What is “personality”
A set of psychological characteristics that affects how an individual thinks, feels, and interacts with their environment
What is the “dispositional approach”
Theory that speculates an individual’s personality plays a key role in their success in the workplace
What is the “situational approach”
Theory that speculates employee performance is driven by environmental factors in the workplace
What is the “interactionist aproach”
Theory that speculates an individual’s behaviors, attitudes, and performance is the result of a combination of disposition and situation (personality and environment)
What is “trait activation theory”
An important implication of the interactionist approach, states that personality leads to certain behaviors only when the task at hand requires said behaviors
What are strong vs weak situations
Strong: Clear, defined expectations for behavior
Weak: Ambiguous, no defined expectations on how to act
What are the big 5 personality traits
OCEAN: Openness to experiences, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism
Define “locus of control”
A person’s beliefs about whether or not their lives are dictated by internal or external factors
What does an “internal locus of control” mean
The belief that you are in control of your own fate
What does an “external locus of control” mean
A belief that your life is decided by fate, and is not in your control
What is “self-monitoring”
The extent to which a person changes how they look and act depending on their environment and surroundings
What is “self-esteem”
The degree to which a person has a positive opinion on themselves
What is “behavioral plasticity theory”
A theory that states a person with low self-esteem is more influenced by external social movements than people with higher self-esteem
What is positive vs negative affectivity
Positive affectivity: Person’s tendency to view the world, themselves, and other people through a positive lens
Negative affectivity: Person’s tendency to view the world, themselves, and other people through a negative lens
What is a “proactive personality”
A stable person who tends to take initiative to make changes that lead to improvement
Will engage in “proactive behaviors” where they take action on their own to improve their situation or circumstance
What is “general self-efficacy”
GSE is one’s faith that they are able to perform difficult tasks, it is developed through personal experiences with success and failure
What is a “core self-evaluation”
CSE is the evaluation people already have about themselves based on their self-esteem, general self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism
What is the “imposter phenomenon”
The feeling that someone’s success is the result of external factors as opposed to their effort and capabilities
Can be part of someone’s personality, or surface as the result of a situation that triggers it
What is “learning”
A relatively permanent change in behavior potential caused by repeated exposure to them
What is “continuous learning culture”
The belief that acquiring certain skills are part of your job and that learning is essential for work performance
What are 4 types of skills employee’s learn
1) Practical skills: Job specific skills, general knowledge, technical competence
2) Interpersonal skills: Communication, teamwork, conflict resolution
3) Intrapersonal skills: Critical thinking, problem solving, risk taking
4) Cultural awareness: Social norms, company goals, expectations
What is “operant learning”
When the subject learns to operate the environment (perform a specific activity) to achieve a certain outcome
Consequences are dependent on the action, and the connection between the two is what is learned
What is “reinforcement”
The process by which stimuli strengthen behaviors
What is “positive reinforcement”
Applying or adding some consequence to increase or maintain the probability of a specific behavior (tends to be pleasant things)
Ex: A manager gives a bonus for hitting targets to encourage repeat performance.
