Health Paper (For Kim Woods Only)

Write a 500- to 750-word paper that addresses this problem.Address the following in your paper:

Choose one of the following topics:

 Smoking tobacco Alcohol abuse Drug abuse

SUBSTANCE USE
AND ABUSE
Substance Abuse
Addiction and Dependence
Processes Leading to Dependence

Smoking Tobacco
Who Smokes And How Much?
Why People Smoke
Smoking and Health

Alcohol Use and Abuse
Who Drinks, and How Much?
Why People Use and Abuse Alcohol
Drinking and Health

Drug Use and Abuse
Who Uses Drugs, and Why?
Drug Use and Health

Reducing Substance Use and Abuse
Preventing Substance Use
Quitting a Substance

Without Therapy
Treatment Methods to Stop Substance Use and

Abuse
Dealing With the Relapse Problem

PROLOGUE
The stakes were high when Jim signed an agreement
to quit smoking for a year, beginning January 2nd. The
contract was with a worksite wellness program at the large
company where he was employed as a vice president. It
called for money to be given to charity by either Jim or
the company, depending on how well he abstained from
smoking. For every day he did not smoke, the company
would give $10 to the charity; and for each cigarette Jim
smoked, he would give $25, with a maximum of $100 for
any day.

Jim knew stopping smoking would not be easy for
him—he had smoked more than a pack a day for the
last 20 years, and he had tried to quit a couple of times
before. In the contract, the company could have required
that he submit to medical tests to verify that he did in
fact abstain but were willing to trust his word and that
of his family, friends, and coworkers. These people were
committed to helping him quit, and they agreed to be
contacted by someone from the program weekly and give
honest reports. Did he succeed? Yes, but he had a few
‘‘lapses’’ that cost him $325. By the end of the year, Jim
had not smoked for 8 months continuously.

People voluntarily use substances that can harm
their health. This chapter focuses on people’s use of three
substances: tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. We’ll examine
who uses substances and why, how they can affect health,
and what can be done to help prevent people from using

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 16

and abusing them. We’ll also address questions about
substances and health. Do people smoke tobacco, drink
alcohol, and use drugs more than in the past? Why do
people start to smoke, or drink excessively, or use drugs?
Why is it so difficult to quit these behaviors? If individuals
succeed in stopping smoking, will they gain weight?

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

‘‘I just can’t get started in the morning without a cup
of coffee and a cigarette—I must be addicted,’’ you may
have heard someone say. The term addicted used to have
a very limited meaning, referring mainly to the excessive
use of alcohol and drugs. It was common knowledge
that these chemical substances have psychoactive effects:
they alter the person’s mood, cognition, or behavior.
We now know that other substances, such as nicotine
and caffeine, have psychoactive effects, too—but people
are commonly said to be ‘‘addicted’’ also to eating,
gambling, buying, and many other things. How shall we
define addiction?

ADDICTION AND DEPENDENCE
Addiction is a condition, produced by repeated con-
sumption of a natural or synthetic psychoactive sub-
stance, in which the person has become physically and
psychologically dependent on the substance (Baker et
al., 2004). Physical dependence exists when the body
has adjusted to a substance and incorporated it into the
‘‘normal’’ functioning of the body’s tissues. For instance,
the structure and function of brain cells and chemistry
change (Torres & Horowitz, 1999). This state has two
characteristics:

1. Tolerance is the process by which the body increasingly
adapts to a substance and requires larger and larger
doses of it to achieve the same effect. At some point,
these increases reach a plateau.

2. Withdrawal refers to unpleasant physical and psy-
chological symptoms people experience when they
discontinue or markedly reduce using a substance on
which they have become dependent. The symptoms
experienced depend on the particular substance used,
and can include anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for
the substance, hallucinations, nausea, headache, and
tremors.

Substances differ in their potential for producing physical
dependence: the potential is very high for heroin but
appears to be lower for other substances, such as LSD
(Baker et al., 2004; NCADI, 2000; Schuster & Kilbey, 1992).

Psychological dependence is a state in which
individuals feel compelled to use a substance for the
effect it produces, without necessarily being physically
dependent on it. Despite knowing that the substance
can impair psychological and physical health, they
rely heavily on it—often to help them adjust to life
and feel good—and spend much time obtaining and
using it. Dependence develops through repeated use
(Cunningham, 1998). Users who are not physically
dependent on a substance experience less tolerance
and withdrawal (Schuckit et al., 1999). Being without
the substance can elicit craving, a motivational state
that involves a strong desire for it. Users who become
addicted usually become psychologically dependent
on the substance first; later they become physically
dependent as their bodies develop a tolerance for
it. Substances differ in the potential for producing
psychological dependence: the potential is high for
heroin and cocaine, moderate for marijuana, and lower
for LSD (NCADI, 2000; Schuster & Kilbey, 1992).

The terms and definitions used in describing
addiction and dependence vary somewhat (Baker et
al., 2004). But diagnosing substance dependence and
abuse depends on the extent and impact of clear
and ongoing use (Kring et al., 2010). Psychiatrists and
clinical psychologists diagnose substance abuse when
dependence is accompanied by at least one of the
following:

• Failing to fulfill important obligations, such as in
repeatedly neglecting a child or being absent from work.

• Putting oneself or others at repeated risk for physical
injury, for instance, by driving while intoxicated.

• Having substance-related legal difficulties, such as being
arrested for disorderly conduct.

Psychiatric classifications of disorders now include the
pathological use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs—the
substances we’ll focus on in this chapter.

PROCESSES LEADING TO DEPENDENCE
Researchers have identified many factors associated
with substance use and abuse. In this section, we’ll
discuss factors that apply to all addictive substances, are
described in the main theories of substance dependence,
and have been clearly shown to have a role in developing
and maintaining dependence.

Reinforcement
We saw in Chapter 6 that reinforcement is a process
whereby a consequence strengthens the behavior on

164 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

which it is contingent. There are two types of reinforce-
ment: positive and negative (Sarafino, 2001). In positive
reinforcement, the consequence is an event or item
the individual finds pleasant or wants that is introduced
or added after the behavior occurs. For example, many
cigarette smokers report that smoking produces a ‘‘buzz’’
or ‘‘rush’’ and feelings of elation, and drinking alcohol
increases this effect (Baker, Brandon, & Chassin, 2004;
Piasecki et al., 2008). People who experience a buzz from
smoking, smoke more than those who don’t (Pomerleau
et al., 2005). Alcohol and drugs often produce a buzz
or rush and other effects. In negative reinforcement,
the consequence involves reducing or removing an aver-
sive circumstance, such as pain or unpleasant feelings.
For instance, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs relieve stress
and other negative emotions at least temporarily (Baker
et al., 2004). Positive and negative reinforcement both
produce a wanted state of affairs; with substance use, it
occurs very soon after the behavior. Thus, dependence
and abuse develop partly because users rely increas-
ingly on the substance to regulate their cognitive and
emotional states (Holahan et al., 2001; Pomerleau &
Pomerleau, 1989).

Avoiding Withdrawal
Because withdrawal symptoms are very unpleasant,
people want to avoid them (Baker, Brandon, & Chassin,
2004). People who have used a substance long enough to
develop a dependence on it are likely to keep on using it
to prevent withdrawal, especially if they have experienced
the symptoms. As an example of the symptoms, for
people addicted to alcohol, the withdrawal syndrome
(called delirium tremens, ‘‘the DTs’’) often includes intense
anxiety, tremors, and frightening hallucinations when
their blood alcohol levels drop (Kring et al., 2010). Each
substance has its own set of withdrawal symptoms.

Substance-Related Cues
When people use substances, they associate with that
activity the specific internal and environmental stimuli
that are regularly present. These stimuli are called cues,
and they can include the sight and smell of cigarette
smoke, the bottle and taste of beer, and the mental
images of and equipment involved in taking cocaine.
These associations occur by way of classical condition-
ing: a conditioned stimulus—say, the smell of cigarette
smoke—comes to elicit a response through association
with an unconditioned stimulus, the substance’s effect,
such as the ‘‘buzz’’ feeling. There may be more than one
response, but an important one is craving: for people
who are alcohol or nicotine dependent, words related
to the substance or thinking about using it can elicit

cravings for a drink or smoke (Erblich, Montgomery, &
Bovbjerg, 2009; Tapert et al., 2004).

Evidence now indicates that the role of cues in sub-
stance dependence involves physiological mechanisms.
Let’s look at two lines of evidence. First, learning the cues
enables the body to anticipate and compensate for a sub-
stance’s effects (McDonald & Siegel, 2004). For instance,
for a frequent user of alcohol, an initial drink gets the
body to prepare for more, which may lead to tolerance;
and if an expected amount does not come for a user
who is addicted, withdrawal symptoms occur. Second,
studies have supported the incentive-sensitization theory of
addiction, which proposes that a neurotransmitter called
dopamine enhances the salience of stimuli associated with
substance use so that they become increasingly powerful
in directing behavior (Robinson & Berridge, 2001, 2003).
These powerful cues grab the substance user’s attention,
arouse the anticipation of the reward gained from using
the substance, and compel the person to get and use
more of it.

Expectancies
People develop expectancies, or ideas about the outcomes
of behavior, from their own experiences and from
watching other people. Some expectancies are positive;
that is, the expected outcome is desirable. For example,
we may decide by watching others that drinking alcohol
is ‘‘fun’’—people who are drinking are often boisterous,
laughing, and, perhaps celebrating. These people may be
family members, friends, and celebrities in movies—all
of whom are powerful models. Even before tasting
alcohol, children acquire expectancies about the positive
effects of alcohol via social learning processes, such
as by watching TV shows and advertisements (Dunn
& Goldman, 1998; Grube & Wallack, 1994; Scheier &
Botvin, 1997). Teenagers also perceive that drinking is
‘‘sociable’’ and ‘‘grown up,’’ two things they generally
want very much to be. As a result, when teens are offered
a drink by their parents or friends, they usually see
this as a positive opportunity. Other expectancies are
negative—for instance, drinking can lead to a hangover.
Similar processes operate for other substances, such as
tobacco (Cohen et al., 2002).

Genetics
Heredity influences addiction (Agrawal & Lynskey, 2008).
For example, twin studies have shown that identical
twins are more similar in cigarette smoking behavior and
becoming dependent on tobacco than fraternal twins,
and researchers have identified specific genes that are
involved in this addictive process (Chen et al., 2009;
Lerman & Berrettini, 2003). Also dozens of twin and

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 16

adoption studies, as well as research with animals,
have clearly demonstrated a genetic influence in the
development of alcohol problems (Campbell & Oei, 2009;
NIAAA, 1993; Saraceno et al., 2009). For instance, twin
studies in general have found that if one member of
a same-sex twin pair is alcoholic, the risk of the other
member being alcoholic is twice as great if the twins are
identical rather than fraternal. And specific genes have
been identified for this substance, too.

Three other findings on the role of genetics are
important. First, the genes that affect smoking are not

the same ones that affect drinking (Bierut et al., 2004).
Second, although both genetics and social factors, such
as peer and family relations, influence substance use,
their importance changes with development: substance
use is strongly influenced by social factors during adoles-
cence and genetic factors during adulthood (Kendler et
al., 2008). Third, high levels of parental involvement with
and monitoring of their child can counteract a child’s
high genetic risk of substance use (Brody et al., 2009;
Chen et al., 2009).

If you have not read Chapter 2, The Body’s Physical
Systems, and your course has you read the modules

from that chapter distributed to later chapters, read
Module 4 (The Respiratory System) now.

SMOKING TOBACCO

When Columbus explored the Western Hemisphere, he
recorded in his journal that the inhabitants would set fire
to leaves—rolled up or in pipes—and draw in the smoke
through their mouths (Ashton & Stepney, 1982). The
leaves these people used were tobacco, of course. Other
early explorers tried smoking and, probably because
they liked it, took tobacco leaves back to Europe in
the early 1500s, where tobacco was used mainly for
‘‘medicinal purposes.’’ Smoking for pleasure spread
among American colonists and in Europe later in that
century. In the 1600s, pipe smoking became popular,
and the French introduced snuff, powdered tobacco that
people consumed chiefly by inserting it in the nose
and sniffing strongly. After inventors made a machine
for mass-producing cigarettes and growers developed
mellower tobacco in the early 1900s for easier inhaling,
the popularity of smoking grew rapidly over the next
50 years.

Today there are about 1.25 billion smokers in the
world (Shafey et al., 2009). In the United States, cigarette
smoking reached its greatest popularity in the mid-
1960s, when about 53% of adult males and 34% of adult
females smoked regularly (Shopland & Brown, 1985).
Before that time, people generally didn’t know about
the serious health effects of smoking. But in 1964 the
Surgeon General issued a report describing these health
effects, and warnings against smoking began to appear
in the American media and on cigarette packages. Since
that time, the prevalence of adult smokers has dropped
steadily, and today about 24% of the men and 18% of
the women in the United States smoke (NCHS, 2009a).
Teen smoking has also declined: today about 11% of
high-school seniors smoke daily (Johnston et al., 2009).

Do these trends mean cigarette manufacturers are
on the verge of bankruptcy? Not at all—their profits
are still quite high! In the United States, there are still
tens of millions of smokers, the retail price of cigarettes
has increased, and manufacturers have sharply increased
sales to foreign countries. At the same time that smoking
has declined in many industrialized countries, it has
increased in developing nations, such as in Asia and
Africa (Shafey et al., 2009).

WHO SMOKES AND HOW MUCH?
Although huge numbers of people in the world smoke,
most do not. In the United States, the adolescent and
adult populations have five times as many nonsmokers
as smokers. Are some people more likely to smoke than
others?

Age and Gender Differences in Smoking
Smoking varies with age. For example, few Americans
begin to smoke regularly before 12 years of age (Johnston
et al., 2009), and few people who will ever become regular
smokers begin the habit after their early 20s (Thirlaway
& Upton, 2009). The habit generally develops gradually
over several years. Figure 7-1 shows three patterns about
the habit’s development. First, many people in a given
month smoke infrequently—at less than a daily level.
Many of them are trying out the habit, and some will
progress to daily and then half a pack or more. Second,
this pattern starts in eighth grade (about 13 years) for
an alarming number of children and involves more and
more teens in later grades. Third, teens in every grade
who do not plan to complete 4 years of college are at high
risk of trying smoking and progressing to heavy smoking.
The percentage of Americans who smoke levels off in

166 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

0 5

College plans:
Complete 4 years

Lesser or no
college plans

Grade

Smoking Status

Grade 1

Grade

College

Grade 8
Grade

Grade 12

Young adults
(19–28 Years)

10 15

Percent

25 30 35

Daily 1 or more cigarettes

Daily pack or more

At least once in prior 30 days

Figure 7-1 Percent of individuals in the United States at different grades or ages with different cigarette smoking statuses,
depending on their college plans: either to complete 4 years or to complete less or no college. The survey assessed whether
they had smoked in the last 30 days at least once or daily either at least 1 cigarette or at least half a pack (10 cigarettes). The
graph does not separate data for males and females because they are very similar. (Data from Johnston et al., 2009, Tables D–8

through D–97.)

early adulthood and declines after about 35 years of age
(USBC, 2010). Many adults are former smokers.

Gender differences in smoking are quite large in
some parts of the world: about 1 billion men and 250
million women smoke worldwide (Shafey et al., 2009).
Among Americans, the prevalence of smoking had always
been far greater among males than females before
the 1970s (McGinnis, Shopland, & Brown, 1987). But
this gender gap has narrowed greatly—for instance, the
percentage of high-school seniors today who smoke is
similar for girls and boys (Johnston et al., 2009). Cigarette
advertising targeted at one gender or the other, such as
by creating clever brand names and slogans, played a
major part in these gender-related shifts in smoking
(Pierce & Gilpin, 1995). A slogan designed to induce
young females to smoke is:

‘‘You’ve come a long way, baby,’’ with its strong
but still subtle appeal to the women’s liberation
movement. The ‘‘Virginia Slims’’ brand name artfully
takes advantage of the increasingly well-documented
research finding that, for many female (and male)
smokers, quitting the habit is associated with gaining
weight. (Matarazzo, 1982, p. 6)

Although cigarette advertising still has a strong
influence on teens starting to smoke, antismoking
advertisements appear to counteract this influence
(Gilpin et al., 2007; Murphy-Hoefer, Hyland, & Higbee,
2008). There is an important and hopeful point to keep in
mind about the changes that have occurred in smoking
behavior: they show that people can be persuaded to
avoid or quit smoking.

