Chapter 11: Managing Individual Differences and Behavior Flashcards
Personality
The stable psychological traits and behavioral attributes that give a person his or her identity
Big Five personality dimensions
They are (1) extroversion, (2) agreeableness, (3) conscientiousness, (4) emotional stability, and (5) openness to experience
Core self-evaluation (CSE)
Represents a broad personality trait comprising four positive individual traits: (1) self-efficacy, (2) self-esteem, (3) locus of control, and (4) emotional stability
Self-efficacy
Belief in one’s personal ability to do a task
Generalized self-efficacy
Represents the belief in one’s general ability to perform across different situations
Learned helplessness
The debilitating lack of faith in your ability to control your environment
Self-esteem
Self-respect; the extent to which people like or dislike themselves
Locus of control
Measure of how much people believe they control their fate through their own efforts
Emotional stability
Is the extent to which people feel secure and unworried and how likely they are to experience negative emotions under pressure
Emotional intelligence
The ability to cope, to empathize with others, and to be self-motivated
Organizational behavior (OB)
Behavior that is dedicated to better understanding and managing people at work
Values
Abstract ideals that guide one’s thinking and behavior across all situations; the relatively permanent and deeply held underlying beliefs and attitudes that help determine a person’s behavior
Attitudes
Learned predisposition toward a given object
Affective component of an attitude
The feelings or emotions one has about a situation
Cognitive component of an attitude
The beliefs and knowledge one has about a situation
Behavioral component of an attitude
Also known as intentional component, this refers to how one intends or expects to behave toward a situation
Cognitive dissonance
Psychological discomfort a person experiences between his or her cognitive attitude and incomparable behavior
Behavior
Actions and judgments
Perception
Awareness; interpreting and understanding one’s environment
Stereotyping
The tendency to attribute to an individual the characteristics one believes are typical of the group to which that individual belongs
Explicit bias
Refers to the attitudes or beliefs that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in a conscious manner
Implicit bias
Is the attitudes or beliefs that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner
Halo effect
An effect in which we form a positive impression of an individual based on a single trait
Recency effect
The tendency of people to remember recent information better than earlier information
Causal attribution
The activity of inferring causes for observed behavior
Fundamental attribution bias
Tendency whereby people attribute another person’s behavior to his or her personal characteristics rather than to situational factors
Self-serving bias
The attributional tendency to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Also known as the Pygmalion effect; the phenomenon in which people’s expectations of themselves or others leads them to behave in ways that make those expectations come true
Employee engagement
A mental state in which a person performing a work activity is full immersed in the activity, feeling full of energy and enthusiasm for the work
Stressors
Environmental characteristics that cause stress
Job satisfaction
The extent to which one feels positive or negative about various aspects of one’s work
Organizational commitment
Behavior that reflects the extent to which an employee identifies with an organization and is committed to its goals
Prosocial behavior (PSB)
Voluntary behavior intended to benefit another, such as helping, donating, sharing, and comforting
Prosocial motivation (PSM)
The desire to promote the well-being of others
Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)
Employee behaviors that are not directly part of employees’ job descriptions—that exceed their work-role requirements—such as constructive statements about the department
Counterproductive work behavior (CWB)
Type of behavior that harms employees and the organization as a whole
Diversity
All the ways people are unlike and alike—the differences and similarities in age, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, capabilities, and socioeconomic background. See also Cultural differences
Internal dimensions of diversity
Differences that exert a powerful, sustained effect throughout every stage of people’s lives
External dimensions of diversity
Human differences that include an element of choice; they consist of the personal characteristics that people acquire, discard, or modify throughout their lives
Glass ceiling
The metaphor for an invisible barrier preventing women and minorities from being promoted to top executive jobs
Tokenism
Practice of doing something symbolic to prevent criticism and give the appearance that people are being treated fairly
Transgender
A term for people whose sense of their gender differs from what is expected based on the sex characteristics with which they are born. See also LGBTQ
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Act that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities
Underemployed
Working at a job that requires less education than one has
Ethnocentrism
The belief that one’s native country, culture, language, abilities, and/or behavior are superior to those of another culture
Diversity climate
Represents employees’ perceptions about the extent to which an organization supports diversity
Psychological safety
Reflects the extent to which people feel free to express their ideas and beliefs without fear of negative consequences
Stress
The tension people feel when they are facing or enduring extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities and are uncertain about their ability to handle them effectively
Burnout
State of emotional, mental, and even physical exhaustion
Type A behavior pattern
Behavior describing people involved in a chronic, determined struggle to accomplish more in less time
Roles
Sets of behaviors that people expect of occupants of a position
Work-family conflict
Occurs when the demands or pressures from work and family domains are mutually incompatible
Buffers
Administrative changes that managers can make to reduce the stressors that lead to employee burnout
Employee assistance programs (EAPs)
Host of programs aimed at helping employees to cope with stress, burnout, substance abuse, health-related problems, family and marital issues, and any general problems that negatively influence job performance
Holistic wellness program
Program that focuses on self-responsibility, nutritional awareness, relaxation techniques, physical fitness, and environmental awareness
