Handouts 2-2021 Full 2

HUMAN BEHAVIOR
BBA2001 Human Behavior/MGT2404 Managerial Psychology Martin de Tours School of Management and Economics Assumption University of Thailand
Chapter 1 something). So, the earlier scholars combined these

two Greek words (Psyche + Logos) and derived the
Introduction to new name “Psychology.” The word psychology was

not commonly used before the nineteenth century,
and the field of psychology did not actually become
Psychology Part 1) an independent science until the middle of the
nineteenth century.
Learning Objectives:
Psychology emerged as an independent academic
• Define psychology
• Trace the origin and evolution of
discipline in 1879, when a German Professor named
psychology as a scientific field Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology
• Identify and explain the constitutions of laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany.
behavior and their characteristics According to Bolles (1993), Wundt was a medical
• Wonder the influence of psychology on doctor by training and early in his career, he was
individual and group behaviors fortunate to work with some of the great
• Describe desirable and undesirable physiologists of the nineteenth century. Fittingly, his
behaviors laboratory was established during the time spent as
a professor of philosophy. (Remember, the
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
intellectual roots of psychology lie at the union of
Psychology is concerned with almost all aspects of
philosophy and psychology). Wundt is traditionally
our lives. That is why everyone is interested to know
recognized as the founder, or father of the modern
about this field. However, there are certain
psychology, and 1879 is seen as the year that
misconceptions about psychology. Many people
think that psychology deals with treating mad
people; some others feel that psychologists can
read other people’s mind just by looking at their
faces or foreheads. You might have heard the term
‘psychology’, ‘psychological’, ‘mental’ etc., but not
really sure of the meaning of the word ‘psychology’
and how did it evolve? Is psychology a ‘science’ or
‘art’? What is the subject matter of psychology? In
this chapter you will find answers to these questions
and more.
PSYCHOLOGY: ITS ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

The origin of psychology dates back to 1870s. The
term ‘Psychology’ is derived from two Greek words:
Psyche means “soul or breath” and Logos means
“knowledge or study” (study or investigation of
The materials in this handout are intended only for teaching and learning purposes within the university and not for commercial purposes.
1
psychology finally emerged as a unique field. Prior has given rise to the empirical method of research,
to Wundt, it was not possible to major in psychology which is employed by all sciences up to this date.
because there were no official psychologists or Aristotle was the first one to note that behavior
psychology departments. Wundt started studying should be investigated through scientific
the structure of the mind, which refers to the observation and not by presumptions alone. Other
immediate (conscious) experience as well as the notable contributions of Aristotle include the
contents and processes of subjective experience following:
such as sensations, thoughts, feelings and emotions. • Numbered the so-called five senses of
Thus, formally, psychology was recognized as an vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
independent science in 1879. • Explored the nature of cause and effect.
• Pointed out that people differed from other
HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF living things in their capacity for rational
PSYCHOLOGY thought.
Since then, psychology has been recognized as an • Explained how the imagination and
important academic discipline. However, questions dreaming contained images that survived
related to psychology have been asked since the stimulation that caused them.
thousands of years ago. Fundamentally, psychology • Outlined laws of associationism that have
has its roots from the philosophy field, which is the lain at the heart of learning theory.
study of knowledge, reality and human nature. • Wrote a textbook on psychology, whose
Much before the Christian era, Greek philosophers contents are found in modern textbooks of
studied the nature of man’s psyche psychology.
(soul/mind/self). Greek philosopher Socrates • Argued that human behavior, like the
advised the practice of “knowing thyself” as he movements of the stars and seas, is subject
claimed that reliable self-knowledge could not be to rules and laws.
attained through our senses because the senses do
• Declared that people are motivated to seek
not exactly reflect reality. According to Socrates,
pleasure and avoid pain.
because the senses provide imperfect knowledge,
we should rely on certain processes such as rational
Another great contributor to the eventual creation
thought and introspection, which means careful
of psychology as a field was the Greek philosopher
observation and examination of one’s own thoughts
Democritus who suggested that we could think of
and emotions in order to achieve self-knowledge.
behavior in terms of the body and mind.
He also stated that people are
social creatures, who influence one
another.
One of the main contributors on

the propagation of the
psychological thought during the
early time was Aristotle. Aristotle
per se is considered as the ‘father
of psychology’ as his concept of
empiricism—the view that science
could rationally treat only
information gathered by senses—
2
Contemporary psychologists have followed this
concept and proved that there is a connection and
interaction between an individual’s biological and
mental processes. According to Democritus, our
behavior is influenced by external stimulation. He
raised the question whether man has a free will or
choice, which connotes on the thought of where do
influences of others end and our “real selves” begin.
This has contributed to the exploration of the
human mind and actions leading to the
development of psychology as an important
scientific field. In short, psychology is not only
influenced by philosophy but also by a number of
other scientific disciplines.
DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology has been defined in a number of ways
by various authors. Psychologists have been
debating on whether psychology should focus on
“mind,” “consciousness” or “behavior.” The
following section chronicles how definitions of
psychology have come evolved from over the past
Then it was proposed to define psychology as ‘the
130 years.
science of consciousness’ as it was supposed that
the main business of psychology was to study
Early Definitions
conscious experiences. Consciousness makes us
The term Psychology was first used by Rudolf Gockle
conscious or aware of the situation or things around
in 1590. Earlier, psychology was part of philosophy.
us. However, many contended that this definition is
Ancient philosophers were interested in the study
too narrow at the same time subjective as conscious
of the soul. Thus, it was first defined in terms of ‘the
experiences are personal matters and are not
science of the soul’. However, since the term ‘soul’
outrightly measured.
has very wide and comprehensive meanings, it was
considered as a vague term and was criticized
The second objection to this proposition is from the
severely during the middle ages. There were
fast-developing branch of abnormal psychology,
questions regarding the physical existence, weight
which brought the study of unconscious mind within
and volume of the soul. Thus, this definition was not
the province of psychology. The term consciousness
widely accepted.
was philosophically-inclined and not accepted by
modern scientific-minded psychologists.
Psychology was then defined as the ‘the science of
the mind’ by some ancient Greek philosophers.
Finally, modern psychology has defined psychology
According to them, psychology was held as a branch
as the ‘science of human behavior.’ In the early
of mental philosophy. Since this definition does not
decades of twentieth century, Watson, the father of
include overt behavior of human beings, and mind
school of behaviorism defined psychology as ‘the
cannot be measured directly, this definition was
study of behavior.’ Watson rejected mind as the
also dropped.
3
subject of psychology and insisted that psychology their definitions of psychology. Thus, the accepted
should be restricted to the study of behavior—the definition for psychology is the latest one, which
observable (or potentially observable) activities of contends that “Psychology is the science that studies
people and animals. Watson held that there are no behavior and mental processes.”
essential differences between human and animal
behaviors, and that we can learn much about our Nature and Characteristics of Behavior
own behavior from the study of what animals do. Behavior is a broad term and complex
Watson emphasized that nothing is innate and phenomenon. According to psychologists, behavior
everything can be learned. is everything or anything that a human being or
animal does that can be observed in some way. In
Current Definitions other words, behavior includes all actions and
responses of organisms that can be measured
Psychology is the science of human and animal directly or indirectly. Behavior not only means
behavior. It includes the application of this science to bodily movements but also can include mental and
human problems (Morgan et al., 1986).
cognitive processes such as feelings, attitudes,
The scientific study of behavior and mental process thoughts, emotions and all other internal vents,
(Feldman, 1996). which cannot be observed directly but can be
measured indirectly through what people say (vocal
The scientific study of behavior and mental process behavior) and how they react to different problems
and how they are affected by an organism’s physical and situations.
state, mental state and external environment (Tavris
and Wade, 1997).
Characteristics of Behavior
Psychology is all about human behavior, about mental Behavior is influenced by a number of factors.
processes, and about the context in which behavior Behavior is influenced by a number of factors such
and metal process occur (Das, 1998). as biological, cultural, social, environmental, past
experience, motivational, emotional, cognitive such
The science of behavior and mental processes (Lahey,
1998). as feelings, emotions, motivation, thoughts, etc.
A science in which behavioral and other evidence is Behavior varies in complexity.

used to understand the internal processes leading Behavior can be as simple as picking a pen, waving
people (and members of other species) to behave as to a friend or reflex responses like sneezing, etc.
they do (Eysenck, 2004).
Some other behaviors include certain skills which
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes become a habit over a period of time such as playing
(Ciccarelli & Meyer, 2006, Coon & Mitterer, 2007 guitar, cycling, etc. Yet some other behaviors
-2008). involve complex activities like repairing a car.
Activities such as landing on the moon, flying a
The science that studies behavior and mental fighter plane, rock climbing, etc. are some of the
processes (Rathus, 2008). examples of highly complex behavior.
As is evident in the definitions mentioned above, The factors influencing behavior are of different
study of behavior (human and animal) has been kinds.
emphasized in all of them. In addition, most authors Behavior is influenced by two large sets of factors—
have also included cognitive or mental processes in those belonging to the individual and those
belonging to the environment. Factors pertaining to
4
an individual can be categorized under physiological the fan. Here the goal is to switch off the fan and the
(biological needs such as hunger, thirst, etc.) and purpose is to avoid the discomfort of feeling cold.
psychological (ideas, opinions, attitude, etc.) The So, all our behavior can be categorized under:
environmental factors include physical approach behavior (positive goal directed) or
surroundings, family and friends, the larger society avoidance behavior (negative goal avoidance).
and even the overall cultural and social background.
Behavior is changeable to a large extent.
Individual differences. It was mentioned earlier that a number of factors
Behavior also varies from one person to other as influence behavior. In view of this, it is possible to
well as from one group of people to other group of change behavior by modifying these factors. It is this
people. People differ, in their physiological and changeability, which enables a child to become
bodily conditions, in their past experiences, in their adult, a bad man to become a good man and a good
abilities and in their background. It is therefore man become a bad man. It is again this very
natural if ten people put in same situation but have characteristic, which helps people to adjust to new
differing reactions or responses. surroundings. These changes are the results of one’s
practice or experiences (learning).
Behavior also shows similarities.
Though behavior differs from person to person, this Behavior also shows stability.
this does not mean that all people differ from others Though emphasis has been laid on the possible
at all times or in all situations. There is also a changes in behavior, it must be mentioned that life
considerable degree of similarity in behavior among is not always full of sorts of changes. While behavior
people. For instance, if a particle of dust falls into a changes, at the same time there is also certain
person’s eye, he or she tries to remove it. This type stability in behavior. It does not change with every
of behavior is universally found. change in the environment nor do all forms of
behavior change. Human behavior shows a lot of
Behavior is always purposeful and goal directive. stability. For instance, you will may still find your
Human behavior is always purposeful and one’s grandmother preferring old ideas and old ways of
actions are always directed towards some goal or life, though she is living in an ultra-modern society.
the other. A boy sitting and studying suddenly gets
up and takes a glass of water. Here the goal is to Behavior is integrated.
have a glass of water, and the purpose is to satisfy As already mentioned, behavior is influenced by a
his thirst. On the other hand, a boy is sitting and number of factors and a variety of purposes. Every
studying and feels cold. He gets up and switches off human being has physiological, personal and social
purposes. He or she
has also been the
subject of different
learning experiences.
In spite of all this,
behavior always
shows an order and a
hierarchy of
purposes. Every
individual behaves as
a total person and
5
this process of the organization of different Find a partner and share your listed behaviors to
purposes, different learning and different him or her. Share experiences or situations on how
influencing factors results in an integration of and why these behaviors are performed.
behavior.
Quick Quiz
Thus, an individual put in different situations, still Who is the father of psychology?
shows certain characteristic ways and styles of _________________________________________
behavior, which helps us to understand and predict
his or her behavior. We often say, Natapong is a Who is the father of modern psychology?
pleasant person, Charles is an unpleasant person, _________________________________________
Anurag is a sociable person, and so on. Psychologists
use the term personality to describe this process of Who was the first one to use the term
integration. The greater the degree of integration in “Psychology?”
a person’s behavior, the more effective his behavior _________________________________________
is likely to be. It can therefore be appreciated that
behavior is a complex phenomenon and studying Who is the philosopher who suggested to practice
behavior is not an easy task. “knowing thyself”?
------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________
Check-It-Yourself
Describe yourself. List down behaviors that you find Who is the philosopher who define psychology by
desirable and undesirable. the study of body and mind?
_________________________________________
Desirable behaviors:
_________________________________________ Who are the authors who defined psychology as
the science of human and animal behavior?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Who is the author who said that psychology is all
_________________________________________
about human behavior?
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________
Who is your teacher in Human Behavior course?
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
Undesirable behaviors:
References:
_________________________________________
Bolles, R.C. (1993). The story of psychology: A
_________________________________________ thematic history. Thomson Brooks/Cole
Publishing Co.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Ciccarelli, S.K.& Meyer, G.E. (2006). Psychology.
Pearson Education, Inc.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Coon, D. & Mitterer, J.O. (2008). Psychology: A
journey. (3rd edition). Thomson Wadsworth.
6
Das, J.P. (19980. The working mind: An introduction
to psychology. Sage Publication
Eysenck, M.W. (2004). Psychology: An international

perspective. Psychology Press.
Feldman, R.S. (2004). Understanding Psychology

(6thedition). Tata McGraw Hill.
Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and Your Life.

McGraw-Hill: USA.
Lahey, Benjamin B. (1998). Psychology: An

introduction. Tata McGraw-Hill.
Morgan, C. T., King, R. A., Weisz, J. R. & Schopler, J.

(1986). Introduction to psychology (7th edition).
Tata McGraw-Hill
Rathus, S.A. (2008). Psychology: Concepts &

connections (9th edition). Wadsworth.
Tavris, C. & Warde, C. (1997). Psychology in

perspective (2nd Ed). Addison Wesley Longman,
Inc.
Wear mask at all times.

recycle.
7
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Chapter 1 to understand the rules that govern all levels of the

natural universe.
Introduction to Characteristics of Science

The observation of events is systemized in various
Psychology Part 2) ways, but mainly by classifying and establishing
general principles and laws to describe and predict
new events as accurately as possible. Psychology
Learning Objectives: studies behavior in the same way that the other
• Understand psychology as a scientific field
sciences study their subject matter and therefore
• Enumerate the characteristics of science
shares a number of features with them. In common
• Realize the importance of learning about the
historical development of psychology with other sciences, psychology, as a science, has
• Explain the differences of the various the following characteristics.
schools of psychology
• Realize the importance of the modern Empirical observation
perspectives of psychology in explaining Psychology, as a science, is first of all, and above all,
behavior in various contexts empirical. That is to say, it rests on experiment and
• Analyze a case and present solutions in class observation, rather than on argument, opinion, or
belief.
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Systematic approach theory
Psychology has been defined as a science of
Data from observation and experiments are
behavior. But is it a science like physics, chemistry,
essential to science, but for them “to make sense”
biology and zoology, or something different? The
in helping us understand events, they must be
sole aim of science is to clarify, understand and unify
ordered in some way. The scientist tries to find a
the objects and phenomenon of the material world.
limited number of principles, which will summarize
By using a combination of accurate observation and
the data economically. Scientific theories are
experimentation, logic and intuition, scientists seek
important tools for the organization of data.
Measurement
Another distinguishing feature of many sciences is
measurement, which is defined as an assignment of
numbers to objects or events according to certain
rules. Physics is ranked highest (most scientific)
among sciences as it has developed most precise
measurement and measuring tools. In psychology,
we measure behavior in terms of frequency,
duration, and intensity of the behavior. These are
The materials in this handout are intended only for teaching and learning purposes within the university and not for commercial purposes. 1
accomplished with the use of survey questionnaires, Many of these earlier schools of thoughts have gone
tests and other assessment tools. into the history. Today, many psychologists agree
that psychology should study behavior. Even those
Definition of terms who want to study internal mental events, generally
Careful definition of terms is essential to clear agree to look at behavior; they may disagree about
thinking in science. The procedure in psychology is what they see and what it means. The moment
to define concepts by relating them to observable psychologists try to make sense out of the
behavior (operational definition). When we define a complexities of behavior, their differing
concept operationally, we define it in terms of perspectives can lead them to sharply differing
measurable and observable operations. For views.
example, the concepts of length, height in physics,
and concepts like intelligence, motivation, Early Schools of Psychology
personality in psychology are defined in terms of Formal ideas about behavior and mind in western
observable operations, which can be performed to culture began with the classical Greek philosophers
measure them. However, psychology cannot and have continued to this day as part of the fabric
measure many behaviors such as bravery, philosophy. Psychology, as a separate area of study,
friendship, love, beauty etc. as these cannot be split away from philosophy a little over 130 years
defined operationally. ago. The success of the experimental method in the
physical sciences encouraged some philosophers to
The above-mentioned characteristics are common think that mind and behavior could be studied with
to all sciences including psychology. However, scientific methods. As we know, the first
psychology is a different type of science (behavioral psychological laboratory was set up by Wundt in
science). In physics or chemistry, researchers 1879 at the Leipzig University in Germany.
investigate processes and events, which remain
stable and constant to a large extent. This makes it In the United States, the first formal psychology
possible to measure and predict with a reasonable laboratory was established at John Hopkins
degree of accuracy. But it is not the case with University in 1883. Within a few years, most major
human behavior, which is highly complex, not easily universities had psychology laboratories and
controllable, and appears to be much more departments. The famous textbook in psychology
unpredictable than the reactions of physical and titled “The Principles of Psychology” was written by
chemical substances. Whereas other sciences William James in 1890.
investigate things around man, psychology studies
man about himself. The methods used in Wundt, James and then other psychologists thought
psychological research include observation, of psychology as the study of mind. They attempted
interviews, psychological testing, laboratory to find the laws relating to events in the physical
experimentation, and statistical analysis. world to person’s mental experience of those
external events. For this, they did many experiments
SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY in the area of imagery, memory, thinking and
In the history of psychology, strong differences of emotion. However, in the first decades of the
opinion about what psychology should study and twentieth century, psychologists hold quite
how it should do it were represented by schools of different views regarding the nature of mind and
psychology—these are groups of like-minded the best ways to study the mind. About the same
psychologists that are formed around influential time, fundamental questions were raised about
teachers who argued for one viewpoint or another. what should be studied in psychology: should
psychology be the study of mind, should it study structure of the mind to study how the mind
behavior, or should both mind and behavior functioned.
included? Different influential psychologists of the
time held quite different views on the nature of Functionalism
mind and the proper subject matter of psychology. The founder of the school was William James. As the
Schools of thought formed around these leaders as name implies, functionalists were interested in
their students adopted their ideas. These schools of studying the functions of mind and behavior rather
thoughts are known as schools of psychology. The than limiting themselves to the description and
following are the early schools of psychology. analysis of mind. They proposed that psychology
should focus on “what mind and behavior do”
Structuralism (function of mind) and not “structure” of mind.
This early school, the structural school of Their interest was to study behavior as a dynamic,
psychology grew up around the ideas of Wilhelm integrated process. Influenced by Darwin’s ideas
Wundt, in Germany and was established at Cornell and the theory of evolution, functionalists were
University in the United States by one of Wundt’s specifically interested in the fact that mind and
students, Titchener. Structuralism emphasized that behavior were adaptive as they enable us to adjust
the subject matter of psychological research to changing environment. They did experiments on
consists of images, thoughts and feelings, which are the ways in which learning, memory, problem
the elements forming the structure of solving and motivation help people and animals
consciousness. adapt to their environment.
The goal of the structuralists was to find the units or