Sociocultural Differences in Smoking
Large variations in smoking occur across cultures, with
far higher rates in developing than in industrialized
countries (Shafey et al., 2009). Over 80% of the world’s
smokers live in developing countries, where it’s not
unusual for 50% of men to smoke. Table 7.1 gives the
percentages of adults who smoke in selected countries
around the world.

In the United States, smoking prevalence differs
across ethnic groups. Of high school seniors, 14.3% of

Table 7.1 Prevalence of Adult Cigarette Smoking in Selected
Countries: Percentages by Gender and Overall

Country Males Females Overall

Australia 27.7 21.8 24.8
Brazila 20.3 12.8 na
Canada 24.3 18.9 21.

China 59.5 3.7 31.8
Germany 37.4 25.8 31.6
India 33.1 3.8 18.6
Italy 32.8 19.2 26.

Netherlands 38.3 30.3 34.3
Singapore 24.2 3.5 13.7
South Africa 27.5 9.1 18.

Sweden 19.6 24.5 2

2.0

Turkey 51.6 19.2 35.5
United Kingdom 36.7 34.7 35.7

Notes: adult = age 15 and older; na = data not available; data
from different countries and sources may vary somewhat, reflecting
different definitions or survey years.
Sources: WHO, 2009, except a Shafey et al., 2009.

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 167

Whites, 5.8% of Blacks, and 6.7% of Hispanics are daily
smokers (Johnston et al., 2009). Although the prevalence
of Black and White adults who smoke regularly has
declined substantially since the 1960s, the percentages
who smoke today depend on the people’s ages and
gender (USBC, 2010). For men, far more Whites than
Blacks smoke in early adulthood, but far more Blacks
than Whites smoke after 45 years of age. Among women,
far more Whites than Blacks smoke in early adulthood,
but the percentages are similar after 45 years of age.
Differences in smoking rates also vary with social class:
the percentage of people who smoke tends to decline
with increases in education, income, and job prestige
class (Adler, 2004). Thus, high rates of smoking are
likely to be found among adults who did not graduate
from high school, have low incomes, and have blue-collar
occupations, such as maintenance work and truck driving.

Although the percentage of Americans who smoke
has decreased by about half in the years since the mid-
1960s, the effect of these changes on the total number
of smokers and cigarettes consumed has been offset by
rises in the number of adults in the population and the
proportion of smokers who smoke heavily, more than a
pack a day (McGinnis, Shopland, & Brown, 1987). The
people who continued to smoke after the 1960s were the
ones who needed to quit the most.

WHY PEOPLE SMOKE
Cigarette smoking is a strange phenomenon in some
respects. If you ever tried to smoke, chances are you
coughed the first time or two, found the taste unpleasant,
and, perhaps, even experienced nausea. This is not the
kind of outcome that usually makes people want to try
something again. But many teenagers do, even though
most teens say that smoking is unhealthy (Johnston et
al., 2009). Given these circumstances, we might wonder
why people start to smoke and why they continue.

Starting to Smoke
Psychosocial factors provide the primary forces that
lead adolescents to begin smoking. For instance, teens
who perceive low risk and high benefits in smoking
are likely to start the habit (Song et al., 2009).
Also, teenagers’ social environment is influential in
shaping their attitudes, beliefs, and intentions about
smoking—for example, they are more likely to begin
smoking if their parents and friends smoke (Bricker et al.,
2006; O’Loughlin et al., 2009; Robinson & Klesges, 1997;
Simons-Morton et al., 2004). Teens who try their first
cigarette often do so in the company of peers and with

their encouragement (Leventhal, Prohaska, & Hirschman,
1985). And adolescents are more likely to start smoking
if their favorite movie stars smoke on or off screen
(Distefan et al., 1999). Thus, modeling and peer pressure
are important determinants of smoking.

Personal characteristics can influence whether ado-
lescents begin to smoke—for instance, low self-esteem,
concern about body weight, and being rebellious and a
thrill-seeker increase the likelihood of smoking (Bricker
et al., 2009; O’Loughlin et al., 2009; Weiss, Merrill, &
Gritz, 2007). Expectancies are also important. Many teens
believe that smoking can enhance their image, making
them look mature, glamorous, and exciting (Dinh et al.,
1995; Robinson & Klesges, 1997). Teens who are very
concerned with how others view them do not easily
overlook social images, models, and peer pressure. Do
the psychosocial factors we’ve considered have similar
effects with all teens? No, the effects seem to depend on
the person’s gender and sociocultural background. For
example, smoking by peers and family members in Amer-
ica is more closely linked to smoking in girls than boys
and in White than Black teens (Flay, Hu, & Richardson,

1998; Robinson & Klesges, 1997). (Go to .)

Becoming a Regular Smoker
There is a rule of thumb about beginning to smoke that
seems to have some validity: individuals who smoke their
fourth cigarette are very likely to become regular smokers
(Leventhal & Cleary, 1980). Although the vast majority
of youngsters try at least one cigarette, most of them
never get to the fourth one and don’t go on to smoke
regularly. Becoming a habitual smoker usually takes a
few years, and the faster the habit develops, the more
likely the person will smoke heavily and have trouble
quitting (Chassin et al., 2000; Dierker et al., 2008).

Why is it that some people continue smoking after
the first tries, and others don’t? Part of the answer lies
in the types of psychosocial influences that got them to
start in the first place. Studies that tested thousands
of adolescents in at least two different years have
examined whether the teens’ social environments and
beliefs about smoking were related to changes in their
smoking behavior (Bricker et al., 2006, 2009; Chassin et
al., 1991; Choi et al., 2002). Smoking tended to continue
or increase if the teens:

• Had at least one parent who smoked.

• Perceived their parents as unconcerned or even encour-
aging about their smoking.

• Had siblings or friends who smoked and socialized with
friends very often.

168 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

HIGHLIGHT

Do Curiosity and Susceptibility ‘‘Kill the Cat?’’
Whether or not you’ve tried smoking,

did you at some earlier time feel curious about what
smoking is like or make a commitment never to smoke?
These two factors affect the likelihood of starting to
smoke: the likelihood rises as the teen’s curiosity
increases and in the absence of a commitment (Pierce
et al., 2005). The absence of a commitment never to
smoke is called susceptibility to smoking. Researchers
have examined how susceptibility combines with stages
of change—that is, readiness to start smoking—to

Comparative likelihood

Nonsusceptible,
precontemplation

Susceptible,
precontemplation

Susceptible,
contemplation

S
u
sc

ep
ti

b
il
it

y–
st

ag
e

co
m

b
in

at
io

n
s

Susceptible,
preparation

5 10

Figure 7-2 Comparative likelihood of nonsmoking teenagers becoming smokers within 2 years, depending on the
teens’ combination of susceptibility and stage of change. Note that the nonsusceptible, precontemplation combination
arbitrarily = 1 in the graph. (Data from Huang et al., 2005, Table 2.)

affect teenagers’ likelihood of becoming smokers in
the future (Huang et al., 2005). Figure 7-2 presents
the findings: susceptible teenagers are more and more
likely to become smokers as their stages advance
from precontemplation (not considering smoking) to
contemplation (considering smoking) to preparation
(intending to smoke). A susceptible teenager at the
preparation stage is nearly 10 times more likely to start
smoking within a couple of years than a nonsusceptible
teen at the precontemplation stage.

• Were rebellious, thrill-seekers, and low in school
motivation.

• Were receptive to tobacco advertisements, such as by
naming a favorite one.

• Felt peer pressure to smoke, for example, reporting,
‘‘Others make fun of you if you don’t smoke,’’ and, ‘‘You
have to smoke when you’re with friends who smoke.’’

• Held positive attitudes about smoking, such as, ‘‘Smok-
ing is very enjoyable,’’ and, ‘‘Smoking can help people
when they feel nervous or embarrassed.’’

• Did not believe smoking would harm their health, for
instance, feeling, ‘‘Smoking is dangerous only to older
people,’’ and, ‘‘Smoking is only bad for you if you have
been smoking for many years.’’

• Believed they’d be able to quit smoking if they wanted.

Three other findings are important. First, part of the
way smoking by family and friends promotes teenagers’
smoking is that it reduces the belief that smoking
might harm the teens’ own health (Rodriguez, Romer,
& Audrain-McGovern, 2007). Second, teenagers usually
smoke in the presence of other people, especially peers,
and smokers consume more cigarettes when in the
company of someone who smokes at a high rate rather
than a low rate (Antonuccio & Lichtenstein, 1980; Biglan
et al., 1984). Third, feeling negative emotions, such
as depression, increases people’s smoking (Fucito &
Juliano, 2009; McCaffery et al., 2008).

Reinforcement is another important factor in con-
tinuing to smoke. For many smokers, the taste of a
cigarette provides positive reinforcement for smoking.
Research has found that people who feel that the taste

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 169

of a cigarette is the main reason for smoking smoke less
than other smokers when their cigarettes are altered to
taste less pleasant (Leventhal & Cleary, 1980). Nega-
tive reinforcement maintains smoking when people use
the behavior as a means of coping with stress or other
unpleasant emotional states (Baker et al., 2004). Smok-
ing is also related to stress: the greater the stress, the
more smokers smoke (Wills, 1986). And smokers report
less anxiety and greater ability to express their opinions
if they smoke during stressful social interactions than if
they do not smoke (Gilbert & Spielberger, 1987). But even
if smokers perform better and feel more relaxed in stress-
ful situations when they are allowed to smoke than when
they are not, they do not necessarily perform better or
feel more relaxed than nonsmokers do (Schachter, 1980).
Some findings suggest that smoking may reduce stress
temporarily, but may increase it in the long run (Parrott,
1999). A study that tested this idea found support for it,
but another did not (Orlando, Ellickson, & Jinnett, 2001;
Wills, Sandy, & Yeager, 2002).

Biological factors are also involved in sustaining
smoking behavior, probably by affecting the addictive
effects of nicotine. The fact that adolescent smoking is
strongly associated with parental and sibling smoking
shows that smoking runs in families. Certainly part of
this relationship results from social learning processes.
But there are at least three biological routes. First,
nicotine passed on by a smoking mother to her baby
in pregnancy may make the child more susceptible to
nicotine addiction (Kandel, Wu, & Davies, 1994). The
second is heredity: genetics affect how likely people are
to become smokers, how easily and strongly they become
physically dependent on tobacco, and how able they are
to quit (Lerman, Caporaso et al., 1999; Pomerleau et
al., 1993). Third, researchers have found that an area of
the brain, the insula, may control the desire to smoke:
smokers who suffer a stroke with damage to that area
instantly lose their desire to smoke (Naqvi et al., 2007).

The Role of Nicotine
People become physically dependent on tobacco
because of the chemical substances their bodies take in
when they use it. A person who smokes a pack a day takes
more than 50,000 puffs a year, with each puff delivering
chemicals into the lungs and bloodstream (Pechacek et
al., 1984; USDHHS, 1986b). These chemicals include car-
bon monoxide, tars, and nicotine. Cigarette smoke has
high concentrations of carbon monoxide, a gas that is
readily absorbed by the bloodstream and rapidly affects
the person’s physiological functioning, such as by reduc-
ing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Tars exist
as minute particles, suspended in smoke. Although tars

have important health effects, there is no evidence that
they affect the desire to smoke. Nicotine is the addictive
chemical in cigarette smoke and produces rapid and pow-
erful physiological effects. Nicotine dependence does
not necessarily take months or years to develop: a study
found that some beginning smokers who had smoked
infrequently experienced symptoms of dependence, such
as craving (O’Loughlin et al., 2003).

Nicotine is a substance that occurs only in tobacco.
When people smoke, alveoli in the lungs quickly absorb
the nicotine and transmit it to the blood (Pechacek et al.,
1984; Baker, Brandon, & Chassin, 2004). In a matter of
seconds the blood carries the nicotine to the brain, where
it leads to the release of various chemicals that activate
both the central and sympathetic nervous systems,
which arouse the body, increasing alertness, heart rate,
and blood pressure. These and other consequences of
nicotine form the basis for the positive and negative
reinforcement effects of smoking. Then, while people
smoke a cigarette, nicotine accumulates very rapidly in
the blood. But it soon decreases through metabolism—in
about 2 hours, half of the nicotine inhaled from a cigarette
has decayed.

Biological explanations of people’s continued
cigarette smoking have focused chiefly on the role of
nicotine. One prominent explanation, called the nicotine
regulation model, proposes that established smokers
continue to smoke to maintain a certain level of nico-
tine in their bodies and to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Stanley Schachter and his associates (1977) provided
evidence for this model in an ingenious series of stud-
ies with adult smokers. In one study, the researchers
had subjects smoke low-nicotine cigarettes during one
week and high-nicotine cigarettes during another week.
As the model predicts, the subjects smoked more low-
than high-nicotine cigarettes. This effect was especially
strong for heavy smokers, who smoked 25% more of
the low- than high-nicotine cigarettes. Consistent with
these results, other researchers have found that peo-
ple who regularly smoke ultralow-nicotine cigarettes
do not consume less nicotine than those who smoke
other cigarettes—ultralow smokers simply smoke more
cigarettes (Maron & Fortmann, 1987).

Although the nicotine regulation model has received
research support, there are reasons to think it provides
only part of the explanation for people’s smoking
behavior (Leventhal & Cleary, 1980). One reason is that
most people who quit smoking continue to crave it, and
many return to smoking, long after all the nicotine is gone
from their bodies. Another reason is that some people
smoke a few cigarettes a day for years and don’t increase
their use—that is, they don’t show tolerance. These
people usually don’t experience withdrawal symptoms

170 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

but absorb as much nicotine from a cigarette as heavier
smokers do (Shiffman et al., 1990; Shiffman et al., 1995).
Why do these people continue to smoke? Each of the
processes of addiction we considered earlier provides
a cogent explanation. For instance, nicotine provides
powerful reinforcement of smoking behavior soon after
the first puff of a cigarette (Baker, Brandon, & Chassin,
2004; McGehee et al., 1995; Ray, Schnoll, & Lerman,
2009).

Researchers today generally recognize that a full
explanation of the development and maintenance of
smoking behavior involves the interplay of biological,
psychological, and social factors (Shadel et al., 2000).
An example of this interplay is seen in the finding that
among depressed smokers, those with a specific gene
rely more on smoking to cope than those without that
gene (Lerman et al., 1998).

SMOKING AND HEALTH
‘‘Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that
cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health,’’ states
a cigarette pack sold in the United States. Current
projections for deaths annually from smoking-related
illnesses are 6 million in 2010 rising to 8 million by
2030 (Shafey et al., 2009). Smoking reduces people’s life
expectancy by several years and impairs their quality of
life in old age, and these effects worsen with heavier
smoking (Strandberg et al., 2008). No other single
behavior takes such a toll. To what extent do your odds
of dying of lung cancer or heart disease increase if you
smoke? Figure 7-3 shows that the odds increase greatly,
especially for lung cancer. The more you smoke, the
worse your odds become—and if you quit, your odds
improve steadily, in about 15 years becoming similar to
those of people who never smoked (Godtfredsen et al.,
2002; LaCroix et al., 1991). Smoking and, specifically,
nicotine also impair immune function (McAllister-Sistilli
et al., 1998).

