Chapter 3
Individual Differences
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Module 1: Introduction to
Individual Differences
• Background
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1890 – Cattell & concept of “mental test”
Differential psychology
Psychometrics
World War I & the intelligence test
“g” or general mental ability
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Varieties of Individual Differences
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Cognitive ability & the g-ocentric model
Physical ability
Personality
Interests
Knowledge
Emotion
Monica Lau/Getty Images
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Attributes & Behavior
in Organizations
Figure 3.1
The Link between Attributes
and Behavior in Organizations
Source: K. R. Murphy (1996a).
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Fundamental Assumptions in Applying
Individual Differences Model
• Adults have variety of attributes that are
relatively stable over a period of time
• People differ with respect to those attributes
• Relative differences among people on these
attributes remain even after training
• Different jobs require different attributes
• These attributes can be measured
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Module 2: Mental & Physical
Abilities
• Taxonomy of abilities
– Fleishman’s taxonomy of 52 abilities
• Cognitive abilities
• Physical abilities
• Perceptual-motor abilities
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Cognitive Abilities
• Intelligence as “g”
Chad Baker/Getty Images
– Involves ability to
reason, plan, solve
problems, comprehend
complex ideas, & learn
from experience
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Cognitive Abilities
• Is “g” important at work? Yes
– ↑ job complexity = ↑ predictive value of
general intelligence tests
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Cognitive Abilities
• Beyond “g”
– Carroll’s Hierarchical Model
Figure 3.2
Carroll’s
Hierarchical Model
Source: Carroll (1993).
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Sensory Abilities
• Vision
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell
• Hearing
• Kinesthetic feedback
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Psychomotor Abilities
• Also called sensorimotor or motor abilities
• Fleishman’s psychomotor abilities
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Arm-hand steadiness
Manual dexterity
Finger dexterity
Control precision
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Response orientation
Rate control
Reaction time
Wrist-finger speed
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Module 3:
Personality & Interests
• Big Five Personality Model
• Conscientiousness
• Agreeableness
• Emotional stability
• Extraversion
• Openness to experience
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Practical Issues Associated with
Personality Measures
• Faking
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Self-presentation
Self-efficacy
Social desirability
Does faking really matter?
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Vocational Interests
• Expressions of liking about environments,
activities
• Holland’s vocational typology
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Realistic
Investigative
Artistic
Social
Enterprising
Conventional
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Holland’s Vocational Typology
Figure 3.4
Personality Dimensions
Underlying the Hexagonal
Representation of Holland’s
Vocational Typology
Source: Hogan & Blake (1996).
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Module 4: Additional Proposed
Individual Differences
• Skills
– Practiced acts
– Technical & non-technical
• Knowledge
– Collection of discrete but related facts & information
about a particular domain
– Tacit knowledge → “street smarts”
– Procedural knowledge → knowing “how”
– Declarative knowledge → knowing “that”
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Additional Proposed Individual
Differences (cont'd)
• Experience
– Seniority vs. experience
– Measurement modes
• Amount
• Time
• Type
– Level of specificity
• Task
• Job
• Organizational
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Modes of Experience
Figure 3.5
Modes of Experience
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Additional Proposed Individual
Differences (cont'd)
• Competencies
– Sets of behaviors instrumental in accomplishing
various activities
– Combination of individual difference
characteristics
• Emotional intelligence
– Awareness of our own & others’ emotions
– Controversial construct
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Permissions
Slide 3: McGraw-Hill Education Digital Image Library, Monica Lau/Getty Images, Source Image ID: AA037228,
Filename: 100006.JPG
Slide 4: Figure 3.1 from Murphy, K. R. (Ed.) (1996). Individual differences and behavior in organizations, p. 47. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass. This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Slide 7: McGraw-Hill Education Digital Image Library, Chad Baker/Getty Images, Source Image ID: CC000611,
Filename: 83061.JPG
Slide 9: Figure 3.2 from Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press.
Slide 10: Figure 3.3 from Guion, R. M. (1998). Assessment, measurement, and prediction, Fig. 3.7, p. 148. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Reprinted by permission of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Slide 11: McGraw-Hill Education Digital Image Library, Jeff Maloney/Getty Images, Source Image ID: LS003211,
Filename: 40179.JPG
Slide 17: Figure 3.4 from Hogan, R., & Blake, R. J. (1996). Vocational interests: Matching self-concept with the work
environment. In K. R. Murphy (Ed.), Individual differences and behavior in organizations, pp.98, 99. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass. This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Slide 19: McGraw-Hill Education Digital Image Library, Royalty-Free/CORBIS, Source Image ID: CB056671, Filename:
BCU0053.jpg
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