elements, which make up the mind. They thought
that as in chemistry, a first step in the study of the
mind should be a description of the basic or
elementary, units of sensation, image and emotion,
which compose it. The main method used by the
structuralists to discover these elementary units of
mind was introspection. Participants were trained
to report as objectively as possible, what they
experienced in connection with a certain stimulus,
disregarding the meanings they had come to
associate with that stimulus. A respondent might,
for example, be presented with a colored light, a
tone, or an odor and asked them to describe as
minutely as possible.
These experiments have given us a great deal of

information about the kinds of sensations people
have, but other psychologists of the time challenged
the idea saying that the mind could be understood
by finding its elements and the rules for combining
them. Still others turned away from describing the
Gestalt psychology
This school of psychology was founded in Germany
about 1912 by Max Wertheimer and his colleagues
Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler. These pioneer
psychologists felt that structuralists were wrong in
thinking of the mind as being made up of elements.
They maintained that the mind is not made of a
combination of simple elements.
The German word Gestalt means “form” or

“configuration”, and the Gestalt psychologists
maintained that the mind should be thought of as
resulting from the whole pattern of sensory activity
and the relationships and organizations within this
pattern. For instance, we recognize a tune when it
is transposed to another key; the elements have
changed, but the pattern of relationship has stayed
the same. Psychoanalysis
It was founded by the famous psychiatrist Sigmund
The point made by the Gestalt psychologists in their Freud in Vienna, Austria. Psychoanalysis has had a
opposition to structuralism was, mental experience significant impact on the thinking and theorizing of
depends on the patterning and organization of many psychologists. Freud developed a theory of
elements and is not due simply to compounding of behavior and mind (the psychoanalytic theory) on
elements. In simpler words, according to the Gestalt the basis of his practice with neurotic patients,
psychologists, the mind is best understood in terms which held that much of what we think and do is due
of the ways elements are organized. Gestaltists to our urges, drives and desires, which seek
were mainly concerned about the element of form expression in our thought and behavior. It is
or organization which unifies behavior, particularly important to note that, according to psychoanalytic
perceptual behavior. theory, these urges and drives are unconscious, i.e.,
they are hidden from our awareness. What is seen
Behaviorism in behavior and thought of people is the expression
This school of psychology was propounded by John of the unconscious drives, urges, wishes and
B. Watson, an American psychologist, who rejected desires. Thus, the concept of unconscious
the idea that mind should be the subject of motivation is the key idea of psychoanalysis, which
psychology, and instead, emphasized that is still being utilized, as one of the explanations of
psychology be restricted to the study of behavior— behavior.
the observable (or potentially observable) activities
of people and animals. Modern Perspectives in Psychology
Though the early schools of psychology are more
According to behaviorism, we can only understand than 100 years old, two of them—behaviorism and
a person on the way he responds to stimulations in psychoanalysis are still surviving in modified forms,
the environment. This is practically because with the among the current psychological perspectives.
observable stimulus-response behaviors, they can Along with these two, some new perspectives have
be studied in a systematic and observable manner. come up in the last 130 years or so. In order to
understand and describe behavior, psychologists Our experience or mind is based on such
now a rich variety of viewpoints to choose from. The information processing mechanism.
following are the modern perspectives of
psychology. Humanistic Perspective
It concerned with the person’s sense of self. From
Behavioral Perspective this view point, a criminal’s behavior might be seen
It emphasizes the role of learning in behavior. The as a part of his or her search for personal
behavior, which is followed by reward or competence, achievement and self-esteem. People
punishment is likely to increase or decrease who commit violent crimes may perceive that by
respectively. Another form of learning is committing such acts, they are going to achieve
observational learning, which is a complex process something significant such as doing justice to the
far more complex than mere imitation and plays an society or for the cause of national security, etc. The
important role in many aspects. emphasis of the humanistic perspective is on free
will, the ability to freely make decisions about one’s
Evolutionary and Biological Perspective on behavior and life.
Psychologists are interested in the roles of evolution
and heredity in behavior and mental process such as Psychoanalytic Perspective
psychological disorders, criminal behavior and It comes from psychodynamic perspective, which
thinking. Generally speaking, our heredity provides emphasizes the role of unconscious feelings and
a broad range of behavioral and mental possibilities. impulses. According to Sigmund Freud, who
Modern evolutionary psychologists focus on the propounded the psychoanalytic theory of
evolution of behavior and mental processes. Charles personality, behaviors of human beings are largely
Darwin argued that the age-old struggle for guided by their feelings, emotions, instincts and
existence, only the “fittest” (most adaptive) desires which are unconscious. They are born with
organisms manage to reach maturity and an aggressive drive. This innate motive gets
reproduce. Environmental factors interact with expressed in action or fantasy, in destructiveness,
inherited factors to determine specific behavior and war and sadism. According to this viewpoint, any
mental processes. impulse which are unacceptable, makes a person
anxious, and then he or she uses what is called
Biological Perspective ‘defense mechanism’ to reduce anxiety.
It suggests that there are some biological factors –
particularly, the functions of nervous and glandular
systems, that influence human behavior. Studies
show that males are generally more aggressive than
females; this may be related to male-female
hormonal differences.
Cognitive Perspective
It explains how behavior is determined by the way
we remember, think, perceive, make decisions,
solve problems and comprehend our social
environment. Cognition means perception of the
world around us. It also refers to the processing of
information, which we receive through our senses.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick Quiz
Think Like A Psychologist Identify which school of psychology the following
While rushing to catch your 9.00 am class, you saw key words belong:
your friend walking towards your direction. You said
hi, but she seems to be unmindful of your greeting Heredity
and did not greet you back. You then turned around, _________________________________________
and saw her talk to another friend, whom you
dislike. What could have gone wrong? Unconscious
_________________________________________
You realized that she only talks to you when
she needs something. Introspection
_________________________________________
She is born that way; but she doesn’t mean no
harm. Hormones
_________________________________________
She is maybe having her “monthly period.”
Functions
She is maybe looking at something or someone, _________________________________________
and did not notice you.
Free will
She is maybe having some personal problems, _________________________________________
and you will just talk to her when you meet her
again. Configuration
_________________________________________
She might hate you, and favored the other
friend. Perception
_________________________________________
Select one from the options above, and explain why
you say so. How could you find out the real reason? Learning
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________
References:
_________________________________________ Coon, D. & Mitterer, J.O. (2008). Psychology: A
journey (3rd edition). Thomson Wadsworth.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and your life.
McGraw-Hill
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Tavris, C. & Warde, C. (1997). Psychology in
perspective (2nd Ed). Addison Wesley Longman,
_________________________________________
Inc.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Observe social distancing.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Chapter 2 WHY DO CONSUMERS BUY THE PRODUCTS THAT

THEY BUY?
The PSYCHOLOGY OF This is a curious question but it all boils down to the
fact that human beings have certain needs, and
these needs are to be fulfilled in one form or the
CONSUMERS) other. But the contention that one need could or
would be fulfilled in various ways makes the topic of
consumer behavior intriguing yet interesting to
Learning Objectives: explore. Consumer behavior is a field of study that
• Define and identify a consumer
examines the processes individuals or groups
• Cite reasons why consumers buy the
products that they buy
undertake in purchasing, using and disposing of
• Distinguish psychological factors that products and services (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2007). It
influence buying and consumption identifies factors and investigates underlying
• Delineate socio-cultural influences in motivations why do people buy the products that
consumer behavior they buy. It determines such behaviors as why some
• Wonder about the effects of psychological consumers prefer iPhone than android phones, stay
and socio-cultural factors in consumer at home rather than travel during holidays, spend
decisions
less on food but splurge on designer clothes, and
• Apply concepts of the psychology of
spends on toy collections that are only displayed in
consumers to personal consumption
experiences shelves at home. These and more fascinating
sometimes strange behaviors are understood
against theories and concepts in psychology,
WHO IS A CONSUMER?
sociology and other allied fields.
A consumer is a person who identifies a need or
desire, makes purchase, and then disposes of the
product (Solomon, 2018). He is an individual who
purchases, has the capacity to purchase, goods and
services offered for sale by marketing institutions in
order to satisfy personal or household needs, wants
or desires (Walters, 1974).
The difference between a consumer and a customer

is that a consumer is the one who consumes the
product or its end-user. A customer is the one who
purchases the product or the one who engage in
some forms of exchange transaction. A customer
can be a consumer but a consumer does not
necessarily need to be a customer (Datta, 2016).
The Psychological Core availability of the product and the location also
The psychological make-up of an individual mainly matter in her decision to buy.
affects his decisions and approaches to buying a
product. This means that depending on the Exposure, attention and perception. Consumers
individual’s motivation, knowledge, memory or have to be fully informed about the availability of
even opportunity, consumers engage in purchase the products in the market, thus exposure to
and consumption activities to fulfill a certain need. product information and the product itself, is
essential to influence consumers to buy. However,
Motivation, ability and opportunity. Consumers are personal biases affect the amount and degree of
essentially motivated to engage in buying if attention the consumers want to expend to the
products pose relevance to them and to their needs, advertised product. In consumer behavior context,
yet much of it will also be affected by their values, exposing consumers to the product holds a different
goals and attitudes. Say for instance, a person who story than getting their attention into it. This means
tries to lose weight will be motivated to buy the new that the consumer may have been exposed to the
salad set sold at the supermarket because they use product but paid little attention into it thus, it does
organic vegetables, which actualizes her value not incite interest to purchase. But why little
towards sustainability and clean environment. As attention is given? It could be of many reasons—the
this incites favorable attitude towards the product, product information is not interesting in itself; the
she then thinks that this will potentially achieve her consumer is busy; the promoted product is not what
goals, which is to lose weight at the same time help the consumer is needing at the moment; the
save the environment. But the ability to purchase consumer hates the brand; etc. Thus, right
also matters in the decision. This means that the perception is important. Perception is how the
consumer should have the necessary knowledge, consumers evaluate the usefulness of the product
experience and monetary resources to make the for themselves. For marketers, this is crucial as their
purchase. However, the eventual purchase only will marketing and advertising messages should lean
take place if she has the opportunity to do it. Thus, towards telling the consumers that the product that
such elements as time, amount of information, they are looking at is something that they need.
Knowledge and understanding. The intention of the

consumers to buy products are also shaped by their
knowledge and understanding of the products and
its ability to fulfill their needs. Knowledge content
reflects the information consumers have already
learned about brands, companies, product
categories, stores, ads, people, how to shop, how to
use products and so on. When they organize this
knowledge, they come up with a knowledge
structure, which is important in categorizing and
comprehending the product’s use and benefit. A
consumer who aims to look younger may think of a
facial moisturizer to use. But choosing the right
moisturizer that fits her needs requires a thorough
understanding of the availability of the product in
the market, its chemical composition, its effects,
and even its price. Additionally, the consumer has to advertising campaigns in various media platforms
know also that facial moisturizer comes in many because it allows recall of their brand from the
varieties from various brands, in different price consumers’ mind. This is important as they do not
levels and skin types. want that consumers to forget their brand and
entice what they say as “out of sight, out of mind.”
Attitude formation. As mentioned above, attitudes
matter in the choice of products that consumers The Consumers’ Culture
decide to buy. Forming of attitudes come in various External factors also play a major role in influencing
shapes and sizes as some attitudes are created consumers to buy the products they buy. The
instantaneously and do not linger on, but some demographics, psychographics and consumers’
attitudes are deeply-seated thus, they change the cultures matter in their decisions.
consumers’ whole being (more on this in Chapter 6).
But generally understanding the function of attitude Consumer diversity. The demographic factors such
to consumption is simple: attitudes developed as age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic
favorably towards a product will potentially lead to membership and religious affiliations vastly
purchase, consumption and recommendation influence how consumers procure a product, when
wherefore attitudes that are negatively developed to procure it and which product to buy for certain
usually lead to rejection, indifference and refusal to purposes or occasions. In Thailand, Songkran
purchase. Say for instance, a consumer who is Festival is celebrated in various respects depending
entertained attentively by a salesperson may on which province you are, and in which age group
develop positive attitude towards the service and you belong. Being in a certain religion or ethnic
eventually to the brand, which will potentially lead group also matters as some may impose restrictions
to buying the product offered. But a consumer who on the products to buy as well as how to perform
received cold reception from a salesperson may consumption activities; even the manner of dressing
develop negative attitude towards it, and may not is influenced by cultural factors. Thus, these diverse
engage in buying products
from the store ever again.
Memory and retrieval.

Consumers’ experiences
with a product are almost
always embedded within
the consumers’ memory
system that is why the top-
of-the-mind brands and
products are the ones
easily recalled. This implies that consumers’ backgrounds channel the fact that it is always
intentions to buy are also affected by how they can important to take into consideration consumers’
remember the brand, and what kind of experience cultural backgrounds when understanding their
they have with them. Naturally, if the experience is purposes or intentions to buy.
good, more likely the consumers will engage in
buying or do a repeat purchase, but if the Social class and household influences. Social class
experience is bad, they will go away from the structures are important because they strongly
product. Popular brands continue to invest in affect norms and values, and therefore, behavior.
Given that members of a social class interact other hand, consists of the distinctive patterns of
regularly with each other (both formally and behaviors, tendencies, qualities or personal
informally), people are more likely to be influenced dispositions that make one individual different from
by individuals in their own social class than by those another and lead to a consistent response to
in other classes. Note that social class influence is environmental stimuli. These patterns are internal
not a cultural limitation; it merely reflects the fact characteristics that we are born with or that result
that people with similar life experiences are likely to from the way we have been raised. The concept of
exhibit similar lifestyles and behaviors. personality helps us understand why people behave
Furthermore, household influences also matter in differently in different situations. Henceforth,
this case. The composition of a household pose lifestyles relate closely to consumers’ values and
significance to analyze consumer behavior because personality. Whereas values and personality
households make many acquisition, consumption represent internal states and characteristics,
and disposition decisions than individuals do. lifestyles are manifestations of actual patterns of
Household is a term that includes a single person behavior. What people do in their spare time is
living alone or a group of individuals who live often a good indicator of their lifestyle. To put in
together in a common dwelling, regardless of context, a student who values education and whose
whether they are related. This term includes a personality trait is high in conscientiousness, is
family (either nuclear or extended), cohabiting more likely to spend her free time reading books,
couples (an unmarried male and female living surfing the net for information or learning a new
together), gay couples, single with roommates, or skill.
single individuals living alone. Because the number
of households is on the rise, marketers and Social influences. Social influences are the
researchers are increasingly thinking in terms of information by and pressures from individuals,
households rather than families. groups and the mass media that affect how a person
behaves. If you happen to follow what your friends
Psychographics. The psychographic variables are doing or may have engaged in sports because
include values, personality and lifestyle. Values are your brother told you to do so, you may have been
enduring beliefs that a given behavior or outcome is influenced by the social variables around you. Social
desirable or good. Say for instance, you may believe influences are delivered personally through your
that it is good to be healthy, keep your family safe, family, friends, acquaintances, neighbors,
have self-respect, and be free. The total set of classmates or groupmates, or in the marketing
values and their relative importance constitute context, through salespersons or customer service
what we call as our value system. The way we agents. It is also delivered through mass media such
behave in a given situation is often influenced by as in the form of advertising, sales promotions,
how important one value is
relative to others. For
example, deciding whether
to spend Saturday
afternoon relaxing with
your family or excising will
be determined by the
relative importance you
place on your family versus
health. Personality on the
publicity and special events, and in the non- _________________________________________
marketing domains, could be through social
_________________________________________
newsfeeds and posts on social media, news, vlogs,
groups and organizations and word-of-mouth. _________________________________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________________________________
Reflect On…
Describe yourself as a consumer. Write down _________________________________________
common patterns of behaviors you have observed
_________________________________________
in yourself when it comes to buying and consuming
products (e.g. you spend time shopping alone, you _________________________________________
only buy what you need, you are big spender, you
_________________________________________
follow trends, you always seek advice from friends,
etc.) _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Draw-It-Yourself
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
By evaluating these buying and consumption

behaviors, which concepts discussed above that
could best explain the reasons you buy the products
that you buy. Cite factors from both The
Psychological Core and The Consumers’ Culture.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
In the box, draw at least three items or products
_________________________________________ that you cannot live without. Give brief explanation
why these items or products are important to you.
Share your thoughts to your classmates.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
References:
Blackwell, R. et al. (2012). Consumer behavior.

