Study unit 1:

The origin and nature of individual differences

Explain why personality is an important factor in work success and organizational functioning 10

QUESTION: Is personality an important factor in work success and organisational functioning?

Personality is the sum of the total ways in which an individual thinks, behaves and interacts with others, and copes or adjusts when necessary. It constitutes all that we can see of a person; it is also shaped and influenced by factors that are hidden, unobtrusive or not always visible to the naked eye or other senses. Has a cognitive domain and non-cognitive domains.

According to Allport, personality is “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought”.

According to Meyer, Moore and Viljoen personality is “the constantly changing but nevertheless relatively stable organization of all physical, psychological and spiritual characteristics of the individual which determine his/her behavior in interaction with the context in which the individual finds himself or herself.

From a work perspective personality might be seen as those attributes which fit the demands of the work environment.

From a work perspective personality might be seen as those attributes which fit the demands of the work environment. Neff, defines the work personality as semi-autonomous and separate from other aspects of personality and includes acquired work styles, behaviours, abilities, feelings and attitudes necessary to fulfil a productive role as demanded in work situations. Impaired work performance in individuals may be because these working attributes or competencies were not acquired.

Related to personality: Character emphases a person's values, moral and ethical principles. Temperament or nature denotes a person's emotional orientation and has genetic,

physiological or biological connotations. The ``self'' and related concepts like self-image, self-identity, perceived self, and self-evaluation

have a more personality-related connotation. May refer to something that unifies various, aspects of personality or which motivates or energises personality.

Conclusion: It is evident from the above discussion that personality is an important factor in work success and organisational functioning.

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There might be confusion on the usage of personality and individual differences as they appear to have the same meaning. Define personality and individual differences, and differentiate between the two, and also determine a relationship between the two. 10

Personality is the sum of the total ways in which an individual thinks, behaves and interacts with others, and copes or adjusts when necessary. It constitutes all that we can see of a person; it is also shaped and influenced by factors that are hidden, unobtrusive or not always visible to the naked eye or other senses. It has a cognitive domain and non-cognitive domains.

According to Allport, personality is “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought”.

According to Meyer, Moore and Viljoen personality is “the constantly changing but nevertheless relatively stable organization of all physical, psychological and spiritual characteristics of the individual which determine his/her behavior in interaction with the context in which the individual finds himself or herself.

From a work perspective personality might be seen as those attributes which fit the demands of the work environment.

The concepts of temperament, character and the self are related to personality. Character refers to a person's values and moral and ethical principles. Temperament or nature denotes a person's emotional orientation and has genetic, physiological or biological connotations. The self denotes anything which people themselves, or through others, perceive as belonging to their sense of being a person and which describes the ``I'' ``me'' and ``mine''.

Individual differences are all our personal attributes which make us unique and often differentiate us from other people, even though we may also have some similarities with other individuals, groups and even all other people. Individual differences also refer to the following:

a person's genetic attributes (for example physical, physiological and neurological structures) a person's acquired social, psychological, moral and cognitive attributes and behaviours which

may distinguish him or her from others

The areas or types of individual differences derive from various sources of knowledge on personality such as the following:

Personality and other psychological theories, other behavioural and bio-psychological theories, and other disciplines that examine human behavior.

Assessment and research on personality and applications which use knowledge of personality.

Conclusion: From the above discussion it is clear that personality and individual differences are related to each other because both can be used to explain differences between people. However they are also different because personality refers mainly to behaviour aspects, whereas individual differences is more holistic and includes everything that is different between people. Individual differences can be specified without observing any behaviour by the person whereas personality cannot.

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Explain individual differences by using the main ideas from four main perspectives on personality25

Personality theories are also associated with individual difference. Discuss personality theories and indicate each theory’s contribution to the uniqueness of each person (individual differences). 15

Researchers in the field of psychology have developed a scientific approach for assessing personality differences. The scientific psychology is based on good theory, and on empirical or objective and reputable measurements which provide evidence that concepts are valid and reliable.

1. Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic theories (depth psychology)

Question: What are psychodynamic or psychoanalytic theories all about do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Differences according to external or covert factors (such as unconscious influences), and also biological factors have not much control.

Differences in the structures of personality (the id, ego, and superego) that drive behaviour and are unconscious.

People unaware of why they behave in certain ways. Emphasis on people's experience of conflicts because of internal biological drives, unconscious

motives, past events and the norms of society. Early childhood development more important. Personality is an integrated phenomenon that is unique to each person and stable over time

and situations.

Conclusion: These theories emphasise that much of what we consider as people’s personality and individual differences are things that the person has no control over.

2. Behaviouristic or learning theories

Question: What are behaviouristic or learning theories all about do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Personality is characterised by responses (behaviours), expectations and thoughts as learned (conditioned) and rewarded in the various types of environments in which humans function.

People reacting to stimuli (stimulus-response or S-R principle), while the S-O-R (stimulus-organism-response) principle assumes the person or organism can influence or self-regulate how they want to respond.

People's environments and circumstances are dominant influences on what they become and may even override basic natural or genetic potential.

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Personality develops because certain behaviours occur and are rewarded more often than others, and this can happen continuously over a person's lifespan.

Because of learning, personality not stable. Individual differences between people depend on how they have learnt and the type of

environmental influences.

Conclusion: These theories emphasise the influence of learning and environmental influences on personality and individual differences.

3. Humanistic, phenomenological and existential approaches

Question: What are humanistic, phenomenological and existential approaches all about do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Human personality and self-image are best understood by people's subjective existence in their world, and their unique experiences of reality and the pursuit of self-actualisation.

People strive to become fully functioning and to find meaning in life. People are recognised as active, unique and free to make choices, and are not necessarily

controlled by unconscious motives or environmental factors. Development of personality happens over a person's lifespan, and as a result of people's

universal and unique experiences. Personality is unique to every person, and the differences between people are made up of each

person's life experiences and how these have accumulated to form the self-concept. More subjective approaches to research and assessment. Have a major influence on individual and group counselling, consulting and therapy.

Conclusion: According to these theories people have the power to change whatever they want to change about their personality; it all depends on the choices that people make.

4. Theories on personality traits and types

Question: What are theories of personality traits and types all about do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Human behaviour is characterised by enduring and consistent patterns of behaviour described as dimensions, traits, factors and types.

Traits are viewed as neuropsychic structures inside a person's body and mind, which are formed by genetic and environmental influences.

Traits are only observable in behaviour Because people are genetically different they are also likely to behave differently. These genetic and environmental differences contribute to individual differences.

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Conclusion: According to the personality traits and types; personality and individual differences are determined by genetics and environmental differences.

5. Cognitive and social cognitive theories

Question: What are cognitive and social cognitive theories all about; do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

People are rational and thinking beings who form their own personality and destiny by using cognitive powers to create and change cognitive constructs, processes and schemas about reality.

People will act according to their acquired thinking or knowledge of the world, and personality will develop according to these self-created cognitive constructs.

Personality may not be that consistent because people's cognitive constructs are formed within a certain context and will change if old constructs are no longer valid.

Individual differences are self-made, if a person does not like who he/she is he/she can change his personality even thought this process might take time.

There will always be individual differences because people will have different constructs as a result of their ways of thinking, which are formed by their environments and their own inputs.

Conclusion: People are self-made and they continuously transform themselves through conscious decisions.

6. Biological and evolutionary perspectives

Question: What are biological and evolutionary perspectives all about; do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Behaviour is firstly determined or at least strongly influenced by genetic factors and biological processes.

These biological processes are the study of behavioural genetics, which is best illustrated by similarities and differences found in twin and adoption studies.

Certain sites in the brain are important for personality functioning (for example, the frontal lobes for foresight and anticipation, and other parts for aggression and emotions).

