounds of her personality predisposition and put herself in a very public spotlight. Her level of organizational commitment is high and she inspires the same in others. She also has a very proactive personality.
2. Relative to the concepts you have just read about, what traits and characteristics would describe the
“ideal” TFA candidate? Explain your rationale for selecting each characteristic.
Given that working for TFA requires sacrifice from almost all participants, it would seem that a proactive personality is essential to the role. Also having a high locus of control would also seem prerequisite, since taking what for so many people would be a radical departure from their career path takes a deliberate mastery of one’s situation. Other factors such as intelligence, particularly emotional intelligence, are also paramount given the sometimes hostile social environment TFA workers find themselves in.
3. Ranked 1 = most important to 8 = least important, which of Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences are most critical to a successful TFA assignment? Explain your ranking.
Gardner’s list of multiple intelligences includes linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence. Opinions as to the relative importance of the different facets will vary by student.
4. Using Table 5–5 as a guide, how important are the specific emotional intelligence competencies to the success of a TFA participant? Explain.
Although student opinions will vary, self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management all would be likely to play roles in the daily work of a TFA educator.
5. Do you have what it takes to be a successful TFA teacher? Explain in terms of the concepts in this chapter.
This question calls on students to put themselves on the carpet and imagine their own competencies and individual differences relative to the needs of the TFA educator. Options will, of course, vary.
6. Will you apply for a TFA job? What are the ethical implications of your answer?
Statistically speaking, the answer for most students will most likely be, “no.” However, even students answering negatively will likely see the value in the work done by TFA.
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Chapter 5
1.
2.
3.
See “Topic 5: Individual Differences and Personality” in A. Johnson & A. Kinicki,
An
Instructor’s Guide to an Active Classroom , 2006, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Getting to know each other as individuals is the focus in “Developing First Encounters of the
Close Kind: A Beginning Class Exercise” by M. Manning and P. Weber,
Journal of Management
Education , October 2001, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 617-623.
See “Student Online Self-Assessment: Structuring Individual-Level Learning in a New Venture
Creation Course” by S. Human, T. Clark, & M. Baucus in Journal of Management Education ,
2005, 29(1), pp. 111-134.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
An interesting account of how both personality and ability can affect one’s influence in teams can be found in Collective estimation: Accuracy, expertise, and extroversion as sources of intragroup influence. by B. Bonner et al. in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Proces ses,
2007, 103, pp. 121-133.
Rotter’s seminal discussion of locus of control can be found in “Generalized Expectancies for
Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement” Psychological Monographs: General and
Applied , 1966, 80 No. 1, pp. 1-28.
The effect of procedural fairness and rewarding leadership style on self-esteem is discussed by
D. DeCremer, et al. in “Rewarding Leadership and Fair Procedures as Determinants of Self-
Esteem” in
Journal of Applied Psychology , 2005, 90(1) pp. 3-12.
The influence of the work environment on self-esteem is discussed by D. McAllister and G.
Bigley in “Work context and the definition of self: How organizational care influences organization-based self-esteem,” Academy of Management Journal , 2002, 45 No. 5, pp. 894-904.
The relationship between personality and transformational and transactional leadership is examined by J. Bono & T. Judge in “Personality and Transformational and Transactional
Leadership: A Meta-Analysis” in Journal of Applied Psychology , 2004, 89(5) pp. 901-910.
McGraw-Hill Supplements:
1. The Organizational Behavior Video DVD, Volume One contains the following videos that correspond with this chapter content: Toying with Success: The McFarlane Companies and
Generation Next Changes the Face of the Workplace. Suggested teaching notes and discussion questions are located in the Video Cases and in a separate PowerPoint file containing all Videos on the book’s website at www.mhhe.com/kreitner.
1.
2.
Should emotions play a role in the workplace? Justify your response.
List the six pillars of self-esteem. Provide an example of each from your own experiences.
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Self-Concept, Personality, Abilities and Emotions
3.
4.
Rate yourself on the following personality dimensions: self-esteem, self-monitoring, proactive personality, locus of control, and emotional intelligence. Provide at least one example to support your assessment for each of these personality concepts.
Should personality testing be used in the workplace? For what, if any, purposes? Justify your answer.
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1
APPLICATION
Chapter 5
This exercise is a simple way to encourage positive self-esteem in students. Remember, self-esteem is more easily raised by having a person think of desirable characteristics that he or she possesses rather than undesirable characteristics that he or she lacks. Ask each person to find a partner, preferable someone he or she doesn’t already know. Partners should ideally be facing each other. Follow the procedures listed below:
* * *
Ask each person to think about two eras of his or her life – prior to beginning college and since beginning college. Have students recall each of these time frames and recollect something that he or she did or experienced that made the individual very proud. In turn, each person will play two roles: the speaker and the listener. The speaker should talk for two minutes and tell the listener about his or her proud moments
(one from each time of life). The listener cannot speak during this time, but should exhibit supportive eye contact and body language (e.g. no crossed arms or legs). When finished, the speaker and listener switch roles and repeat the process.
4.
5.
6.
7.
As a class, consider the following discussion questions:
1.