Cengage Learning.
Hoyer, W.D. & MacInnis, D.J. (2007). Consumer

behavior. Houghton
Kardes, F.R., Cline, T.W. & Cronley, M.L. (2011).

Consumer behavior, science and practice. South-
Western Cengage Learning.
Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer behavior, buying,

having, and being. Pearson Education Limited.
Wash your hands.

recycle.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
is an important factor in accounting for why people

Chapter 3 act the way they do and why they have favorable or
unfavorable attitudes toward certain things, issues
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: or people? Personality has been shown to influence
consumer behavior and organizational behavior.
personality)
DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY: NATURE OR
Learning Objectives: NURTURE
• Define personality Why are some people happy and easygoing and
• Discuss and debate the effects of nature and others intense and critical? An answer to this
nurture on personality question can be found by examining the
• Identify personality constructs relevant in determinants of personality: nature and nurture.
organizations
• Give value to one’s unique personality make- Personality is partially determined by nature, or
up
biological heritage. The genes you inherited from
• Write down situations that relate personality
your parents influence how your personality has
traits to consumption processes
unfolded. Although specific genes for personality
have not yet been identified, psychologists have
PERSONALITY
studied identical twins in an attempt to discover the
People’s personalities can be described in a variety
extent to which personality is inherited. Because
of ways. Some people seem to be perfectionists;
identical twins possess identical genes, they have
they can be critical, impatient, demanding, and
the same genetic determinants of personality.
intense. Other kinds of people are more relaxed and
easygoing. You may have friends or coworkers who
always seem to have something to smile about and
are fun to be around. Or perhaps you have friends
or coworkers who are shy and quiet; they are hard
to get to know and may sometimes seem dull. In
each of these examples, we are describing what
people are generally like without referring to their
specific feelings, thoughts and behaviors in any
given situation. In formulating a general description
of someone, we try to pinpoint something relatively
enduring about the person, something that seems
to explain the regularities or patterns we observe in
the way the person thinks, feels and behaves.
Personality is the pattern of relatively enduring ways

that a person feels, thinks, and behaves. Personality
Identical twins who grow up together in the same The Big Five Model of Personality
family have the same permissive or strict parents Personality is an important determinant of how a
and similar life experiences. If the twins have similar person thinks, feels, and behaves, it is helpful to
personalities, it is impossible to identify the source distinguish between different types of personality.
of the similarity because they have not only the Researchers have spent considerable time and
same genetic makeup but also similar life effort trying to identify personality types. One of the
experiences. most important ways that researchers have found
to describe a personality is in terms of traits. A trait
In contrast, identical twins who are separated at is a specific component of personality that describes
birth and raised in different settings (perhaps the particular tendencies a person has to feel, think,
because they are adopted by different families) and act in certain ways, such as in a shy or outgoing,
share the same genetic material but often have very critical or accepting, compulsive or easygoing
different life experiences. Evidence from research manner. Researchers have identified many
on separated identical twins and other studies personality traits, and most psychologists agree that
suggests that approximately 50 percent of the the traits that make up a person’s personality can be
variation we observe in people’s personalities can organized in a hierarchy. The Big Five model of
be attributed to nature—to genetic factors. Thus, personality places five general personality traits at
about half of the variation we observe in people’s the top of the trait hierarchy: extraversion,
personalities reflects the distinctive ways of neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and
thinking, feeling, and behaving they inherited from openness to experience.
their parents. The other 50 percent reflects the
influence of nurture, or life experiences. Extraversion. The tendency to experience positive
emotional states and feel good about oneself and
Personality develops over time, responding to the the world around one; also called positive
experiences people have as children and as adults. affectivity. At work, extraverts are more likely than
Factors such as the strictness or permissiveness of a introverts to experience positive moods, be satisfied
child’s parents, the number of other children in the with their jobs, and generally feel good about the
family, the extent to which parents and teachers organization and those around them. Extraverts also
demand a lot from a child, success or lack of success are more likely to enjoy socializing with their
at making friends or getting and keeping a job, and coworkers. They may do particularly well in jobs
even the culture in which a person is raised and lives requiring frequent social interaction such as sales
as an adult are shapers of personality. and customer relations positions.
Neuroticism. The tendency to experience negative that change frequently, require creativity and
emotional states and view oneself and the world innovation, or involve considerable risk, individuals
around one negatively; also called negative who are open to experience may have an
affectivity. Individuals who are high on neuroticism advantage. Although openness to experience clearly
are more likely to experience negative moods at is an advantage for entrepreneurs and those
work, feel stressed, and generally have a negative performing jobs that require innovation,
orientation toward the work situation. organizations also need people to perform jobs that
do not allow much opportunity for originality. In
Agreeableness. The tendency to get along well with addition, organizations are sometimes afraid to take
others. Individuals low on agreeableness are the risks that employees high on openness to
antagonistic, mistrustful, unsympathetic, experience may thrive on.
uncooperative, and rude. A low
measure of agreeableness might
be an advantage in jobs that
require a person to be somewhat
antagonistic, such as a bill
collector or a drill sergeant.
Agreeable individuals generally
are easy to get along with and
are team players. Agreeableness
can be an asset in jobs that hinge
on developing good
relationships with other people.
Conscientiousness. The extent to

which a person is careful,
scrupulous, and persevering.
Individuals high on
conscientiousness are organized
and have a lot of self-discipline.
Individuals low on
conscientiousness may lack
direction and self-discipline.
Conscientiousness is important
in many organizational situations
and has been found to be a good
predictor of performance in
many jobs in a wide variety of
organizations.
Openness to Experience. The

extent to which a person is
original, has broad interests, and
is willing to take risks. For jobs
Other Relevant Personality Traits their performance to external forces such as luck,
Although the Big Five traits have proven highly the effects of powerful people, or simply the fact
relevant to organizational behavior and other forms that the task was easy.
of behaviors, they don’t exhaust the range of traits
that can describe someone’s personality. Other Self-Monitoring. Self-monitoring is the extent to
relevant traits could also be taken into account in which people try to control the way they present
understand personality within the organization and themselves to others. High self-monitors want their
in consumption situations. behavior to be socially acceptable and are attuned
to any social cues that signal appropriate or
External and Internal Locus of Control. “Externals,” inappropriate behavior. They strive to behave in a
or individuals with an external locus of control, tend situationally appropriate manner. People who are
to believe outside forces are largely responsible for low self-monitors are guided by their own attitudes,
their fate, and they see little connection between beliefs, feelings, and principles and are not too
their own actions and what happens to them. concerned about what others think of their
“Internals,” or individuals with an internal locus of behaviors
control, think their own actions and behaviors have
an impact on what happens to them. When people Self-Esteem. Self-esteem is the extent into which
with an internal locus of control perform well, they people have pride in themselves and their
are likely to attribute their performance to qualities capabilities. Individuals with high self-esteem think
within themselves, such as their own abilities or they are generally capable and worthy people who
efforts. When people with an external locus of can deal with most situations. Individuals with low
control perform well, they are likely to attribute self-esteem question their self-worth, doubt their
capabilities, and are apprehensive about their ability
to succeed in different endeavors.
Type A and Type B Personalities. Type A is a person

who has an intense desire to achieve, is extremely
competitive, and has a strong sense of urgency.
Because they are able to accomplish so much, Type
A’s would seem to be ideal employees from the
organization’s perspective, especially in situations in
which a lot of work needs to be done in a short
amount of time. However, because they can be
difficult to get along with, Type A’s may not be
effective in situations that require a lot of
interaction with others while Type B person tends to
be more easygoing, relaxed, and get along well with
others.
Need for Achievement. The need for achievement is -------------------------------------------------------------------
the desire to perform challenging tasks well and to Check-It-Yourself
meet one’s own high standards. They like to be in Assess your personality, and point out
situations in which they are personally responsible characteristics that you believe may have been
brought about by Nature and Nurture. Write down
for what happens, like to set clear goals for
your responses below.
themselves, are willing to take personal
responsibility for outcomes, and like to receive Nature
performance feedback. _________________________________________
_________________________________________
Need for Affiliation. The need for affiliation is the
desire to establish and maintain good relations with _________________________________________
others. They not only want to be liked by others, but _________________________________________
they also want everyone to get along with everyone _________________________________________
else. As you might expect, they like working in
_________________________________________
groups, tend to be sensitive to other people’s
feelings, and avoid taking actions that would result
in interpersonal conflict. In organizations, Nurture
individuals with a high need for affiliation are _________________________________________
especially likely to be found in jobs that require a lot _________________________________________
of social interaction. Although they make good team _________________________________________
players, a manager might not want a group to be
_________________________________________
composed primarily of individuals with a high need
for affiliation because the group might be more _________________________________________
concerned about maintaining good interpersonal _________________________________________
relations than about actually accomplishing its
tasks.
Need for Power. The need for power is

the desire to exert emotional and
behavioral control or influence over
others. These individuals are especially
likely to be found in managerial jobs
and leadership positions, which
require one person to exert influence
over others. Individuals with a high
need or power may actually be more
effective as leaders than those with a
low need for power.
Think Like A Psychologist
Take a look again at the Big Five Model of Personality and understand the characteristics of individuals who
may display dominance on either of the traits. Take these traits in consumption situations. How do you think
the person belonging to this trait will behave in terms of purchasing and consumption? Describe their
behaviors in the table below.
References:
Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and your life.

McGraw-Hill.
George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012).

Understanding and managing organizational
behavior (6th Edition). Pearson Education, Inc.
Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015). Organizational

behavior. Pearson.
Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer

behavior, buying, and being. Pearson Education
Limited.
Respect others.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
The eight types of cognitive ability include with

Chapter 4 verbal ability, numerical ability, reasoning ability,
deductive ability, ability to see relationships, ability
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: to remember, spatial ability, and perceptual.
ability Physical Ability

People differ not only in cognitive ability but also in
Learning Objectives: physical ability. Two types of physical abilities are
• Understand ability and its elements motor and physical skills. A motor skill is the ability
• Distinguish constitutions of cognitive and to physically manipulate objects in an environment.
physical abilities A physical skill is a person’s fitness and strength. E.
• Discover origin of abilities A. Fleishman has devoted considerable attention to
• Appreciate one’s own abilities and identifying and studying physical ability and has
championing abilities in different situations concluded that there are 11 basic motor skills (such
• Seek ways to improve emotional intelligence as reaction time, manual dexterity, and speed of
as an important ability
arm movement) and nine physical skills (such as
• Perform evaluation of abilities
static strength, which includes the ability to lift
weights and stamina).
ABILITY
Ability is defined as the mental or physical capacity
to do something. Ability has important implications
in human behavior because it determines the level
of performance a person can achieve and, with this
performance, he will be able to contribute to the
success of the group, organizational, the whole
community or even to himself. Abilities could be
grouped according to two major, distinct
categories—the cognitive ability and physical ability.
Cognitive Ability
Psychologists have identified many types of
cognitive ability and grouped them in a hierarchy.
The most general dimension of cognitive ability is
general intelligence. Under general intelligence are
specific types of cognitive ability that reflect
competence in different areas of mental
functioning. These abilities are essential in the
performance of behavior, and in the level of
competence in which the behavior is performed.
WHERE DO ABILITIES COME FROM AND HOW ARE people can enhance some of their physical and
THEY MEASURED? motor skills.
Like personality, both cognitive ability and physical
ability are determined by nature and nurture. Researchers have developed many accurate paper-
General intelligence is determined by the genes we and-pencil measures of cognitive ability; managers
inherit from our parents (nature) and by situational and teachers can often rely on the results of these
factors (nurture). Standardized tests such as the tests as useful indicators of the underlying ability
GMAT (General Management Aptitude Test) or the they are measuring. In organizations, tests can be
SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) are designed to used to ensure that prospective employees have the
measure certain basic aptitudes and abilities that types of ability necessary to perform a job, to place
people are probably born with, but we know that existing employees in different jobs in an
people’s scores on these tests change over time and organization, to identify individuals who might need
that situational changes such as repeated training additional training, and to evaluate how successful
on practice exams can improve performance. training programs are in raising ability levels.
Physical ability can be measured by having a person

engage in the activity he or she would have to do on
the job. For example, managers who need to see
whether a prospective employee is strong enough
to deliver, unpack, and set up heavy appliances
could ask the individual to lift progressively heavier
weights to determine the level of his or her static
strength.
Although organizations spend considerable time

and effort to ensure that the people, they hire have
the abilities they need to be effective in their jobs,
sometimes people are not given the opportunity to
use their abilities on the job. A study of over 600
managers and 700 hourly employees found that two
thirds of the managers and employees surveyed
Moreover, an individual may be genetically thought that their companies used only about 50
endowed with superior intelligence, but if that percent of their employees’ cognitive abilities.
person grows up in a severely impoverished Hence, in addition to ensuring that employees have
environment (characterized by poor nutrition, the abilities needed to perform at a high level,
irregular school attendance, or parents who are organizations should also strive to give them the
drug abusers), his or her scores on standard opportunity to use them.
intelligence tests will probably suffer. Both nature
and nurture also determine physical ability. Height, Cognitive and physical abilities can degenerate or
bone structure, limb length, and relative become impaired because of disease, drug or
proportions are genetically determined and cannot alcohol abuse, excessive levels of stress, or fatigue.
be changed. Through practice and training such as In many organizations, it is important to accurately
weight-lifting and aerobic exercise, however, assess the ability level of an employee to know what
he or she is capable of doing, but it is also necessary
to know when and why that ability may become leaders and managers maintain their enthusiasm
impaired. Organizations have traditionally and confidence and communicate a vision to
responded to impairment by testing employees for followers that will energize them to work toward
substance abuse. This has, indeed, been found to organizational goals.
reduce illegal drug use.
CONSUMER ABILITY
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: A DIFFERENT KIND OF In as much as abilities are acknowledged and
ABILITY understood within the organization, in the business
Psychologists have identified another kind of ability context abilities of the consumers also determine
that is less concerned with cognitive or physical the actual performance of their behavior. This is also
capabilities as with emotional capabilities. bounded within the cognitive and physical domains
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and influenced by their emotional intelligence.
and manage one’s own feelings and emotions and
the feelings and emotions of others. Emotional According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2018), consumers
intelligence also helps promote effective differ in their cognitive style, or their preferences for
functioning and well-being among employees. ways product information are to be presented.
People differ in terms of the extent to which they Some consumers are adept at processing
know how they are feeling, why they are feeling that information visually, whereas others prefer to
way, and their ability to manage those feelings. process information verbally. For example, some
Similarly, they differ in their ability to understand consumers prefer to check products by watching
what other people are feeling and why, and their Youtube unboxing or review videos while others
ability to influence or manage the feelings of others. rather would read instructions in detail from a
Emotional intelligence describes these individual manual.
differences.
Intelligence, education and age have also been
Theorizing and research suggest that emotional related to the ability to process information.
intelligence is an especially important ability for Specifically, consumers who are more intelligent
leaders and managers, enabling them to understand and more educated can better process more
and relate well to others as well as understand complex information and make decisions. Age also
themselves. Emotional intelligence also helps counts for differences in processing ability. Older
children seem to be more sensitive to the fact that
the benefits of searching for information sometimes
outweigh the costs, whereas younger children don’t
seem to have this same ability.
Physically, money is considered as an important

ability of the consumers to perform a consumption
behavior. The lack of money naturally constrains a
consumer to engage in a behavior that involves
acquisition. Although motivated consumers who
lack money can still process information and make
buying decisions, they are definitely constrained in
their immediate ability to buy from marketers.
When it comes to their emotional ability, consumers -------------------------------------------------------------------
who are more emotionally adept make better Check-It-Yourself
purchase decisions This means that consumers who Check your emotional intelligence by taking the test
understand their emotional ability can make higher below.
quality consumption decisions such as health
decisions and product choices (Kidwell, Hardesty & Give the following scores to each of the statement:
Childers, 2008) 1 = Totally Disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Somewhat Disagree
EMPLOYEE ABILITY 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree
When it comes to job performance, few abilities are 5 = Somewhat Agree
likely to be relevant. Managerial work, for example, 6 = Agree
requires cognitive ability, not very many physical 7 = Totally Agree
abilities, and probably some degree of emotional
intelligence whereas being a grocery-store shelf ___1. I have a good sense of why I have certain
stocker or a car washer required mainly physical feelings most of the time.
ability. A brain surgeon for instance, must rely on ___2. I always know my friends’ emotions from their
cognitive and physical abilities when performing behavior.
highly complicated and delicate operations. For ___3. I always set goals for myself and then try my
managers, the key issue regarding ability is to make best to achieve them.
sure employees have the abilities they need to ___4. I am able to control my temper so that I can
perform their jobs effectively. There are three handle difficulties rationally.
fundamental ways to manage ability in ___5. I have good understanding of my own
organizations to ensure that this match-up happens: emotions.
selection, placement and training. ___6. I am a good observer of others’ emotions.
___7. I always tell myself I am a competent person.
Selection is the process of recruiting the right people ___8. I am quite capable of controlling my own
with the right abilities for the job while placement is emotions.
to put these people with the right abilities in the ___9. I really understand what I feel.
right job. Training takes place when these people ___10. I am sensitive to the feelings and emotions
are already in place in their respective job of others.
assignments, and they are further honed with their ___11. I am a self-motivating person.
abilities to perform their jobs more effectively. ___12. I can always calm down quickly when I am
very angry.
___13. I always know whether or not I am happy.
___14. I have good understanding of the emotions _________________________________________
of people around me.
_________________________________________
___15. I would always encourage to try my best.
___16. I have a good control of my own emotions. _________________________________________
_________________________________________
Scoring
Self- 1 5 9 13 Sum _________________________________________
Emotions
Appraisal _________________________________________
Others- 2 6 10 14 Sum
Emotions
Appraisal Based on your current emotional state, what
Use of 3 7 11 15 Sum challenges you think you may have once you will be
Emotion working in a company? How will you deal with it?
_________________________________________
Regulation 4 8 12 16 Sum
of Emotion _________________________________________
_________________________________________
This test is adapted from Law, Wong and Song _________________________________________
(2004) and Wong and Law (2002).
_________________________________________
Reflect On… _________________________________________
Based on the results of test given above, how do you
appraise your current emotional state? Do you _________________________________________
consider yourself as emotionally intelligent? Explain _________________________________________
your answer.
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ Based on your current emotional state, how do you

evaluate yourself as a consumer? Are you a smart
_________________________________________ consumer? Why or why not?
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________
References:

McGraw-Hill.
George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012). Understanding

and managing organizational behavior (6th
Edition). Pearson Education, Inc.

behavior. Houghton
Kidwell, B., Hardesty, D. & Childers, T. (2008).