WEB ANIMATION: The Case of the
Worried Smoker

Access: www.wiley.com/college/sarafino. This interac-
tive animation describes the symptoms and medical
test results of a woman with a smoking-related illness.

Cancer
In the late 1930s, two important studies were done
that clearly linked smoking and cancer for the first
time (Ashton & Stepney, 1982). One study presented

No Yes
Smoke

Lung Cancer

1.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0
No Yes
Smoke

Heart Disease
P

er
ce

n
ta

ge
d

yi
n
g

b
ef

or
e

ag
e

6
5

Figure 7-3 Probability of a 35-year-old man dying of lung
cancer or heart disease before age 65 as a function of
smoking heavily or not smoking. Data for women were less
complete, but probably would reveal similar risk increases.
(Data from Mattson, Pollack, & Cullen, 1987, p. 427.)

statistics showing that nonsmokers live longer than
smokers. In the other study, researchers produced cancer
in laboratory animals by administering cigarette tar.
By producing cancer with experimental methods, these
researchers demonstrated a causal link between cancer
and a chemical in tobacco smoke and identified tar as
a likely carcinogen, a substance that causes cancer. A few
decades later the evidence was clear that tobacco tars
and probably other byproducts of tobacco smoke cause
cancer (Denissenko et al., 1996; USDHHS, 1986b).

Prospective research provides fairly strong evidence
for a causal relationship because smokers and nonsmok-
ers are identified and then followed over a long period
of time to see if they develop cancer. Many large-scale
prospective studies have linked smoking with cancers of
various body sites, including the lung, mouth, esoph-
agus, prostate, bladder, and kidney (Huncharek et al.,
2010; Levy, 1985; Shopland & Burns, 1993). The last two
may result because carcinogenic chemicals in tobacco
smoke are absorbed into the blood and conveyed to the
urine. Cancers of the mouth and esophagus can also

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 171

result from using smokeless tobacco—chewing tobacco
or snuff (ACS, 2009; Severson, 1993). Thus, carcinogenic
substances exist not only in smoke, but in tobacco
itself.

In the 1930s, lung cancer in America was quite
uncommon and much less prevalent than many other
forms of cancer, such as cancer of the breast, stomach,
and prostate (ACS, 2009). Deaths from lung cancer at that
time occurred at an annual rate of about 5 per 100,000
people in the population, whereas mortality rates for
breast and stomach cancer were more than five times
that high. Over the years, the mortality rates for most
forms of cancer have either declined or remained fairly
constant, but not for lung cancer. The annual death
rate for lung cancer rose sharply in the second half
of the 20th century per 100,000 Americans—it is now
about 54 (USBC, 2010); the corresponding rate in the
European Union is nearly 38 (WHO/Europe, 2010). In
the United States, the deadliest form of cancer is of
the lung, claiming over 159,000 lives per year and being
responsible for nearly three times more deaths than
cancer of the colon or rectum, the second-most-deadly
form (USBC, 2010).

The correspondence between the rises in lung cancer
deaths and in smoking prevalence since the 1930s is quite
striking (McGinnis, Shopland, & Brown, 1987; Shopland
& Burns, 1993). The rate of mortality from lung cancer
began to rise about 15 or 20 years after the rate of smoking
started to rise, and these rates have paralleled each other
ever since. During this time, the rates of smoking and of
lung cancer were higher for males than for females, but

since the mid-1960s, important gender-related changes
have occurred. Smoking has decreased among men and
increased among women, thus narrowing the gender
gap—and corresponding changes in incidence rates of
lung cancer are now evident: since the mid-1980s, the
rates declined steadily for men but rose and leveled off
for women (ACS, 2009).

How does smoking harm the lungs? When smoke
recurrently passes through the bronchial tubes, the lining
of the tubes begins to react to the irritation by increasing
the number of cells just below the surface. Then,

the fine, hairlike growths, or cilia, along the surface
of the lining, whose function is to clear the lungs of
foreign particles, begin to slow or stop their move-
ment. In time, the cilia may disappear altogether, and
as a consequence carcinogenic substances remain
in contact with sensitive cells in the lining of the
bronchi instead of being removed in the mucus … . At
this stage, a smoker’s cough may develop. It is a feeble
attempt by the body to clear the lungs of foreign par-
ticles in the absence of functioning cilia. (La Place,
1984, p. 326)

Lung cancer usually originates in the bronchial tubes. In
most cases, it probably develops because of the extensive
contact of carcinogens with the bronchial lining.

Smoking is a major risk factor for all forms of cancer,
but its role is more direct and powerful in lung cancer
than in other cancers. People’s environments contain
many other carcinogens, and smoking is not the only

cause of these diseases. (Go to .)

Healthy lung Smoker’s lung (cancerous tumor) Smoker’s lung (emphysema)

An advertisement by the American Cancer Society that may motivate people to avoid starting or
to quit smoking. Reprinted by the permission of the American Cancer Society, Inc. from www.cancer.org. All
rights reserved.

172 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

HIGHLIGHT

Does Someone Else’s Smoking Affect Your Health?
‘‘What do you mean I can’t smoke in

this bar! It isn’t your business what I do to my body,’’
a patron said indignantly to a bartender. Some smokers
have reacted strongly to smoking bans in public places.
Why were these regulations introduced?

Excess tobacco smoke goes into the environment,
either as sidestream smoke from the burning tip of the
tobacco item or as exhaled smoke from smokers’ bodies.
This excess smoke constitutes secondhand smoke that
others consume (Eriksen, LeMaistre, & Newell, 1988).
Breathing secondhand smoke is called passive smoking.
In the mid-1980s, the United States Surgeon General
issued a report on the effects of passive smoking that
included three conclusions (USDHHS, 1986b, p.7):

1. Involuntary smoking is a cause of disease, including
lung cancer, in nonsmokers.

2. Compared with the children of nonsmoking parents,
children of parents who smoke have a higher fre-
quency of respiratory infections, increased respiratory
symptoms, and slightly smaller rates of increase in
lung function as the lungs mature.

3. The simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers
within the same air space may reduce, but does not

eliminate, the exposure of nonsmokers to environ-
mental tobacco smoke.

Public places, such as worksites, have high levels
of secondhand smoke when smoking is permitted
(Hammond et al., 1995). Levels of secondhand smoke
can be so high as to produce high nicotine levels in the
blood of nonsmokers (Okoli, Kelly, & Hahn, 2007).

Evidence of the harmful effects of secondhand
smoke is quite substantial. Studies of nonsmokers whose
spouses smoked have generally found that passive smok-
ers’ risk of lung cancer increases, sometimes doubling or
tripling (Eriksen, LeMaistre, & Newell, 1988; USDHHS,
1986b). Studies have also found a higher risk of car-
diovascular disease in nonsmoking spouses of smokers
than nonsmokers (Humble et al., 1990), and exposure to
secondhand smoke increases atherosclerosis (Howard et
al., 1998; Penn & Snyder, 1993). What’s more, for people
with existing cardiovascular conditions, such as angina,
and respiratory problems, such as asthma and hay fever,
environmental tobacco smoke can bring on attacks or
aggravate acute symptoms (Eriksen, LeMaistre, & Newell,
1988). Increasingly, people are becoming aware of the
health effects of secondhand smoke and making efforts
to have smoke-free environments.

Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease—including coronary heart dis-
ease (CHD) and stroke—is the leading cause of death
worldwide (WHO, 2009). In the United States, it is respon-
sible for over 34% of all deaths each year and claims more
lives than cancer, accidents, and several other causes
combined (USBC, 2010). When you point out these facts
to smokers, some say, ‘‘Well you have to die of something.’’
Of course, that’s true—but when you will die and how
disabled you will be before are the real issues. Cardio-
vascular disease takes many lives early: for instance, one
in six Americans it kills are under 65 years of age.

Many millions of Americans suffer from CHD and
stroke. The risk of developing CHD is two to four times
as high for smokers as for nonsmokers (AHA, 2010). And
the more cigarettes people smoke, the greater the risk:
a prospective study of smoking and CHD across 8 1/2
years found that the risk of developing heart disease
was far higher for individuals who smoked more than
a pack a day than those who smoked less (Rosenman
et al., 1976). Two other points are important in the

link between smoking and CHD. First, the greater risks
smoking conveys for CHD may be aggravated by stress. An
experiment tested smokers in a stressful task and found
that their stress-hormone and cardiovascular reactivity
were higher if they had smoked recently (that is, they
had not been deprived of smoking) than if they had
not smoked for many hours (Robinson & Cinciripini,
2006). Since smoking usually increases when people are
under stress, the resulting heightened reactivity raises
their CHD risk. Second, smokers tend to have lifestyles
that include other risk factors for CHD, such as being
physically inactive (Castro et al., 1989).

How does smoking cause cardiovascular disease?
The disease process appears to involve several effects
that the nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke
have on cardiovascular functioning (USDHHS, 1986a).
Nicotine constricts blood vessels and increases heart
rate, cardiac output, and both systolic and diastolic blood
pressure. Carbon monoxide reduces the availability of
oxygen to the heart, which may cause damage and lead
to atherosclerosis. Studies have found that the more

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 173

cigarettes people smoke per day, the greater their level
of serum cholesterol and size of plaques on artery walls
(Muscat et al., 1991; Tell et al., 1994). After stopping
smoking, cardiovascular risk factors, such as cholesterol
levels, improve markedly within 2 months (Eliasson et
al., 2001), and the risk of heart attack or stroke declines
greatly in the next few years (Kawachi et al., 1993; Negri
et al., 1994).

Other Illnesses
Smoking can lead to a variety of other illnesses—
particularly emphysema and chronic bronchitis—which
are classified together as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) (ALA, 2010; Haas & Haas, 1990). People with
COPD experience permanently reduced airflow, which is
especially evident when they try to exhale with force.
Over 80% of cases of COPD in the United States are
related to smoking (ALA, 2010). As we saw earlier,
recurrent smoking irritates and damages respiratory
organs. Research has shown that more damage occurs
from smoking high-tar than low-tar cigarettes and that
regularly smoking nontobacco (marijuana) cigarettes
also damages the respiratory system (Bloom et al.,
1987; Paoletti et al., 1985). COPD can incapacitate its
victims, often forcing relatively young individuals to
retire from work. It causes 3 million deaths each year
worldwide, particularly among its victims who smoke
(WHO, 2010).

Smoking may also increase acute respiratory infec-
tions. This has been shown in two ways. First, studies
have found that children of smokers are more likely to
develop pneumonia than are children of nonsmokers
(USDHHS, 1986b). Second, when exposed to common
cold viruses, smokers are much more likely to catch

cold than nonsmokers, probably because their immune
functions are impaired (Cohen et al., 1993).

ALCOHOL USE AND ABUSE

People’s use of alcoholic beverages has a very long
history, beginning before the eras of ancient Egypt,
Greece, and Rome, when using wine and beer was
very common. Its popularity continued through the
centuries and around the world—except in cultures that
strongly prohibited its use, as in Islamic nations—and
eventually reached America in the colonial period.
Colonial Americans arrived with

the drinking habits and attitudes of the places they
left behind. Liquor was viewed as a panacea; even the
Puritan minister Cotton Mather called it ‘‘the good
creature of God.’’ By all accounts, these people drank,
and drank hard. (Critchlow, 1986, p. 752)

But the Puritans also realized that excessive drinking led
to problems for society, so they condemned drunkenness
as sinful and enforced laws against it.

Over the next two centuries, attitudes about alcohol
changed in many cultures. In the United States, the
temperance movement began in the 18th century and
pressed for total abstinence from alcohol. By the mid-
1800s, the use of alcohol had diminished sharply and
so had its reputation: many Americans at that time
believed alcohol destroyed morals and created crime and
degenerate behavior (Critchlow, 1986). These attitudes
persisted and helped bring about Prohibition, beginning
in 1920, when the production, transport, and sale of
alcohol became unlawful. After the repeal of Prohibition,

Women in the temperance movement were very
assertive, and some went to saloons to keep records
of who bought drinks.

174 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

the use of alcohol increased, of course, and attitudes
about alcohol softened. Americans today believe alcohol
has both good and bad effects. (Go to .)

WHO DRINKS, AND HOW MUCH?
People’s attitudes about alcohol and its use are tied to
their own characteristics and backgrounds, such as their
age, gender, and sociocultural experiences.

Age, Gender, and Alcohol Use
Age and gender affect people’s experience with drinking
alcoholic beverages in most societies. One reason for
gender differences in drinking is that females on average
experience more intoxication than males from the same
amount of alcohol. This is because, even when body size
is the same, females metabolize alcohol less quickly than
males (Tortora & Derrickson, 2009).

Drinking typically begins in adolescence, and some-
times in childhood. In a survey of thousands of students
across the United States, high school seniors’ answers
indicated that 72% had consumed an alcoholic drink
at some time in their lives, 43% had a drink in the
last month, 46% had been drunk in the past year, and
25% had drunk five or more drinks in a row in the pre-
ceding 2 weeks (Johnston et al., 2009). Males reported
more drinking than females. About 32% of eighth graders
claimed they’d had a drink in the past year. Although
young people sometimes have alcohol at home with the

parents present, such as at special occasions, most
teenage drinking occurs in different circumstances. Even
when it is illegal for high school and college students
to purchase alcohol and to drink without parental
supervision, many do anyway. In adulthood, more males
than females continue to drink (NCHS, 2009a). Although
most young adult and middle-aged Americans drink, the
prevalence is much lower in older groups.

Sociocultural Differences in Using Alcohol
Alcohol use varies widely across cultures around the
world. Per capita, Americans each year consume 2.3 gal-
lons (9.77 liters) of ethanol—the alcohol in beer, wine,
and spirits (NIAAA, 2009). Table 7.2 compares several
countries on the amount of alcohol consumed per per-
son and alcohol-related traffic accidents. Traditionally,
countries were classified into two types of alcohol use:
those that integrate alcohol into daily life, as in serving it
with meals in Italy and France, and those that restrict its
use, such as the United States and Scandinavian nations
(Bloomfield et al., 2005). Daily drinking occurred more
in the former, and intoxication in the latter. But these
distinctions are disappearing.

In the United States, drinking patterns differ among
its many ethnic groups. The percentage of adults who
drink is higher for Whites than for other ethnic groups:
Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans (NCHS,
2009b). And the percentage of adults who sometimes
drink several drinks in a day is much higher for White,

ASSESS YOURSELF

What’s True about Drinking?
Put a check mark in the space pre-

ceding each of the following statements you think is
true.

Alcohol is a stimulant that energizes the body.

Having a few drinks enhances people’s perfor-
mance during sex.

After drinking heavily, people usually sober up a
lot when they need to, such as to drive home.

Most people drive better after having a few beers
to relax them.

Drinking coffee, taking a cold shower, and getting
fresh air help someone who is drunk to sober up.

People are more likely to get drunk if they switch
drinks, such as from wine to beer, during an

evening rather than sticking with the same kind
of drink.

Five 12-ounce glasses of beer won’t make some-
one as tipsy as four mixed drinks, such as
highballs.

People seldom get drunk if they have a full meal
before drinking heavily.

People can cure a hangover by any of several
methods.

Most people with drinking problems are either
‘‘skid row bums’’ or over 50 years of age.

Which statements did you think were true? They are
wrong—all of the statements are false. (Based on Drinking
Myths distributed by the U.S. Jaycees.)

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 175

Table 7.2 Per Capita Pure Alcohol (Ethanol) Consumption
Annually and Alcohol-Related Traffic Accident Rate (per 100,000
Accidents) in Selected Countries

Consumption in Alcohol-Related
Liters per Capita Traffic Accident

Country Ages 15 and Overa Rateb

Australia 9.02 na
Brazil 5.76 na
Canada 7.80 na
China 5.20 na
Germany 11.99 29.4
India 0.29 na
Italy 8.02 5.1
Netherlands 9.68 12.8
Singapore 2.17 na
South Africa 6.72 na
Sweden 5.96 11.7
Turkey 1.37 28.2
United Kingdom 11.75 18.8

Note: The amount of pure alcohol per liter varies with the beverage:
beer, wine, or spirits; na = data not available.
Sources:a WHO, 2009, b WHO/Europe, 2010.