What kinds of things do people tend to take pride in?
2.
3.
What kinds of things were not mentioned very frequently?
How many people periodically review past successes?
Are we sometimes reluctant to express a positive self-concept to others? Why?
How did it feel to have an empathetic listener?
Can you think of some relatively “safe” ways in which we can express self-esteem at work?
How might you help to build someone’s self-esteem in the workplace? Is this always a good thing?
1 Adapted from “I Like Me Because” and “I’m OK, I Really Am” in E. Scannell and J. Newstrom,
Even More Games
Trainers Play , 1994, New York: McGraw-Hill.
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Self-Concept, Personality, Abilities and Emotions
1
This lecturette can be used to supplement the chapter’s coverage of the Big Five personality dimensions
(i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). It describes the importance of taxonomies (such as the Big Five) and then assesses the advantages and disadvantages of using the Big Five as the dominant personality taxonomy.
* * *
Before 1965, research on personality and personality inventories was a popular topic for industrial/organizational psychologists. However, an influential review by Guion and Gottier in 1965 greatly influenced researchers away from personality as a topic of study. Guion and Gottier concluded that personality measures should not be used as a basis of decisions regarding employees. Although their critique was largely based on the faulty research methods used to study personality, their review was interpreted by others in the field as calling for a moratorium on personality research. By the late 1980’s, researchers once again picked up the banner of personality research. Partly responsible for this change in status was the advent of suitable taxonomies by which to classify the multitude of potential personality traits. This allowed researchers to explore the relationship between personality and job performance within (rather than across) personality constructs, resulting in significant relationships that were unknown previously.
Taxonomies provide a classification scheme and as such facilitate the organization and accumulation of information. An appropriate taxonomy is a significant milestone in the gathering of knowledge. Useful personality taxonomies must consist of traits that have been replicated. That is, traits within the personality taxonomy should be replicated across different samples, subgroups of people, time, cultures
(if one wishes to generalize across cultures), languages, measurement strategies (e.g., self-reported versus peer-reported information), and data-analytic techniques. Second, the taxonomy should be comprehensive in that it provides for the classification of all known personality traits. Third, it should include traits having outside correlates. In other words, the personality traits should be related to realworld outcomes such as job performance.
So, how does the Big Five taxonomy stand up to these criteria? One of the greatest strengths of the Big
Five is replicability. It has been replicated across substantial time periods (decades) and numerous samples. Similar conclusions come from both self-report and peer-report data. There is also some support for generalization of the Big Five personality constructs across cultures. In short, the Big Five taxonomy has been demonstrated to be highly replicable in many contexts.
The comprehensiveness of this taxonomy, however, is perhaps the most challenging deficiency. Some researchers argue that the Big Five factors of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience are too broad to be of practical use while others assert that additional key traits need to be included to create a more appropriate personality taxonomy. Some research suggests that the addition of a masculinity/femininity component is necessary. Additional studies suggest the extraversion and conscientiousness constructs should be divided into four separate
1 Adapted from Kevin R. Murphy, “Individual Differences and Behavior in Organizations: Much More Than g
” in K.R.
Murphy (ed.) Individual Differences and Behavior in Organizations , 1996, (pp. 3-30). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass and Leaetta M. Hough and Robert J. Schneider “Personality Traits, Taxonomies, and Applications in Organizations” in K.R. Murphy (ed.) Individual Differences and Behavior in Organizations , 1996, (pp. 31-88). San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass
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Chapter 5 constructs – dependability, affiliation, achievement, and potency. Thus, the Big Five seems to confound some personality variables and excludes others.
Finally, the ideal personality taxonomy should include traits having outside correlates. The Big Five taxonomy measures up reasonably well against this criterion. For example, the openness to experience construct was found to be significantly related to school performance while conscientiousness relates positively with job performance. Even more striking, an individual’s score on conscientiousness measured during childhood was significantly (and positively) related to longevity. Specifically, those scoring at the 75 th
percentile on this construct were 77% as likely to die by the age of seventy as people at the 25 th
percentile.
In summary, the Big Five taxonomy is quite replicable, predicts important external real-world outcomes, but likely is less comprehensive than desired.
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Self-Concept, Personality, Abilities and Emotions
Supplemental PPT slides 44-47 provide resources for discussing your students’ learning styles in the context of this chapter. A number of learning styles are discussed. Engage your students and have them reflect on how they acquire new information and skills, both at work and in other environments.
Encourage the students to consider not only their own learning styles but also how the differential learning styles of others they work with affect them.
* * *
Diverging Style
Like to ask “why” and to study problems from different angles
Are people-oriented and prefer to explore situations from a solid base of information
Like to brainstorm and deal with feelings
Accommodating Style
Prefer to have a plan and systematically experiment
Good at interpreting immediate circumstances
Good interpersonal skills and adept at influencing others
Assimilating Style
Prefer theoretical models and inductive reasoning (drawing generalizations from specifics)
Enjoy the search to new knowledge
Prefer a disciplined rather than random search for the “right” answer
Converging Style
Likes to ask “how”
Prefer to focus on specific, practical problems
Prefer deductive reasoning (using general principles to understand specifics)
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