Consumer emotional intelligence:
Conceptualization, measurement, and the
prediction of consumer decision making.
Advances in Consumer Research. 23, 660-662.
Law, K., Wong, C. & Song, L. (2004). The construct

and criterion validity of emotional intelligence
and its potential utility for management studies.
Journal of Applied Psychology. 89(3), 496.

behavior. Pearson.

Wong, C. & Law, S. (2002). The effects of leader and

follower emotional intelligence on performance
and attitude: An exploratory study. Leadership
Quarterly. 13, 243-274.
Study hard.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR actions. Ethics evaluates those actions, and the
values that underlie them. It determines which
values should be pursued, and which shouldn't.

Chapter 5 Courage is one such value. Those who value courage
are willing to stand up for what they believe, even in
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: the face of strong condemnation. Courage is a moral
value when it deals with right and wrong conduct.
values)
Main Features of Values
• Define values Values are beliefs. But they are beliefs tied
inextricably to emotion, not objective, cold ideas.
• Describe the main features of values
• Explain the different levels of values
Values are a motivational construct. They refer to
• Evaluate dominant values that matter in
the desirable goals people strive to attain.
one’s life
• Understand the effects of values toward
Values transcend specific actions and situations.
consumption and workplace conditions
They are abstract goals. The abstract nature of
• Solve a puzzle and reflect on personal values
as a consumer and future worker values distinguished them from concepts like
norms and attitudes, which usually refer to
specific actions, objects, or situations.
VALUES
Values are basic and fundamental beliefs that guide Values guide the selection or evaluation of
or motivate attitudes or actions. They help us to actions, policies, people, and events. That is,
determine what is important to us. Values describe values serve as standards or criteria.
the personal qualities we choose to embody to
guide our actions; the sort of person we want to be; Values are ordered by importance relative to one
the manner in which we treat ourselves and others, another. People’s values form an ordered system
and our interaction with the world around us. They of value priorities that characterize them as
provide the general guidelines for conduct. individuals. This hierarchical feature of values also
distinguishes them from norms and attitudes.
Values in a narrow sense is that which is good,
desirable, or worthwhile. Values are the motive
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF VALUES
behind purposeful action. They are the ends to
Values do not operate just at a personal level but
which we act and come in many forms. Personal
across other levels too—groups, organizations,
values are personal beliefs about right and wrong
even societies. These levels are all considered to
and may or may not be considered moral. Cultural
have sets of shared values, which exert influence
values are values accepted by religions or societies
across the levels in different ways.
and reflect what is important in each context.
The levels are depicted in the figure below, and they
Values are essential to ethics. Ethics is concerned
include:
with human actions, and the choice of those
• Personal
• Groups (or teams in the context of work) Dominant values
• Organizational or sectoral (public, private, Dominant values are those that are widely shared
voluntary) amongst a group, community or culture. They are
• Societal. passed on through sources such as the media,
institutions, religious organizations or family, but
remember what is considered dominant in one
culture or society will vary to the next.
Using the sources listed above, some of your values

could be:
• family—caring for each other, family comes
first
• peers—importance of friendship,
importance of doing things that peers
approve of
• workplace—doing your job properly;
approving/disapproving of ‘foreign orders’
(doing home-related activities in work time
or using work resources for home related
activities)
• educational institutions—the valuing or
otherwise of learning; value of self in
relation to an ability to learn (this often
SOURCES OF VALUES depends on personal experience of
Our values come from a variety of sources. Some of schooling, whether positive or negative)
these include: • significant life events—death of loved ones
• family and the impact on what we value as being
• peers (social influences) important; marriage and the importance
• the workplace (work ethics, job roles) and role of marriage and children;
• educational institutions such as schools
• significant life events (death, divorce, losing
jobs, major accident and trauma, major
health issues, significant financial losses and
so on)
• religion
• music
• media
• technology
• culture
• major historical events (world wars,
economic depressions, etc.).
separation and divorce and the value change It is important that you develop an awareness of
that may be associated with this (valuing of what you value, as these values will be important in
self or otherwise) informing your relationships with clients, co–
• religion—beliefs about ‘right and wrong’ workers and employers at the same time it will
and beliefs in gods reflect on your consumption and patronization of
• media—the impact of TV, movies, radio, the products and services.
Internet and advertising on what is
important in our lives, what is valued and CONSUMER VALUES
not valued Consumers usually buy, use and dispose of products
• music—music often reflects what is in a manner consistent with their values. Thus,
occurring in society, people’s response to marketers can know more about what consumers
things such as love and relationships which like if they understand their values. For example,
may then influence the development of our those who value warm relationships are more likely
values to buy gifts and sends cards than those who place
• technology—the importance of technology less value on relationships. Consumers buy personal
or otherwise; the importance of computers care products at The Body Shop because of the
and developing computer skills value the company places on naturalness and health
• culture—a cultural value such as the as well as its emphasis on societal values, such as
importance of individuality as opposed to buying ingredients from poor Brazilian tribes.
conforming to groups
• major historical events—not wasting Marketers can identify groups of consumers who
anything, saving for times of draught, have common set of values different from those of
valuing human life, patriotic values. other groups, a process called value segmentation.
For example, Honda segmented the car market and long-lasting feelings and beliefs people have
based on the value consumers place on that contribute to how they experience work. Why
environmental issues and identified some specific are work values important for understanding and
demographic variables that described a particular managing organizational behavior? They reflect
group: primarily married men in their thirties with what people are trying to achieve through and at
high income and a technical job or an interest in work. An employee who thinks he or she should
technology or environment. Marketers can also use learn new things on the job, for example, will be
values to understand the attributes that consumers unhappy working as a toll collector on a highway
in a particular segment are likely to find important because, once he or she has learned how to collect
in a product and that may therefore motivate them tolls, there will be little opportunity for any further
to choose one brand over another. When buying learning. His or her unhappiness may, in turn, cause
clothes, individuals who value status might look for him or her to be less courteous to drivers or more
attributes like price and luxury, whereas those who likely to look for another job. The work values that
value fitting-in with the crowd might look for researchers in organizational behavior have
clothing that is trendy. Moreover, values can identified generally fall into two broad categories:
influence consumers’ reactions to new and different intrinsic work values and extrinsic work values.
products. For example, consumers who value
change highly are likely to react very differently to Intrinsic work values are values related to the nature
innovations like the use of social media in of the work itself. Employees who desire to be
corporation and workplace communication than challenged, learn new things, make important
those who value change less. contributions, and reach their full potential on their
jobs have intrinsic work values. These employees
WORK VALUES want challenging jobs that use all of their skills and
An employee’s personal convictions about what abilities and provide them with responsibility and
outcomes one should expect from work and how autonomy (the ability to make decisions), while at
one should behave at work. Outcomes that people the same time giving them opportunities for
might expect to obtain through work include a personal growth. Employees who desire adventure,
comfortable existence with family security, a sense enjoy being creative, or like helping other people
of accomplishment and self-respect, social also are satisfying intrinsic work values because the
recognition, and an exciting life. Ways people think work they perform—whether it be building new
they should behave at work include being businesses, composing a new symphony, or helping
ambitious, imaginative, obedient, self-controlled, a troubled teen—is what is important to them.
and respectful to others. Work values are general
Extrinsic work values function on the other side of R N S I E S A F
the coin. Rather than valuing features of the work
itself, some employees have extrinsic work values, _________________________________________
values related to the consequences of work.
Employees whose primary reason for working is to
earn money, for example, have extrinsic work C E P E A
values. They see work primarily as a means of
providing economic security for themselves and _________________________________________
their families. These employees value their work not
for its own sake but for its consequences. Other
extrinsic work values include a job’s status in the A F I L Y M
organization and in the wider community, social
contacts provided by the job, and the extent to _________________________________________
which a job enables an employee to spend time with
his or her family, pursue a hobby, or volunteer for a
worthy cause. I S N R H D P E I F
Because working is the way most people make a _________________________________________

living, there is an extrinsic element to most people’s
work values, but many people have both extrinsic
and intrinsic work values. Extrinsic and intrinsic D A E N I C U T O
work values differ in their relative importance from
one person to another. An elementary _________________________________________
schoolteacher who likes teaching but quits her job
to take a higher-paying position as a sales
representative for a computer company has N I N S E D K S
stronger extrinsic than intrinsic work values. A social
worker who puts up with low pay and little thanks _________________________________________
because he feels that he is doing something
important by helping disadvantaged families and
their children has stronger intrinsic than extrinsic
H E N T O Y S
work values.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________________________________
Puzzle Up!
Reassemble the letters in the box to form a word.
The words relate to things that people value.
W A R K R D H O
L A H T E H
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
D M R E F E O
V N N O T I M E R N
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
P A S I H S P N E _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Reflect On…
_________________________________________
Based from the words you have formed above,
which ones that you value the most as a consumer _________________________________________
and as a future worker. You can select more than
_________________________________________
one for each role. You can also add on a value that
is maybe not on the list. Explain your answer. References:
George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012).
Consumer
_________________________________________
behavior (6th Edition). Pearson Education, Inc.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
behavior. Houghton
_________________________________________
Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015).
_________________________________________
Organizational behavior. Pearson
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Don’t forget to recycle.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Future Employee
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES
Chapter 6 Attitudes are composed of three components:
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: Cognitive component is the description of or belief

in the way things are. It is what we know or think we
ATTITUDES) know of an object, situation or information. Say for
instance, a company supervisor may think that two
weeks training is needed for a worker to effectively
Learning Objectives: operate a particular process in the organization
• Define attitude
while the worker thinks that it only needs four days
• Name and explain the three components of
attitudes
to do it, therefore the supervisor and the worker
• Identify the characteristics of attitudes have differing attitudes toward the training. In
• Ponder on the effects of attitudes towards consumption situation, cognitive attitude is
organizational behavior demonstrated when you refuse to buy the leather
• Demonstrate situations related to the purse on sale because you have learned that the
hierarchies of effects company who made it harmed animals in making
the item.
ATTITUDES
Affective component is the emotional segment of an
Attitudes are evaluative statements—either
attitude. It consists of feelings, sentiments or
favorable or unfavorable—about objects, people or
emotions that a person has towards an object,
events. Attitude object is the term to refer to
situation or individual. The expression of emotions
anything that a person has an attitude towards.
could either be positive such as liking the front desk
Attitudes generally reflect how we feel about
receptionist of the company, negative such as
something say for instance, when you say “I like my
disliking your mean boss or neutral such as feeling
job,” you are expressing your attitude towards your
okay with the cleaning lady of the office. In a
work or “I hate smoking,” you are showing your
consumption situation, you may develop positive
attitude towards smoking. But attitudes are
complex. If you ask people about
their attitude toward religion,
celebrity, or the organization they
work for, you may get a simple
response of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but the
reasons underlying these
responses are probably
complicated. In order to fully
understand attitudes, we must
consider their fundamental
properties or components.
attitude. When an
employee favors the
newly enforced
policy of not using
single-use plastic
within office
premises, she will
act on it and brings
her own cups and
cutlery. But an
employee who is against it, will continue to bring
attitude towards a shop because of their fast plastic bottle in the office and ignore the directive.
customer service while feeling bad about an online
shop because you were cheated of your purchase. Attitude have intensity
It refers to the strength of the affective component
Behavioral component describes the intention to of the attitude. For example, we may dislike an
behave in a certain way toward someone or individual but the extent of our disliking would be
something. This may lead to the predispositions on determined by the intensity of our attitude towards
a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the object, the person. You may dislike your boss but you
situation or individual. From among the three extremely hate the head of the production
components, it is the behavioral component that is department because of his rude behavior.
directly observable such as in the case of you
avoiding to talk to a co-worker because you did not Attitudes are valence
like how she deals with you in your meeting or you Valence is the force that attract people to desirable
go away from pubs and bars because you don’t like objects and repel them from undesirable ones
drinking and you hate loud noise. (Shuman, Sander & Scherer, 2013). Attitudes are
valence in such a manner that positive attitude
CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTITUDES attract a person towards the attitude object while
Attitudes are predisposed negative attitude keeps them away from it. For
Attitudes are predisposed such that it identifies the example, you always have a negative attitude
purpose, interest or opinion of the person towards toward smoking, you always repel those who smoke
an object before taking action into it. When offered and never come near a person who is smoking but
with a slice of chocolate cake during a meeting, an when it comes to movies, you always have positive
employee may find it unappetizing as she never eats attitude towards it, you always make time for it.
sweets, however when the meeting began, she finds
out that the presenter is the person she likes in the Attitudes are learned
office, thus she pays full attention to him, and Attitude is not inborn phenomenon. Attitudes are
agrees to what he was saying. learned through social interaction and experience,
which means we develop an attitude from our
Attitudes influence human behavior conversations with others and observation of things
Attitudes predetermine the performance of a around us. Say for instance, after watching a
behavior. This is to say that when a person holds an documentary about the adverse effects of the
attitude towards an object, whether it is positive or irresponsible use of plastic to the environment, you
negative, his actions will be reflective of that develop a favorable attitude towards non-plastic
products, and go on to change your behavior by attitude. For example, when we are impressed by
lessening or not using plastic anymore. someone keeping calm under stressful
circumstance and we appreciate such calmness, we
FORMATION OF ATTITUDES might try to do the same.
As attitudes are essentially learned, the next curious
question is how attitudes are formed. The question Association. Our association with the group we
often arises, “how are the attitudes and subsequent belong to strongly influences our attitude. Our close
behaviors formed?” While attitudes are basically association with a group would encourage us to be
learned over the years, some inherited consistent with the attitude of the group.
characteristics do affect attitudes. So, some of the
learned characteristics responsible for attitude Personality. Personality is a set of traits and
formation are the following: characteristics, habit patterns and conditioned
responses to certain stimuli that formulate the
Experiences. Our personal experiences with people impression that a person makes upon others and
and situations develop our attitude towards such this impression is a function of a person’s attitude.
persons and situations. Say for instance, through job
experience people develop attitude towards HIERARCHIES OF EFFECTS
working conditions, salaries, supervision, group Which comes first: knowing, feeling or doing? It
dynamics and so on. turns out that each element may lead things off,
depending on the situation. Attitude researchers
Perceptual biases. Perception is the result of a developed the concept of the hierarchy of effects to
complex interaction of various senses such as explain the relative impact of the three components
feelings, seeing, hearing and so on, and play an of attitude which are the cognition, behavior and
important part in our attitude and behavioral affection. Each hierarchy specifies that a fixed
formation. For example, if a manager perceives a sequence of steps occurs en route to an attitude.
subordinate’s ability as limited, he will give him
limited responsibility. Similarly, we lose many good Standard
friends due to our changed perception about them. Think-Feel-Do. The standard learning hierarchy
assumes that a person approached a decision as a
Observation of another person’s attitude. When we problem-solving process. First, the person forms
like someone, we try to emulate that person’s beliefs (cognition) about an attitude object as she
accumulates knowledge about it. Next, she expended by the consumer in reacting to or
evaluates the beliefs and forms a feeling (feeling) behaving towards an attitude object. Thus, attitudes
about it. Then she engages in a relevant action based on high-consumer effort and attitudes based
(behavior). When a newcomer joins the company, on low-consumer effort are categorically identified
you might size up how would you relate to him by to refer to the amount of time consumers spend in
first learning about his academic or occupational processing product and marketing information. The
background. When it sounds favorable to you, you central route processing is the process to describe
then feel good about it, and eventually take actions the attitude formation and change when thinking a
to be friendly with him. message that requires some effort. Processing is
central because consumers’ attitudes are based on
Low-Involvement careful and effortful analysis of the true merits or
Do-Feel-Think. The low-involvement hierarchy of central issues contained within the message. As a
effects assumes that the person initially does not result, consumers form strong, accessible, and
have a strong preference towards an attitude confidently held attitudes that are persistent and
object; instead, she acts on the basis of limited resistant to change.
knowledge and forms an evaluation only after she
learns about it. In this case, the attitude is likely to On the other hand, when the processing is low, the
come about through behavioral learning, as good or effort is termed as peripherical-route processing,
bad experiences reinforce her initial choice. Say for which characterizes an attitude formation and
instance, when the newcomer joins the company, change that involves limited effort. This takes place
you might be friendly with him even if you do not when the consumers’ attitudes are based not on a
know totally about him. And by this interaction, you detailed consideration of the message or their
form your feelings toward him and eventually, ability to relate to the brand empathetically but on
develop your beliefs whether he would be a good the other easily processed aspects of the message
co-worker or not.
Experiential
Feel-Think-Do. The experiential hierarchy of effects
suggest that a person acts on the basis of his
emotional reactions. The experiential perspective
highlights the idea that the attributes of the attitude
object, and the context in which the experience with
that attitude object happens can help shape
attitudes toward it. Taking the same example as the
newcomer joining the company, you might feel
comfortable with him since he enters the office, he
immediately smiles at you and say his greetings, and
he becomes friendly with everybody. You then form
a belief that he is a good person, thus your actions
towards him will be more favorable.
CONSUMER ATTITUDES
According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2007), consumer
attitudes are formed depending on the effort
such as the source or visuals, which are aptly called workday. When people begin to display a positive
as the peripheral cues. Consumer attitudes can attitude at work, they can expect to see the benefits
persist overtime if peripheral cues such as visuals of it. If an employee has to share knowledge about
are related to the offering. new project with his subordinates in department, he
is making attitude upbeat and hopeful for a positive
ORGANIZATIONAL ATTITUDES outcome. People with character, integrity, loyalty,
Having the right attitude matters in the completion good values and positive attitudes can contribute
of assignments or to successfully carry out more than other. According to researchers, the right
processes to achieve a goal. An expert knows that a attitude in the workplace leads people to career
positive attitude is necessary for successful success, productivity, leadership, teamwork, sound
completion of a project or an assigned task. In the decision making, motivation, effective interpersonal
organizational setting, having a positive attitude relations and efficient stress management.
with positive thinking will reflect on what the
employees do that makes them more productive -------------------------------------------------------------------
workers. If employees show a good attitude, they Reflect On…
may increase their chances for a promotion. On the Describe your attitude towards the following topics
other hand, they will get a rise in salary if they or issues:
become a positive role model for others in the
organization. Positive thinking and a good attitude Globalization
help better people’s psychological well-being and _________________________________________
help them cope better under stressful situations in
_________________________________________
the organization. If employees show good attitude,
their co-workers will show as well making it easier _________________________________________
to communicate and get along in the workplace.
Social Media
An attitude of a person is a form of expression of
_________________________________________
self. People can choose to be happy, positive and
optimistic or people can choose to be pessimistic _________________________________________
and critical with a negative outlook on their
_________________________________________
Recycling
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Sustainability
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Online Classes _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
COVID-19 Vaccines
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________
Solve This!
_________________________________________
The Builder’s Case
Barry has noticed that the Pinnacle Real-Estate _________________________________________
Company is no longer the cheerful, pleasant
_________________________________________
workplace it used to be. Back when he was building
six homes a year, everyone appeared to be _________________________________________
dedicated to meeting deadlines, controlling costs,
_________________________________________
and keeping customers highly satisfied. But over the
past two years, the company has grown to 15 _________________________________________
houses per year and added two new employees. But
_________________________________________
now it seems like everything is falling through the
cracks—deadlines are missed, mistakes are made _________________________________________
on the houses, and work has to be redone. In
_________________________________________
addition, no one wants to accept responsibility for
the mistakes, and everyone blames someone else. _________________________________________
Barry has also noticed that tempers are shorter, and
_________________________________________
he even has found himself in the middle of the
conflict between the production and accounting _________________________________________
departments.
_________________________________________
Analyze this case against the concepts learned _________________________________________
in this chapter. What could have gone wrong?
_________________________________________
How would you describe the attitudes of the
employees towards the company? Towards Barry? _________________________________________
Towards their work? And what could be done to
_________________________________________
solve this issue?
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ Trellis, A. (2004, June 1). Case study: Employee
attitudes. Look to yourself to set the tone. Builder.
_________________________________________
https://www.builderonline.com/design/case-study-
_________________________________________ employee-attitudes_o
_________________________________________
Be happy.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
This case study was adapted from Case Study:
Employee Attitudes, Look to Yourself to Set the Tone
by Al Trellis posted in builderonline.com on 21 June,
2004.
References:

