Individual Differences at work
Introduction
The purpose of the paper is to bring about an analysis of the individual differences, which are observed in the workplace. The paper will investigate literature studies based on different factors of individual differences. The factors to be studied in this paper are cognitive ability and intelligence, trait theories related to personality and big five models of personality. Through the examination of these relevant theories, the behavioural difference of individuals at the workplace will be thoroughly researched and studied. Pertinent other theories of organisational behaviour will be elaborated to provide suitable justifications and recommendations.
Discussion
Cognitive ability and intelligence
Cognitive ability relates to the mental capacity of a person when he or she develops abstract ideas of reasoning and problem-solving. Through the process of cognitive ability, the person has been observed to possess critical thinking, which leads to the development of complex ideas. Generally, the process originates through learning from experiences (Barnes and Mongrain 2019). One of the models of cognitive ability has been described by Carroll, which is named as three strata model. In this model, the first stratum is composed of specific and particular skills of individuals. The second stratum is composed of group factors and abilities in a broader sense. The third stratum provides a broader purview of general intelligence.
(Source:https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-factor-structure-of-the-Cattell-Horn-Carroll-theory-of-intelligence_fig1_270639909)
A literature study conducted by Mestre, MacCann, Guil and Roberts describes the different models of cognitive ability and the uses of these models in building up frameworks of emotional intelligence. From the study of the theoretical frameworks, it has been found out that the individuals having the abilities of emotional intelligence form a group factor of cognitive skills (Cucina et al. 2017). One of the critical frameworks of cognitive ability, which can be integrated with emotional intelligence, is the Cattell-Horn-Carroll framework. Modern theories suggest that cognitive processes are a substantial element of emotion. Another theoretical model, named as “mixed model” provides a broader purview of emotional intelligence, which includes character traits, perspectives, social cognitions and also non-cognitive attitudes.
Another literature study conducted by Guo, Chen, Liu and Zhang has tried to emphasise on tests of intelligence. Intelligence testing is defined as a collection of tasks which are performed to test the cognitive capacities of individuals. In this context, the Binet-Simon scales have proved to be successful in serving as efficient models of intelligence testing. Guo et al. 2019. This testing involves 30 subtests of cognition. Different attributes are measured through these subtests, that is, skills, memory, reasoning capabilities, and psychophysical analysis. During the period of 1900s, there has been a revision in the structure of these tests and nonverbal elements were added to the criteria. Each test has been assigned to individuals belonging to different age groups. It has been observed that most of the children were successful in performing these tests.
Trait theories of personality
Trait theory of personality involves an approach to studying the nature of the human character. Researchers of this trait theory tend to measure the several traits that relate to the behavioural patterns, thoughts, emotions and other characteristics of human personality. The trait theory is also referred to as a dispositional theory, which believes that traits are integral parts of human nature (Davidsson 2019). These traits remain constant over time, while they tend to differ in different individuals. These traits also tend to stay consistent over situational factors and affect the behaviour of individuals. Each character is defined by the tendency to act in a particular way. The characters are coherent responses that are embedded in individuals, which are exposed due to situational cues.
Many literary studies have been conducted to study the relationship between trait theory on the performance of individuals. The big five models of personality is an essential framework in investigating this relationship (Jones et al. 2017). The big five models of personality talks about five significant traits of individuals, that is, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness and emotional stability. The acronym of this model is the OCEAN model of personality trait.
(Source: https://www.psychologistworld.com/personality/five-factor-model-big-five-personality)
Extraversion trait is defined by different characteristics of individuals such as excitability, talkativeness, assertiveness, high levels of emotional expression. Low extraversion denotes introvert people who are socially inward, while high extraversion indicates extrovert people who are socially outward. Agreeableness includes traits like trust, affection, sympathy and other social behaviours. Individuals are showing high levels of this trait display more significant levels of empathy towards others, while others tend to be more competitive (Matthews 2018). Neuroticism is defined by attributes like sadness, emotional instability and moodiness. High levels of neuroticism in individuals make them prone to stressful situations. As a result, these individuals experience mood swings very frequently. Openness relates to characters such as imagination and insight. These people have interests in a broad range of topics and try to explore the world. Finally, conscientiousness signifies people who are oriented towards their goals and are very ambitious towards their careers. These people have a thoughtful mind, and they try to control their impulses.