Certain hormones (for example, testosterone) are important for sociability positive emotions, aggression and sexuality while the neurotransmitter is functional in the regulation of, emotions.

Individual differences will exist because people have different temperaments that are acquired through heredity and social survival behaviours and strategies.

Personality is quite stable in people and over time because of genetic influence and the influence of people's need for social interaction.

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Conclusion:

7. Psychosocial theories

Question: What are psychosocial theories all about; do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Ego socially oriented and interpersonal theories (like the theories by Horney Fromm, Adler, Sullivan, Rogers and Leary) can be viewed as a separate approach to the study of personality.

Self is a core dimension of personality and personality development. They also highlight the dominant role of interpersonal and social factors, and the influence of

important other people in personality development. The importance of social behaviours or the social nature of personality is recognised in many

theoretical and practice areas, and is a criterion for effective human functioning in various life roles. Many personality measurement techniques include factors which relate to the social nature of personality and related concepts like self-concepts.

This approach is emphasises the cultural and cross-cultural psychological perspectives in individual differences.

People from different cultures can have different attitudes and values relating to work and other work related attributes.

Conclusion:

8. Occupationally oriented personality theories

Question: What are occupationally oriented personality theories all about; do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

The idea of person-environment fit is that for optimal occupational performance, employee characteristics should be congruent with the characteristics of the work environment.

An example of this is the theory of Holland, which makes a definite connection between six personality types and corresponding work environments.

The theory of Dawis and Lofquist describes career development and work adjustment as the efforts of both the individual and the organisation to achieve and maintain congruence between themselves.

The individual's work personality involves skills and needs which are determined by values and which will facilitate certain behaviours when interacting in the workplace.

The degree of congruence will determine the satisfaction of both the employee and the employer, which will be a factor in the individual's staying on in the organisation.

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Conclusion:

9. Asian and African perspectives

Question: What are Asian and African perspectives all about; do they contribute to the study of the uniqueness of each person?

Asian Less emphasis on the individual (and related concepts like ego or self, individuation,

independence, self-efficacy and autonomy). More emphasis is placed on the holistic nature of things: the individual as part of the

community the interconnectedness of creation, the interpersonal nature of personality the influence of, culture, society and family and spiritual values.

A person's identity is closely, related to his or her cultural identity. Personality formation is best acquired by knowledge of the soul gained through meditation and

experiences of the self. This emphasis is congruent with the more religious and metaphysical cultural traditions which

point to an emphasis on subjective experience (intuition) and direct experience.

African African psychology explains personality and personality development as purposeful behaviour;

a unitary or holistic concept of interdependent physical, mental and spiritual dimensions in harmony with the values of its history ecology nature, and the laws of life.

The basic natural ingredient of the human personality is spiritual, and from before birth a guiding spirit is developed and preserved through all other physical and mental experiences in interaction with nature.

Cultural experiences (for example, art expressions, rituals and symbols) are aimed at unifying possible opposing forces between individuals, society and the spiritual world.

Although spirituality and religion are obtained in many ways (such as visiting churches, traditional healers and priests, and through prayer), spirituality is strongly related to ancestors.

Conclusion:

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Analyse and explain the meanings of the concepts of temperament, character and self. 15

The concepts of temperament, character and the self are related to personality.

Character here has a more specific meaning, with the emphasis on a person's values and moral and ethical principles. Temperament or nature denotes a person's emotional orientation and has genetic, physiological or biological connotations (for example when we say ``he is moody overreacts or has a high tolerance for frustration and pain'').

Temperament may be more visible during childhood because adults are able to control their emotions better.

The ``self'' and related concepts like self-image, self-identity perceived self, and self-evaluation have a more personality-related connotation, as defined by various authors. In general, the self-denotes anything which people themselves, or through others, perceive as belonging to their sense of being a person and which describes the ``I'' ``me'' and ``mine'' The self may also refer to something that unifies various aspects of personality or which motivates or energises personality.

