flowchart TB M1[Maslow<br/>5 levels] --> A[Alderfer ERG<br/>3 levels, allows regression] H[Herzberg<br/>Hygiene + Motivators] -. complements .- M1 MC[McClelland<br/>nAch · nAff · nPow] -. complements .- M1 M1 -.->|content theories| P[Process theories] P --> V[Vroom<br/>Expectancy = E×I×V] P --> AD[Adams<br/>Equity] P --> L[Locke<br/>Goal-setting] style M1 fill:#E3F2FD,stroke:#1565C0 style P fill:#FFF3E0,stroke:#EF6C00
16 Individual Behaviour
16.1 Foundations of Individual Behaviour
Individual behaviour is the most fundamental level of organisational behaviour — every group decision, every team conflict, every cultural norm is ultimately mediated through individuals. Robbins’s framework lists four foundations: personality, perception, attitudes, and learning — to which the literature adds values and motivation (robbinsjudge2018?; luthans2011?).
TipSix Building Blocks of Individual Behaviour
| Building block | What it asks |
|---|---|
| Personality | What stable traits does the person bring? |
| Perception | How does the person see the world? |
| Attitudes | What evaluative stances does the person hold? |
| Values | What does the person believe is right or important? |
| Learning | How does behaviour change with experience? |
| Motivation | What energises and directs behaviour? |
16.2 Personality
Personality is the enduring pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that distinguishes one person from another. Gordon Allport’s working definition: “the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment” (allport1937?).
16.2.1 The Big Five (OCEAN)
The dominant trait theory in modern psychology and OB is the Big Five — also called the Five-Factor Model — popularised by Costa and McCrae (costamccrae1992?).
TipThe Big Five — OCEAN
| Trait | High end | Low end | Workplace correlate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Openness to experience | Curious, imaginative | Conventional, routine-loving | Predicts learning, creativity |
| Conscientiousness | Organised, dependable | Careless, impulsive | Strongest predictor of job performance |
| Extraversion | Outgoing, assertive | Reserved, quiet | Predicts performance in sales, leadership |
| Agreeableness | Cooperative, trusting | Competitive, suspicious | Predicts teamwork, customer service |
| Neuroticism (Emotional stability) | Calm, secure (low N) | Anxious, moody (high N) | Predicts job satisfaction, stress tolerance |
The mnemonic is OCEAN. Conscientiousness is the single trait that consistently predicts job performance across occupations.
16.2.2 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Based on Carl Jung’s typology, MBTI sorts people into one of 16 personality types using four dichotomies — Extraversion/Introversion (E/I), Sensing/Intuition (S/N), Thinking/Feeling (T/F), Judging/Perceiving (J/P). The instrument is enormously popular in HR practice; psychologists are sceptical because the dichotomies do not map well onto continuous trait dimensions.
16.2.3 Other personality variables relevant to OB
TipSix Other Personality Variables
| Variable | What it measures | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Locus of control | Internal vs external — do I or external forces control my outcomes? | Rotter (1966) |
| Self-efficacy | Belief that I can perform a task | Bandura (1977) |
| Self-monitoring | Adjusting behaviour to fit the situation | Snyder (1974) |
| Type A / Type B | Hard-driving and impatient vs relaxed | Friedman & Rosenman |
| Machiavellianism | Manipulative, pragmatic | Christie & Geis |
| Risk-taking propensity | Willingness to bear uncertainty | Various |
16.3 Perception
Perception is the process by which individuals organise and interpret sensory impressions to give meaning to their environment. It matters because people act on their perceptions, not on objective reality (robbinsjudge2018?).