McGraw-Hill.
GeekTonight (2021, April 17). What is attitude?

Definition, types, components, formation,
functions, characteristics.
https://www.geektonight.com/what-is-attitude-
meaning-functions-types-importance-
components/


behavior. Houghton
Peterson, J. (2011). 10 things you should know

about attitude. American College of Sports
Medicine. https://www.alpfitness.com/10-things-
you-should-know-about-attitude/

behavior. Pearson.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Chapter 7 stress is an arousal reaction to some stimuli—be it

an event, object or person. Such reaction is
Stress and
characterized by the heightened arousal of
physiological and psychological processes.
coping CAUSES OF STRESS

A major source of confusion, which makes the study
of origins of stress difficult is the tendency to lump
Learning Objectives: all stressors together because they may all result in
• Define stress
the same general reaction called stress. The
• Describe the nature and onset of stress
categorization of stressors would help alleviate
• Understand the causes of stress
some of these confusions. This classification is
• Explain the effects of stress
• Devise ways to cope with stress
based on the external nature of the stressor upon
• Realize the importance of stress management the fundamental basis or cause of the stress
and coping reaction. The causes of stress may be divided into
• Create a comic strip four general classes: psychosocial, biological,
personality and environmental causes.
STRESS
Stress is a fact of life that begins with birth and
persisting until death. Both the day-to-day
situations and other situations like job, education
etc. can produce stress. Mainly, stresses are
grouped into two types: positive stress and negative
stress. Positive stress is also called eustress, which is
a desirable condition and usually arises from
positive life events such as marriage, child birth, job
promotion, college graduation, purchase of a house
etc. Negative stress or distress is destructive in
nature, and it arises from negative life events such
as crime, sexual assault, violence, sudden death of a
family member, natural disasters (tsunami, flood,
earthquake), terrorism, and daily hassles (getting a
speeding ticket, held up in a heavy traffic, losing
your sunglass or mobile phone, late arrival of your
friend for a movie). Many researchers established
the relationship between stressful life events and
physical illness, so it is something not ignorable but
has to be taken care of (Lahey, 2007). By definition,
Psychosocial Causes comfortable, safe and permissible. The
These stressors are a function of the complex more people who live or work around
interaction between social behavior and the way you, the more likely you will experience
our sense and our minds interpret those behaviors. stress reaction (Regoeczi, 2003).
In other words, much of societal stress is • Technostress is the stressful condition
determined by the meanings that we assign to the when one cannot adapt or cope with
events in our lives. Different individuals are likely to information technologies in a healthy
interpret these events differently thus, psychosocial manner.
stressors originate from the complex interaction
between socialization and perception. Biological Causes
• Adaptation is the tendency of the body The term “biological stressor” refers to stimuli
to fight to restore homeostasis (an arising out of our relationship with our
internal stability) in the face of forces environment, that produce a stress response in
which upset the natural bodily balance. most individuals through innate biological
• Frustration is the thwarting or inhibiting mechanism. This type of stressor is only minimally
of natural or desired behaviors and colored by an individual’s higher perception and
goals. Frustration occurs when we are thought process; most likely this originates from
blocked from doing what we want to do, some physiological changes in our body.
whether it is certain behavior we wish to • Biological rhythms are naturally
perform or a goal we wish to attain recurring cycles of biological activities
emotionality. governed by the nervous and hormonal
• Conflict is a state of opposition, systems. Biological rhythms can be
disagreement or incompatibility viewed as natural fluctuations in body
between two or more people or groups process which promote survival by
of people, which is sometimes automatically dictating that periods of
characterized by physical violence. high energy be interspersed by periods
• Overload refers to the state in which the of restorative rest.
demands around a person exceed his or • Nutritional habits or the so-called stress-
her capacity to meet them. prone diet also instigate certain levels of
• Deprivational stress is the psycho- stress. The consumption of certain foods
physiological stress response caused by can add to the stress of everyday life, or
states of boredom and/or loneliness. by contributing to its stimulation by
• Overcrowding is the presence of more creating a state of fatigue and increased
people or things in a space than is nervous irritability. Tea, coffee, cola and
energy drinks are
known to cause
stress as they
contain neuro-
stimulators like
caffeine and theo-
bromine, which was
proven to heighten
stress.
• Noise pollution is the propagation of neuroticism trait tend to experience
noise with harmful impact on the activity higher stresses than those from other
of human or animal life. Research types.
suggests that prolonged exposure to • Anxious-reactive personality types are
loud noises causes problems to the inner those who are prone to reacting
ear, endocrine and nervous system and vehemently towards stressors in his
the brain’s neurotransmitters that lead environment. Because of his anxious
to blurred thinking and sleep nature, he immediately reacts or judges
deprivation. Unregulated noises cause the situation to be threatening and
extreme stresses in everyday life (Petric, stressful. Those who have this tendency
2020). are likely to develop chronic
psychosomatic disorders (Shibu, 1992).
Personality Causes • Learned helplessness is when people feel
As primarily discussed in Chapter 3 and elsewhere in helpless to avoid negative situations
the course, personality is the summation of the because previous experience has shown
characteristics, attitudes, values and behavioral them that they do not have the control.
patterns that individuals manifest in interacting with In this situation people may try to accept
their environment. Our personality matters in way the stressors and they may not react to
in which we view the world; this subsequently affect that situation.
how we deal with our problems in life. Certain
personality types and traits view problems
differently from others thus, the levels of stress
affecting an individual also vary depending on how
we view it.
• Self-perception refers to the image that
one holds of oneself and of the world. An
individual forms this image by evaluating
his power and self-worth based upon
inputs from his family, friends and other
people, who hold a significant place in
his life. According to Lazarus (1966), the
greater degree to which a person
perceives himself to be in control of
situation, the less his stress reaction
would be.
• Patterns of behavior are highly
implicated in the stress-disease
continuum. The most widely recognized
personality characteristics that have
been linked to stress related health
disorders, particularly coronary heart
disease are the Type A and Type B
behavior patterns. In Big Five Personality
Types, those who belong to high
STRESS EFFECTS thus it is difficult to separate psychological effects
When the level of stress is out of one’s control, it from the processes involve in other consequences
leads to certain degree of physiological and of stress. However, such conditions as irritability,
psychological effects that interrupt the person’s apprehensiveness, depression and annoyance are
efficient daily functioning. The signs and symptoms often associated to the exposure of stress. The
of stress overload can be almost anything. Stress clinical diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder
affects the mind, body and behavior in many ways, (PTSD) is also considered as a psychological effect of
and everyone experiences stress differently. Not stress where a person experiences anxiety brought
only can overwhelming stress lead to serious mental about by constant memory flashbacks, avoidance of
and physical health problems, it can also take a tool stimuli associated with trauma and chronic arousal
on relationships at home, work and school. symptoms irritability of outburst of anger and
difficulty concentrating that last more than one
Physiological Effects month. Burnout is another psychological effect that
Physiological changes that accompany stress are the is characterized by the state of physical, emotional
increased adrenal gland activity and the secretion of and mental exhaustion created by long-term
such hormones as cortisol, epinephrine and involvement in an emotional demanding situation
norepinephrine that cause increased heart rate, (Pines & Aronson, 1988). When burnout occurs,
blood pressure, faster breathing and sweating. affected individuals essentially lose their spirit—
Stress also lowers immune system, which in turn they emotionally drained, they feel used up, and
lead to the development of some chronic illnesses they lose their sense of personal accomplishment.
such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
COPING
The relationship between stressful events and
health is mediated by coping process. Psychologists
have approached the issue of coping strategies from
different perspectives. In the late 1960’s
behaviorists, who were studying the behavioral and
physiological consequences of exposure to diverse
stressors, realized that the ability to control the
situation and predict what is going to happen was
actually more important than the physical
characteristics of stressors. In everyday language,
the term ‘coping’ has strong implications of success.
To cope with something is to do one’s best to
master it. When different coping strategies are
available to deal with a problematic situation, most
successful strategy is one, which enables resolution
Psychological Effects of the situation at minimum cost. For the purpose of
The complexity of our modern world and the our study here, coping can be defined as the
lifestyle we lead everyday make it difficult to thoughts and actions people used to deal with
determine the definite psychological effects of stress.
stress. The daily stressors are almost always the
common trigger for symptoms of stress to manifest Strategies in coping with stress include a wide range
of methods—they are either constructive or of
limited value. However, the aim here is to learn • Indulgence is the tendency to perform
about coping so as to master, reduce and/or excessive consumption such as
tolerate the demands caused by stress. overeating, splurging, overusing and
abusing drugs and alcohol, etc.
Ineffective Coping • Self-blame is the tendency for a person
Ineffective coping is commonly called as defense to attribute the occurrence of a stressful
mechanism or defensive coping, which usually leads even to oneself. Although it is necessary
to less desirable outcomes. The following are the to acknowledge and accept the stressful
examples of mechanisms in which the coping event, but it should not lead to charging
strategy has limited value. oneself all the responsibilities of its
• Giving up is a learned behavior where occurrence, instead the person has to
early stress was inescapable and events actively find ways on how to deal with
were out of our control. It is often self- the stress.
defeating when the method continues to
be applied. Among the most Constructive Coping
maladaptive people using this strategy Constructive coping is the process of confronting
often experienced trauma where the problems directly and realistically. It involves any
situation was inescapable (Weiten et.al., instrumental approach to stress management that
2009). is generally considered to be adaptive or otherwise
• Aggression is displacement of the positive (APA, 2021). Lazarus (1966, 1993)
emotion, which is destructive to suggested three valuable ways to cope with stress:
relationship either in a verbal or physical appraisal-focused, problem-focused and emotion-
form. A benefit to the aggressor might focused.
be catharsis; the release of emotional • Appraisal-focused coping is the
tension. mechanism in which it involves the
change of mindset or a revision of
thoughts. Appraisal-focused strategies
occur when the person modifies the way
he thinks, alters his goals and values or
evaluates whether the problem is worth
its time and effort.
• Problem-focused coping involves facing
problems head-on, clarifying, generating
and finding alternative courses of action,
and monitoring results. Seeking help and
time management are common
methods for this coping strategy.
• Emotion-focused coping is the ability to
become aware, regulate and express
emotions through understanding and
reasoning. Common strategies of coping
are expressing emotions with others,
writing it down, forgiving, exercising and
meditating.
Humor as a Coping Mechanism -------------------------------------------------------------------
On certain contexts, humor could help ease out Think Like A Psychologist
stress by having the person think lightly of the A close friend confided to you that she is
problem, and take positive light from the difficult experiencing too much stress these days. Aside
situation. The apparent benefits of humor towards from pressures from school, she has to deal with the
physical, mental and psychological health have pending divorce of her parents. Her sole chance of
already been proven by extensive humor researches relieving all of these stresses, which is to meet with
(Embalzado & Sajampun, 2020). Humor is found to friends and go to the gym, has also been curtailed
be associated with lower stress perception (Wilkins due to the restrictions brought about by Covid-19
& Eisenbraun, 2009) and high levels of optimism pandemic. How would you help your friend by using
such that it brings hope and happiness to the person the three coping strategies?
(Cann & Etzel, 2008). It also relaxes muscles and
reduces chronic pain (Ocon, 2015) as laughter Appraisal-focused coping
releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers _________________________________________
(Check, 1997). However, humor alone doesn’t solve
_________________________________________
the problem per se; it only aids the person to think
more clearly and refocus his mechanisms to _________________________________________
effectively solve the problem.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Problem-focused coping
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Emotion-focused coping
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Draw-It-Yourself and managing organizational behavior (6th
Lahey, B.B. (2007). Psychology: An Introduction (9th

Ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Lazarus, R.S. (1966). Psychological stress and the

coping process. McGraw-Hill.
Lazarus, R. S. (1993). From psychological stress to

the emotions: A history of changing outlooks.
Annual Reviews Inc. 44, 1-21.
Ocon, R. (2015). Using humor to create a positive

learning environment. 122nd ASEE Annual
Conference and Exposition. Conference
Proceeding.
Pines, A. & Aronson, E. (1988). Career burnout:

