Lesson-3

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR: FOUNDATION

CONTENTS
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 FoundationsofIndividualBehaviour
3.2.1 BiologicalFoundationsofBehaviour
3.3 Causesof HumanBehaviour
3.4 InheritedCharacteristics
3.5 LearnedCharacteristics
3.6 Summary
3.7. Glossary
3.8 References
3.9 Further Reading
3.10Model Question
3.0 OBJECTIVE:
Aftergoingthroughthelesson,youshouldbeableto:
 OutlinethefoundationsofIndividual/HumanBehavior
 DiscusstheCausesofHumanBehavior
 Examinethevalues,Attitudes,PersonalityandPerceptualProcesswithIndividualbeha
vior
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Individual Behavior is something which is very enigmatic by nature because no two
individualsarealike.OwingtothedifferencesinindividualsbehaviorwhichmaybeduetoinheritanceorEnvironm
ent, all the people and the work is duly affected because of the Individual differences and
theirdifferences in approach. The individuals values and attitudes are directly co-related to Job
Satisfaction.Apart from this you will be exposed to the effect of values, attitudes personality and
emotions owing toindividualdifferences.
3.2 FOUNDATIONSOFINDIVIDUALBEHAVIOUR
Individual Behavior is a very complex phenomenon. It is very difficult to define the same. It
isprimarily a combination of responses to external and internal stimuli. These responses would
reflectpsychologicalstructureofthepersonandmaybearesultofacombinationofbiologicalandpsychological
processes. It is a system by which a human being senses external events and influences,interpret
them, responds tothem inan appropriatemanner and learns from theresults oftheseresponses.
Psychologist Kurt Levin has conducted considerable research into the human behavior and
itscauses. He believes that people are influenced by a number of diversified factors, both genetic
andenvironmental and the influence of these factors determines the pattern of behavior. He called
hisconceptionoftheseinfluences'thefieldtheory'andsuggestedthat:
B=F (P,E)
So the behavior (B) is a function (F) of the person (P) and environment (E) around him. It
isimportant to recognize the effect of the "person" and than of environment individually as well as
theirinteraction and dependence upon each other in order to understand the pattern ofbehavior.
Thesetwofactorsarehighlylinkedwitheachother.Anyoneofthesetwofactorsindividuallycannotexplain fully
the behavior characteristics. An individual behavior may change due to change in thesame environment
or exposure to a different environment, For example a person who loses a wellpaying job may behave
differently when he is unemployed. Similarly, just the environment in itselfcannot be the cause of or
explain a given behavior. Different people behave differently in the same
orsimilarenvironment.However,whenthesituationdemands,theenvironmentmaychangethebehavior of an
individual. For example, certain training programs or rehabilitation programs havechanged the human
attitudes and behavior. Sometime a sudden and unexpected turn of events or
ashockcanalsoinfluencesignificantandpermanentchangesinthehumanbehavior.Thustheenvironmentcan
change theindividualinhis orher behavior. Similarly,theindividualscan alsochange
theenvironmentbysettinggoalsandstandardsandbydeterminationandmotivation.
3.2.1 BiologicalFoundationsofBehavior
It has been established that certain characteristics of behavior and genetic in nature and
ahumanbeinginheritsacertaindegreeofsimilaritytootherindividuals,aswellasuniquenessinthe

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. What do you mean by individual behavior?