16.3.1 Factors influencing perception
TipThree Sources of Perceptual Variation (Robbins)
| Source | Examples |
|---|---|
| The perceiver | Attitudes, motives, interests, experience, expectations |
| The target | Novelty, motion, sounds, size, background, proximity, similarity |
| The situation | Time of day, work setting, social context |
16.3.2 Common perceptual errors / shortcuts
TipSix Common Perceptual Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stereotyping | Judging on group membership | “Engineers can’t write” |
| Halo effect | A single positive trait colours overall judgment | A confident speaker rated high on competence |
| Horns effect | A single negative trait dominates | One missed deadline → “unreliable” |
| Selective perception | Seeing what confirms our beliefs | Manager spots only mistakes of a disliked subordinate |
| Contrast effect | Comparing the target to a recent reference | Average candidate looks brilliant after a weak one |
| Projection | Attributing one’s own traits to others | “I’m honest, so they must be too” |
16.3.3 Attribution theory
Harold Kelley’s attribution theory explains how we judge whether a person’s behaviour is internally or externally caused (kelley1967?). We rely on three cues:
TipKelley’s Three Cues
| Cue | Question | High value points to |
|---|---|---|
| Distinctiveness | Does the person behave this way only in this situation? | High → external |
| Consensus | Do most people behave this way in this situation? | High → external |
| Consistency | Does the person behave this way over time? | High → internal |
A famous bias: the fundamental attribution error — we tend to over-attribute others’ behaviour to internal traits and under-attribute it to situations.
16.4 Attitudes
An attitude is an evaluative statement, favourable or unfavourable, about objects, people, or events. Attitudes have three components — the ABC model:
TipABC Components of an Attitude
| Component | Content | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affective | Emotional / feeling | “I dislike my supervisor” |
| Behavioural | Intention to act | “I plan to quit” |
| Cognitive | Belief / opinion | “My supervisor played favourites” |
16.4.2 Cognitive dissonance
Leon Festinger’s theory (1957): when behaviour and attitude conflict — or two attitudes conflict — the discomfort (dissonance) drives the person to change one of them (festinger1957?). The classic study had subjects do a boring task and then describe it as enjoyable to a peer for either $1 or $20; those paid $1 reported the task as more enjoyable, because they needed an internal justification.
16.5 Values
Values are broad preferences about appropriate courses of action or outcomes — what is right, important, desirable. They form the bedrock of attitudes and motivation.
16.5.1 Rokeach Value Survey
Milton Rokeach distinguished two kinds of values (rokeach1973?):
- Terminal values — desirable end-states: a comfortable life, equality, freedom, family security.
- Instrumental values — preferred means / behaviours to reach those ends: ambition, honesty, courage, helpfulness.
16.5.2 Hofstede’s cross-cultural value dimensions
Geert Hofstede’s IBM study covered 50+ countries and yielded six cultural dimensions (hofstede2001?):
TipHofstede’s Six Cultural Dimensions
| Dimension | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Power Distance | Acceptance of unequal distribution of power |
| Individualism vs Collectivism | Self vs group focus |
| Masculinity vs Femininity | Achievement & competition vs relationships & quality of life |
| Uncertainty Avoidance | Tolerance for ambiguity |
| Long-term vs Short-term Orientation | Future vs present focus (Confucian dynamism) |
| Indulgence vs Restraint | Gratification of natural human drives |
India scores high on power distance and collectivism, moderate on uncertainty avoidance, and high on long-term orientation.
16.6 Learning
Learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience. Three theories dominate.
TipThree Theories of Learning
| Theory | Originator | Core idea | Workplace example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical conditioning | Ivan Pavlov | Pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned one yields a conditioned response | Anxiety on entering the boss’s office |
| Operant conditioning | B.F. Skinner | Behaviour is shaped by its consequences — reinforcement and punishment | Performance bonus for higher output |
| Social-cognitive learning | Albert Bandura | We learn by observing others, not only by direct experience | New employee imitates a senior colleague |
16.6.1 Reinforcement schedules (Skinner)
TipFour Reinforcement Schedules
| Schedule | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed interval | Reinforce after a set time | Monthly salary |
| Variable interval | Reinforce after a varying time | Praise from a passing supervisor |
| Fixed ratio | Reinforce after a set number of responses | Piece-rate after every 100 units |
| Variable ratio | Reinforce after a varying number of responses | Sales commission per closed deal |
Variable-ratio schedules produce the highest and most persistent effort.
