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~~ Variables influencing individual behavior:

The person: (person is a collection of traits)

1) Skills and abilities2) Personality3) Perception4) Attribution5) Attitudes6) Values7) Ethics

The environment: (depending on the environment, there are some patterns of behaviors which are

acceptable but in other environment the same pattern of behaviors are not acceptable)

1) Organization2) Work group3) Job: your role in the organization4) Personal life

~~ Variables influencing individual behavior:

Behavior = the interaction between the person and the environment

~~ Interaction psychology approach:

The equation: B=f (P, E) this means that the behavior will differ according to any change either in the

person or in the environment

~~ Definition of personality:

A relatively stable set of characteristics that influence an individuals behavior

~~ Personality theories:

1) Trait theory: understand individuals by breaking down the behavior patterns into observabletraits, they are the external observable traits

Example: tall or short, fat or slim, the color of skin or hair, your voice, the way you speak

2) Psychodynamic theory: emphasizes the unconscious determinants of behavior, a theory whichrely on fraud theory in psychology which is the understanding of behaviors depending on his

explanation of what is behind the unconsciousness that would determine the behaviors

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3) Humanistic theory: emphasizes individual growth and improvement, depends on which stageyoure passing through, child or adolescent or young or adult or older, depending on the age the

behaviors differ

4) Integrative approach: describes personality as a composite of an individuals psychologicalprocesses, sequence of activities related to each other any person should go through

~~ Big five personality traits:

1) Extraversion: to what extent youre capable to adapt to the surrounding environment,gregarious, assertive, sociable traits

2) Agreeableness: cooperative, warm, agreeable traits3) Conscientiousness: hardworking, organized, dependable traits4) Emotional stability: calm, self-confident, cool5) Openness to experience: creative, curious, cultured

~~ Personality characteristics in organizations:

A) Locus of control:1) Internal locus of control: I control what happens to me, those who are thinking from the inside

control their behavior based on their own internal experience and interest

2) External locus of control: people and circumstances control your behavior, meaning that theirenvironment, some higher power, or other people control their decisions and their behavior,(ex: when parents tell their kids to do what and not to do what)

EXAMPLE: if you are driving a car and found a red sign and no officer if you stop by yourself then your

behavior came from your internal without any external factors controlled you, but if you dont care

about the red sign and you stopped your car because you saw an officer then your behavior was

affected by external factor

B) Self-Esteem: the feeling of self-worth, success tends to increase self-esteem, failure tends todecrease self-esteem

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C) Self-monitoring:1) High self-monitoring: - flexible: adjust behavior according to the situation and the behavior

of others, - can appear unpredictable and inconsistent

2) Low self-monitors: - act from internal states rather than from situational cues, - showconsistency, - less likely to respond to work group norms or supervisory feedback

D) some people might look at things positively and some other people might look at the samethings negatively, this is based on their previous experience

Positive affect: an individuals tendency to accentuate the positive aspects of oneself, other

people, and the world in general

Negative affect: an individuals tendency to accentuate the negative aspects of oneself, other

people, and the world in general