2. What are the major foundations of individual
behavior?
form of genes and chromosomes. Some of the characteristics such a s physical traits including
physicalheight, slimness, dexterity, intellectual capacity and the ability to learn and, loticalize are all
inheritedandhaveawideimpactonbehaviouralpatterns.
According to R. S. Dvrivedi, the structures of the nervous system play a significant part in
theemerging pattern of behaviour thus bringing about the integration of human behaviour and
personality.Some psychologists believe that some aspects of human behaviour can be explained in
terms of neuralactivityandneurophysiological processes,Dvrivedifurtherexplains.
Integration of human behaviour takes place because of the constant functioning of,
receptors,effectorsandconnectors.Herethenervoussystemisprimarily theconnectingprocess.
The numerous receptor cells attached to the individuals sense organs, tend to convert
physicaland chemical events from the environment into neural events while the several effector
cellsattachedtothemuscles andglands converttheseneural eventsintoresponses.
These responses result in behavioural activity ranging from simple reflex action to the
complexcreativeactivity.
Behaviour is sometimes easily explained by laymen as a reflection of the state of the
nervoussystem. This casual relationship is referred to continuously during our daily routine impressions
andconversations.
3.3 CAUSESOFHUMANBEHAVIOR
Both scientific thinkers as well as behaviourists have long been interested in finding out
thecausesforaparticularhumanbehaviour.Sciencehasalwaysinvolvedinthe"causeandelectphenomenon
and the relationship between them as to how a cause causes its effect. Similarly, thebehaviour
scientists wantto find out why people behave the way do. They want to find a commondenominator of
human behaviour which can be generalized and classified into standard causes
whichresultinIdentifiable and functionally dependent patternsofbehaviour. Bydiscovering at
analyzingthesecauses,thebehaviourcanbepredicted,manipulatedandcontrolled.
3.4 InheritedCharacteristics
Some of the inherited characteristics which may or may not be changed by external forces
andmayormaynotbeimportantdeterminantsofperformanceare:
a) Physical Characteristics: Some of these characteristics relate to physical height,
somebody vision dexterity, and stamina and have some bearing on performance, Manual dexterity,
forexample results in quality performance in such jobs that require artistic maneuvering. Similarly, tall
andslim people are expected to dress well and behave in a sophisticated manner, and flat people
areassumedtohaveajovial nature.
b) Intelligence: Intelligence is primarily an inherited trait, even though children of some
veryintelligent parents have turned out to be less intelligent and vice-versa. It is also known that
intelligencecan be enhanced by proper environment by proper motivation. Einsteinwas not
consideredveryintelligent during his earlier years. In any case intelligence as a trait is related to certain
behavioursIntelligent people are easy to convince if the point is right and they can be expected to be
much morestableandpredictable.
c) Sex: Being a male or female is genetic in nature and can be Considered as a
inheritedcharacteristic. However, it is highly debatable whether being male or a female in itself is
indicative ofany behavioural patterns. Man expressed to as tought while a woman is expected to be
gentle, Mendon't cry and women are emotional and some of the sterotype assumptions that have
nobasis ingenetic in genetic influence. These behaviours are developed if at all, due to differences in
treatmentthatboysandgirls receiveinthefamily environment.
 Eventhoughsomeworkrolesareassumedtobeexclusivedomainofwomen,suchasnursesorairlineste
wardesses,theserolesarebeingmodifiedaccommodatedmeninthesepositions.Asfaras the administration
of the management of the concerned, women in general do not differ from men
intheiroperativebehaviour.
d) Age :Since age is determined by the date of birth, itis a kind of inherited characteristics.The
age may affect the behaviour for physiological as well as psychological ways. Psychologically,Young
people are expected to be more energetic, innovative, risk taking and adventurous, while oldpeople are
supposed to be conservative and set in their ways. Physiologically, with age, older people,experience
waning, of some of their faculties such as memory, stamina, coordination etc and hence therelated
behaviours change as well. According to Leman, the peak of creative ability is among
peoplebetweenages30and40.
e) Religion :Religion and religiously based cultures play an important role in
determiningsome aspects of individual behavior, specially those that concern morals, ethics and code
of conduct.Highly religious people have high moral standards are usually do not tell lies or task ill of
others. Theyare highly contented and thus strive for the goals of achievement and self-