Cause and cures (2nd ed.). Free Press.
Regoeczi, W.C. (2003). When context matters: A

multilevel analysis of household and
neighborhood crowding on aggression and
withdrawal. Journal of Environmental
Create your own simple comic strip that shows an Psychology, 23, 457- 470.
idea on how to cope with stress. It could be your
own personal experience or you have heard from Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015). Organizational
others. behavior. Pearson.
References: Shibu, D. (1992). Stress and General Health

Cann, A. & Etzel, K. (2008). Remembering and Problems. Unpublished M.Phil. Dissertation,
anticipating stressors: positive personality University of Kerala, India.
mediates the relationship with sense of humor.
Humor. 21(2), 157-178. Weiten, W., Lloyd, M.A., Dunn, S. D., Hammer, E.Y.
(2009). Psychology applied to modern life:
Check, J. (1997). Humor in education. Physical adjustment in the 21st Century (9th Edition)
Educator. 54(3), 165-167 Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Embalzado H. & Sajampun, P. (2020). Perspectives Wilkins, J. & Eisenbraun, A. (2009). Humor theories
of students in Thailand on the use of humor in and the physiological benefits of laughter.
university classroom. International Education Holistic Nursing Practice. November/December
Studies. 13(4). 17-26. 2009.
George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012). Understanding Be an inspiration.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
we mean that OB experts have been accumulating a

Chapter 8 distinct knowledge about behavior within
organizations (McShane & Gilnow, 2008).
Introduction to LEVELS OF OB
organizational In practice, OB is examined at three main levels such

as individual, group and the organization as a whole.
behavior Part 1)
A full understanding of OB is impossible without a
systematic examination of the factors that affect
behavior at each level.
• Define organizational behavior (OB) Individual Level Analysis
• Identify three levels of analysis in OB Several different outcomes at the individual level
• Differentiate OB from management are important to managers. Given the focus of the
• Explain managerial functions, roles and skills field of organizational behavior, it should not be
• Realize the importance of analyzing OB for surprising that most of these outcomes are directly
the improvement of an organization or indirectly addressed by various theories and
• Take a quiz models. Much of the research in OB has focused on
the way in which the characteristics of individuals
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (such as personality, feeling, and motivation) affect
Organizational behavior (often called as OB) is a how well people do their jobs, whether they like
field of study that investigates the impact what they do, whether they get along with the
individuals, groups and structure have on behavior people they work with, and so on. In OB, we
within organizations for the purpose of applying examine individual characteristics critical in
such knowledge toward improving an organization’s understanding and managing behavior in
effectiveness.
OB is a field of study, meaning that it is a distinct

area of expertise with a common body of
knowledge. It studies three determinants of
behavior in organizations such as individuals, groups
and the organization as a whole (Robbins & Judge,
2014). Thus contextually, OB is the study of what
people think, feel and do in and around
organizations. OB researchers systematically study
individual, teams and organizational level
characteristics that influence behavior within the
work settings. By saying that OB is a field of study
organizations such as personality, ability, attitudes, principal task of organizational structure is to
values as discussed in previous chapters and encourage people to work hard and coordinate
learning, creativity and stress in the succeeding their efforts to ensure high levels of organizational
chapters. performance.
Group Level Analysis OB AND MANAGEMENT

The effects of group or team characteristics and The ability to use the tools of OB to understand
processes such as communication and decision- behavior in organizations is one of the primal
making on OB also need to be understood. A group reasons to study this topic. The second reason is to
is two or more people who interact to achieve their learn how to use and apply these concepts, theories
goals. A team is a group in which members work and techniques to improve, enhance or change
together intensively and develop team-specific behavior so that employees, groups and whole
routines to achieve a common goal. The number of organization can all better achieve their goals. OB
members in a group, the type and diversity of team research has found that organizations whose
members, the task they perform, and attractiveness employees have been taught how to work as a team
of a group to its members all influence not just the and to take members to be helpful, courteous and
behavior of the group as a whole but also the agreeable to each other and to customers will be
behaviors of individuals within the group. For more effective than those organizations whose
example, a team can influence its members’ employees do not behave in this way.
decision on how diligently they should do their jobs
or how often they are absent from work. A working knowledge of OB is important to
employees at all levels in the organization because
Organizational Level Analysis it helps them to appreciate the work situation and
Many studies have found that characteristics of the how they should behave to achieve their own goals
organization as a whole (such as its culture and (such as promotion or higher income). But
design of an organization’s structure) have knowledge of OB is particularly important to
important effects on the behavior of individuals and managers, people who direct and supervise the
groups. The values and beliefs in an organization’s activities of one or more employees.
culture influence how people, groups, and
managers interact with each other and with people Managers at all levels confront the problem of
(such as customers or suppliers) outside the understanding the behavior of their subordinates
organization. Organizational
culture also shapes and
controls the attitudes and
behavior of people and
groups within an organization
and thus influences their
desire to work toward
achieving organizational
goals. An organization’s
structure controls how
people and groups cooperate
and interact to achieve
organizational goals. The
and responding appropriately. But CEOs or increase the employee’s’ productivity or job
presidents have to manage their companies’ top- satisfaction;
management teams, the high-ranking executives • A manager can change the reward system to
who jointly work to develop strategies that allow an change employees’ beliefs about the extent
organization to achieve its goals. Such in the case of to which their rewards depend on their
sales managers having to train their salespeople to performance;
offer appropriate services and products so that it • A manager can change the design of a
best satisfies their client’s specific needs. person’s job or the rules and procedures for
doing the job to reduce costs, make the task
more enjoyable, or make the task easier to
perform.
A key challenge for all organizations, and one that

we address throughout in OB studies, is how to
encourage organizational members to work
effectively for their own benefit, the benefit of their
work groups and the benefit of their organization.
MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS
The four principal functions or duties of
management are planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling an organization’s human, financial,
material, and other resources to increase its
effectiveness. Managers who are knowledgeable
about OB are in good position to improve their
ability to perform these functions.
Each manager faces the common challenge of
Planning
finding ways to help the organization achieve its
One main role of a manager is creating a plan to
goals. A manager who understands how individual,
meet company goals and objectives. This involves
group and organizational characteristics affect and
allocating employee resources and delegating
shape work attitudes and behavior can begin to
responsibilities, as well as setting realistic timelines,
experiment to see whether changing one or more of
and standards for completion. Planning requires
these characteristics might increase the
those in management roles to continuously check
effectiveness of the organization—and the
on team progress in order to make small
individuals and groups it consists of. Organizational
adjustments when necessary, while still maintaining
effectiveness is the ability of an organization to
a clear picture of a company’s larger aims and goals.
achieve its goals. The study of OB helps managers
Much of one’s planning function consists of working
meet challenges of improving organizational
independently to determine what responsibilities
effectiveness by providing them with a set of tools
must be given to which employees, setting priority
such as the following:
levels for certain tasks, and creating timelines.
• A manager can work to raise an employee’s
Planning is a complex and difficult task because
self-esteem or beliefs about his or her ability managers must make decisions under certain
to accomplish a certain task in order to conditions and so considerable risks are involved
when they choose which strategies pursue. expected to perform one another’s nontechnical
Knowledge of OB can help improve the quality of jobs when needed.
decision making, increase the chances of success,
and lessen the risks inherent in planning and Leading
decision making. At Southwest Airlines, for example, In leading, managers encourage workers to do a
CEO Gary Kelly’s goal is to provide customers with good job (work hard, produce high-quality products)
low-priced air travel, and to achieve this Southwest and coordinate individuals and groups so that all
has created many strategies to use resources as organizational members are working to achieve
efficiently as possible. To make it possible, he organizational goals. The study of different
decided to use only one kind of plane, the Boeing leadership methods and of how to match leadership
737, to keep down operating, training, and styles to the characteristics of the organization and
maintenance costs; and the company sells its tickets all its components is a major concern of OB. Today,
on its own website – one of the easiest to use his the way managers lead employees is changing
industry. because millions of employees work in self-
managed teams, which refer to the groups of
Organizing employees who are given both the authority and
In organizing, managers establish a structure of responsibility to manage important aspects of their
work relationships that determines how members own work behaviors. These groups, for example, are
of an organization will cooperate and act jointly to often responsible for interviewing job applicants,
achieve organizational goals. Organizing involves and for selecting their new team members who they
grouping employees in to groups, teams or often train as well. Also, these groups work together
departments according to the kinds of tasks or jobs to improve work methods and procedures that can
they perform. At Xerox for example, the technicians increase their effectiveness and help each other
who service and maintain their copiers are grouped raise their own personal job skills and knowledge.
into the service-operation department; and their The managers who used to actively supervise the
sales people are grouped
into the sales department.
OB offers many guidelines

on how best to organize
employees (an
organization’s human
resources) to make the
most effective use of their
personal skills and
capabilities. In OB we
discuss various methods of
grouping workers to
enhance communication
and coordination while
avoiding conflict or politics.
For example, members of
particular departments
(such as in production) are
team now play a different role—that of coaches or behavior knowledge. Trader Joe’s, a chain of grocery
mentors. Their new role is to provide advice or stores in the U.S., uses the approach of
support as needed and champion the team and help decentralizing authority and empowering
it to obtain additional resources that will allow it to salespeople to take responsibility for meeting
perform at higher level and earn greater rewards as customer needs. They give their employees the full
well. autonomy to make decisions and provide
personalized customer service (George & Jones,
Controlling 2012).
Finally, in controlling, managers monitor and
evaluate individual, group and organizational MANAGERIAL ROLES
performance to see whether organizational goals Managers perform their four functions by assuming
are being achieved. If goals are met, managers can specific roles in organizations. A role is a set of work
take action to maintain and improve performance; behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform
if goals are not being met, managers can take because of the position he or she holds in a group
corrective action. The controlling function also or organization.
allows managers to evaluate how well they are
performing their planning, organizing, and leading Interpersonal roles are primarily social in nature;
functions. Once again, the theories and concepts of that is, they are roles in which the manager’s main
OB allow managers to understand and accurately task is to relate to other people in certain ways. The
diagnose work situations in order to pinpoint where key interpersonal roles are being the figurehead,
corrective action may be needed. Suppose the the leader, and the liaison. As a figurehead, the
members of a group are not working effectively manager gives speech to workforce about future
together. The problem might be due to personality organizational goals and objectives; as a leader, the
conflicts between individual members of the group, manager gives direct commands and orders to
to faulty leadership approach of a supervisor, or to subordinates; and as a liaison, the manager
poor job design. OB provide valuable tools coordinates the works of managers in different
managers can use to diagnose which of these departments.
possible explanations is the source of the problem,
and it enables managers to make an informed Informational roles involve some aspects of
decision about how to correct the problem. Control information processing. The key informational roles
at all levels of organization is impossible if managers of managers are to monitor, being a disseminator,
do not possess the necessary organizational- and at times, be the spokesperson. In monitoring,
the manager evaluates the performance of different Human skills enable a manager to understand, work
managers and departments, and take action to with, lead and control the behaviors of other people
improve their performance; being a disseminator, and groups. The study of how managers can
the manager informs organizational members influence behavior is a principal focus of OB, and the
about the changes that take place within and ability to learn and acquire the skills needed to
outside the organization; and serving as a coordinate and motivate people is a principal
spokesperson, the manager launches new difference between effective and ineffective
organizational campaign to promote products or managers.
uphold company image.
Technical skills are the job-specific knowledge and
Decision-making roles require the manager to techniques that a manager requires to perform an
perform the roles of an entrepreneur, disturbance organizational role—for example, in manufacturing,
handler, the resource allocator and negotiator. As accounting or marketing. The specific technical skills
an entrepreneur, the manager is responsible in a manager needs to learn depend on which
exploring organizational resources to develop new organization the manager is in and on his or her
products or projects; as disturbance handler, the position in the organization. The manager of a
manager mobilizes organizational resources to deal restaurant, for example, needs cooking skills to fill in
with external problems; as resource allocator, the for an absent cook, accounting and bookkeeping
manager allocates tasks and resources among skills to keep track of receipts and costs and to
different departments and divisions; and as a administer the payroll, and artistic skills to keep the
negotiator, the manager works with suppliers, restaurant looking attractive for customers.
distributors, labor unions or employees in conflict.
Effective managers need all three kinds of skills—
MANAGERIAL SKILLS conceptual, human and technical. The lack of one or
Just as the study of OB provides tools that managers more of these skills can lead to a manager’s
can use to increase their abilities to perform their downfall. One of the biggest problems that
functions and roles, it can also help managers entrepreneurs confront—a problem often
improve their skills in managing OB. A skill is an responsible for their failure—is the lack of
ability to act in a way that allows a person to person appropriate conceptual and human skills. Similarly,
to perform well in his or role. Managers need three one of the biggest problems faced by scientists,
principal kinds of skill in order to perform their engineers, and others who switch careers and go
organizational functions and roles effectively such from research into management is their lack of
as conceptual, human and technical skills. effective human skills. Management functions,
roles, and skills are intimately related, and the ability
Conceptual skills allow a manager to analyze and to understand and manage behavior in
diagnose a situation and to distinguish between organizations is indispensable to any actual or
cause and effect. Planning and organizing require a prospective manager over the long run.
high level of conceptual skills, as do the decisional -------------------------------------------------------------------
roles previously discussed. The study of OB provides Quick Quiz
managers with many of the conceptual tools they Test your knowledge about the functions, roles and
need to analyze organizational settings and to skills of a manager in organization. Identify which
identify and diagnose the dynamics of individual and function, role or skill is asked in the statement
group behavior in these settings. below. Give a specific answer.
1. Relate to people in the organization in certain Reflect On…
ways. A friend suggested that OB courses are useful only
_________________________________________ to people who will enter management careers. Do
you agree or disagree with his statement? Discuss
2. Coordinate individuals and groups so that all your answer here by giving an example.
organizational members are working to achieve _________________________________________
organizational goals.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
3. Serves as a spokesperson who launches new
_________________________________________
organizational campaigns to promote products or
uphold company’s image. _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
4. Analyze and diagnose situations and distinguish _________________________________________
between cause and effect.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
5. Grouping employees into groups, teams or
_________________________________________
departments according to the kinds of tasks or jobs
they perform. _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
6. Understand, work with, lead and control the References:
behaviors of other people and groups.
_________________________________________
7. Allocates employee resources and delegating
responsibilities, as well as setting realistic timelines,
Griffin. R.W. & Moorhead. G. (2006). An overview of
and standards for completion.
organizational behavior management.
_________________________________________
Fundamentals of organizational behavior.
Houghton Mifflin Company.
8. Monitor and evaluate individual, group and
organizational performance to see whether
McShane & Glinow. V. (2008). Introduction to the
organizational goals are being achieved.
field of organizational behavior. Organizational
_________________________________________
behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace
revolution (4th Edition). McGraw-Hill.
9. Requires to learn job-specific knowledge and
techniques.
Be your own kind of beautiful.
_________________________________________
10. Allocates tasks and resources among different

departments and divisions.
_________________________________________
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Challenge 1: The Changing Social and Cultural