Hispanic, and Native Americans than for Black and Asian
Americans. Some years ago, the percentage of adults who
drank several drinks in a day was far higher for Native
Americans than for all other groups, but their drinking
has moderated.

Problem Drinking
Figure 7-4 shows that nearly 64% of Americans age 18
and older drink alcohol at least occasionally. Most of
these people are light-to-moderate drinkers, consuming
fewer than, say, 60 drinks a month. Many people drink
much more heavily, but not all of them meet the criteria
for substance abuse we described earlier. One definition
of heavy drinking is engaging in binge drinking—that
is, consuming five or more drinks on a single occasion
at least once in a 30-day period. Using this definition,
the percentage of American current drinkers who drink
heavily at least occasionally is about 10% for teenagers,
42% for 18- to 25-year-olds, and 22% for adults over 25
(USBC, 2010). In comparison, of European 15- and 16-
year-olds, 43% reported having engaged in binge drinking
in the past month, and 39% said they had been drunk
in the past year (ESPAD, 2009). The next step toward
alcohol abuse, called heavy use drinking, involves binge
drinking five or more times in a month (Kring et al., 2010).
Binge and heavy use drinking occur at very high levels
on college campuses, especially among fraternity and
sorority members (Courtney & Polich, 2009; SAMHSA,
2008). Of individuals who develop problems associated
with drinking, most—but not all—do so within about

Regular
drinkers
50.3%

Former
drinkers
14.4%

Infrequent
drinkers
13.6%

Lifetime
abstainers

21.3%

Figure 7-4 Proportions of American adults with four
drinking statuses: regular drinkers (12 or more drinks in
the past year), infrequent drinkers (more than 1, but fewer
than 12 drinks, past year), former drinkers (no drinks, past
year), and lifetime abstainers (fewer than 12 drinks ever).
(Data from NCHS, 2009b, Table 27.)

5 years of starting to drink regularly (Sarason & Sarason,
1984).

How many drinkers meet the criteria for substance
abuse? Estimates have been made on the basis of
the proportion of individuals at a given time who had
ever displayed the problem. This statistic, called the
lifetime prevalence rate, indicates that over 17% of adults
in the United States become alcohol abusers (Kring
et al., 2010). People who abuse alcohol—or problem
drinkers—drink heavily on a regular basis and suffer
social and occupational impairments from it. Many of
them frequently get drunk, drink alone or during the
day, and drive under the influence. Although alcohol
abuse is more common in males than females, it is most
likely to develop between the ages of 18 and 25 for both
sexes (McCrady, 1988; NIAAA, 2006). More than half of
those who abuse alcohol are physically dependent on
it, or addicted to it, and are classified as alcoholics.
These people have developed a very high tolerance for
alcohol and often have blackout periods or substantial
memory losses; many experience delirium tremens when
they stop drinking. Although alcoholics often drink the
equivalent of a fifth of whiskey (about 25 ounces) a day, 8
ounces can sometimes be sufficient to produce addiction
in humans (Davidson, 1985).

Who abuses alcohol? Many people have an image of
the ‘‘typical’’ alcoholic as a scruffy looking, unemployed
male derelict with no family or friends. But this image is

176 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

Drinking and celebrating often occur
together, and this association conveys
the message that drinking is fun.

valid for only a small minority of people who abuse
alcohol (Mayer, 1983; McCrady, 1988; NIAAA, 2006).
Most problem drinkers are married, living with their
families, and employed—and many are women. Although
individuals from the lower social classes, especially
homeless people, are at greater risk than those from
higher classes for abusing alcohol, large numbers of
problem drinkers come from the higher classes and
hold high-status jobs. Problem drinking is very rare in
childhood; its prevalence increases in adolescence, rises
sharply in early adulthood, and gradually declines across
ages thereafter (NIAAA, 2006). Alcohol abuse is a major
social problem that affects substantial numbers of people
from almost all segments of many societies around the
world. (Go to .)

WHY PEOPLE USE AND ABUSE ALCOHOL
In examining why people use and abuse alcohol, we need
to consider why individuals start to drink in the first place.
The chief reasons for starting to drink involve social and
cultural factors, particularly the expectancies that form
from watching other individuals enjoying themselves
while drinking (Thirlaway & Upton, 2009; Wood, Vinson,
& Sher, 2001). For example, the more teens see alcohol
scenes in movies and ads on TV, the more they are
likely to drink in the future (Dal Cin et al., 2009; Stacy
et al., 2004). Underage drinking is more likely among
teens who have high feelings of depression, believe their
friends drink a lot, have low school grades, and have

parents who drink and provide little monitoring or rules
against drinking (Fang, Schinke, & Cole, 2009). Children
who are depressed, abused, or neglected are at risk for
drinking heavily in adolescence and adulthood (Crum et
al., 2008; Shin, Edwards, & Heeren, 2009).

Adolescents continue drinking partly for the same
reasons they started, but these factors intensify, and
new ones come into play. For one thing, the role
of peers increases. Although teenagers often begin
occasional drinking under their parents’ supervision,
such as at celebrations, drinking increases with peers
at parties or in cars. Figure 7-5 shows that the
percentage of American adolescents who claim to have
been drunk in the past month increases with year in
school, and is higher for teens who do not plan to
complete 4 years of college than for those who do.
Individuals who start to drink on a regular basis in early
adolescence are at heightened risk of drinking heavily
in adulthood (Pitkänen, Lyyra, & Pulkkinen, 2005). In
late adolescence and early adulthood, drinkers drink
frequently and almost always socially, with friends at
parties or in bars. The social aspect is important in two
ways (McCarty, 1985; Thirlaway & Upton, 2009). First, in
social drinking, modeling processes affect behavior—for
example, people tend to adjust their drinking rates
to match those of their companions. Second, drinking
socially creates a subjective norm in individuals that the
behavior is appropriate and desirable.

With continued drinking, the strength of the behavior
increases through positive and negative reinforcement,

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 177

ASSESS YOURSELF

Do You Abuse Alcohol?
Ask yourself the following questions

about your drinking:

• Do you usually have more than 14 drinks a week
(assume a drink is one mixed drink with 1 1/4 ounces of
alcohol, 12 ounces of beer, or the equivalent)?

• Do you often think about how or when you are going
to drink again?

• Is your job or academic performance suffering from
your drinking?

• Has your health declined since you started drinking a
lot?

• Do family or friends mention your drinking to you?

• Do you sometimes stop and start drinking to ‘‘test’’
yourself?

• Have you been stopped for drunk driving in the past
year?

If you answered ‘‘yes’’ to the first question, consider
changing your drinking pattern. If you answered ‘‘yes’’
to any additional questions, consult your college’s
counseling office for their advice or help. (Based on TSC,
1992, and USDHHS, 1995.)

0
Eighth

Complete
4 Years

College plans:

Complete
less or none

Tenth

Grade

P
er

ce
n
t

d
ru

n
k

Twelfth

10
20

Figure 7-5 Percent of American adolescents at different
grades in school who claimed to have been drunk at least
once in the past month, depending on their college plans:
either to complete 4 years or to complete less or no college.
The graph does not separate data for males and females
because they are fairly similar. (Data from Johnston et al., 2009,
Tables D–68 to D–70.)

and substance-related cues develop (Baker, Brandon, &
Chassin, 2004; Cunningham, 1998; Thirlaway & Upton,
2009). Individuals may receive positive reinforcement for
drinking if they like the taste of a drink or the feeling
they get from it, or if they think they succeeded in
business deals or social relationships as a consequence
of drinking. Having reinforcing experiences with drinking
increases their expectancies for desirable consequences
when deciding to drink in the future (Adesso, 1985; Stacy,
1997). In the case of negative reinforcement—that is, the
reduction of an unpleasant situation—we’ve seen that

people often use alcohol to reduce stress and unpleasant
emotions. They may, for instance, drink to suppress
their negative thoughts or feelings of anxiety in social
situations (Gilles, Turk, & Fresco, 2006; Zack et al., 2006).
But the effects of alcohol on negative emotions are
not so simple. Although drinkers report that alcohol
reduces tension and improves their mood, it seems to
do so only with the first few drinks they consume in a
series. After people consume many drinks, their anxiety
and depression levels usually increase (Adesso, 1985;
Davidson, 1985; Hull & Bond, 1986). In cases of severe
trauma, such as witnessing terrorism, alcohol use may
be heightened for a couple of years (DiMaggio, Galea, &
Li, 2009).

Why can most people drink in moderation, but others
become problem drinkers? We’ll consider four psychoso-
cial differences between these people. First, compared to
individuals who do not abuse alcohol, those who do are
more likely to perceive fewer negative consequences for
drinking (Hansen, Raynor, & Wolkenstein, 1991). Second,
heavy drinkers tend to experience high levels of stress
and live in environments that encourage drinking. For
instance, adolescents who abuse alcohol are more likely
to have experienced a major trauma, such as physical
assault, and have family members who drink heavily
(Kilpatrick et al., 2000). Third, heavy drinkers may form
particularly strong substance-related cues: they develop
heightened physiological reactions and positive feelings
to alcohol-related stimuli, such as seeing or smelling
liquor, especially when alcohol is available (Turkkan,
McCaul, & Stitzer, 1989). Fourth, people who drink in
moderation are more likely to use alcohol control strate-
gies, such as avoiding situations where heavy drinking is
likely (Sugarman & Carey, 2007).

178 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

But a complete answer to why people become
problem drinkers also includes developmental and
biological factors. For instance,

• Heredity plays a much stronger role when the abuse
begins before age 25 than after (Kranzler & Anton, 1994).

• People with a family history of alcoholism appear to
develop a tolerance to alcohol, drinking increasing
amounts to feel the same effects, more readily than
other people (Morzorati et al., 2002).

• People with a specific gene pattern experience stronger
cravings for alcohol after having a drink than other
individuals do (Hutchinson et al., 2002).

• Some evidence suggests that people at high genetic
risk for alcohol dependence find alcohol more rewarding
each time they drink, but low-risk people do not (Newlin
& Thompson, 1991).

Genetic factors seem to combine with psychosocial
processes, especially conditioning, in the development

of drinking problems. (Go to .)

DRINKING AND HEALTH
Drinking too much is linked to a wide range of health
hazards for the drinker and for people he or she may
harm. Drinkers can harm others in several ways. Pregnant
women who drink more than two drinks a day place their
babies at substantial risk for health problems, such as
being born with low birth weight or fetal alcohol syndrome,
which involves impaired nervous system development
and cognitive and physical defects (Gray, Mukherjee,
& Rutter, 2009; Wood, Vinson, & Sher, 2001). Drinking
lesser amounts during pregnancy has been associated
with impaired learning ability in the child. The safest
advice to pregnant women is not to drink at all.

Drinking also increases the chance that individuals
will harm themselves and others through accidents of
various types, such as from unintentionally firing a gun

to having a mishap while boating or skiing (Taylor et
al., 2008; Wood, Vinson, & Sher, 2001). Drunk driving
is a major cause of death in the United States: over
17,600 traffic deaths each year are associated with
alcohol use (NHTSA, 2008). Consuming alcohol impairs
cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance for several
hours, particularly the first 2 or 3 hours after drinks are
consumed. The degree of impairment people experience
can vary widely from one person to the next and depends
on the rate of drinking and the person’s weight. Figure 7-6
gives the average impairment for driving—but for some
individuals, one or two drinks may be too many to drive
safely.

People’s judging how many drinks they can have
before engaging in a dangerous activity can be difficult
for a couple of reasons. First, many people have
misconceptions about the effects of alcohol, such as
believing that drinking on a full stomach prevents
drunkenness, or thinking, ‘‘I’ll be OK as soon as I
get behind the wheel.’’ A study found that students
underestimated the impact that alcohol has 2 or 3 hours
after drinking, thought that later drinks in a series have
less impact than the first couple, and downplayed the
effects of beer and wine relative to mixed drinks (Jaccard
& Turrisi, 1987). Second, people tend to ‘‘super-size’’ a
drink they make for themselves, and still count it as ‘‘a
single drink,’’ especially if the glass is large (White et
al., 2003). So if we try to gauge how intoxicated we’re
becoming by counting drinks, we may underestimate the
effect.

Long-term, heavy drinkers are at risk for developing
several health problems (Thirlaway & Upton, 2009; Wood,
Vinson, & Sher, 2001). One of the main risks is for a
disease of the liver called cirrhosis. Heavy drinking over a
long period can cause liver cells to die off and be replaced
by permanent, nonfunctional scar tissue. When this scar
tissue becomes extensive, the liver is less able to cleanse
the blood and regulate its composition. Heavy drinking
also presents other health risks: it has been linked to the

HIGHLIGHT

Drinking—Games People Play
‘‘Hey, let’s play Kings, Queens,’’ said

Julie, holding up a deck of playing cards at a party.
She was referring to one of many drinking games; in this
one, the players assign rules for the amount and type
of alcoholic beverage they will drink when specific cards
are played. The beverage can be hard liquor or soft, such
as beer. Some drinking games involve team competition

or chugging (drinking a full container without pausing).
Drinking games are very popular at American college
campuses and lead some students to consume seven or
more drinks and become quite intoxicated while playing
(Zamboanga et al., 2006). Some students play these
games weekly and drink at levels that suggest substance
abuse.

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 179

BE CAREFUL DRIVING
BAC TO .05%

240 1

220 1

200 1

180 1

160 1

140 1

120 1

100 1

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7

Drinks (Two-hour period)
1.2 ozs. 80-Proof Liquor or 12 ozs. Beer

8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

11
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12

W
ei

gh
t

DO NOT DRIVE
.10% & UP

Source: NHTSA

DRIVING IMPAIRED
.05%–.09%

Figure 7-6 Chart developed by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) showing the average effects of blood
alcohol concentration (BAC) on driving.
Although alcohol impairment varies from one
person to the next, three drinks (the equiv-
alent of three 12-ounce bottles of beer) in a
2-hour period will make most adults’ driving
unsafe.

development of some forms of cancer, high blood pressure,
and heart and brain damage. Let’s look at two of these.
First, the more alcohol people consume over years, the
higher their blood pressure becomes (Taylor et al., 2009).
Second, the brain damage in heavy drinkers occurs in
several structures of the central nervous system and can
impair their perceptual and memory functions (Anstey et
al., 2006; Parsons, 1986). These functions may recover
gradually after the person stops drinking, but some
impairments may persist for years or never disappear. As
you might expect, long-term heavy drinkers have higher
death rates than do other people (Schutte et al., 2003;
Thun et al., 1997). But if they quit, their mortality risk
declines greatly in several years.

Some people believe that drinking in moderation—
having, say, a drink or two each day—is good for their
health, and they may be right. Long-term prospective
studies of many thousands of people have found
that individuals who drink light or moderate amounts
of alcohol, especially wine, each month have lower
morbidity and mortality rates than those who drink
heavily or who do not drink at all (Grønbæk et al.,
2000; Sacco et al., 1999; Thun et al., 1997). Does
moderate drinking cause better health? It appears that
it does, largely by yielding substantial improvements
in cardiovascular risk factors, such as blood cholesterol
levels (Mukamal & Rimm, 2001). Although all types of
alcohol, consumed as one or two drinks a day, can
improve health, wine appears to have the strongest
effects because of substances it contains (Corder et al.,
2001; Klatsky et al., 2003; Stein et al., 1999). Another
reason for the health benefits of moderate drinking
is that alcohol affects the body’s response to stress,
reducing cardiovascular and endocrine (for example,
catecholamine production) reactions (Levenson, 1986).
But as we’ve seen, larger amounts of alcohol can impair
health.

