Key Concepts in Psychology & Organizational Behavior

Posted on Jun 2, 2025 in Psychology and Sociology

Psychology: Understanding Human Behavior

Psychology is a scientific discipline that seeks to understand human behavior through scientific methods and the study of mental processes. Its primary aim is to improve the quality of life. The core goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior.

Psychology encompasses two main areas:

  • Basic Research: Focused on understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of phenomena. Fundamental questions include the nature of free will, the comparison of human versus animal behavior, and the mind-body problem.
  • Applied Research: Focused on practical applications of psychological principles.

Five Major Approaches to Psychology

  • Behavioral: Focuses solely on measurable, overt behavior. It posits that humans are partly animals and that the environment significantly shapes us.
  • Biological: Emphasizes chemical, physical, and neurobiological processes as guiding forces. Notable figures include Wilder Penfield.
  • Cognitive: Concentrates on mental processes such as decision-making, communication, and problem-solving.
  • Psychoanalytic: Explores unconscious processes, including beliefs, fears, and desires, often contrasting animalistic versus human drives.
  • Phenomenological: Centers on personal experiences and subjective realities.

Motivation: Driving Human Action

Motivation explains why people behave in a certain way, influencing the direction and persistence of their actions. It addresses why individuals choose a particular course of action and persist in it, regardless of potential consequences. Motivation is individual, intentional, and used to predict behavior.

As Mitchell noted, motivation is not the behavior or performance itself, but rather the underlying course of action. It involves internal and external forces that act as a driving force to fulfill needs and expectations towards desired goals.

  • Performance Equation: Ability Level + Motivation = Performance
  • Lack of Motivation: No Motivation often leads to frustration, which can manifest as aggression, regression, or giving up.

Key Theories of Motivation

  • Expectancy Theory: Based on the perception of the probability that a specific action will lead to a desired outcome.
  • Goal Theory: Posits that our goals significantly shape the way we behave.

Perception: Interpreting Our World

Perception is the process by which we integrate sensory information into meaningful percepts of objects, and how we utilize this understanding to navigate our environment. The main goals of perception include recognition, localization, and constancy.

Factors Influencing Perception

  • Internal Factors:
    • Limits of the sensory system
    • Psychological factors
    • Individual needs
    • Previous experiences
  • External Factors: We tend to give more attention to large or intense stimuli (e.g., an explosion).

Person Perception

Person perception differs significantly from object perception; it is continually dynamic and changing. The perceiver is an integral part of this process, both influencing and being influenced.

Common Errors in Person Perception

  • Stereotyping
  • Halo Effect
  • Projection

Personality: Approaches to Individual Differences

Personality refers to the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. Various approaches attempt to explain personality:

  • Biological
  • Trait
  • Psychoanalytic
  • Behavioral
  • Humanistic

Perspectives on Personality Study

  • Nomothetic: Assumes there exist general laws which govern human personality.
  • Idiographic: Assumes each individual is a unique product of their environment, shaped by social and cultural factors.

Communication: The Lifeblood of Interaction

Communication encompasses all processes by which information is transmitted and received. It is often considered the lifeblood of an enterprise, coordinating all activities within an organization.

Types of Communication

  • Formal vs. Informal
  • One-way vs. Two-way
  • Verbal vs. Non-verbal
  • Directional (Top-down, Bottom-up, Lateral)

Barriers to Effective Communication

  • Distortion of message
  • Information overload
  • Vague or ambiguous words
  • Perception differences between sender and receiver
  • Centralized vs. Decentralized communication structures

Leadership: Influencing for Shared Vision

Leadership involves the creation of a vision for a desired future state, with the active involvement of members within the organization. Leaders exercise influence over others’ behavior.

Bases of Power in Leadership

  • Reward Power
  • Coercive Power
  • Referent Power
  • Legitimate Power
  • Expert Power

Factors Affecting Leadership Efficiency

  • Characteristics of both the leader and subordinates
  • Nature of the situation
  • Culture of the organization
  • Perceptions and experience
  • Physical circumstances

Leadership Styles and Theories

  • Charismatic Leader: An exemplary figure, often perceived as self-sacrificing, who inspires followers.
  • Transactional Leadership: Leaders provide help to colleagues in order to achieve goals, often through a system of rewards and punishments.
  • Transformational Leadership: Focuses on transforming employee attitudes, maintaining a positive image, and inspiring loyalty and commitment.

Functions of Leadership

  • Enabling people to achieve objectives
  • Upholding basic values

Leadership Theories

  • Trait Theory: Suggests leaders are ‘born’ or ‘made’ with specific inherent qualities.
  • Functional Approach: Emphasizes three core needs:
    • The need to achieve the common task
    • The need for team maintenance
    • The individual needs of group members

Common Leadership Styles

  • Autocratic
  • Democratic
  • Laissez-faire

Groups: Dynamics and Performance

A group is defined as a number of people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of each other, perceive themselves to be a group, share common goals, and engage in shared communication. They often develop a sense of belonging and establish guidelines for acceptable behavior.

Types of Groups

  • Formal Groups: Command groups, Task groups
  • Informal Groups: Friendship groups, Interest groups

Reasons for Group Formation

  • Security and protection
  • Affiliation and belonging
  • Esteem and identity
  • Task accomplishment

Early studies, such as the Hawthorne studies, explored factors like illumination and relay assembly’s impact on group productivity.

Stages of Group Development (Tuckman’s Stages)

  1. Forming: Initial testing of dependencies and boundaries.
  2. Storming: Conflict arises over power and roles.
  3. Norming: Rules and norms are established, cohesion develops.
  4. Performing: Group focuses on achieving goals constructively.
  5. Adjourning: The group disbands after task completion.

Group Structures

  • Status Structure: A collection of rights and obligations associated with a position within the group.
  • Power Structure: (See Leadership section for details on power bases).
  • Liking Structure: Based on personal preferences and interpersonal attraction within the group.

Group Norms and Synergy

Group norms are shared ways of behaving, along with shared attitudes and beliefs. The phases of norm enforcement typically include initial tolerance, attempts to correct deviations, and, if necessary, physical or verbal aggression, leading to potential rejection.

Synergy: Occurs when a group outperforms its most valuable individual member, demonstrating a collective advantage.

Factors Influencing Group Performance

  • Size of the group
  • Compatibility of members
  • Permanence of the group
  • Nature of the task
  • Physical setting
  • Communication effectiveness
  • Technology utilization
  • Management style