Chapter 8 Environment
Forces in the social and cultural environment are
Introduction to those that are due to change in the way people live
and work—changing values, attitudes, and beliefs
organizational brought about by changes in nation’s culture and

characteristics of its people. National culture is the
behavior Part 2)
set of values or beliefs that a society considers
important and norms of behavior that are approved
or sanctioned in that society. Over time, the culture
Learning Objectives: of a nation changes, and this affects the values and
• Identify challenges of OB beliefs of its members. In the United States, beliefs
• Discuss solutions to the challenges of OB about the roles and rights of women, minorities,
• Relate the challenges of OB to current issues gays, and the disabled—as well as feelings about
and conditions love, sex, marriage, war and work—have all changed
• Explore issues related to social responsibility in each passing decade.
• Uphold fairness and justice in organization
• Conduct an interview with a company Organizations must be responsive to the changes
employee
that take place in a society because they affect all
aspects of their operations. Change affects their
CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR hiring and promotion practices, for one, as well as
The organizations continuously interact with its the types of organizational behaviors and
external environment to secure resources to make procedures considered as appropriate in the work
its products and then to dispose of its products or setting. For example, in the last 10 years, the
outputs by selling them to customers. Only by number of women and minorities assuming
continually altering and improving its work
behaviors and operating procedures to respond to
changing environmental forces can an organization
adapt and prosper over time. Organizations that fail
to recognize the many changing forces in the
environment lose their ability to acquire resources
and sell products; they often disintegrate and
disappear over time.
Today OB faces many challenges, and these

challenges result from the changing environment
that confront people who work in companies and
organizations. Four major challenges of OB are
discussed below.
managerial positions in the workforce have a group differ in age, ethnicity, and other
increased by over 25 percent. Another important characteristics, their attitudes, behavior, and
aspect related to this is that organizations have responses are likely to differ as well.
made many significant changes to their
organizational rules and procedures to prevent Fairness and Justice Challenge. Jobs in organizations
employees from discriminating against others are a scarce resource, and obtaining jobs and being
because of factors such as age, gender or ethnicity, promoted to a higher-level job is a competitive
and prevent sexual harassment. Two important process. Managers are challenged to allocate jobs,
changes facing OB today are those that derive from promotions, and rewards in a fair and equitable
breakdown in ethical values and from the increasing manner. As diversity increases, achieving fairness
diversity of the workforce. can be difficult because many organizations gave
traditionally appointed white-male employees to
Developing Organizational Ethics and Well-being. higher organizational positions but today all kinds of
An organization’s ethics are the values, beliefs and diverse employees must be judged by the same
moral rules that its managers and employees should
use to analyze or interpret a situation and then
decide what is the “right” or appropriate way to
solve an ethical dilemma. An ethical dilemma is the
difficulties managers experience when they have to
decide if they should act in a way that might benefit
other people or groups, and is the “right” thing to
do, even though doing so might go against their own
and their organization’s interests. An ethical
dilemma may also arise when a manager has to
decide between two different courses of action,
knowing that whichever course chosen will
inevitability result in harm to one person or group
while it may benefit another. The ethical dilemma
here is to decide which course of action is the
“lesser of two evils.”
Dealing with a Diverse Workforce. A second social

and cultural challenge is to understand how the
diversity of a workforce affects OB. Diversity results
from differences in age, gender, race, ethnicity,
religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic
background, and capabilities or disabilities. If an
organization or group is composed of people who
are all of same gender, ethnicity, age, religion, and
so on, the attitudes and behavior of its members are
likely to be very similar. Members are likely to share
the same attitudes or values and will tend to
respond to work situations (projects, conflicts, new
tasks) in similar ways. By contrast, if the members of
equitable and unbiased criteria if companies are to employees can share the same job (to take care of
avoid employment lawsuits that have cost children or aged parents, for example), designing
companies millions of dollars. Increasing diversity jobs and the buildings that house organizations to
can strain an organization’s ability to satisfy the be sensitive to the special needs of handicapped
aspirations of all the diverse groups in its employees (and customers), creating management
workforce—and this can create problems that, in programs designed to provide constructive
turn, affect the well-being of employees and feedback to employees about their personal styles
organizational performance. Deciding how to of dealing with minority employees, establishing
promote diversity to increase employee well-being mentoring relationships to support minority
and organizational performance poses difficult employees and establishing informal networks
ethical problems for managers. among minority employees to provide social
support.
Decision-Making and Performance Challenge.
Another important challenge posed by a diverse Challenge 2: The Evolving Global Environment
workforce is how to take advantage of differences The challenge of responding to social and cultural
in the attitudes and perspectives of people of forces increases as organizations expand their
different ages, genders, or races, in order to operations globally and set up international
improve decision making and raise organizational operations in countries throughout the world.
performance. Many organizations have found that Global organizations like GM, Toyota, Xerox,
tapping into diversity and taking advantage of PepsiCo and Sony are companies that produce or
potential of diverse employees, leads to new and sell their products in countries and regions
improved OBs and procedures. Accenture, the throughout the world. Each country has a different
global management consulting company, provides national culture, and so when they expand their
an example of one company that has enjoyed huge operations abroad global organizations encounter
success because of the way it has developed an much greater differences in social and cultural
approach to diversity that reflects the needs of its values, beliefs, and attitudes. They therefore face
employees, customers, and its environment the increased challenge of dealing with ethical and
(Orlando 2000).
Flexibility Challenge. A third

diversity challenge is to be
sensitive to the needs of different
kinds of employees and to try to
develop flexible employment
approaches that increase
employee well-being. Some of
these approaches include the new
benefit packages customized to
the needs of different groups of
employees, flexible employment
conditions (such as flextime or
working from home),
arrangements that allow for job
sharing so that two or more
diversity-related issues across countries and Global Learning. Although the changing global
national boundaries (Prahlad & Doz 1992). Three environment has been a major threat to U.S.
important challenges facing global organizations are organizations and workers, it also offers them many
to appreciate the differences that exist between opportunities to improve the ways they operate. By
countries; to benefit from this new global fostering global learning—the process of acquiring
knowledge in order to find ways to improve and learning the skills, knowledge, and OBs and
organizational behavior (Gupta & Govindarajan, procedures that have helped companies abroad
2002) and managing efficiently global crisis. become major global competitors—U.S. companies
have also prospered (e.g., Ford and GM have bought
Understanding Global Differences. Companies must the design skills of Italian companies like Ferrari and
learn about many different kinds of factors when Lamborghini, electronics components from
they operate globally. First, there are the Japanese companies like NEC and Matsushita, and
considerable problems of understanding OB in machine tools and manufacturing equipment from
different global settings. Evidence suggests that German companies like Daimler and BASF). To
people in different countries have different values, respond to this global challenge, more and more
beliefs, and attitudes about the value of the jobs companies are rotating their employees and moving
they perform and the organization they work for. them to their overseas operations so they can learn
For example, U.S. employees have an individualistic firsthand the problems and opportunities that arise
orientation toward work while Japanese employees when working in countries overseas. Expatriate
have a collectivist orientation and this cultural managers are those who live and work for
difference affects employees’ personal work companies in countries abroad. There are many
behavior, their behavior in groups, and their ways they can help their companies develop
commitment and loyalty to an organization. improved OBs and procedures.
Global Crisis Management. Today, global learning is

also important to tackle another challenge such as
the global crisis management. Extensive global
learning allows for more effective responses to the
increasing number of crises or disasters that are
occurring from natural or manmade causes or
because of international terrorism and geopolitical
conflicts. Crises that arise from natural causes
include the wave of hurricanes, tsunamis,
earthquakes, famines, and diseases (COVID19
Pandemic, for example) that have divested so many
countries. Manmade crises such as those that are
result of global warming, pollution, and the
destruction of the natural habitat or environment,
have also been seen to be increasingly affecting
companies worldwide.
Challenge 3: Advancing Information Technology

One kind of technology that possesses a major
challenge for organizations today is information
technology (IT). Just few decades ago, science organization, the issue is to use and develop IT that
fiction writers like Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov allows employee to acquire more and better
imagined devices such as wrist-held videophones, information that increases an organization’s ability
virtual reality machines and speech programmed, to respond to its environment.
hand-held computers. Today, companies like Apple,
HP, Sony and Microsoft are offering these devices to Information technology (IT) is the many different
their customers. Even science fiction writers did not kinds of computer and communications hardware
imagine the development of the World Wide Web and software and the skills of their designers,
(www), a global store of information that contains programmers, managers, and technicians. IT is used
the products of most kinds of human knowledge to acquire, define, input, arrange, organize,
such as writing, music and art. Such knowledge can manipulate, store, and transmit facts, data, and
be accessed and enjoyed by anyone connected to information to create knowledge and promote
the global network of interlinked computers that is organizational learning. Organizational learning
the internet. We live in a different world than just occurs when its members can manage information
mere decade ago; advances in IT have changed the and knowledge to the effect IT has on two important
way people think and the very nature of OB. To kinds of OB. First, those behaviors that increase
understand how IT has changed OB and the way effectiveness by helping an organization improve
companies operate it is to understand the concept the quality of its products and lower their cost.
of information. Second, those behaviors that increases
effectiveness by promoting creativity and
Information is set of data, facts, numbers and words organizational learning and innovation.
that have been organized in such a way that they
provide their users with knowledge. Knowledge is IT and Organizational Effectiveness. The internet
what a person perceives, recognizes, identifies or and the growth of intranets—a network of
discovers from analyzing data and information. Over information technology linkages inside an
time, the result of acquiring more and better organization that connects all its members—
information and knowledge is learning. In an dramatically changed OB and procedures. With
information more accurate, plentiful and freely
available. IT allows for the easy exchange of know-
how and facilitates problem solving. And as
computers increasingly take over routine work
tasks, employees have more time to engage in
constructive, work-expanding kinds of activities
such as finding better ways of performing a task or
providing customers a better service.
IT, Creativity, and Organizational Learning. Today,

using new IT to help employees, individually and in
groups, to be creative and enhance organizational
innovation and learning is a major challenge.
Creativity is the generation of novel and useful
ideas. One of the outcomes is innovation, an
organization’s ability to make new or improved
goods and services or improvements in the way they
are produced. IT plays a major role in fostering they might be the next employees to be gone and
creativity and innovation because it changes OBs because they are forced to do the work previously
and procedures. Innovation is an activity that performed by the lost employees—work that often
requires constant updating of knowledge and they cannot cope with (Robinson & Kraatz. 1994).
constant search for new ideas and technological The increasing tendency of companies to lay off
developments that can be used to improve a hard-working, loyal employees when the need
product over time. arises seems to be changing the employment
relationship between employees and the
Challenge 4: Shifting Work and Employment companies they work for. Employees now realize
Relationships that to keep their jobs and advance to better ones,
In the last few decades, the relationship between an they need to invest more in themselves and make
organization and its members has been changing sure that they keep their job skills and knowledge up
because of increasing globalization and emergence to date. They also need to search for new job
of new information technologies. The effects of opportunities.
these changes on OB have taken many forms, and
important developments include a shortening Empowerment. Other important trends that go
employment relationship because of downsizing, hand in hand with downsizing are the increasing use
the growth in the number of contingent or of empowered self-managed teams, contingent or
temporary employees, and outsourcing. temporary workers and outsourcing. Empowerment
is the process giving employees throughout an
In the past, it was quite common for many people to organization the authority to make important
spend their whole careers at a large company like decisions and to be responsible for their outcomes.
IBM, Microsoft or Ford often moving up the Self-managed teams are work groups who have
organizational hierarchy over time to higher been empowered and given the responsibility for
seniority and better-paying jobs. Throughout the leading themselves and ensuring that they
2000s, most companies have been pressured by accomplish their goals.
global competition to find ways to reduce operating
costs and the result has been that tens of millions of
employees have found themselves laid off by their
companies and forced to search for new jobs.
Downsizing. Downsizing is the process by which

organizations lay off managers and workers to
reduce costs. The size and scope of these
downsizing efforts have been enormous. It is
estimated that, in the last few decades, Fortune 500
companies have downsized so much they that they
now have about 15—20 percent fewer employees
than they used to. The drive to reduce costs is often
a response to increasing competitive pressures in
the global environment. While companies often
realize considerable cost savings by downsizing, the
remaining employees in downsized organizations
often work under stress, both because they fear
As organizations have downsized, there has also and knowledge and build their human capital so that
been an increasing trend for companies to employ they can secure well-paying and satisfying
contingent workers to keep costs down. Contingent employment either inside or outside an
workers are people employed for temporary organization.
periods by an organization and who receive no -------------------------------------------------------------------
benefits such as health insurance or pensions. Solve This!
Contingent workers may work by the day, week, or The Dilemma of Mart & Co.
month performing some functional tasks, or they To respond to the demands of globalization and
may contract with the organization for some fee to sustainability, Mart & Co., a small manufacturing
perform a specific service to the organization. The company that specializes in producing packages for
advantages an organization obtains from contingent small items such as bakeries, stationeries and
workers are (1) they cost less to employ since they gadget accessories, decided to import a machine
receive no benefits, and (2) they can be let go easily that produces the packages in larger volumes, which
when their services are no longer needed. will incur lesser cost at the same time reduce the
company’s carbon footprints. But this move could
Outsourcing. Finally, also as a way to reduce cost, mean laying-off at least 30% of its workforce, and
organizations are engaging in an increasing amount will leave some employees out of job especially
of outsourcing. Outsourcing is moving a specific those in the production department. The pending
type of work activity, process, job, or function that automation of the inventory system and customer
was performed inside an organization to outside, service process will also mean the jobs of inventory
where it is carried out by another person or staff, secretaries and salespeople.
company. At the individual level, for example,
companies may outsource particular kinds of jobs Analyze this case against concepts mentioned
such as bookkeeping, computer support, and above.
website design to freelancers—independent
specialists who contract with an organization by 1) What are the challenges that Mart & Co face in
computer, phone, fax, and express package this situation? Mention at least three specific
delivery. Freelancers are similar to contingent challenges from the lessons above.
workers except that they do not physically work _________________________________________
inside a company.
_________________________________________
Thus, downsizing, empowered self-managed teams, _________________________________________
the employment of part time contingent workers,
_________________________________________
and outsourcing are ways in which organizations are
changing OBs and procedures to battle effectively _________________________________________
against domestic and global competitors. Several
_________________________________________
OB researchers believe that organizations in future
will increasingly become composed of “core” of _________________________________________
organizational employees who are highly trained
_________________________________________
and rewarded by an organization and a “periphery”
of part time employees or freelancers who are _________________________________________
employed when needed but will never become true
_________________________________________
organizational employees. The challenge facing
people today is to continually improve their skills _________________________________________
2) How OB handles the challenges faced by Mart & United States of America
Co.? What are the probable solutions? _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ China
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ India
_________________________________________
3) If you are to decide, do you agree of the move to
procure the new machine and implement the _________________________________________
automation yet leave many employees jobless?
_________________________________________
Why or why not?
_________________________________________ References:
_________________________________________ George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012). Understanding
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Griffin. R.W. & Moorhead. G. (2006). An overview
_________________________________________
Of organizational behavior management.
_________________________________________ Fundamentals of organizational behavior.
Houghton Mifflin Company.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Gupta, A.K. & Govindarajan, V. (2002). Cultivating a
Global Mindset. Academy of Management
_________________________________________
Executive 16, 116-127.
For Example McShane & Glinow. V. (2008). Introduction to the

Using your mobile devices, search the internet for field of organizational behavior. Organizational
important cultural business practices of these behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace
following countries: revolution (4th Edition). McGraw-Hill.
Thailand Prahlad, C.K. & Doz. Y.L. ((1987). The Multinational

_________________________________________ Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global
Vision. Free Press.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Take the challenge.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
which people identify psychologically with their jobs

Chapter 9 and consider their perceived performance levels
important to self-worth. Employees with a high level
JOB SATISFACTION of job involvement strongly identify with and really
care about the kind of work they do.
Organizational commitment. In organizational

Learning Objectives: commitment, an employee identifies with a
• Learn about job satisfaction in the workplace particular organization and its goals and wishes to
• Relates oneself to job issues in the remain a member. Most research has focused on
organization emotional attachment to an organization and belief
• Identify outcomes of job satisfaction in its values as the “gold standard” for employee
• Pin point determinants of job satisfaction commitment.
• Get familiar with theories that explain job
satisfaction and job dissatisfaction
• Solve a puzzle and know about job facets
Perceived organizational support. Perceived
organizational support is the degree to which
employees believe the organization values their
JOB SATISFACTION
contributions and cares about their well-being. For
Job satisfaction is the the collection of feelings and
example, an employee believes his organization
beliefs that people have about their current jobs.
would accommodate him if he had a child care
But why do managers and researchers think it’s so
problem or would forgive an honest mistake on his
important? Job satisfaction has the potential to
part. Research shows that people perceive their
affect a wide range of behaviors in organizations organizations as supportive when rewards are
and contribute to employees’ levels of well-being. A deemed fair, when employees have a voice in
person with a high level of job satisfaction holds decisions, and when they see their supervisors are
positive feelings about his or her job, whereas a supportive.
person with low level holds
negative feelings. Because OB
researchers give job
satisfaction high importance, it
is therefore imperative to
consider this as big topic under
Human Behavior course.
Potential Consequences of Job

Satisfaction
Job involvement. Related to job
satisfaction is job involvement,
which measures the degree to
Organizational citizenship behavior. Organizational Employee well-being. Employee well-being is the
citizenship behavior is above and beyond the call of notion of how happy, healthy, and prosperous
duty—that is, behavior not required of employees are. This is related to job satisfaction as
organizational members but nonetheless necessary naturally, a satisfied employee floats cheerfully
for organizational survival and effectiveness. within the organization and emits positive vibes to
Examples of OCB include helping coworkers; others. According to a research, job satisfaction
protecting the organization from fire, theft, contributes to the overall well-being of the
vandalism, and other misfortunes; making employees, in which the more satisfaction the
constructive suggestions; developing one’s skills employee feels, the improved physical and mental
and capabilities; and spreading goodwill in the well-being he experiences, which in turn saves costs
larger community. These behaviors are seldom for unnecessary health-care.
required of organizational members, but they are
important in all organizations. Helping coworkers is DETERMINANTS OF JOB SATISFACTION
an especially important form of OCB when it comes The enduring issue that face organizational behavior
to computing in the workplace and learning new when it comes to job satisfaction is why some
information technologies. employees are satisfied and why others are
dissatisfied with the organizaiton. Here, four factors
are discussed that affect the level of job satisfaction
a person experiences: personality, values, the work
situation and social influence.
Personality
As discussed in the previous chapter, personality
matters in the organizational set-up. Personality,
the enduring ways a person has of feeling, thinking,
and behaving is the first determinant of how people
think and feel about their jobs or job satisfaction. An
individual’s personality influences the extent to
which thoughts and feelings about a job are positive
or negative. A person high on the Big Five trait of
extraversion, for instance, is likely to have a higher
level of job satisfaction than a person low on this
trait.
Values
Values have an impact on levels of job satisfaction
because they reflect employees’ convictions about
the outcomes that work should lead to and how one
should behave at work. A person with strong
intrinsic work values (those related to the nature of
the work itself), for example, is more likely than a
person with weak intrinsic work values to be
satisfied with a job that is interesting and personally
meaningful (such as social work) but that also
requires long working hours and doesn’t pay well. A Social Influence
person with strong extrinsic work values (those Another determinant of job satisfaction is social
related to the consequences of work) is more likely influence, or the influence that individuals or groups
than a person with weak extrinsic work values to be have on a person’s attitudes and behavior.
satisfied with a job that pays well but is Coworkers, the groups a person belongs to, and the
monotonous. culture a person grows up and lives in all have the
potential to affect employees’ levels of job
Work Situation satisfaction. Social influence from coworkers can be
Perhaps the most important source of job an important determinant of an employee’s job
satisfaction is the work situation—the tasks a satisfaction because coworkers are always around,
person performs (for example, how interesting or often have similar types of jobs, and often have
boring they are), the people a jobholder interacts certain things in common with an employee (such
with (customers, subordinates, and supervisors), as educational background). Coworkers can have a
the surroundings in which a person works (noise particularly potent influence on the job satisfaction
level, crowdedness, and temperature), and the way levels of new hires. New hires are still likely to be
the organization treats its employees (such as the forming an opinion about the organization and the
job security it offers them and whether the pay and job. They might not yet know what to make of it of
benefits are fair). Any aspect of the job and the whether or not they will ultimately like it. If they are
employing organization is part of the work situation surrounded by coworkers who are dissatisfied with
and can affect job satisfaction. Some of the theories their jobs, they are more likely to be dissatisfied
of job satisfaction that we consider later in this themselves than if they are surrounded by
chapter focus on the way in which specific employees who enjoy and are satisfied with their
situational factors affect job satisfaction. jobs.
Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory of Job
Satisfaction
One of the earliest theories of job satisfaction, the
Frederick Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory,
focuses on the effects of certain types of job facets
on job satisfaction. Herzberg’s theory proposes that
every employee has two sets of needs or
requirements: motivator needs and hygiene needs.
Motivator needs are associated with the actual
work itself and how challenging it is. Job facets such
as how interesting the work is, autonomy on the job,
and the responsibility it affords satisfy motivator
needs. Hygiene needs are associated with the
physical and psychological context in which the
work is performed. Job facets such as the physical
working conditions (for example, the temperature
and pleasantness of the surroundings), the nature
of supervision, amount of pay, and job security
satisfy hygiene needs.
The Discrepancy Model of Job Satisfaction