Conclusion: These are very important concepts in describing individual differences and they are also important in describing personality.

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Briefly discuss five applications in which individual differences are used 10

A union member opposes your use of individual differences or personality factors in your business. Defend your stance by referring to empirical findings or research on work-related classifications of personality variables and classifications. 15

You will know by now that the use of psychological tests to identify and apply individual differences in work practices, such as selection, is allowed only if they are non-discriminatory, and if the psychological tests are valid and reliable. With this knowledge in mind, state your agreement or disagreement with the following statement:

“It is fair discrimination to use genetic and acquired differences between people to allow people to acquire different things in the workplace and to develop their potential optimally” 15

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Explain the factors that may influence the development of personality and individual differences.25

It is generally accepted that personality is the result of both genetic and environmental factors – in some human attributes genetic or learning influences are more visible, in others they may be more covert. Both are important and may influence personality development in general, or have a greater or lesser influence in a specific domain. Rather than looking for ``statistics'' it is more important to create the conditions that supplement genetics and, the environment for human potential to develop optimally over a person's lifetime. Furthermore, the situation in which the individual finds himself or herself influences the effect that heredity and the environment have on personality. Contemporary research suggests that personality shows consistency in people and over time and situations, but also variability However, the relative consistency in personality enables us to assess and predict behaviour with some certainty.

1. Hereditary and biological factors

Question: Can hereditary and biological factors influence development of personality and individual differences?

The uniqueness of each person's many attributes and behaviours is directly related to genetic endowment, especially in physical traits, intellectual capabilities and emotional or temperamental traits.

Definite genetic influences are reported for elements such as activity level and emotions. Many physical and even psychological illnesses are genetically determined and passed down. Findings indicate general similarities in certain social and emotional behaviours due to genetic

influences. Behavioural uniqueness in certain people and similarities between generations are often

coupled with evolutionary and cultural ``genetics''.

Conclusion: It is clear from the above discussion that genetics and biological factors play a very important role in personality and individual differences.

2. Environmental influences

Question: Can environmental influences influence development of personality and individual differences?

Personality attributes and behaviours are acquired through multiple environmental influences of a physical, social or psychological nature.

People also learn in many ways, for example by conditioning or association, identification and imitation, or modelling other people and other examples.

Environmental influences are important in how genetic potential develops and affect psychological and social behaviours, as well as the values, attitudes and beliefs that characterise individuals and groups.

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One of the important functions of environmental influences is to socialise the developing person for adult responsibilities and roles such as marriage, family life and work.

(a) Family influences

People acquire some unique attributes from their family interactions. Some of the most destructive influences may also appear in the family context. A mother and to some extent the father provide provide the type of psychological and social

examples, models and rewards that will either enhance or inhibit healthy personality and career development.

Interactions with the immediate and extended family are the basis for the growing child's attachment behaviours, self-concept and identity development.

The parents' own behaviours and how they reward their children's behaviour will elicit certain types of behaviours.

The child's experience of family life will lay the groundwork for many roles, future relationships, gender identity and identity as a student, worker, parent and member of society.

Every child in a family may have different experiences of the same family interactions and of the external environment which, together with genetic differences, may also explain personality and behaviour differences.

(b) Social affiliations outside the family

Another powerful influence in some people's unique attributes and behaviours can come from important people outside the family such as peer groups and friends, who often serve as an extension of the family – a place where the child can explore and expand the perceptions of himself or herself and the world, and often also test the behaviours relevant in the family.

Harris asserts that experiences outside the home are really responsible for differences between family members.

Because of different values and attitudes, especially with regard to being responsible and independent, peer involvement may lay the basis for a culture of healthy competition, learning and work.

Faulty learning processes and negative influences, on the other hand, are also associated with disorganised personalities and behaviours in individuals and groups in which destructive attributes and behaviours may be used in maladjusted behaviours, which are often the basis for personal and work maladjustment or work dysfunctions.