fulfilment.Additionally, thereligionandculturealsodetermineattitudes towards
work,andtowardsfinancialincentives.
3.5 LearnedCharacteristics
Some of the behavioural characteristics that account for enormous diversity in human
behaviourare a product of our exposure to various situation and stimuli both within the family and the
outsideenvironment. These characteristics, are acquired by learning where leaning is defined as a
relativelypermanentchangeinbehaviorresultingfrominteractions withtheenvironment".
These characteristics involve an individual's attitudes, value, personality, and perceptions,
aboutthe environment around him. They are live result ofthe parental values and expectations and
thevalues and norms of our cultures and sub-cultures. The children learn the need and values of
beinghonest and truthful and the value of love and affections from the family environment. If the parents
arealways fighting, if the father is always drunk or it the mother resents the child, it is most likely that
thechild will grow up lacking the closeness of love and respect. Similarly, a loving family instills
certainpositivevaluesaboutlifeinthemindsofthechildren.
The physical environment itself has a profound effect on the individual behavior. Persons
whohavecomethroughtherigorousroutineofthearmedforces ofstudentswhohavebeenactivesportsmen
may have learned the spirit of competition as well as cooperation. Similarly, students whohave studied
in religious school and convents may have learned different values about truth and humandecency.
Since inherited behavioural, characteristics are more difficult to change or modify, it is
thelearned characteristics that the managers, want to study, predict and control. Hence these will
bediscussed in more detail in the following chapters, but a brief familiarity with the factor is
necessaryhere.Someoftheselearnedcharacteristicsare:
(A) Perception:Perception is the process by which information enter our minds and
isinterpreted in order to give some sensible meaning to the world around us. It is the result of a
complexinteraction of various senses such as feeling, seeing, hearing etc. Sayings and proverbs like
things arenot what they seem", or "all the glitters is not gold", reflect a sense of perception. "One man's
meat isanother man's poison", is in psychological sense and indication that different people see and
sense thesamethingsindifferentways.
Perceptionplaysanimportantpartinhumanaswellasorganizationalbehaviour.Forexample,ifamanag
erperceivesasubordinate'sabilityaslimited, hewillgivehimlimitedresponsibilities,evenif
the subordinate, in fact is an able person. Similarly, we lose a lot of good friends due to our
changedperceptionsaboutthem.
(B) Attitude :Attitude is a perception with a frame of reference. It is a way of organizing
aperception. In other words, it is more or less a stable tendency feel, think, perceive and act in a
certainmanner towards an object or a situation. It is a tendency to act in a certain way, either favourably
orunfavourablyconcerningobjects,peopleorevents.Forexample,iflsaythat"llikejob”,lamexpressingmyattitu
deaboutwork.
Attitude has three elements in it that leads to measureable outcomes. These
arefeelings,thoughts and behaviours. Feelings and thoughts can be measured by simply asking
individuals abouttheir feelings and opinions. Behaviours can be measured either by actual over actions
or simply byasking the person how he would act in a certain situation. By measuring and integrating
these threeelements,apersons‘attitudetowardsagivensituationcanbeestablished.
In general, a person may have a positive attitude which is good outlook of life ornegativeattitude
which means continuous complaining about problems in life. Organizationally speaking,
anemployee’snegativeattitudeaboutworkmaybereflectedbysub-standardworkperformance,excessive
absenteeism excessive complaining about work environment or disobedience to rules orauthority.
These attitudes can be changed either by simple persuasion or by training and coaching,Kelman has
identified three processes that at as instruments of change. The first is compliance which isapplication
of subtle pressure either through reward or punishment in order to change the behavior,
andexpectingthischangetobelasting.
The second process is that of identification with the person who is affecting the change
andacting as a change agent; This change agent could be a close friend who wants you to change and
yourespect and love him enough to do so to please him. In marriage, for example both thehusband
andthewifemakesalotofsacrificesandchangetheirbehaviour'stopleaseeachother.Thethirdprocessis the
process of internationalization which is more permanent in nature. This means that the newattitude is
integrated, with the other attitudes and becomes a part of the person's total personality. Thischange
mayoccurthroughinternalsoulsearchingand thedesire to change that comesfromwithin.
