Individual Differences represented in an Equation

In the last blog, we began looking at individual differences as the basis of manager's ability to manage. In today's blog we continue understanding the Lewin's Theory of individual differences.

Lewin expressed the idea of individual differences in an equation as follows:

B = f (P, E)

Where,

B = behavior

P = person

E = environment

This equation in some form is the essence of "interactional psychology" - this approach emphasizes that in order to understand human behavior, we must know something about the person and the situation. The 4 basic propositions of this approach are listed below:

1. Behavior is a function of continuous, multidimensional interaction between the person and the situation
2. The person is active in the process and is both changed by situation and changes the situation
3. People vary in many characteristics, including cognitive, affective, motivational and ability factors.
4. Two interpretations of situations are important: the objective situation and the person's subjective view of the situation

To understand this better, over the next few blogs, we look at the various personality differences one by one.