DRUG USE AND ABUSE

The word ‘‘drug’’ can refer to many substances, including
illegal chemicals and prescription and nonprescription
medicine, that people may take into their bodies. We
will limit the term drug to mean psychoactive substances
other than nicotine and alcohol that can cause physical or
psychological dependence. Like smoking and drinking,
the use of drugs has a long history—for example, the
Chinese evidently used marijuana 27 centuries B.C. In
the United States, addiction to narcotics was widespread
among people of all ages in the 19th century. Many
‘‘patent medicines’’ in those days contained opium and
were sold without government regulation. As a result,
large numbers of people became addicted at early ages
(Kett, 1977). Laws were enacted in the early 1900s against

the use of narcotics in America. (Go to .)

WHO USES DRUGS, AND WHY?
Drug use has become a serious problem in many
countries of the world, especially in North America
and Europe, but its worldwide prevalence is very low
(Thirlaway & Upton, 2009). In societies where drugs are
a problem, certain individuals and segments are more
likely than others to use drugs.

Age, Gender, and Sociocultural Differences in
Drug Use
We have seen that smoking and drinking are more likely
to begin in adolescence than at any other time in the life
span. This developmental pattern is true for using most
drugs, too. Three types of drugs that are exceptions to this
pattern are tranquilizers, barbiturates, and painkillers
(such as OxyContin): use commonly begins in adulthood,

180 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

HIGHLIGHT

Types and Effects of Drugs
‘‘Oh, I feel so light, like a feather,’’ said

Dolores, after taking several hits from a ‘‘joint.’’ That
lightness of feeling is a common effect people get from
smoking a marijuana cigarette. Each drug has its own set
of general psychological and physiological effects (Kring
et al., 2010; NCADI, 2000; Schuster & Kilbey, 1992). Some
drugs are highly addictive, and others have little potential
for producing physical dependence. Drugs are usually
classified into four categories: stimulants, depressants,
hallucinogens, and narcotics.

Stimulants are chemicals that produce physiolog-
ical and psychological arousal, keeping the user awake
and making the world seem to race by. This category of
drugs includes amphetamines, caffeine, and cocaine, which can
be inhaled, injected, or smoked (‘‘crack’’). Chronic use of
stimulants can produce mental confusion, exhaustion,
and weight loss; it can lead to psychological and phys-
ical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms for stimulants
are often subtle, but are still very influential on behavior.

Depressants decrease arousal and increase relax-
ation. People use these drugs to reduce anxiety and
induce sleep. Depressants include various tranquilizers
(such as Valium) and barbiturates, which are commonly
called ‘‘downers.’’ Chronic, heavy use of depressants
interferes with motor and emotional stability and pro-
duces psychological dependence. Addiction can develop
with long-term use of depressants and can occur rapidly
for barbiturates.

Hallucinogens produce perceptual distortions, such
as when the body or mind feels light. The most
commonly used drug of this type is marijuana, which
people use for the relaxation and intoxication it causes.
Other hallucinogens, such as mescaline, LSD (lysergic acid
diethylamide), and PCP (phencyclidine), often produce
a feeling of exhilaration. Hallucinogens have a relatively
low potential for causing physical dependence, but
chronic use of these drugs can lead to psychological
dependence.

Narcotics or opiates are sedatives that relieve pain.
In many people, but not all, they produce a euphoric and
relaxed feeling. The narcotics include morphine, codeine, and
heroin. These drugs, especially heroin, generally cause
intense physical and psychological dependence when
used in large doses continually.

The effects of drugs can vary. The same dose
of a drug from the same batch may produce quite
different reactions in different people and in the same
person on different occasions (Bardo & Risner, 1985).
Why? Physiological processes, such as metabolism and
absorption by tissues, vary from one person to the next
and within each individual over time. People with low
metabolism rates, such as the elderly, tend to experience
relatively strong reactions to drugs. Stress can also
influence a drug’s effects, causing physiological changes
that may increase its impact.

often with prescriptions from physicians (AMA, 2003;
Kring et al., 2010).

One of the most popular drugs in the world is
marijuana. In the United States, the percentages of
people aged 12 and older who have used it in their
lifetimes and abused it in a given year are about three
times as high as for any other drug (NCADI, 2006). Using
marijuana often begins by the eighth grade, and nearly
43% of American teenagers try it before they graduate
from high school (Johnston et al., 2009). Teenagers’ use
of most other drugs tends to begin somewhat later and is
much less prevalent—for instance, about 7% try cocaine
before graduation. In comparison, of European 15- and
16-year-olds, 19% had tried marijuana and 7% had tried
some other drug (ESPAD, 2009). Drug use in the United
States has fluctuated over time and has been decreasing
in recent years, which coincides with adolescents’ beliefs
about whether drugs are harmful, rather than changes in
drug availability (Johnston et al., 2009). The prevalence

of adolescent drug use in a given month is far greater
in males than females and increases with age. Drug use
reaches its highest prevalence in early adulthood and
declines thereafter (USBC, 2010).

Table 7.3 shows that drug use in the United States
increases with grade in school and varies depending
on the students’ college plans and race or ethnicity.
Although the prevalence of drug use is lower among
seniors who plan to complete 4 years of college than
those who do not, the drug use of college-bound students
after leaving high school catches up or even exceeds that
of students who do not go to college (Johnston et al.,
2009). Ethnic patterns are interesting: marijuana use
is similar for White, Black, and Hispanic students, but
Black teens report less use of other drugs. Black- and
Hispanic-American drug use appears to depend on two
factors (Szapocznik et al., 2007). First, minority teens are
less likely to use drugs if they have a strong racial or
ethnic identity. Second, Hispanic teens become more

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 181

Table 7.3 Percentage of American Students Using Illicit Drugs
in a Given Month by Grade in School, College Plans, and Race or
Ethnicity

Any Drug Except
Marijuana Marijuana

Student Grade 8 Grade 12 Grade 8 Grade 12
characteristic

College plans
Complete

4 years
3.1 8.1 4.5 17.7

Under 4 years
or none

11.4 13.1 19.1 24.9

Race or ethnicity
White 3.7 11.0 5.0 20.1
Black 1.8 3.4 6.1 16.3
Hispanic 4.5 6.7 7.1 15.3

Note: These data come from the annual Monitoring the Future survey,
which tested about 16,800 eighth-graders and 14,700 twelfth-
graders; the data do not reflect individuals who dropped out of
school.
Source: Johnston et al., 2009, Table 4.7.

likely to use drugs after they have lived in the United
States a long time and become acculturated.

Many individuals engage in polysubstance use—that
is, using more than one substance. Does using one
substance affect the use of another? The likelihood that
individuals will progress from a less serious drug, such
as marijuana, to a more serious drug, such as cocaine,
is related to how heavily the earlier drug was used
(Kandel & Faust, 1975; Newcomb & Bentler, 1986). Heavy
users of a less serious drug are more likely to begin
using more serious drugs than light users are. Similarly,
smoking cigarettes and using alcohol have been linked
to subsequent drug use (Pérez et al., 2010; Petraitis et al.,
1998). What’s more, for people who use marijuana and
alcohol at least twice a week, the more they drink, the
greater their risk of becoming dependent on marijuana
(Smucker-Barnwell, Earleywine, & Gordis, 2006).

Why Adolescents Use Drugs
Why do teens use marijuana and other drugs? They
do so for many of the same reasons they drink or
smoke cigarettes (Hansen et al., 1987; Stein, Newcomb, &
Bentler, 1987). Genetic, psychosocial, and environmental
factors are involved (Gillespie et al., 2009). If drugs are
available, drug use is linked to social factors and certain
personality traits, such as high levels of thrill seeking
(Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986). Many teens
see peers and important adults, such as parents and
celebrities, model behaviors and positive attitudes for
drug use, which encourages them to try drugs. Studies
have shown that adolescents are more likely to use
marijuana and other drugs if their family and friends

use mood-altering substances, such as alcohol and
marijuana (Petraitis et al., 1998; Gillespie et al., 2009).
Teenagers’ marijuana use seems to be affected more by
their friends’ than their parents’ substance use, and the
first introduction of most youths to marijuana is through
a friend (Kandel, 1974).

After people try using a drug, they tend to continue
if they like the experience—that is, if the drug makes
them ‘‘feel good’’ or helps them feel better than they
felt before taking it (Barrett, 1985). Many people claim
that taking drugs reduces their anxiety and tension. In
other words, drugs have reinforcing effects. Then, with
continued use, drug-related cues become conditioned
to the drug, can elicit effects like those the drug itself
produces, and compel the user to use it again (Childress,
1996; Robinson & Berridge, 2003). Because people often
use drugs in the presence of friends and other peers,
social pressure and encouragement also tend to maintain
and increase drug use.

Why do some individuals progress from drug use
to drug abuse? One factor is personality. Compared to
individuals who use drugs occasionally, those who go
on to abuse drugs tend to be more rebellious, impulsive,
accepting of illegal behavior, and oriented toward thrill
seeking; and they tend to be less socially conforming and
less committed to a religion (Brook et al., 1986; Cox, 1985;
Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986; Stein, Newcomb,
& Bentler, 1987). Social factors are also important: heavy
users of a drug, such as marijuana, report having friends
and relatives who use substances (Scherrer et al., 2008).

DRUG USE AND HEALTH
The effects of drug use and abuse on people’s health
are not as well documented as those of drinking and
cigarette smoking. This is because drug use did not
become widespread until the 1960s, it is still much
less prevalent than drinking and smoking, and many
drug users are unwilling to admit to researchers that
they use drugs—a criminal offense—for fear of being
prosecuted. Nevertheless, some health effects are known.
For example, drugs taken by women during pregnancy
cross the placenta and may harm the fetus; and babies
born to addicted mothers are likely to be addicted, too
(Cook, Petersen, & Moore, 1990). Also, each year millions
of teens and young adults drive under the influence
of drugs (SAMHSA, 2008; Terry & Wright, 2005). What’s
more, long-term marijuana smoking is linked to damage
to the user’s lungs that is similar to that caused by
tobacco smoking (Bloom et al., 1987; Moore et al., 2005).

The harmful effects of cocaine and metham-
phetamine on the cardiovascular system are becoming
clear (AMA, 2003; Kaye et al., 2007; Mittleman et al.,
1999). Using these drugs can cause the person’s blood

182 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

vessels to constrict, heart rate to speed up, and blood
pressure to increase suddenly. They can also trigger car-
diac arrhythmia. These events can lead to a stroke or
myocardial infarction and can cause death. Cocaine also
produces many other health problems. For example, the
more people use it in their mid-20s, the more likely they
will have neurological symptoms and poor general health
10 years later (Chen, Scheier, & Kandel, 1996). Also, poor
health leads to continued cocaine use.

REDUCING SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE

How can we help prevent people from using or abusing
substances and help them stop using tobacco, alcohol,
and drugs if they start?

PREVENTING SUBSTANCE USE
The focus for prevention is on helping people avoid
beginning to use specific substances in the first place. To
do this effectively, prevention programs must consider

A demonstration against the use of drugs.

two factors: when and why individuals start to use the
substances, and the information we’ve already discussed
on these issues can be applied. The first factor is straight-
forward and easily addressed. Because tobacco, alcohol,
and drug use often begins during the junior high school
years and increases sharply in the high school years, pre-
vention programs should begin early, usually before chil-
dren reach the age of 12 or so (Evans, 1984). To address
why people start using substances, programs usually try
to combat psychosocial factors that encourage use.

Another risky time for youth to start or increase
substance use is at college, particularly if they join
a fraternity or sorority. A 3-year longitudinal study
monitored the substance use of nearly 5,900 American
high school seniors who went to college, with 17%
joining a fraternity or sorority (McCabe et al., 2005).
Before entering college, the prevalence of using tobacco,
alcohol, and marijuana and of engaging in binge drinking
was far higher among students who later joined a
fraternity or sorority than those that did not. After
entering college, substance use increased for those that
did and did not join a fraternity or sorority, but the
increase was much greater for those who joined. Binge
drinking in a given 2-week period was reported by about
70% of fraternity members and 42% of male nonmembers,
and about 50% of sorority members and 29% of female
nonmembers. These findings suggest that colleges need
to increase prevention efforts for all students, with
particular focus on those who want to join or are already
members of a fraternity or sorority.

Interventions years ago to prevent substance use
usually focused on only one substance, but programs
today recognize that beginning to use tobacco, alcohol,
and drugs happens mainly during adolescence and for
similar reasons. As a result, many programs now try to
address all three substances. A program of this type that
does not seem to work is the widely publicized Project
DARE, in which police officers lead sessions in school
to prevent substance use (Lynam et al., 1999). The most
common and effective prevention approaches have had
three focuses: public policy and legal issues, health
promotion and education, and family involvement; the
last two are implemented by professionals trained in
preventing substance use.

Public Policy and Legal Approaches
Governments apply public policy and legal approaches
to reduce per-capita consumption of tobacco, alcohol,
and drugs by creating barriers to buying and using them.
For tobacco, effective approaches include increasing the
price of cigarettes through taxation and restricting the
advertisement and purchase of cigarettes, such as by
underage adolescents (Altman et al., 1999; Cummings,

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 183

Fong, & Borland, 2009). For alcohol, two methods are
effective: increasing the price of alcoholic beverages
through taxation and prohibiting underage persons from
buying or consuming alcohol (Ashley & Rankin, 1988;
Thirlaway & Upton, 2009). These methods reduce alcohol
consumption and related automobile accidents among
individuals in the late adolescent and early adulthood
years. Another approach has not been very effective in
reducing drinking: limiting the number of outlets where
alcoholic beverages can be bought and restricting the
times when they are on sale. For preventing drug use,
the main approaches have been to outlaw possessing,
selling, and consuming drugs.

Health Promotion and Education
Programs to prevent substance use focused originally on
giving fear-arousing warnings of the health consequences
of smoking, drinking, and using drugs (Evans, 1984).
These programs did not take into account the past social
experiences and current psychosocial forces that have a
strong influence on teenage behavior. Although knowing
the health consequences can change children’s beliefs
and attitudes about a substance, such as tobacco, it is
usually not sufficient to stop them from starting to use
it (Bruvold, 1993; Larimer & Cronce, 2007). This failure
points out the need for prevention programs to address
why youth begin to use substances.

As we saw earlier, researchers have identified sev-
eral psychosocial reasons why young people start using
tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. Personality and social influ-
ences appear to have stronger effects on adolescents’
substance use than long-range health consequences that
seem remote, both in time and in likelihood. Researchers
recognized this and implemented school-based pro-
grams to curb teenage substance use by addressing
psychosocial factors. Let’s consider two types of inter-
ventions to prevent smoking for examples of useful
methods

• Social influence approaches focus on training skills to
help individuals resist social pressures to smoke. They
include (1) discussions and films regarding how peers,
family members, and the media influence smoking;
(2) modeling and role-playing of specific refusal skills,
such as saying, ‘‘No thank you, I don’t smoke’’; and
(3) having each student decide his or her intention
regarding whether to smoke and announce that decision
publicly to classmates (Flay et al., 1985).

• Life skills training approaches address general social,
cognitive, and coping skills. Because many teens who
begin smoking seem to lack these skills, this approach
focuses on improving (1) personal skills, including
critical thinking for making decisions, techniques for

coping with anxiety, and basic principles for changing
their own behavior; and (2) general social skills,
including methods for being assertive and making
conversation (Botvin & Wills, 1985).

Studies have tested these approaches for smoking
prevention, usually with children in sixth or seventh
grade (about age 12) and with follow-up assessments
spanning 2 years or longer. The students’ self-reports
of smoking were usually verified, using biochemical
analyses of saliva or breath samples.

