IOP2606
Assignment 01
Semester 2 2025
Due Year 2025
,IOP2606
Assignment 01
Semester 2 2025
Due Year 2025
Individual Differences and Work Performance
Question 1
Critically discuss the cognitive and social cognitive theories of personality, along with
occupation-oriented personality theories, as core approaches to understanding
individual differences and personality development. Illustrate each with examples and
evaluate their respective strengths and limitations.
1.1 Cognitive and Social Cognitive Theories
Cognitive Theories
Cognitive theories position human thought as the primary driver of personality,
asserting that individual differences stem from variations in how people perceive,
process, and interpret information. This perspective highlights the importance of
mental functions—such as problem-solving, perception, and decision-making—as
mechanisms that shape behavior patterns and enduring personality traits.
A seminal contribution is George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory (1955). Kelly
proposed that individuals form personal constructs—idiosyncratic mental frameworks
that help them predict and interpret events. These constructs operate like cognitive
filters, influencing how reality is experienced.
• Example: In a professional context, one employee might interpret tight deadlines
as stimulating challenges that foster personal growth (optimistic construct), while
another may perceive the same deadlines as stressful threats (pessimistic
, construct).
Such differences have significant implications for coping strategies,
adaptability, and resilience under pressure.
Kelly emphasized that personal constructs are dynamic and modifiable—new
experiences can reshape them, allowing personality to adapt over time. This flexibility
makes cognitive theory particularly applicable in therapeutic contexts, such as
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where maladaptive constructs are challenged
and reframed.
Social Cognitive Theories
Social cognitive theories extend the cognitive perspective by embedding thought
processes within social and environmental contexts, stressing that personality is co-
constructed through interactions between cognitive factors, behavior, and situational
influences.
Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (1977) is a cornerstone of this approach,
introducing the concept of reciprocal determinism—a model in which personal factors
(e.g., beliefs, attitudes), behavior, and environmental conditions influence each other in
a continuous feedback loop.
A defining construct is self-efficacy—the belief in one’s capability to perform specific
tasks successfully.
• Example: A medical student with high clinical self-efficacy is more likely to
approach complex surgical tasks confidently, persist in the face of setbacks, and
ultimately develop a competent, achievement-oriented professional identity.
Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment demonstrated observational learning, revealing that
individuals—especially children—acquire new behaviors through modeling. This has
direct implications for personality development: traits such as empathy, cooperation, or
assertiveness can be learned vicariously through observing role models.
Assignment 01
Semester 2 2025
Due Year 2025
,IOP2606
Assignment 01
Semester 2 2025
Due Year 2025
Individual Differences and Work Performance
Question 1
Critically discuss the cognitive and social cognitive theories of personality, along with
occupation-oriented personality theories, as core approaches to understanding
individual differences and personality development. Illustrate each with examples and
evaluate their respective strengths and limitations.
1.1 Cognitive and Social Cognitive Theories
Cognitive Theories
Cognitive theories position human thought as the primary driver of personality,
asserting that individual differences stem from variations in how people perceive,
process, and interpret information. This perspective highlights the importance of
mental functions—such as problem-solving, perception, and decision-making—as
mechanisms that shape behavior patterns and enduring personality traits.
A seminal contribution is George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory (1955). Kelly
proposed that individuals form personal constructs—idiosyncratic mental frameworks
that help them predict and interpret events. These constructs operate like cognitive
filters, influencing how reality is experienced.
• Example: In a professional context, one employee might interpret tight deadlines
as stimulating challenges that foster personal growth (optimistic construct), while
another may perceive the same deadlines as stressful threats (pessimistic
, construct).
Such differences have significant implications for coping strategies,
adaptability, and resilience under pressure.
Kelly emphasized that personal constructs are dynamic and modifiable—new
experiences can reshape them, allowing personality to adapt over time. This flexibility
makes cognitive theory particularly applicable in therapeutic contexts, such as
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where maladaptive constructs are challenged
and reframed.
Social Cognitive Theories
Social cognitive theories extend the cognitive perspective by embedding thought
processes within social and environmental contexts, stressing that personality is co-
constructed through interactions between cognitive factors, behavior, and situational
influences.
Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (1977) is a cornerstone of this approach,
introducing the concept of reciprocal determinism—a model in which personal factors
(e.g., beliefs, attitudes), behavior, and environmental conditions influence each other in
a continuous feedback loop.
A defining construct is self-efficacy—the belief in one’s capability to perform specific
tasks successfully.
• Example: A medical student with high clinical self-efficacy is more likely to
approach complex surgical tasks confidently, persist in the face of setbacks, and
ultimately develop a competent, achievement-oriented professional identity.
Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment demonstrated observational learning, revealing that
individuals—especially children—acquire new behaviors through modeling. This has
direct implications for personality development: traits such as empathy, cooperation, or
assertiveness can be learned vicariously through observing role models.