(c) Cultural membership

Cultural membership provides the historical and immediate mega-environment which prescribes certain behaviours or creates opportunities.

The group to which a person belongs at a certain time in life may create a legacy of socio-economic status and other identities and roles, with related forms of behaviour that are not easy to change. Culture will in many ways determine how people think and feel, and what they do.

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Cultural adaptation, learning processes and respect for one another's cultural heritage are important between people in a multicultural society.

However, clinging unnecessarily to certain ways of doing things may be detrimental in certain contexts.

3. External factors

In any environment individuals are influenced by surrounding meso and macro-environments. In many of these environments many individuals have little personal control and influence. Some people, as children and as adults, could be traumatised for the rest of their lives;

attributes and behaviours will be visible in how they function in their various environments. Similarly external events caused by natural disasters like flooding, fire and earthquakes, may

also have traumatic and long-lasting effects on people's behaviour.

Conclusion: External factors therefore have a great influence on personality and individual differences even though we don’t have influence over many of them.

Conclusion: All these external factors have been proven to influence a person’s personality and individual differences between people.

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With examples, discuss at least three work specific trait classifications on personality. (10 marks – Oct 10 exam) (10 marks – Oct 07)

Work-specific trait classifications.

A special application, and also a difficult one, of correlational research on personality research in the work context is criterion research. This entails finding the work-related variables or attributes which have a positive and significant relationship with personality. This is necessary to predict work performance if certain personality measures are used as predictors. Researchers try to find clusters or taxonomies of work-related personality traits for specific situations and for general use, and even to describe organisational characteristics.

The Customer Service Orientation Inventory (CSI), is an example of a work-related personality traits measure which could be used universally. The dimensions in this questionnaire are sociable, communicative, courteous, positive body language, perceptive, responsive, tactful, cooperative, flexible, open, even-tempered, optimistic, accepting of authority externally rewarded, competent, and reliable. There is good evidence of criterion validity between customer service orientations and four criteria related to customer service, there is also a positive relationship between customer service orientation and personality factors such as emotional stability agreeableness and conscientiousness. Employees with good customer orientation are resilient, cautious, cooperative, adhere to strict standards of conduct, helpful, cool-headed, playful and thoughtful.

Another measure of work criterion clusters or taxonomies is the 18-factor model on managerial performance, which was reduced to four main factors. The four main factors are:

Interpersonal dealings and communication Leadership and supervision Technical activities and mechanics of management and Useful personal behaviour and skills.

Pro-social organisational behaviours and organisational citizenship behaviours in contrast to pure task behaviours. The former two refer to the extra supportive behaviours which are not always part of a job description, but which are essential in successful job performance. Some of these are

Volunteering to carry out task activities that are not formally a part of the job Showing extra enthusiasm or effort and, if necessary doing more than the expected, to

complete own and other tasks

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Cooperating and helping others Following organisational rules and policies even if it is personally inconvenient Supporting, defending and endorsing organisational objectives

A similar work-related trait application that received considerable attention is organisational trust and integrity by which a range of dishonest, illegal and counterproductive, attitudes and behaviours were assessed. These were found to correlate with measures of job performance and counterproductive behaviour.

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Explain what is meant by moderating factors which may influence the relationship between personality and work performance. 10

Each person's work performance is not a simple matter of ability but a combination of ability motivation and many other physical, cognitive, social and psychological influencing factors. Some of these influencing factors may have a more direct association or relationship, while others may have more indirect influences which are still confounding factors that influence the relationship between personality and work. So, for example, a very intelligent and competent person may perform poorly on a certain day because of emotional influences after having heard of his father's death.

Also important, though, is the fact that personal biographical or demographic factors can be powerful moderators in the relationship between personality factors and work behaviour/performance. Factors like age, gender, marital status, educational status, years of service and rural or urban origin have been found to make a difference in work performance in association with personality or other individual difference factors.