Were these approaches successful? Compared with
the control subjects, children who received each type of
program were far less likely to begin to smoke during
the next couple of years or so (Botvin & Wills, 1985;
Bruvold, 1993; Flay et al., 1985; Murray et al., 1988;
Sussman & Skara, 2004). Longer-term studies have found
that although the programs’ beneficial effects diminish
greatly by 4 years or so (Flay et al., 1989; Murray et al.,
1989), about 10% to 15% fewer individuals begin smoking
in the next 15 years if they received the programs than if
they did not (Sussman & Skara, 2004).

The success of these approaches may be enhanced
in several ways, such as by adding periodic ‘‘booster’’
sessions, starting at earlier ages and focusing on
attitudes about smoking, and involving the parents.
By the time children enter fifth grade many already
have positive attitudes about smoking, and having these
attitudes at that time is linked with beginning to smoke
by the ninth grade (Dinh et al., 1995). Involving the
parents is important: if they smoke and quit in the
program, their child is much less likely to start smoking,
especially if the parents’ quitting occurs before the child
is 9 years old (Farkas et al., 1999). One other strategy may
help: using an Internet program, such as Smoking Zine, to
assist smoking prevention and quitting interventions in
schools (Norman et al., 2008). This program is available
at http://www.smokingzine.org and includes interactive
self-assessments with tailored feedback to prevent
teens from starting to smoke, advance the person’s
readiness to change, and help smokers design a plan for
quitting.

Because of the successes psychosocial programs
have had with smoking, they have been extended for
preventing alcohol and drug use. Programs like these
effectively reduce teenage and college drinking (Carey et
al., 2007; Fromme & Corbin, 2004; Kivlahan et al., 1990)
and marijuana use (Chou et al., 1998). A psychosocial
program that addressed and followed tobacco, alcohol,
and marijuana use over 18 months prevented seventh
and eighth graders from starting to use substances they
hadn’t begun using and reduced the use of substances
the students were already using (Ellickson et al., 2003).

184 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

Family Involvement Approaches
Parents can be involved in preventing or reducing teens’
substance use by participating in an intervention and
supervising their children more actively (Szapocznik
et al., 2007). Family involvement makes sense, and the
need for it is supported by three findings from research.
First, children of parents who provide little monitoring,
rules, and supervision are four times more likely to try
drugs in the future than children with actively involved
parents (Chilcoat, Dishion, & Anthony, 1995). Second,
children are far less likely to use a substance if they know
their parents would disapprove of it and would punish
that behavior (Komro et al., 2003; SAMHSA, 2008). Third,
most parents of teenagers who use a substance are not
aware of it: the percentages of parental awareness for
each substance are 39% for tobacco use, 34% for alcohol
use, and 11% for drugs (Williams et al., 2003).

An intervention using family involvement to prevent
tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use was applied with
sixth grade students, whose substance use was followed
for 4 years (Spoth, Redmond, & Shin, 2001). The families
were recruited from the general population—that is,
they were not selected on the basis of the children’s
using or not using a substance. The programs were
presented in several weekly sessions and were designed
to teach parenting skills that should help the children
delay starting to use the substances or reduce their
current use of them. For example, the parents learned
how to monitor the child’s behavior and use appropriate
discipline, teach the child ways to resist peer pressure to
use substances, and reduce family conflict. Comparisons
in tenth grade with a control group revealed that the
children in the family program were far less likely to have
begun smoking, drinking, or using marijuana; and for
those who used substances, they used much less.

QUITTING A SUBSTANCE
WITHOUT THERAPY
Alcohol and drug abuse have been viewed in most
societies as deviant behaviors for centuries, and today
cigarette smoking is viewed more and more like a deviant
behavior. Many nonsmokers resent people smoking in
their presence, and many smokers feel guilty when
smoking because they know it offends others and believe
it is unhealthy, irrational behavior. Smokers often have
negative thoughts about their smoking and claim they’d
like to quit (Köblitz et al., 2009; Solberg et al., 2007). Still,
most teenage and young adult smokers think they’re at
least as healthy as nonsmokers their age, and many are
not concerned about potential health problems, even if
they’ve already developed a smoker’s cough (Prokhorov,

2003). And only about half of smokers who have an
asthma attack quit (King et al., 2007). Few substance
abusers seek therapy to stop—for example, less than
29% of Americans who think they need treatment for
drug or alcohol use seek it (SAMHSA, 2008). Let’s look at
the process of quitting substances without therapy.

Stopping Smoking on One’s Own
You probably know people who were smokers—perhaps
heavy smokers—who have quit. Chances are they quit
on their own, without any sort of professional help, like
millions of people do around the world. What motivates
smokers to quit? The main motivation is to protect their
health (Falba, 2005; McCaul et al., 2006). But only a
small percentage of individuals who begin smoking in
adolescence quit in the next 20 years (Chassin et al.,
2000). Smokers are more likely to try to quit and succeed
when others in their social networks do so (Christakis &
Fowler, 2008). Are people usually effective at stopping
on their own, and does it take enormous effort?

Stanley Schachter (1982) interviewed adults with his-
tories of having smoked regularly and found that over 60%
of those that tried to quit eventually succeeded—virtually
all had not smoked in the last 3 months, and the average
length of abstinence was more than 7 years. Was it harder
for heavy smokers (smoking at least three-quarters of a
pack a day) to quit than light smokers? Yes, much harder.
Nearly half of the heavy smokers who quit reported
severe withdrawal symptoms, such as intense cravings,
irritability, sleeplessness, and cold sweats; less than 30%
reported having no difficulties. In contrast, almost all of
the light smokers said quitting had been easy, even if they
had failed! A similar study conducted by researchers at
another university found very similar results (Rzewnicki
& Forgays, 1987).

The results of these studies suggest that most
people can stop smoking on their own, even if they
smoke heavily. Other studies have clarified the process
of quitting on one’s own (Carey et al., 1993; Cohen et al.,
1989; Curry, Wagner, & Grothaus, 1990; DiClemente et
al., 1991; Gritz, Carr, & Marcus, 1991; Pallonen et al.,
1990; Rose et al., 1996). Most people do not succeed in
one attempt, but eventually succeed after several tries,
and certain factors differentiate those people who do
and don’t succeed. Compared to smokers who do not
succeed in quitting, those who do are likely to:

• Have decided that they want and are ready to quit.

• Feel confident that they can succeed.

• Have smoked less than a pack a day.

• Experience less stress.

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 185

• Feel less nicotine dependence and experience less
craving for tobacco and fewer and less-severe withdrawal
symptoms, such as restlessness and tension.

• Be highly motivated, especially by intrinsic factors, such
as a feeling of self-control or a concern about their
health.

• Be willing to try again if they don’t succeed. Many
people fail the first few times they try, but learn from
their mistakes.

People often decide to quit smoking when rules restrict-
ing smoking are introduced at work, especially if the
worksite offers a program to help them stop; the above
factors seem to affect their success, too (Bauer et al.,
2005; Fielding, 1991; Klesges et al., 1999).

What methods do smokers use when trying to
quit? To answer this question, researchers interviewed
participants in a month-long communitywide stop-
smoking contest that had a grand prize of a trip to
Disney World (Glasgow et al., 1985). These interviews
revealed that:

• The vast majority of the men and women attempted
to quit cold turkey rather than trying to reduce their
smoking gradually before the contest began.

• Most participants used oral substitutes, such as candy
or mints, in place of cigarettes.

• Most tried to go it alone, without involving other people,
but many others used a buddy system or made bets with
others.

• Most used cognitive strategies, such as telling them-
selves, ‘‘I don’t need a cigarette,’’ or reminding them-
selves of the health risks in smoking, the commitment
they made to quit, or the possibility of winning a prize.

• A minority of individuals provided themselves with
material rewards for sticking with quitting or punishment
for backsliding.

Fifty-five participants—about 40%—remained abstinent
throughout the month (which was verified through
biochemical saliva or breath analyses). Quitting cold
turkey rather than gradually and providing rewards for
abstaining were more strongly related to successful
quitting than some other methods the smokers used.

Several factors other than how heavily a person
smokes can make quitting relatively difficult. One of these
factors is invalid beliefs. For example, some smokers
have low rates of quitting because they switched to
‘‘light’’ cigarettes with the incorrect notion that doing so
will reduce their health risks (Tindle et al., 2006). Other
smokers don’t try to quit because they generate illogical
thoughts (‘‘I don’t need to stop because some smokers
live to 90 years’’) to justify continuing to smoke (Kleinjan
et al., 2006). Smokers are also likely to have a difficult

time quitting if they are having emotional problems, such
as depression; drink heavily; or use smoking to manage
their stress (Agrawal et al., 2008; Dollar et al., 2009; Yong
& Borland, 2008).

Stopping Alcohol and Drug Use on One’s Own
Most of the little we know about quitting alcohol and drug
use on one’s own deals with problem drinkers’ reducing
their alcohol intake without treatment. How many
people who abuse alcohol recover without treatment?
Researchers have estimated that about 20% markedly
reduce or stop drinking on their own (Miller & Hester,
1980; Moyer & Finney, 2002). This estimate is based on
data from studies of treatment effectiveness in which
some problem drinkers were randomly assigned to
control groups and stopped drinking with no treatment.
How do drinkers who quit on their own differ from
those who do not? Those who quit have higher self-
esteem, fewer past experiences of intoxication, and social
networks with members who drink less (Russell et al.,
2001). And they have social support from a spouse and
changed the way they weighed the pros and cons of
drinking—for example, realizing ‘‘I was sick and tired of
it, really weary of it’’ (Sobell et al., 1993).

Early Intervention
Efforts for early intervention try to identify people at high
risk for substance abuse and then provide information
to reduce that risk (Ashley & Rankin, 1988). Although
early intervention can be used for smoking and drug
use, we’ll focus on alcohol use. Most high-risk drinkers
are identified on the basis of current drinking patterns
or problems, such as being charged with drunk driving.
Although interventions for them have been successful
only with people who are relatively light drinkers—heavy
drinkers often get worse after an intervention (McGuire,
1982)—the picture is brighter for interventions with most
other people who are at high risk for abusing alcohol.
If drinking problems are detected early, successful
interventions can simply involve giving information and
advice, and the individuals may be able to reduce their
drinking to a moderate level (Ashley & Rankin, 1988;
NIAAA, 1993; Sobell et al., 2002).

Early interventions have been successful with high-
risk drinkers identified at colleges, in medical settings,
and at worksites; these people are often identified by
having them fill out a survey that includes questions on
drinking. In medical settings, identified high-risk drinkers
who received an intervention of information and advice
on reducing drinking incurred lower expenses for health
care and for legal and motor vehicle events over the next
year than did drinkers who did not get the intervention

186 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

(Fleming et al., 2000). In worksites, many employers and
unions provide employee assistance programs (EAPs) to help
individuals who have personal problems, such as with
drinking or stress (USDHHS, 1990). EAPs can be helpful,
but workers with addictions seek help far less often
than workers with other problems (Chan, Neighbors, &
Marlatt, 2004). This may be because EAPs usually don’t
identify high-risk drinkers until the problem is severe, and
workers may worry that counselors will leak information
to their bosses. A worksite should be a good place for
preventing alcohol abuse because most individuals who
abuse alcohol have jobs, and drinking is often related to
stress on the job (Mayer, 1983).

TREATMENT METHODS TO STOP
SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE
Of the substance users who are willing to try to quit
or reduce their use, the ones who seek professional
help are likely to be psychologically and physically
dependent on the substance, making it hard for the
effort to succeed. Therapies can vary in their structure
and methods—some, such as stop smoking quitlines,
simply offer telephone counseling that helps people
quit a substance (Lichtenstein, Zhu, & Tedeschi, 2010).
Therapists can design programs that use a variety of

methods to help. (Go to .)

Psychosocial Methods for Stopping
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse involves entrenched behaviors that
are difficult to stop, particularly if physical dependence
has developed. In many cases, chemical approaches
are useful to decrease craving and other withdrawal
symptoms, as we’ll see later. For now, we’ll focus
on psychosocial methods. Because the psychosocial
processes leading to and maintaining substance abuse
are similar for using tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, the
approaches health psychologists apply to help people
stop or reduce using them are basically the same for all
three substances. We’ll concentrate on methods for
which there is good evidence for their success. Other
methods, such as hypnosis and acupuncture, for stopping
substance use have received much media hype, but
research has not yielded clear evidence of success (Nash,
2001; White, Rampes, & Campbell, 2006).

An initial issue in treating substance abuse is the
person’s desire and readiness to change. Although most
people who seek treatment to stop or reduce their
substance use want to change, not all do—some were
coerced or required to enter therapy by their family,

employer, or the justice system. And clients who do want
to change vary in their degree of commitment. We saw in
Chapter 6 that professionals can use the stages of change
model to describe people’s readiness to modify health-
related behaviors. A critical transition occurs when the
person’s stage of readiness moves from contemplation,
or thinking about changing, to preparation and action.
According to psychologist William Miller (1989), this
transition is like a door that opens for a period of time
and closes if the substance abuser doesn’t use it in that
time. Family, friends, coworkers, physicians, or therapists
can encourage the transition in several ways, such as:

• Giving the person clear advice about why and how to
change.

• Removing important barriers for change.

• Introducing external consequences, such as rewards for
changing or real threats (for example, of being fired) if
no change occurs.

• Offering help and showing a helping attitude.

Bolstering the person’s self-efficacy is critical for initiat-
ing his or her efforts to change (Baldwin et al., 2006).
Family members who receive training in motivational
methods can be very successful in helping substance
users decide to start therapy (Meyers et al., 2002; Miller,
Meyers, & Tonigan, 1999). These methods are based on
the technique of motivational interviewing we discussed in
Chapter 6. Therapists also use motivational interview-
ing methods during treatment to enhance its success;
although these methods can help smokers quit, they
appear to be more effective with drinking and drug use
(Burke, Arkowitz, & Menchola, 2003; Lai et al., 2010).

Another effective psychosocial method for treating
substance use is to provide the user with positive
reinforcement for stopping or reducing use. Compared to
treatments that don’t include reinforcement, treatments
that do use it are more successful in reducing the use
of tobacco, alcohol, and a variety of drugs, including
marijuana, cocaine, and opiates (Higgins, Heil, & Lussier,
2004). The reinforcers are mainly monetary based—for
instance, vouchers that can be exchanged for desirable
items—and programs usually spend several times more
per client to treat opiate abuse than to treat smoking
(about $150). Some researchers have designed and
tested programs with reinforcers that cost less, as one
study did with cocaine abusers who were randomly
assigned to either a standard treatment or the same
treatment with reinforcement (Petry & Martin, 2002).
The clients in both conditions submitted urine samples
two or three times a week, which was analyzed for
opioids and cocaine. If they were abstinent—the sample
was negative—they could participate in a lottery that

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 187

HIGHLIGHT

Where Should Treatment Occur, and What Should Be
the Goals and Criteria for Success?

Because of the physical dependence when alcohol and
drug abusers enter treatment, the first step in their recov-
ery is detoxification—the drying out process to get an
addicted person safely through the period of withdrawal
from a substance. This is an essential step before treat-
ment can proceed. Because withdrawal symptoms can
be severe enough to cause death, detoxification often
occurs in hospitals under medical supervision, using
medication to control the symptoms (Digiusto et al.,
2005; Miller & Hester, 1986). Improved assessment pro-
cedures and detoxification methods today enable many
addicted people to undergo detoxification at home if
they receive careful assistance and support from trained
individuals. After that, the question becomes: should
treatment be carried out in a residential setting or on
an outpatient basis? Most problem drinkers and drug
users can be treated as outpatients. But with alcoholics,
for example, those who are strongly addicted appear to
benefit more from inpatient than outpatient care (Finney
& Moos, 1997; NIAAA, 1993; Rychtarik et al., 2000). In
the United States, most substance users who receive
treatment do so as outpatients (USBC, 2010).