Influence of individual differences on behavioural aspects
The different factors, which come into play while dealing with the behavioural issues of individuals at the workplace, can be briefly defined as follows.
1) Job performance
In aligning the dimensions of personality with job performance, it has been observed that emotional stability, extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to experiences were directly linked with task performance and creativity of the employees.
2) Job satisfaction
While investigating the job satisfaction of the employees, it has been observed that three factors of the big five model have a fluctuating relationship with this function. These three traits are neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness.
3) Job commitment
Through various literature studies, it has been observed that extraversion and normative commitment holds a positive relationship between them; neuroticism also maintains a positive relationship with continuance commitment (Mestre et al. 2016). Conscientiousness also maintains a positive correlation between both affective and continuance commitment of employees.
4) Occupational interests
Two important traits of the Big Five Model have strong associations with the professional interests of the employees (van de Weijer and Leukfeldt 2017). These two traits are agreeableness and openness to experiences.
5) Team performance
Through the study of the performance of the teams, it has been observed that successful organisations have shown higher levels of extraversion and agreeableness. However, neuroticism is low in successful teams.
Along with all these attributes, individual differences are also significant in detecting their behaviours within the organisation. Individuals with variation in attitudes tend to react to situations in different ways (Stamps 2016). The difference in the personalities of the employees creates gaps in their positions with their bosses, colleagues, subordinates, as well as customers. To spot these behavioural differences, the management must implement effective practices such that these differences could be curbed at the maximum extent.
Conclusion
From the above paper, it can be inferred that the different elements of the personality of an individual are essential in shaping their behavioural aspects within the organisation. The cognitive ability makes a person creative and enhances his mental skills. This trait gives rise to different areas of intelligence within the individual’s character. The next section of the paper has highlighted different trait theories of personality, including the big five theory. The last section has talked about the influence of individual differences on the persisting behaviours of the organisation and the linkage of the elements of the big five model with these behavioural aspects.
References
Barnes, C. and Mongrain, M., 2019. A three-factor model of personality predicts changes in depression and subjective well-being following positive psychology interventions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, pp.1-13.
Cucina, J.M., Vasilopoulos, N.L. and DeCostanza, A.H., 2017. Using Principal Component Scores to Enhance the Validity and Reliability of Big Five Personality Measures. Journal of Individual Differences.
Davidsson, J., 2019. The Role of Major Life Events and Brain Development on Personality Trait Change in Adulthood: Insights from Personality Neuroscience.
Guo, W., Chen, Y., Liu, S. and Zhang, X., 2019. Intelligence Testing.
Jayawickreme, E., Zachry, C.E. and Fleeson, W., 2019. Whole trait theory: An integrative approach to examining personality structure and process. Personality and individual differences, 136, pp.2-11.
Jones, A.B., Brown, N.A., Serfass, D.G. and Sherman, R.A., 2017. Personality and density distributions of behavior, emotions, and situations. Journal of Research in Personality, 69, pp.225-236.
Matthews, G., 2018. Cognitive‐adaptive trait theory: A shift in perspective on personality. Journal of personality, 86(1), pp.69-82.
Mestre, J.M., MacCann, C., Guil, R. and Roberts, R.D., 2016. Models of cognitive ability and emotion can better inform contemporary emotional intelligence frameworks. Emotion Review, 8(4), pp.322-330.
Stamps, J.A., 2016. Individual differences in behavioural plasticities. Biological Reviews, 91(2), pp.534-567.
van de Weijer, S.G. and Leukfeldt, E.R., 2017. Big five personality traits of cybercrime victims. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(7), pp.407-412.