The discrepancy model of job satisfaction is based
on a simple idea: to determine how satisfied they
THEORIES OF JOB SATISFACTION
are with their jobs, employees compare their job to
There are many theories or models of job
some ideal job. This ideal job could be what one
satisfaction. Each of them takes into account one or
thinks the job should be like, what one expected the
more of the four main determinants of job
job to be like, what one wants from a job, or what
satisfaction (personality, values, the work situation,
one’s former job was like. According to the
and social influence) and specifies, in more detail,
discrepancy model of job satisfaction, when
exactly what causes one employee to be satisfied
with a job and another employee to be dissatisfied. employees’ expectations about their ideal job are
high, and when these expectations are not met,
employees will be dissatisfied. New college
The Facet Model of Job Satisfaction
graduates may be particularly prone to having
The facet model of job satisfaction focuses primarily
overly high expectations for their first jobs.
on work situation factors by breaking a job into its
According to discrepancy models of job satisfaction,
component elements, or job facets, and looking at
they are bound to experience some job
how satisfied employees are with each facet. Some
dissatisfaction when their new positions fail to meet
of the most common facets are the utilization of
their high hopes.
ability, achievement, recognition, coworkers, social
status, human relations supervision among others.
The Steady-State Theory of Job Satisfaction
The facet model is useful because it forces
The steady-state theory suggests that each
managers and researchers to recognize that jobs
employee has a typical, or characteristic, level of job
affect employees in multiple ways.
satisfaction, called the steady state or equilibrium
level. Different situational factors or events at work
may move an employee temporarily from this A I Y C I V T T
steady state, but the employee will return
eventually to his or her equilibrium level. For _________________________________________
example, receiving a promotion and raise may
temporarily boost an employee’s level of job
satisfaction, but it eventually will return to the A T C T I R V Y E I
equilibrium level. The finding that job satisfaction
tends to be somewhat stable over time supports the _________________________________________
steady-state view. The influence of personality on
job satisfaction also is consistent with the steady-
state approach. Because personality, one of the V Y R E Y I A T
determinants of job satisfaction, is stable over time,
we would expect job satisfaction to exhibit some _________________________________________
stability over time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Puzzle Up! S R P S O B E T N I L Y I
Reassemble the letters below to come up with a
word that represents a job facet. _________________________________________
H I T A N E M N V C E
A E M D C N V N A E T
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
C O R G T E O N I N
N E E D I C P N E D E
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
O T I A R Y U H T
Y I C R U E T S
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
P N S M I N E O I A C T Quick Quiz
From the words you assembled above, find their
_________________________________________ descriptions from the statements given below.
_________________________________________
R W E O O R K S C Doing different things on the job
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
Being able to keep busy on the job
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
How well one gets along with others in the Being able to work alone
workplace
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Being accountable for decisions and actions
Being free to come up with new ideas
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Having promotion opportunities
Praise for doing a good job
References:
_________________________________________
Having control over others George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012).
_________________________________________ behavior (6th Edition). Pearson Education, Inc.
Having secure or steady job
Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015).
_________________________________________ Organizational behavior. Pearson
The pay an employee receives for the job
Love yourself.
_________________________________________
The extent to which an employee gets the feeling of
accomplishment from the job
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Chapter 10 example, when you learn a second language, your

knowledge about how to communicate evolves, and
Learning and
your behavior changes when communicating with
native speakers of the language. Second, the change
in knowledge or behavior has to be relatively
creativity permanent or long lasting. If you attempt to
communicate with someone in another language by
looking up words in a dictionary that you quickly
Learning Objectives: forget once the interaction is complete, learning did
• Relate learning to creativity
not take place because there was no permanent
• Explain various theories of learning
change in your knowledge of the second language.
• Apply these learning theories in
organizational context and consumption The third key aspect of the definition is that learning
processes takes place as a result of practice or through
• Realize the importance of knowing about experience. Learning a second language requires
learning theories and creativity to further much practice in pronunciation, word usage and
organizational development grammar. Similarly, through practice or experience,
• Give examples of various learning processes secretaries learn how to use new software
packages, financial analysts learn the implication of
LEARNING
new tax laws, engineers learn how to design more
Learning is a relatively permanent change in
fuel-efficient automobiles, and flight attendance
knowledge or behavior that results from practice or
learn how to serve meals on airplanes.
experience. There are several key points in this
definition. First, with learning comes change. For LEARNING THROUGH CONSEQUENCES
One of the most fundamental ways in which people
learn through their lives is through the
consequences they receive for their behaviors and
actions.
Operant conditioning is the learning that takes place

when the learner recognizes the connection
between a behavior and its consequences. This
means that an individual learns to engage in specific
behaviors (such as being responsive to customers’
needs) in order to receive certain consequences
(such as a bonus).
In operant conditioning, the process called

reinforcement is essential. Reinforcement is the
process by which the probability that a desired
behavior will occur is increased by applying In general, positive reinforcement is better for
consequences that depend on the behavior in employees, managers and the organization as a
question. whole than negative reinforcement. Negative
reinforcement often has unintended side effects
Positive reinforcement is the process that increases and makes for an unpleasant work environment. For
the probability that a behavior will occur by example, a supervisor who continually complains
administering positive consequences to employees may be resented and disliked. Even if positive
who perform the behavior. These positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are
consequences are known as positive reinforcers. To equally successful in encouraging desired behaviors,
use positive reinforcement to facilitate the learning the person or organization providing the
of desired behaviors, managers need to determine reinforcement is likely to be viewed much more
what consequences a given employee considers positively when positive reinforcement is
positive. Potential positive reinforcers include consistently used.
rewards such as higher pay, bonuses, promotions,
job titles, interesting work, verbal praise, time off Extinction. According to the principles of operant
from work, and awards. conditioning, all behaviors—good and bad—are
controlled by reinforcing consequences. Thus, any
Negative reinforcement is the process that increases behavior that occurs is performed because the
the probability that a desired behavior will occur by individual is receiving some form of reinforcement
removing, or rescinding, a negative consequence for it. If managements wish to lessen the probability
when an employee performs the behavior desired. that an undesired behavior will occur, they need to
The negative consequence removed is called a first determine what is currently reinforcing the
negative reinforcer. For example, if a manager behavior and then remove the source of
complains every time an accountant turns in a reinforcement. Once the undesired behavior ceases
report late, the complaints are a negative reinforcer to be reinforced, its frequency diminishes until it no
if they result in the accountant learning to turn in longer occurs. This process is called extinction.
the reports on time. By turning in reports when they
are due, the accountant is able to “remove” the Punishment. Different from reinforcement,
negative consequence of the complaints. punishment aims to decrease the chances that a
certain behavior is likely to occur in
the future, thus punishment
means administering negative
consequence when an undesired
behavior occurs. There are certain
behaviors, which are so
detrimental or dangerous such
that they need to be stopped
immediately. A manager may
impose a punishment to an
employee who broke the rule of
not smoking within the office
premises. The punishments aims
that such an employee will not do
that behavior again in the future.
LEARNING FROM OTHERS software she can use to perform her
Social cognitive theory suggests that any attempt to administrative duties but since she was not
understand how people learn must also take into pressure to immediately use, she is taking
account a person’s feelings and thoughts (cognition) time to open and start learning to use it.
and their observations of the world around them
(that is their social environment). Social cognitive • Self-reinforcers must be available to the
theory acknowledges the importance of the person learner. Self-reinforcers are any
in the learning process by taking cognitive processes consequences or rewards that individuals
into account. give to themselves. Potential self-reinforcers
include buying oneself a present, eating a
Cognitive processes are the various thought favorite food, going out to a movie, getting
processes that people engage in. When people form some extra sleep and going out with friends.
attributions, for example, they are engaging in a Sometimes self-reinforcement comes simply
cognitive process to determine why a person has from a feeling of accomplishment or
performed a specific behavior. achievement.
Vicarious learning is the process of learning from • The learner must set goals that determine
observing others perform a behavior. When when self-reinforcement takes place. When
vicarious learning occurs, a person (the learner) self-control takes place, people do not
observes another person (the model) perform a indiscriminately reward themselves but set
behavior. The learner observes the effect of the goals that determine when they will self-
model’s behavior on the environment, and when an reinforce. How do people determine these
appropriate situation arises, the learner imitates the goals or standards? Essentially, they rely on
model’s behavior. Vicarious learning plays an their past performance, the performance of
important role in the day-to-day functioning of most others on similar kinds of tasks, or some
organizations. Organizational members continually socially acquired performance standard.
observe others and often try to remember
behaviors that result in reinforcement. These
behaviors can range from relatively routine matters
such as when to arrive at work, how long to take for
lunch, the best way to present a report to upper-
level management, or how to conduct oneself in a
business meeting.
LEARNING ON YOUR OWN

Self-control is the form of learning in which a person
performs a behavior even through there is no
external pressure to do so. Several conditions
indicate that a person is using self-control:
• An individual must engage in a low-
probability behavior. A low-probability
behavior is a behavior that a person would
ordinarily not to perform. For example, a
secretary received a package of a new
• The learner must administer the reinforcer behaviors because they are confident that
when the goal is achieved. This is providing their efforts will be successful.
oneself with the reward once a certain goal • Self-efficacy affects the persistence with
is achieved such as once having learned the which a person tries to master new and
software, the secretary may treat herself to sometimes difficult tasks. Because
an ice cream after work. employees with high self-efficacy are
confident that they can learn how to
perform a given task, they are likely to
persist in their efforts even in the face of
temporary setbacks or problems.
LEARNING BY DOING
Experiential learning is the learning that occurs by
the direct involvement of the learning in the subject
matter being learning—learning by doing, in other
words. Learning by doing is an important
component of many kinds of jobs and occupations
ranging from landscape architecture and nursing to
sports, acting and surgery. Moreover, learning by
doing is not just important in order to be able to
execute technical, physical or artistic tasks well—it
is also important for interpersonal skills.
CREATIVITY
Creativity is the generation of novel and useful
Self-efficacy is a person’s belief about his or her ideas. By novel, we mean ideas that represent new
ability to perform a particular behavior ways of thinking. By useful, we mean ideas that have
successfully—in the learning process. Self-efficacy the potential to contribute to the performance and
has powerful effects on learning because people try well-being of individuals, groups and organizations.
to learn only those behaviors that they think they When people ate creative, they are engaged in
will be able to perform successfully. Self-efficacy continuous learning. Creative ideas such as the
affects learning in three ways: novel and useful responses to problems and
• Self-efficacy influences the activities and opportunities result from continuous learning.
goals that individuals choose for themselves. Continuous learning through creativity is the key to
Employees with a low level of self-efficacy remain competitive in today’s global economy.
may never try to learn how to perform What is connected with creativity is innovation.
challenging tasks because they think they Innovation is the successful implementation of
will fail at them. creative ideas such as in the case of 3M corporation
who successfully manufactured and marketed the
• Self-efficacy affects learning by influencing Post-it Notes as well as the Apple Computer who
the effort that individuals exert on the job. innovated, designed and built the first personal
Employees with high self-efficacy generally computer.
work hard to learn how to perform new -------------------------------------------------------------------
Solve This! _________________________________________
Understanding Generation Z
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
The website shrm.com, an online platform for _________________________________________
human resources tools, has listed “Understanding
Generation Z” as one of the pressing challenges that _________________________________________
managers will face in the workplace in the near _________________________________________
future. Generation Z are those who were born from
1995 and later, and they will become the fastest- _________________________________________
growing percent of the workforce in the world. Gen _________________________________________
Z essentially don’t remember a time before
smartphones and social media as they grow and live _________________________________________
with their phones (not their laptops!) and that’s the _________________________________________
way they want to communicate, whether on or off
the job. From the demands they want in their jobs, _________________________________________
it is their “freedom” that they value the most. Thus, _________________________________________
many of them perform two to three jobs at a time,
have flexible working hours, and work remotely, _________________________________________
either from their home, a cozy coffee shop or a _________________________________________
nearby co-working place. They also demand to have
a ready access to the portion of their pay after every _________________________________________
work shift so that they know that they are rightfully _________________________________________
paid for the job.
_________________________________________
Acting as the manager of a company where _________________________________________
many of these Gen Z workers are employed,
what kind of an innovative system you will propose _________________________________________
so as to ensure that these demands of the Gen Z This case study is based from an online article
workers are met at the same time keeping their entitled Top Challenges for Managers in 2020
quality of work at the optimum and the efficiency of written by Kathleen Doheny for shrm.org dated 6
their performance at an excellent level. February, 2020.
For Example Self-efficacy
The following are concepts related to learning. Give _________________________________________
situational examples to each concept to
_________________________________________
demonstrate how they are performed or conducted
in a learning situation. _________________________________________
Positive reinforcement
Experiential learning
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Negative reinforcement
References:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Doheny, K. (2020, February 6). Top challenges for
manages 2020. SHRM.
_________________________________________
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-
topics/people-managers/pages/top-challenges-
Punishment for-managers-in-2020.aspx
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
McGraw-Hill.
_________________________________________
Gen Z (Online Image). (2017). Training
Journal.
Cognitive process
https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/opinio
_________________________________________
n/should-training-be-millennial-focused
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Vicarious learning
_________________________________________ Hoyer, W.D. & MacInnis, D.J. (2007). Consumer
behavior. Houghton
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015). Organizational
behavior. Pearson.
Self-control
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________ Spend wisely.

Handouts 2-2021 Full 2

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Handouts 2-2021 Full 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Handouts 2-2021 Full 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Chapter 1 something). So, the earlier scholars combined these

Introduction to new name “Psychology.” The word psychology was

PSYCHOLOGY: ITS ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

One of the main contributors on

A science in which behavioral and other evidence is Behavior varies in complexity.

Eysenck, M.W. (2004). Psychology: An international

Feldman, R.S. (2004). Understanding Psychology

Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and Your Life.

Lahey, Benjamin B. (1998). Psychology: An

Morgan, C. T., King, R. A., Weisz, J. R. & Schopler, J.

Rathus, S.A. (2008). Psychology: Concepts &

Tavris, C. & Warde, C. (1997). Psychology in

Wear mask at all times.

Chapter 1 to understand the rules that govern all levels of the

Introduction to Characteristics of Science

The goal of the structuralists was to find the units or

These experiments have given us a great deal of

The German word Gestalt means “form” or

Chapter 2 WHY DO CONSUMERS BUY THE PRODUCTS THAT

The difference between a consumer and a customer

Knowledge and understanding. The intention of the

Memory and retrieval.

By evaluating these buying and consumption

Blackwell, R. et al. (2012). Consumer behavior.

Hoyer, W.D. & MacInnis, D.J. (2007). Consumer

Kardes, F.R., Cline, T.W. & Cronley, M.L. (2011).

Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer behavior, buying,

Wash your hands.

is an important factor in accounting for why people

Personality is the pattern of relatively enduring ways

Conscientiousness. The extent to

Openness to Experience. The

Type A and Type B Personalities. Type A is a person

Need for Power. The need for power is

Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and your life.

George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012).

Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015). Organizational

Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer

The eight types of cognitive ability include with

ability Physical Ability

Physical ability can be measured by having a person

Although organizations spend considerable time

Physically, money is considered as an important

_________________________________________ Based on your current emotional state, how do you

Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and your life.

George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2012). Understanding

Hoyer, W.D. & MacInnis, D.J. (2007). Consumer

Kidwell, B., Hardesty, D. & Childers, T. (2008).

Law, K., Wong, C. & Song, L. (2004). The construct

Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2015). Organizational

Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer behavior, buying,

Wong, C. & Law, S. (2002). The effects of leader and

values should be pursued, and which shouldn't.

Using the sources listed above, some of your values

Because working is the way most people make a _________________________________________

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: Cognitive component is the description of or belief

Feldman, R. (2009). Psychology and your life.

GeekTonight (2021, April 17). What is attitude?