Gender and age might be the two factors most often used to indicate differences between people. Often in correlational research in a research group, no significant relationship can be found between, say intelligence and speed of learning, but when the, influence of age or gender is analysed, it becomes clear that for the moderator variable ``younger females'' in the group, there is a significant relationship between intelligence and speed of learning. In general, particularly with more equity in various life roles, the reported differences are not as big as was previously presumed. A lot of the early research findings did not allow for the fact that many other factors, apart from age and gender, also play a role in the formative and transitional stages of life.

Conclusion: Moderating factors therefore do have an influence on the relationship between personality and work performance.

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Explain how the concept of fair discrimination can be applied in terms of individual differences.15

Research has shown that people are different from each other in a number of ways; each person is unique. Identify and fully discuss types of individual difference factors. 15

People are different from each other in a number of ways the most important differences are as follows:

1. Cognitive abilities

People differ in terms of their cognitive and other abilities. What does and acquired potential ability mean?

Ability refers to an individual's capacity to perform the various tasks in his or her job. It is an assessment of what a person can or cannot do.

An individual's overall abilities are essentially made up of two sets of factors: intellectual and physical abilities.

Intellectual abilities are those abilities that are needed to perform mental activities, while physical abilities are those abilities required to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity strength and similar skills.

2. Personality traits

Certain enduring characteristics that describe a person's behaviour in countless situations are called personality traits.

The more consistent the characteristics and the more frequently they occur in diverse situations, the more important those traits are in describing the individual.

In an organisational context you will find that some individuals appear to be more conscientious, hardworking, confident, independent and dependable than others.

Other well-known trait concepts that have been researched extensively in a work context include stress-related traits or types (for example, type A behaviours), locus of control, authoritarianism, self-monitoring, self-esteem, introversion versus extroversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism.

Traits are stable over time. The business world has a strong belief in the power of traits to predict behaviour. Recent research stresses the predictive value of personality traits in predicting work

behaviours. In this research various trait models have been used, such as those by Eysenck, Cattell and the

more recent FFM.

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3. Orientations: interests, values and attitudes

These aspects are related to people's motivation and (combined with abilities, personality traits, skill and effort) are responsible for work performance.

3.1 Interests

Interests are specific action tendencies in personality inasmuch as they motivate people to pursue certain activities and jobs, for example to make certain career choices.

It is assumed that if interests combine with abilities and other job competencies, they may explain ``happiness'' in work more than anything else can.

3.2 Values

Although they do not have a direct impact on performance, values strongly influence a person's attitudes and behaviours.

Managers should be interested in their employees' attitudes because attitudes give warnings of potential problems, and because they influence behavior and work performance.

An employee's performance will likely be higher if his or her values fit in well with the organisation.

3.3 Attitudes

Attitudes reflect a person's beliefs about things, ideas and people to think, feel and act. They may involve intellectual, emotional and behavioural aspects, but may also be influenced

by situations. Work-related attitudes which have been the topic of many research studies are job satisfaction

and work commitment or involvement. These concepts relate to employee attitudes towards various personal and work-related issues

which contribute to people's feelings of happiness in their work and the desire to support organisational goals and to remain in the organisation.

An important concept which is often used in connection with attitude change is cognitive dissonance, which refers to possible imbalances in knowledge about things which, if corrected, may result in changed attitudes and, thus, changed behaviours.

Work motivation and job satisfaction are really determined by employee perceptions of work-related and organisational factors.

4. Emotions or affective states

A great deal of work-related research indicates the motivational value of emotional arousal and its strong influence on work.

A recent emphasis in psychology is on what is known as emotional intelligence (knowing your own emotions and managing them can contribute a great deal to your level of work

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performance). Emotional content is implied in many personality variables, for example in intellectual

functioning, personality traits, work motivation, job satisfaction and psychological adjustment.

Conclusion:

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The uniqueness or personality of each person is shaped by various internal and external determinants. With an aid of a diagram, discuss determinants of personality and individual differences. 10

P 38

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