Ideally, treatment should ‘‘cure’’ the person’s sub-
stance problem forever, but at what point can ther-
apists expect that their treatment will have durable
effects? On this issue, there is considerable agreement
among researchers: They generally recommend and use
a minimum follow-up interval of 12 to 18 months to
determine the success of treatment (Emrick & Hansen,
1983; Nathan, 1986). Many programs today also attempt
to verify self-reports of substance use through other
sources—reports by the ex-abuser’s spouse or through

blood or breath tests, for instance—and measure other
outcomes of treatment, such as physical health, employ-
ment status, and legal problems encountered.

Because of legal and medical considerations, the
treatment goal for tobacco and drug users is to
quit completely. But what about alcohol use—should
treatment aim to have drinkers become permanently
abstinent, or can some return gradually to controlled
drinking? This distinction generated a bitter controversy
in the 1980s (Marlatt, 1983; Peele, 1984). Although the
controversy is not completely resolved, it does appear
that some problem drinkers can learn through treatment
to drink in moderation (Maisto, 2004; Walitzer & Connors,
2007). Problem drinkers who have the best prospects for
controlled drinking:

• Are relatively young.

• Are socially stable, such as married or employed.

• Have had a relatively brief history of alcohol abuse.

• Have not suffered severe withdrawal symptoms while
becoming abstinent.

• Prefer trying to drink in moderation.

In other words, the less severe the drinking problem,
the better the chances of succeeding in controlled
drinking. What’s more, long-term alcoholics who choose
abstinence as their goal have fewer drinking problems
at 1-year follow-up than those who choose controlled
drinking (Hodgins et al., 1997). For long-term alcoholics
to pursue a goal of controlled drinking is unrealistic
and probably not in their best interests (Nathan, 1986;
Sandberg & Marlatt, 1991).

determined whether they would win a prize and what it
would be. Most prizes were small, such as a choice of
a $1 coupon for fast food or some toiletries, and some
were larger (worth $20); each drawing also offered a slim
chance of winning a much larger prize, such as a small TV
or a boombox. Compared to the clients with the standard
treatment, those in the reinforcement condition were far
more abstinent during the 12-week program and for the
following 3 months. The reinforcement program cost
$137 per client.

Therapists sometimes use aversion strategies,
which pair unpleasant stimuli with substance use,

making the behavior less pleasant. One way to make
smoking unpleasant is called satiation: the person doubles
or triples his or her usual smoking rate at home for some
period of time (Lichtenstein & Mermelstein, 1984). For
some smokers, satiation may be useful as a first step
in a program for quitting. Aversion strategies have also
been applied to treat alcohol abuse: an injection of
an emetic drug, such as emetine, is given that induces
nausea when alcohol is consumed. In each half-hour
session, the person receives emetine and then repeatedly
drinks an alcoholic beverage, each time quickly becoming
nauseated and vomiting (Miller & Hester, 1980). The

188 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

person undergoes several of these sessions, typically
as an inpatient in a hospital, and then receives booster
sessions periodically after discharge. A study of hundreds
of problem drinkers who received emetine therapy
revealed that 63% of the men and women remained
abstinent during the 12 months after treatment, and
half of these individuals remained abstinent for the next
2 years (Wiens & Menustik, 1983).

Because of the role of substance-related cues in
maintaining smoking, drinking, and drug use, therapists
use a method called cue exposure to counteract
the classical conditioning that occurs with long-term
substance use. Let’s use drinking as an example. The
cues, such as seeing a liquor bottle, had been paired
with substance use, drinking, to gain the ability through
conditioning to produce internal responses like those
that happen with alcohol use. In using cue exposure
to reduce these internal reactions to conditioned
stimuli, therapists expose problem drinkers repeatedly
to substance-related cues, such as holding a beer can,
while not allowing them to drink. Cue exposure has had
some success in treating substance abuse, particularly
drinking (Brandon, Vidrine, & Litvin, 2007; Drummond &
Glautier, 1994; Rohsenow et al., 2001).

We saw earlier that one reason people use a sub-
stance is that they gain negative reinforcement from
it: they use it to regulate emotional states—that is,
to cope—and need to learn ways to deal with stress
that are more adaptive. As a result, therapists often
help substance abusers learn to manage their stress
with behavioral and cognitive methods for stress man-
agement that we described in Chapter 5. These methods
include:

• Progressive muscle relaxation, in which people alter-
nately tighten and relax individual muscle groups.

• Meditation, an alternative relaxation method.

• Cognitive restructuring, in which people learn to replace
stress-provoking thoughts with more constructive and
realistic ones.

Cognitive–behavioral methods are among the most
effective approaches in treating problem drinking (Finney
& Moos, 1997; Stockwell & Town, 1989) and drug use
(Maude-Griffin et al., 1998; Tims, Fletcher, & Hubbard,
1991). They are also useful in helping people stop
smoking. (Go to .)

Self-Help Groups
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a widely known self-help
program that was founded in the 1930s by people with

drinking problems (Dolan, 2004; McCrady & Irvine, 1989).
The program now has thousands of chapters throughout
the United States and around the world and has set up
organizations to help alcoholics’ families, such as Alateen
for their adolescent children and Al-Anon for adults in the
family. The AA philosophy includes two basic views.
First, people who abuse alcohol are alcoholics and
remain alcoholics for life, even if they never take another
drink. Second, alcoholics must commit to the goal of
permanent and total abstinence, and their approach is
aimed at helping their members resist even one drink.
A critical feature of the AA approach is the person’s
developing a social network that does not support
drinking (Litt et al., 2009). A similar organization for
drug users is called Narcotics Anonymous.

Because the AA philosophy has its roots in evangel-
ical Protestantism, the program emphasizes the individ-
ual’s needs for spiritual awakening, public confession,
and contrition (McCrady & Irvine, 1989; Peele, 1984). This
philosophy can be seen in the Twelve Steps AA uses to
help drinkers quit—for example, one step is, ‘‘Admitted
to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the
exact nature of our wrongs.’’ Members attend frequent
AA meetings, which use the Twelve Steps to promote
frank discussions about the members’ experiences with
alcohol and difficulties resisting drinking. An important
feature of the AA approach is that its members develop
friendships with other ex-drinkers and get encourage-
ment from each other and from knowing individuals who
have succeeded.

Does AA work, and is it more effective than other
approaches for helping drinkers quit? Until the late
1990s, AA’s effectiveness was unknown because its
membership is anonymous and the organization does
not keep systematic information about people who
attend. Today, there are two lines of evidence for
its success. First, studies compared different methods
conducted by professional therapists and found that
treatments using the AA approach produced as much
improvement as other treatments (Ouimette, Finney, &
Moos, 1997; PMRG, 1998). Second, research has shown
that the greater the duration and frequency of alcoholics’
involvement in AA, the less their binge drinking and
the better their social functioning in the following years
(McKellar, Stewart, & Humphreys, 2003; Moos & Moos,
2004). But AA may not be appropriate for problem
drinkers who reject aspects of the AA approach, such
as the belief in God, and other social networks may be
substituted (Litt et al., 2009; Tonigan, Miller, & Schermer,
2002. AA is often used as an approach to prevent relapse
after other forms of treatment (NIAAA, 1993).

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 189

CLINICAL METHODS AND ISSUES

Behavioral Methods for Treating Substance Abuse
Psychologists apply behavioral meth-

ods to gain control over environmental conditions that
sustain an undesirable behavior, such as smoking or
drinking (Sarafino, 2001). These methods are based on
the recognition that modifying behavior requires chang-
ing the behavior itself and its antecedents and consequences.
For example, the consequences can be changed by intro-
ducing rewards for not using a substance and penalties
for using it, as occurred for Jim at the start of this
chapter. These techniques are often taught to clients to
use in self-management procedures, which we discussed in
Chapter 6. Let’s look at some behavioral methods that
can help clients stop or reduce substance use.

• Self-monitoring is a procedure in which people record
information pertaining to their problem behavior,
such as how often they smoked or drank and the
circumstances, place, and time of each instance.
Although this technique is used mainly in gathering
data, it is a very important method for making self-
management procedures effective (Michie et al., 2009).

• Stimulus control procedures address the antecedents by
altering elements of the environment that serve as cues
and lead a person to perform the problem behavior. For
example, many smokers report that they regularly have
(and ‘‘need to have’’) a cigarette in certain situations,
such as after meals, or with alcohol, or when talking
on the phone. And many problem drinkers are unable
to resist having a drink when friends are drinking.
These environments can be altered in many ways—for
example, by making the substance less available,
removing cues such as ashtrays, or restricting the
time spent in situations where the behavior occurs,

such as watching TV or sitting at the table after meals.
Stimulus control procedures can help a great deal: a
study on quitting smoking found that getting rid of
cigarettes is a critical factor in remaining abstinent on
the first day (O’Connell et al., 2002).

• Competing response substitution involves performing and
rewarding a behavior that is incompatible with or not
likely to be performed at the same time as the problem
behavior. For instance, a smoker who ‘‘has to have a
cigarette with coffee after breakfast’’ would receive a
reward for skipping coffee and taking a shower right
after breakfast. People are not likely to smoke in the
shower (but some smokers do!).

• Scheduled reduction is a method in which the person
uses the substance only at specified regular intervals,
and these intervals get longer and longer across days.
So far, scheduled reduction has been used mainly
with smoking and is effective (Catley & Grobe, 2008;
Cincirpini et al., 1995).

• Behavioral contracting is a technique for spelling out
conditions and consequences regarding the problem
behavior in writing. Behavioral contracts usually
indicate the conditions under which the behavior
may or may not occur and specify reinforcing and
punishing consequences that will be applied, and
when. Contracts for quitting substance use often have
the person deposit a substantial sum of money, which
is then meted out if he or she meets certain goals.

Although each of these methods is useful in changing
behavior, such as smoking or drinking, they are most
effective when combined and used together.

Chemical Methods for Treating
Substance Abuse
Treatments for substance abuse often use prescribed
drugs that the person is required to take regularly
to combat the conditions that maintain the behavior.
Some of these drugs interact with the abused substance,
such as alcohol, producing unpleasant reactions, such
as nausea and vomiting. The chemical methods we are
discussing here are different from the use of emetine
that we described earlier, which is not taken on a regular

basis but is used in conditioning sessions as an aversion
strategy.

Different chemicals are used in treatments for
different substances. In stopping tobacco use, the
main chemical used is nicotine, which the person can
administer as a gum, a lozenge, a patch placed on
the skin, an inhaler, or a nasal spray. Using nicotine
decreases craving and withdrawal symptoms, such as
sleeplessness, and helps toward short-term and long-
term quitting success (Cummings & Hyland, 2005;
Ferguson, Shiffman, & Gwaltney, 2006; Stead et al.,

190 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

2008). And if an abstinent smoker uses a fast-acting
version, such as the lozenge, when exposed to smoking
cues, it reduces the resulting craving (Shiffman et al.,
2003). Two other useful chemicals for reducing smoking
are bupropion hydrochloride, an antidepressant drug, and
varenicline (Hughes, 2009). Using a nicotine lozenge with
any of the other chemicals enhances success in quitting
(Smith et al., 2009). Because genetic processes influence
the effects of specific anti-smoking chemicals (Uhl et al.,
2008), medical tests may help select the best chemical
for each person.

Two types of chemicals are used in treating alcohol
abuse. One chemical is an emetic drug called disulfiram
(brand name Antabuse) that the person needs to
take each day orally (Maisto, 2004; Schuckit 1996). In
addition to producing nausea if the person drinks, it
has some important side effects that can preclude its
use—it causes drowsiness, raises blood pressure, and
has physiological effects that make it inappropriate for
people with heart and liver diseases. For those who can
use it, disulfiram can be an effective therapy, but getting
them to take the drug consistently is often a problem. The
second chemical is naltrexone, a drug that blocks the ‘‘high’’
feeling that alcohol and narcotics produce (AMA, 2003).
Alcohol-dependent individuals treated with naltrexone
experience fewer days of heavy drinking and fewer drinks
on days when they drink than those in control groups
that receive a placebo (Garbutt et al., 2005; Monti et al.,
2001).

Several chemical agents can be used for treating
narcotic addiction. The most widely used of these agents
is methadone, a chemical that has physiological effects
that are similar to those of opiates. However, methadone
does not produce euphoria and, when taken regularly, it
prevents euphoria from occurring if the person then takes
an opiate (Mattick et al., 2003; Sindelar & Fiellin, 2001).
Methadone is usually taken orally. Having a narcotics
addict take methadone—or a similar agent, levoalpha
acetylmethadyl (LAAM)—regularly to reduce opiate use
is called methadone maintenance. Another chemical agent
that blocks the euphoria from opiates taken after it
is buprenorphine, which has advantages over methadone,
such as its staying active longer, but seems to be less
effective (Mattick et al., 2003; Sindelar & Fiellin, 2001).
Naltrexone, which we just discussed for treating alcohol
abuse, blocks opiate euphoria but isn’t used often for
narcotic abuse.

Multidimensional Programs
You may know someone who tried to quit smoking just
by using a nicotine patch, and failed. Research has shown
that the psychosocial and chemical methods we’ve

discussed are useful in stopping or reducing substance
use, but none is highly effective alone—as a result,
the methods are usually combined in a multidimensional
program to improve their success. For instance, studies of
treatments to stop smoking have found that combining
cognitive–behavioral methods with the nicotine patch
is far more effective than using either approach alone
(Alterman, Gariti, & Mulvaney, 2001; Cinciripini et al.,
1996). For drug abuse, treating narcotic addiction with
methadone and psychosocial methods is far more
effective than methadone alone (McClellan et al., 1993).
And treating marijuana dependence with motivational
interviewing and rewards for providing marijuana-free
urine samples is more effective than either approach
alone (Carroll et al., 2006).

Five other features should be considered in design-
ing multidimensional programs to curb substance use.
First, using biochemical analyses to verify self-reports
of use and demonstrating these verification procedures
at the beginning of treatment enhances the success of a
program (Glynn, Gruder, & Jegerski, 1986). Second, a brief
daily phone call to the clients improves their performance
of certain procedures, such as keeping records of smoking
(McConnell, Biglan, & Severson, 1984). Third, involving
the client’s family or significant person in the program
improves the outcome (Carlson et al., 2002; Fals-Stewart
& O’Farrell, 2003). Fourth, physician involvement helps.
For example, people are more likely to try to quit smok-
ing and stick with it if they are advised to stop by their
physician, receive a prescription for nicotine, are shown
on an apparatus how impaired their respiratory system
is, and have been diagnosed with a serious smoking-
related disease (Fiore, Jorenby, & Baker, 1997; Ockene
et al., 1991, 1994; Risser & Belcher, 1990; USDHHS,
1986a). Fifth, supplementing standard treatment with a
computer-based intervention improves abstinence and
helps it last (Carroll et al., 2009).

DEALING WITH THE RELAPSE PROBLEM
Quitting substance use is one thing—staying quit is
another. As Mark Twain noted, ‘‘To cease smoking is the
easiest thing I ever did; I ought to know because I’ve
done it a thousand times’’ (Grunberg & Bowen, 1985).
The methods we have considered work well in helping
people stop or reduce substance use, but preventing
backsliding is a major problem.

The Relapse Problem
Regardless of how smokers quit, their likelihood of
relapse—that is, returning to the full-blown pattern of
behavior—is very high in the first weeks and months

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 191

after stopping. Most people who quit smoking start
again within a year, and most relapses occur in the first
3 months (Ockene et al., 2000). Estimates of relapse
rates vary from 50 to 80%, depending on many factors,
including the methods used in quitting, how heavily
the person smoked, and characteristics of the individual
and his or her environment (Curry & McBride, 1994;
Ossip-Klein et al., 1986).

The problem of relapse is at least as severe in
efforts to stop drinking and using drugs as it is in
quitting smoking. Many of the more successful treatment
approaches for alcohol abuse produce very high rates of
success initially, but these rates decline sharply by the
end of the first year and again during the next 2 years
(Nathan, 1986). For drug use relapse, researchers have
estimated that 60% or more of individuals return to using
drugs after quitting (Donovan, 2003).

