Personality & Learning

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

Relatively stable set of psychological characteristics that influences the way an individual interacts with their environment and how they feel, think, and behave
Susceptible to change through adult learning experiences
Personality predicts things (important to know about)

Question 2

Attribution

Answer 2

Process by which we assign causes or motives to explain people’s behaviour
Dispositional & situational

Question 3

Interactionist approach/interactionism

Answer 3

Organizational behaviour is a function of dispositions and the situation
Most widely accepted theory today
Personality has most impact in weak situations (not clear how a person should behave)
Personality has less impact in strong situations (clear expectations about expected behaviour)

Question 4

Trait Activation Theory

Answer 4

Personality traits lead to certain behaviours only when the situation makes the need for that trait salient
Fit: put the right person in the right job

Question 5

Basic Model

Answer 5

Person/personality leads to thinking/feeling a certain way, leading to behaviour/performance
Dispositional approach
Can look at the person, the environment, or the interaction between them in producing behaviour

Question 6

Trait

Answer 6

Person, individual difference, personality

Question 7

Stage (situation)

Answer 7

Environment, situation

Question 8

Trait X State

Answer 8

Person (P) x environment (E)

Question 9

Five Factor Model of Personality

Answer 9

CANOE (conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism/emotional stability, openness to experience, extraversion)
Efficient
Culturally robust
Heritability and stability
Factor analysis

Question 10

Locus of Control

Answer 10

Individuals’ beliefs about the location of the factors that control their behaviour
High internals: opportunity to control their own behaviour resides within themselves
High externals: believe that external forces determine their behaviour

Question 11

Self Esteem

Answer 11

Degree to which a person has a positive self evaluation
High: favourable self images
Low: unfavourable self images, uncertain about the correctness of their opinions, attitudes, and behaviours

Question 12

Behavioural Plasticity Theory

Answer 12

People with LSE are more susceptible to external and social influences than those who have HSE
LSE people are more pliable
LSE people seek approval from others, do not react well to ambiguous situations

Question 13

Positive Affectivity

Answer 13

Experience positive emotions and moods like joy and excitement and view the world in a positive light
Cheerful, enthusiastic, lively, sociable, energetic

Question 14

Negative Affectivity

Answer 14

Experience negative emotions and moods like fear and anxiety and view the world in a negative light
Overall negative view of themselves and the world
Tend to be distressed, depressed, unhappy

Question 15

Proactive Behaviour

Answer 15

Taking initiative to improve one’s current circumstances or creating new ones

Question 16

Proactive Personality

Answer 16

Unconstrained by situational forces and act to change and influence their environment
Stable personal disposition
Persevere until they bring about meaningful change
Related to positive job outcomes

Question 17

General Self Efficacy (GSE)

Answer 17

Individual’s belief in their ability to perform successfully in a variety of challenging situations
Motivational trait because reflects people’s belief of success not how they feel about themselves
Develops over lifetime
Experiencing many successes = high GSE and vice versa

Question 18

Core Self Evaluations (CSE)

Answer 18

Multidimensional trait and broad personality concept that consists of several more specific traits
Individuals hold evaluations about themselves and their self worth or worthiness, competence, and capability
Made up of four traits: self esteem, general efficacy, locus of control, neuroticism (emotional stability)

Question 19

Learning

Answer 19

When practice or experience leads to relatively permanent change in behaviour potential
Rules out viewing behavioural changes caused by factors like drug intake or biological maturation as learning

Question 20

Practical Skills

Answer 20

Job specific skills, knowledge, and technical competence

Question 21

Intrapersonal Skills

Answer 21

Problem solving, critical thinking, learning about alternative work processes, risk taking

Question 22

Interpersonal Skills

Answer 22

Interactive skills such as communicating, teamwork, conflict resolution

Question 23

Cultural Awareness

Answer 23

Learning the social norms of organizations and understanding company goals, business operations, and company expectations and priorities

Question 24

Operant Learning

Answer 24

Subject learns to operate on the environment to achieve certain consequences
B F Skinner
Behaviour is controlled by the consequences that follow it

Question 25

Reinforcement

Answer 25

Stimuli strengthen behaviours Reinforcer: stimulus that follows some behaviour and increases or maintains the probability of that behaviour E.g. sales commission is reinforcer for sales people

Question 26

Positive Reinforcement

Answer 26

Increases or maintains probability of some behaviour by the application or addition of a stimulus to the situation E.g. food, praise, money, success

Question 27

Negative Reinforcement

Answer 27

Increases or maintains the probability of a behaviour by removing a stimulus from the situation Also occurs when a response prevents an event or stimulus from occurring Negative reinforcer: removed or prevented stimulus E.g. nagging

Question 28

Extinction

Answer 28

Terminating reinforcement maintaining an unwanted behaviour Without reinforcement a behaviour will dissipate over time

Question 29

Punishment

Answer 29

Following an unwanted behaviour with some unpleasant, aversive stimulus Nasty stimulus applied after a certain behaviour, decreasing the probability of it occurring later E.g. criticism

Question 30

Increasing Effect of Punishment

Answer 30

Chosen punishment is aversive Punish immediately Do not reward unwanted behaviour Do not inadvertently punish desired behaviour

Question 31

Triadic Reciprocal Causation

Answer 31

Personal factors and environmental factors work together and interact to influence people’s behaviour People’s behaviour also influences the environment and personal factors

Question 32

Social Cognitive Theory

Answer 32

Emphasizes the role of cognitive processes in regulating behaviour People learn by observing behaviour of others Manage our own behaviour by thinking about consequences of actions, setting performance goals, monitoring performance and comparing to goals, and rewarding themselves for goal accomplishment

Question 33

Observational Learning

Answer 33

Process of observing and imitating the behaviour of others Learning occurs by observing or imagining behaviour of others (not through direct personal experience) See the consequence of behaviour for others

Question 34

Self Efficacy Beliefs

Answer 34

Beliefs people have in their ability to successfully perform a task Task specific cognitive appraisal of one’s ability to perform a task Can have different efficacy beliefs for different tasks Can be changed and modified in response to sources of info

Question 35

Self Regulation

Answer 35

Employees use learning principles to manage their own behaviour Observing own behaviour, comparing behaviour with the standard, rewarding oneself if behaviour meets the standard

Question 36

Discrepancy Reduction

Answer 36

When discrepancy exists between goals and performance individuals are motivated to modify behaviour in pursuit of goal attainment

Question 37

Discrepancy Production

Answer 37

When goals are attained, they set even higher goals

Question 38

Organizational Behaviour Modification (OB mod)

Answer 38

Systematic use of learning principles to influence organizational behaviour

Question 39

Employee Recognition Programs

Answer 39

Formal organizational programs that publicly recognize and reward employees for specific behaviours

Question 40

Effective Recognition

Answer 40

How a person will be recognized Type of behaviour being encouraged Manner of the public acknowledgement Token or icon of the event for the recipient

Question 41

Peer Recognition Programs

Answer 41

Formal programs in which employees can publicly acknowledge, recognize, and reward their coworkers work and performance

Question 42

Training

Answer 42

Planned organizational activities designed to facilitate knowledge and skill acquisition to change behaviour and improve performance Development focuses on future job responsibilities

Question 43

Behaviour Modelling Training (BMT)

Answer 43

Training method in which trainees observe a model performing a task followed by opportunities to practice the behaviours

Question 44

Task Performance

Answer 44

Behaviours involved in the transformation of organizational resources into goods and services (e.g. job ad)

Question 45

Organizational Citizenship Behaviour

Answer 45

Voluntary employee activities that may or may not be rewarded, but contribute to the organization by improving the quality of the setting