(C) Personality: When we describe people as quiet and passive or loud and aggressive
orambitious,weareportrayinganaspectoftheirpersonality.Personalityisaactoftraitsandcharacteristics,habit
patternsandconditionedresponsestocertainstimulithatformulatetheimpression an individual make upon
other. This personality may come out as warm and friendly
orarrogantandaggressive.Manypsychologistscontendthat personalitytraitsdevelopintheearlychildhood
years and very few personality changes can be made after the childhood years. Somepersonality
characteristics such as physical build and intelligences are biological in nature, but mosttraits
suchaspatience,openmindedness,extrovertnessorintroverstnessetc.arelearned.
Some of these personality traits are highly influential in certain organizational operations
fromorganization behaviour point of view. For example,Tedeschi and Lindskold propose that people
whoare open minded seem to work out better in bargaining agreements than people who are
narrowminded.Similarly,people,whoareextroverts
andoutgoingaremorelikelytobesuccessfulasmanagersthanthosewhoareintroverts.
(D) Values: Values, according to Milton RoKeach represent basic convictions thatspecificmode
of conduct or end-state existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or conversemode of
conduct or end-state of existence. They generally identify a person's moral structure on whichthe
concept of good or bad and right or wrong is based. Values are emotionally charged priorities andare
passionately defended. Values and behavior, when behavior occurs, it is likely to be in line with
thevaluesoneholds.Valuessystem,accordingtoProf.A.Dasgupta,"itisframeworkofpersonalphilosophywhic
hgovernsandinfluencesandindividualsreactionsandresponsestoanysituations”.
 These reactions and responses direct individuals in a society to selectivity attend
twosome goals and tosubordinate other goals. In other words, values system
represent a prioritizing of individual values inrelation to their relative importance.
This value system develops from the cultural environment in whichthe individual is
brought up, the concept of nuclear family, religious influences in which the
individual isbrought up, the concept of ethics and morality, and degree of faith in
the socially inherited religiouselements and beliefs. These values are highly stable
and enduring andonce a value is internalized, ifbecomes, consciously or
subconsciously a standards or criterion for defining action, for developing
andmaintainingattitudes towards relevant objects andsituations, forjustifyingone's
ownand
other‘sactionsandattitudesformorallydefiningselfandothersandforcomparingselfwith
others.
The external environment is known to" have a considerable effect on a
person's behavior as aresponse to a particular stimuli in the external environment.
For example, if a particular situation in theenvironment is hostile to a person's
values and established behavioural pattern, then the behavior maytemporarily
change as a response to such a situation. For example, some of the coolest
people havebeenknowntolosetemperundercertainhostilesituations.
Behaviour can be considered as an input-output system. This concept
assumes that behaviornot simply a random, phenomenon but its goal directed so
that ameasureable correlation existsbetween the goals and behavior.The external
stimulus or input excites the internal processes toactivate and the behavioural
responses occur. This means that behavior is related to performance
andproductivity. Performance is a reflection of three characteristics. These are an
individuals’"capacity" toperformhis
"willingness"toperformandtheextentandnatureoftheorganizationalsupport.

3.6 SUMMARY
Individual behaviour is a combination of responses both external and
internal which reflects hisbehavioural patterns. The major factor contributing to the
creation of Individual bahaviour are hisbiological factors, inherited characteristics
and also the learned characteristics which are a result of hisinteraction with the
society. The foundation of individual behaviour are made up of his value system
hisattitudes his personality and his emotional intelligence. These are of cause the
most important factorswhich determine his success at the workplace. Apart from
these, his perception also matters
whencomestodealingorinteractingwithfellowworkers

3.7 GLOSSARY
Learning: The act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill.
Reinforcement: The act or process of reinforcing or the state of being reinforced.
Retention: An ability to recall or recognize what has been learned or experienced;
memory.

3.8 REFERENCES
  Stephen,P.Robbins,‘OrganizationalBehaviour.
 GreyandStarke,OrganizationalBehavior—ConceptsandApplications.Merill,1998;p.64.

3.9 FURTHER READING

 HalgaDrummond,OrganizationalBehavior-TheoryandPractice,McMillan,1991,p.54.

3.10 MODELQUESTIONS:
Discuss the foundations of Individual Behavior? How far are they responsible
for organizational effectiveness.