Individual Differences

1
Individual Differences

• And if we cannot end now our differences, at
  least we can help make the world safe for
  diversity.
• John F. Kennedy, 1963

Module 3, Week 1
2
Individual Behavior

• Determined to a great extent by the combination
  of internal elements
• Personality
• Perception
• Attitudes
• Abilities

3
Impact of Personality

• Chris Argyris (1957) Personality and
  Organization
• Inherent conflict between mature adult
  personality and needs of organizations
• Empowerment mitigates conflict
• Modern organizational analysts
• Personalities may have to be fitted to
  organizations
• At issue is inherent temperament

4
Personality Types

• Hippocrates Four Humors
• Sanguine (optimistic and energetic)
• Melancholic (moody and withdrawn)
• Choleric (irritable and impulsive)
• Phlegmatic (calm and slow)
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• Introversion/Extroversion
• Sensing/Intuitive
• Feeling/Thinking
• Perceiving/Judging

5
Linguistic Style Communicating Personality

• Individual characteristic speaking pattern
• Directness/Indirectness
• Pacing/Pausing
• Word Choice
• Use of Speech Elements
• Jokes
• Figures of Speech
• Stories
• Questions
• Apologies
• Set of culturally learned signals

6
Linguistic StyleTurn Taking

• In conversations, people take turns
• Subtle negotiation of signals to indicate when
  one person is finished and a response should be
  made
• Cultural factors determine length of pause
  between speakers
• Region of country
• Ethnic Background
• Social Background
• Perceptions of assertiveness and rudeness vary
  according to socio-cultural backgrounds

7
Linguistic Social Behavior

• Two simultaneous levels of communication
• Speech conveys thoughts and ideas
• Language negotiates relationships
• Both verbal and nonverbal communication are used
  to signal and create the relative status of
  speakers and their level of support

8
Gender and Linguistic Styles

• In every community known to linguists, the
  patterns that constitute linguistic style are
  relatively different for men and women
• Speaking traits are learned from peers during the
  maturation process
• Children tend to play primarily with children of
  the same sex

9
Boys and Girls at Play

• Boys
• Typically play in large groups
• Hierarchical relationships
• Aggressiveness is common and accepted
• Challenge others to negotiate status
• Relationships focus on status dimension
• Girls
• Typically play with best friend or small groups
• Relationships are more equity-based
• Aggressiveness is shunned and discouraged
• Emphasis on ways girls are all the same in group
• Relationships focus on rapport dimension

10
One-Upmanship

• Men tend to be sensitive to the power dynamics of
  interaction
• Men speak in ways that position themselves as one
  up
• Men resist being put in a one-down position by
  others
• Women tend to be more sensitive to the rapport
  dynamic of interaction
• Women tend to speak in ways that save face for
  others
• Women tend to buffer statements that could be
  seen as putting others in a one-down position

11
Taking Credit

• Men more likely to use first person personal
  pronouns (I, me, my, mine)
• Women more likely to use third person personal
  pronouns (we, us, ours)
• Men more likely to call attention to an
  accomplishment
• Women more likely to believe that blowing their
  own horn is in bad taste

12
Confidence and Boasting in Verbal Behavior

• Expressions of confidence during presentations
  vary according to gender
• Women more likely to downplay their certainty
• Men most likely to minimize their doubts
• Publicized predictions differ according to gender
• Women tend to be more conservative in estimates
  of future accomplishments
• Men tend to be more aggressive in estimates
• Private predictions similar for both

13
Asking Questions

• Gender plays a role in the likelihood of asking
  questions
• Men perceive asking questions as being vulnerable
  to falling into a one-down position
• Men less likely than women to stop and ask
  directions
• Men susceptible to avoiding questions tend to
  form a negative opinion of others who ask
  questions in situations where they would not
• Women not as likely to ask (request) for raise,
  assignment, or other considerations related to
  personal gain

14
Gender and the Negotiation Process

• Research indicates that women are more hesitant
  to engage in distributive negotiation than are
  men
• Lower salaries may be the result of this tendency
• Fewer desired assignments may result as well
• Women frequently take a more collaborative
  approach to negotiation than men
• Women tend to align their requests with shared
  goals

15
Conversational Rituals

• Most cultures have conventionalized queries or
  statements not intended to take literally
• How do you do? inquiries during introductions
• God Bless you! comments after a sneeze
• Have a good one! or Dont work too hard! on
  parting
• Where are you going? upon greeting someone in
  the Philippines or other parts of the world
• Statements intended to signal beginning or end of
  a conversation or express concern

16
Ritual Apologies

• Women tend to say Im sorry more than men
• Ritualized means of expressing concern
• Men tend to avoid apologies because the speaker
  is perceived to be placed in a one-down position
• Men more likely to focus on the status
  implication of exchanges
• People who utter frequent ritual apologies may
  end up appearing weaker, less confident, and more
  blameworthy

17
Feedback

• Feedback styles contain ritual element
• Buffered criticism
• Negative comment softened with positive comment
• Empathy
• Saving face tactic
• Blunt approach
• Emphasis only on negative
• Clear mention of the inadequacy
• Confrontational tactic
• Acceptance of feedback style varies according to
  personality
• Buffered criticism can be considered vague
• Blunt approach can be considered insensitive

18
Compliments

• Mismatch of expectations for men and women in
  performance critiques
• Women pay more compliments than men
• Exchanging compliments common ritual among women
• Women respond in a positive manner to
  self-denigration
• Women expect matching compliments
• Men tend to avoid unwanted critique and do not
  invite observations about personal performance
• Self-denigration is avoided by men, considered a
  one-down situation

19
Ritual Opposition

• American men expect the discussion of ideas to be
  an exploration through verbal opposition
• Test ideas by verbally defending them
• Hedging while stating an idea is perceived by
  many American men as being unsure of ones own
  position
• Argument appears weak
• Invites additional attacks
• Women tend to perceive ritual opposition literally

20
Negotiating Authority

• Men and women differ in dialogue with superiors
• Men play up accomplishments
• Women tend to play down accomplishments
• Men are more careful in delivering criticism to
  superior
• Women showed more concern about others feelings
  in both superior and subordinate positions

21
Indirectness

• The linguistic signal of indirectness varies from
  one culture to another
• Women indirect in giving instructions, but direct
  in admitting fault
• Men direct in giving instructions, but indirect
  in admitting fault
• Both men and women in subordinate positions tend
  to be more indirect when communicating with
  superiors
• Many cultures, especially far Eastern, tend to be
  more indirect than Americans

22
Idiosyncrasies

• Extroverts tended to be more susceptible to
  counterparts extreme initial offers
• People with high expectations in negotiations
  bargain more aggressively and do better
• Negotiators dealing with smarter counterparts did
  better for themselves
• For win-lose negotiations, personality matters
  but intelligence does not
• For win-win negotiations, personality does not
  matter, but intelligence does