Chapter 3

Individual differences– and emotions at work

Differential Psychology• Intelligence, ability, emotional adjustment, values,

creativity … personality• The study of individual differences are crucial for all

areas of psychology, but very important for work psychologists as for their importance in selection, recruitment, development, training..

• Individual differences have many effects on us– the way we encode information, perceive others– emotional reactions, the style of thinking, what skills and

abilities we acquire – the manner in which we can work with others

• Trait researchers showed certain individual characteristics (traits) correlated significantly with particular behaviors

• Research in differential psychology helps us to predict – how someone might behave in the future– how likely it is to have common interests, goals

and values with other group members– what type of temperament someone might have– how likely it is a person fits into an organization!

• data collected on different characteristics of a population is referred to as demographics

• Needed to be able to know which part of the research findings apply to the group at hand.

Individual differences in demographics

Table 3.1 Two main approaches to measuring individual differences

e.g., age, background, education, experience

Why organizations study individual differences?

• A nomothetic study of individual differences is actually «mission impossible», because by definition a study of individual differences must be ideographic, not related to the norm group.

• Clearly this approach is not possible for the organizations, which need a practical and group related measure to assess large groups of people.

• To benefit from this information, organizations needs to translate this across groups and be able to make assumptions about people, particularly when selecting for various roles.

• To truly understand people, it is necessary to study their unique qualities, which is time consuming and only useful in relation to individual. Thus, work psychologist are necessary.

Individual differences in intelligence• A major difference among people; a matter of heated

debate: race, heredity, upbringing?

• Capacity of people use to judge well, understand, differentiate and make decisions to deal effectively with environment.

• Yet, high IQ score does not guarantee success in the work place

• Lack of basic common sense could be disastrous or medium IQ coupled with excellent interpersonal skills might serve better the individual.

Figure 3.3 Normal distribution of IQ scores

Measuring• Best known test Intelligence Quotient developed to

screen soldiers during the WWs.

Intelligence at work

• Organizations want to make sure that an employee brings a certain cognitive performance to work.

• «Intelligence is needed … not too much, but enough to do the job.»

• In fact, too much intelligence might even be counterproductive.

• Cognitive ability tests -such as IQ- is one of the better predictors of learning on the job.

One or many?

• Some argue that there are several intelligences– bodily – kinesthetic (sports and dance)– intrapersonal (self-awareness)– interpersonal (relating to others)– visual – spatial (vision, distance and spatial judgment)– verbal linguistic (written and spoken fluency)– logical-mathematical (reasoning, numerical ability)– music (rhythm and sensitivity to music)

• Emotional Quotient EI

For Selection: Emotional Intelligence• A person’s ability to:

– Be self-aware, i.e. recognizing own emotions– Detecting emotions in others and developing empathy– Relationship building skills– Managing emotional cues and information: communication

• EI plays an important role in job performance

• EI is controversial and not wholly accepted– Case for EI: Intuitive appeal; predicts criteria that matter; is mostly

inborn, but can be improved with learning.– Case against EI: Too vague a concept; can’t be measured reliably;

its validity is suspect.

Table 3.3 Links between emotional intelligence and workplace competenciesSource: adapted from Armstrong (2003)

Emotional Experience

• Emotion: a subjective experience that –generally- leads to a response.

• Interpretations of inner states; a subjective feeling elicited by stimuli that have high significance to an individual

• Moods?• Emotions: briefer and more targeted than

moods

Table 3.2 A table of basic emotions Source: Mansi (2011)

Which emotions are basic?

Brain-Based Theory of Emotions

• Amygdala– evaluate the significance of

stimuli and generate emotional responses

– generate hormonal secretions and autonomic reactions that accompany strong emotions

– damage causes the inability to recognize fear in facial expressions and voice

An emotion is defined in terms of 4 components:

• Expressive Reactions: Gestures and facial expressions – smiling or crying.

• Physiological Arousal: Changes in heart rate or breathing, etc.

• Conscious Experiences: Feelings and thoughts – happiness or fear.

• Cognitive Appraisal: You interpret some stimulus in terms of your well-being.

Functions of Emotion

• Help set up the body for reaction to threat/danger: “fight or flight” reaction and the accompanying emotion of fear

• Help recover from stress

• Aid in marking important memories

• Signal social intent/connection

Emotions and Moods: + and - Affect• Emotions cannot be neutral.• Emotions and moods affect perception and perceived reality;

thereby can impact the work of employees.

Employees expend mental and physical labor at work.

Question ??Have you ever faked an emotion?

Ex. Waiter/ress, flight attendants, doctors..The term developed in relation to service jobs but not limited to them. It is related to almost all jobs.

Emotional LaborAn employee’s expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work.

• Types of Emotions:– Felt: the individual’s actual emotions– Displayed: required or appropriate emotions

• Surface Acting: displaying appropriately but not feeling those emotions internally

• Deep Acting: changing internal feelings to match display rules - very stressful

• If not carefully monitored, emotional inconsistency could lead to burnout and frustration with the job.

• Interpersonal Conflict– Conflict in the workplace and individual emotions are strongly

intertwined.

• Deviant Workplace Behaviors– Negative emotions lead to employee deviance (actions that

violate norms and threaten the organization).• Productivity failures• Property theft and destruction• Political actions• Personal aggression

Some negative effects of emotions include

Emotion in the Workplace

Source: Based on N.M. Ashkanasy and C.S. Daus, “Emotion in the Workplace: The New Challenge for Managers,” Academy of Management Executive, February 2002, p. 77.

Individual differences in creativity• Most interesting, but least understood of the individual

differences

• A sought after trait and often regarded as a particular cognitive style or a gift. High link with openness to experience

• Some researchers argue that everyone possesses it and can be developed given the right environment, support and encouragement.

• Others suggest a combination (e.g., Genes, Assistance in Youth and Misfortune [GAM] Theory)

• It is not the level of intelligence, but the way of thinking: divergent thinking, non-conforming, risk taking..

• Creative people are often fascinating individuals but can be extremely hard to manage. What issues would an organization need to consider when working with creative individuals?

Traits of creative personalities•intense curiosity•informality•high self-esteem•high need for autonomy•self-discipline and control•openness to change•confidence•non-conformist, rebel, rule breaker•multi-talented, single-minded•dislike of rules•low conscientiousness

• formed during upbringing and shaped by cultural influences

• family, friends, colleagues, religious beliefs

• shapes our judgments and behavior

• Attitude: a predisposition -developed with experience- to act in a certain way

Individual differences in values

Do values and attitudes predict behavior?

• Consistent in some cases (voting records)

• Inconsistent in others (La Piere’s 1934 study regarding discrimination with respect to Chinese-Americans) –> a gap between attitudes and behavior

• Even if not expressed, situational factors may force people to comply with social norms

• Strength of value/attitude; specificity– small changes in these two variables may result in big

differences in observed behavior

Various factors affect conflict between values, attitudes, and behavior

• Being in a situation which confirm them, values are stronger predictors

• When time is short, people tend to resort to long held beliefs, and act accordingly

• The strength of attitude and impact on behavior– value relevance to the situation– societal identification with others– self-interest

• No cause-and-effect relatıonshıp btw attıtudes and behavıors.

• Attitudes are not the only influence on behavıors.

• Other influences: context, subject, credibility of the persuader, already known information, already possessed conflicting informatıon, mood, external or internal supplies.