16.7 Motivation
Motivation is the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (robbinsjudge2018?).
16.7.1 Content theories — what motivates?
TipFour Content Theories of Motivation
| Theory | Originator | Core idea |
|---|---|---|
| Hierarchy of needs | Abraham Maslow (1943) | Five-step pyramid: physiological → safety → social → esteem → self-actualisation. A satisfied need is no longer a motivator. |
| ERG theory | Clayton Alderfer (1969) | Compresses Maslow into Existence, Relatedness, Growth; allows regression |
| Two-factor theory | Frederick Herzberg (1959) | Hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction; motivators (achievement, recognition, responsibility) drive satisfaction |
| Acquired needs | David McClelland (1961) | Three learned needs: Achievement (nAch), Affiliation (nAff), Power (nPow) |
16.7.2 Process theories — how does motivation work?
TipThree Process Theories
| Theory | Originator | Core idea |
|---|---|---|
| Expectancy theory | Victor Vroom (1964) | Motivation = Expectancy × Instrumentality × Valence |
| Equity theory | J. Stacy Adams (1965) | People compare their input/outcome ratio with others; inequity drives behaviour to restore balance |
| Goal-setting theory | Edwin Locke (1968) | Specific, difficult goals (with feedback and commitment) lead to higher performance — anchor of MBO and SMART |
16.8 Practice Questions
Q 01
Big Five
Easy
Which Big Five trait is the strongest single predictor of job performance across occupations?
View solution
Correct Option: B
Conscientiousness consistently predicts performance across nearly every job category. Mnemonic: OCEAN.
Q 02
Cognitive Dissonance
Medium
The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Leon Festinger (1957) — when behaviour and attitude conflict, the discomfort drives the person to change one of them.
Q 03
Maslow
Easy
In Maslow's hierarchy, the highest need is:
View solution
Correct Option: C
Order: Physiological → Safety → Social → Esteem → Self-actualisation.
Q 04
Herzberg
Medium
According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, salary is best classified as:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Pay, working conditions, supervision, company policy are hygiene factors — their absence causes dissatisfaction; their presence does not motivate. Motivators are achievement, recognition, responsibility, growth.
Q 05
Vroom
Medium
Vroom's expectancy theory states that motivation is the product of:
View solution
Correct Option: C
M = E × I × V. Expectancy (effort → performance), Instrumentality (performance → outcome), Valence (value of the outcome).
Q 06
Reinforcement
Medium
A sales commission paid for every closed deal is an example of which reinforcement schedule?
View solution
Correct Option: D
Each closed deal is a "response" but not every prospect closes — the number of responses required varies. Variable ratio schedules produce the highest and most persistent effort.
Q 07
Perception
Easy
A manager rates a confident speaker high on all competencies after observing only one presentation. This perceptual error is:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Halo effect — one positive trait colours overall judgment. Horns is the negative counterpart.
Q 08
McClelland
Easy
Which of the following is not one of McClelland's three needs?
View solution
Correct Option: D
McClelland's three are nAch, nAff, nPow. Security belongs to Maslow's hierarchy.
ImportantQuick recall
- Six building blocks: personality, perception, attitudes, values, learning, motivation.
- Big Five (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness (best predictor), Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism. Other key variables: locus of control (Rotter), self-efficacy (Bandura), self-monitoring (Snyder).
- ABC of attitudes: Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive. Cognitive dissonance — Festinger (1957).
- Perceptual shortcuts: stereotyping, halo, horns, selective perception, contrast, projection. Fundamental attribution error: over-attribute to traits, under-attribute to situations.
- Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions: PDI · IDV · MAS · UAI · LTO · IND. India: high PDI, collectivist, long-term oriented.
- Three learning theories: classical (Pavlov), operant (Skinner), social (Bandura). Schedules: FI, VI, FR, VR (highest).
- Content motivation: Maslow (5 needs), Alderfer ERG (3, with regression), Herzberg (hygiene + motivators), McClelland (nAch, nAff, nPow).
- Process motivation: Vroom (E × I × V), Adams (equity), Locke (goal-setting / SMART).