Why People Relapse
Withdrawal symptoms probably contribute strongly to
immediate relapses. But these symptoms decline over
time. For instance, nicotine withdrawal declines sharply
in the first week or so after stopping (Gritz, Carr, &
Marcus, 1991; Killen & Fortmann, 1994; Piasecki et al.,
1997). Smokers who are trying to quit need reassurance
that their cravings and negative feelings will diminish
greatly in less than a month. Another factor that can
affect relapse is satisfaction: the more satisfied people
are with the results of having quit the less likely they are
to relapse (Baldwin et al., 2006).

What other factors lead people to return to using
a substance they quit? Table 7.4 describes several, and
research has clarified the role of the first two. First,
self-efficacy during quitting is dynamic—when quitting
smoking, for instance, it remains fairly high before a lapse

and drops after the lapse; the sharper the drop, the more
likely a relapse will occur (Shiffman et al., 2000). Second,
the role of emotion is particularly important: for example,
people who experience high levels of stress are more
likely to start smoking again than those who experience
less stress (Cohen & Lichtenstein, 1990; Lichtenstein et
al., 1986; Shiffman et al., 1996). Ex-smokers who go back
to smoking often report that acute episodes of anxiety
or frustration at work or at home led to their relapse
(Shiffman, 1986).

Two other factors in relapse relate mainly to
smoking. First, an interesting thing happens to smokers’
beliefs when they relapse: they tend to lower their
perceptions of the health risks of smoking. A study
of people who relapsed after completing a treatment
program to stop smoking found that they reported
strong beliefs that smoking could harm their health
when they entered the program, but after the relapse
these beliefs decreased (Gibbons, McGovern, & Lando,
1991). Why? They probably used cognitive processes,
such as motivated reasoning or denial, to cope with the
fact that their attempt to quit smoking failed. This finding
is important because it means people who relapse may
not be ready to retry quitting until their beliefs change
back again. Many smokers deny or minimize the health
risks of smoking, thereby decreasing the likelihood that
they will try to quit (Lee, 1989; Strecher, Kreuter, &
Kobrin, 1995).

Second, some people who go back to smoking claim
they did so because they were gaining weight (Jeffery et
al., 2000). Smokers tend to weigh less than nonsmokers,
and this difference is greater among middle-aged than
younger individuals (Klesges et al., 1998). When people
stop smoking, most—but not all—do, in fact, tend to
gain several pounds over the next few years (Klesges et
al., 1997; Parsons et al., 2009). There are two reasons

Table 7.4 Several Factors That Can Lead to a Relapse of a Changed Behavior
Factors Description of Factor’s Influence

Low self-efficacy Maintaining self-efficacy for staying abstinent is not always easy: people who quit a behavior and
experience a lapse may lose their confidence in remaining abstinent and see their violation as
a sign of a personal failure. As we saw in Chapter 6, these events can lead to a full relapse
through the process called the abstinence violation effect.

Negative emotions and
poor coping

Because people often use substances to regulate their emotional states, they tend to lack good
coping skills to take the place of the substance when difficulties arise.

High craving The greater the craving, the more likely a relapse.
Expectation of

reinforcement
People tend to relapse if they think that using the substance again would be rewarding, such as

‘‘Having a drink would taste great and make me feel so relaxed.’’
Low motivation People at lower levels of readiness to change when they try to quit are more likely to relapse than

people at higher readiness levels.
Interpersonal issues Substance users who quit, but lack constructive social support or have social networks that

promote substance use, are more likely to relapse than others who have strong, helpful
support.

Source: Witkiewitz & Marlatt, 2004.

192 Part III / Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness

why this is so (Klesges, Benowitz, & Meyers, 1991).
First, ex-smokers often increase their caloric intake,
sometimes by eating more fats and sweet-tasting foods.
Second, the amount of energy they expend in metabolism
declines, for at least a short time, after quitting. To
prevent weight gain, many ex-smokers may need to
control their diets, get more exercise, and perhaps use a
nicotine supplement. Ex-smokers who use nicotine gum
or patches during the weeks after quitting gain much less
weight than controls with a placebo (Allen et al., 2005;
Doherty et al., 1996). Some programs for quitting smoking
are now incorporating methods to prevent weight gain
(Parsons et al., 2009).

Can Relapses Be Prevented?
One approach for reducing relapse uses a process called
the relapse prevention method, which is based on
G. Alan Marlatt’s view that relapses develop through the
cognitive events of the abstinence violation effect that
follow a lapse (Marlatt & Gordon, 1980; Witkiewitz &
Marlatt, 2004). The cognitive events involve mainly guilt
and reduced self-efficacy. The relapse prevention

method

is basically a therapist-supervised self-management
program in which clients take the following steps:

1. Learn to identify high-risk situations by generating a list and
descriptions of antecedent conditions in which lapses
are most likely to occur.

2. Acquire competent and specific coping skills through training
in specific behaviors and thought patterns that will
enable the person to deal with high-risk situations and

avoid lapses. For example, people who get treatment
for stopping smoking need to receive training in ways to
cope with stress without relying on smoking as a coping
strategy (Shadel & Mermelstein, 1993).

3. Practice effective coping skills in high-risk situations under a
therapist’s supervision. For example, a problem drinker
might go with the therapist to a bar and practice ways
to avoid drinking.

This method provides an important component of
relapse prevention, but its success in helping individuals
stay abstinent for a substance after quitting has been
modest when used by itself (Brandon, Vidrine, & Litvin,
2007; Hajek et al., 2009).

Three additional approaches may enhance relapse
prevention. First, interventions can provide booster ses-
sions—extra sessions periodically to shore up or refresh
the treatment’s effects. Providing booster sessions or
contacts with training on ways to cope with lapses and
maintain self-efficacy reduces relapses (Brandon et al.,
2000; Irvin et al., 1999; McKay et al., 2004). Second, clients
can continue using a chemical method after formal treatment
ends: for example, they’d continue to use nicotine if
they quit smoking or methadone if they quit a narcotic
(Klesges, Benowitz, & Meyers, 1991; Mattick et al., 2003).
Third, clients can be helped to develop social networks
that provide constructive support for abstinence and
minimize negative support, such as friends expressing
doubt that they will stay quit (Lawhon et al., 2009; Litt
et al., 2009). AA attendance is one way to develop social
networks that can help ex-drinkers remain abstinent.

SUMMARY

People’s use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs can affect
their health. Addiction is a condition that involves a
physical and psychological dependence on a substance.
People who are physically dependent on a substance
have developed a tolerance for it and suffer withdrawal
symptoms when they abruptly stop using it. Substance
abuse exists when a person shows a clear pattern of
pathological use with resulting problems in social and
occupational functioning. Processes leading to dependence
include positive and negative reinforcement, classical
conditioning of substance-related cues, expectancies, and
heredity.

Smoking tobacco is a worldwide problem. In the
United States, it reached its greatest popularity in the
mid-1960s and then declined after its harmful health
effects were publicized. Most people who become cigarette
smokers begin the habit in adolescence. Although a larger
percentage of men than women smoke, this gap has
decreased in recent years. Americans are more likely to

smoke if they are from the lower rather than the higher social
classes. Psychosocial factors influence whether individuals
start to smoke; going on to smoke on a regular basis
is determined by biopsychosocial factors. The likelihood
of individuals becoming regular smokers increases if they
have peer and adult models of smoking, experience peer
pressure to smoke, and find that smoking helps them relax
and have less tension.

Cigarette smoke contains tars, carbon monoxide, and
nicotine, a chemical that appears to produce physical
dependence. One theory that describes why established
smokers continue to smoke is the nicotine regulation
model, which proposes that they smoke to maintain a
certain level of nicotine in their bodies and avoid with-
drawal. Smoking reduces the person’s life expectancy and
increases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, car-
diovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease. Breathing secondhand smoke is called pas-
sive smoking and is also harmful to one’s health.

Chapter 7 / Substance Use and Abuse 193

Alcohol use varies widely across cultures and time peri-
ods. Most American adults drink at least occasionally,
and many adolescents and adults engage in binge drink-
ing. Many individuals who drink abuse alcohol and are
classified as problem drinkers; those who are physically
dependent on alcohol are classified as alcoholics. People
who are addicted to alcohol suffer withdrawal symptoms
when they quit drinking. Psychosocial factors—such as
modeling, social pressure, and reinforcement—have a
very powerful influence on drinking. Heredity plays an
important role in the development of alcohol abuse.
Heavy drinking is related to a variety of health problems,
including fetal alcohol syndrome in babies of drinking
mothers, injuries from accidents, and such diseases as
cirrhosis of the liver and brain damage.

Drugs can be classified as stimulants, depressants,
hallucinogens, and narcotics; they differ in their potential
for producing physical and psychological dependence.
Drug abuse is related to a number of psychosocial factors,
such as modeling, social pressure, reinforcement, and
personality traits. The health effects of drug use and
abuse are becoming increasingly clear. For example,
using cocaine produces cardiovascular reactions that
can cause a potentially fatal myocardial infarction.

Programs to prevent smoking and alcohol and drug
abuse attempt to address relevant psychosocial factors
by providing information and teaching important social
skills. These programs teach children and adolescents

about the immediate and long-term consequences of
the substances, the ways modeling and peer pressure
influence their tendency to use substances, and the ways
they can resist these forces. Some programs also teach
general social, cognitive, and coping skills. Once people
become regular users of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs,
many are able to quit on their own, but many others
are not, especially if they use the substances heavily.
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are
self-help groups that help substance users to quit.

People who can’t stop or reduce their substance
use on their own or through a self-help group can
receive professional treatment. Alcohol or drug abusers
typically undergo detoxification. Effective psychosocial
treatment approaches for substance use include reinforc-
ing abstinence, aversion strategies (which can involve
using an emetic drug for alcoholics), substance-related
cue exposure, and behavioral and cognitive methods.
Chemical treatments are also effective and include
administering nicotine for smokers and methadone for
narcotics users. Combining effective methods in a mul-
tidimensional approach improves treatment success.
Many people who quit eventually return to smoking.
Although the relapse prevention method helps reduce
relapse rates, its effects can be enhanced by provid-
ing booster sessions, continuing chemical methods
after treatment ends, and developing constructive social
networks.

KEY TERMS

addiction
physical dependence
tolerance
withdrawal
psychological dependence
substance abuse
positive reinforcement

negative reinforcement
classical conditioning
carbon monoxide
tars
nicotine
nicotine regulation model
passive smoking

binge drinking
problem drinkers
alcoholics
stimulants
depressants
hallucinogens
narcotics

detoxification
aversion strategies
emetic drug
cue exposure
relapse prevention

method

Note: If you read Module 4 (from Chapter 2) with the
current chapter, you should include the key terms for

that module.

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le
a

r
n

in
g

o
u

t
c

o
m

e
s

Foundations
of Individual
Behavior

CHAPTER

PART 4 Leading

8.1

Identify
the focus

and goals of
organizational
behavior (OB).

Explain
the role that

attitudes play
in job

performance.

8.2

Describe
perception

and the
factors that
influence it.

8.4

Discuss
learning
theories
and their

relevance in
shaping

behavior.

8.5

8.3

Describe
different

personality
theories.

8.6

Discuss
contemporary

issues in OB.

214

p.22

p.233

p.216

p.226

p.229

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Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Seventh Edition, by Stephen P. Robbins, David A. DeCenzo, and Mary Coulter.
Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Like many revolts, it began with something simple.1 At Microsoft, it was the vanishing
towels. For employees who biked to work through the often-drizzly weather in Seattle, the
provided towels had become an entitlement. However, one day when employees came to
work, the towels were gone . . . pulled without notice from the locker rooms in the com-
pany’s underground garage. The company’s human resources manager thought removing
the towels, which had been done as a cost-saving measure, “wouldn’t even be a blip.” But
it was. Irate employees waged war on company message boards and blogs. One post fumed,
“It is a dark and dreary day at One Microsoft Way. Do yourself a favor and stay away.” The
intensity of the comments shocked senior executives. The towel fiasco, in conjunction with
a languishing stock price and a little bit of “Google envy,” suggested a serious morale prob-
lem and a need to bring in a new face to HR. Lisa Brummel (see photo below), a successful
Microsoft product development manager with no HR experience, was tapped to become the
new HR chief. Her mandate: Improve the mood around here. And Lisa, who had always
been a strong people leader, stepped up to do just that.

In addition to reinstating the towels (a no-brainer), Lisa looked for other ways that the com-
pany could reshape HR at Microsoft. And in doing so, she brought a unique and insightful
understanding of human behavior. One thing she did was to introduce innovative office designs
that allowed employees to reconfigure their workspaces for the task they were working on. The
customized workspaces included options such as sliding doors, movable walls, and features that
made the space seem more like an urban loft than an office. When beginning a workspace
redesign, “employees are first divided into four worker types: providers (the godfathers of work
groups), travelers (the types who work anywhere but work), concentrators (head-down, always-
at-work types), and orchestrators (the company’s natural diplomats).” Based on their “type,”
employees then pick the kind of workspace that works best for them. By allowing their creative,
quirky, and talented people freedom to design their workspaces, the company was able to give
them some control over their chaotic and often hectic environment.

With Lisa at the helm of HR, the company has made progress in its people policies. Yet, some-
times a decision coming out of One Microsoft Way (company headquarters) still makes you
scratch your head and wonder why. The most recent was when 25 recently laid-off employees were
asked to return an overpayment of severance pay. The amount, a small sum, amounted to about
$5,000 per employee. But by asking for this money back, this billion-dollar organization didn’t
send a very good message, especially when trying to improve morale and keep employees
excited and engaged with their work. Once again, Lisa stepped up. She made the calls
to the employees involved and said
that the company hadn’t handled
the situation in a “thoughtful
manner” and the money was
theirs to keep. Like any
successful manager, Lisa
recognizes the importance
of people skills.

Towels, Severance, and Morale…Oh My

213

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25
6-

14
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9-
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8.1
Identify
the focus
and goals of
organizational
behavior (OB).
214

Lisa Brummel had a bit of a people challenge! Like her, most managers want employees with

the right attitudes and personality. They want people who show up and work hard, get along

with coworkers and customers, have good attitudes, and exhibit good work behaviors in other

ways. But as you’re probably already aware, people don’t always behave like that “ideal”

employee. They post critical comments in blogs. They complain over missing towels. People

differ in their behaviors and even the same person can behave one way one day and a com-

pletely different way another day. For instance, haven’t you seen family members, friends, or

coworkers behave in ways that prompted you to wonder: Why did they do that? In this chap-

ter, we look at four psychological aspects—attitudes, personality, perception, and learning—

and demonstrate how these things can help managers understand the behavior of those

people with whom they have to work. We conclude the chapter by looking at contemporary

behavioral issues facing managers.

What Are the Focus and Goals
of Organizational Behavior?
The material in this and the next four chapters draws heavily on the field
of study that’s known as organizational behavior (OB). Although it’s con-
cerned with the subject of behavior—that is, the actions of people—
organizational behavior is the study of the actions of people at work.

One of the challenges in understanding organizational behavior is
that it addresses issues that aren’t obvious. Like an iceberg, OB has a small

visible dimension and a much larger hidden portion. (See Exhibit 8-1.) What
we see when we look at an organization is its visible aspects: strategies, goals, policies
and procedures, structure, technology, formal authority relationships, and chain of com-
mand. But under the surface are other elements that managers need to understand—
elements that also influence how employees behave at work. As we’ll show, OB provides
managers with considerable insights into these important, but hidden, aspects of the
organization.

Visible Aspects
Strategies
Objectives

Policies and procedures
Structure

Technology
Formal authority

Chains of command

Hidden Aspects
Attitudes

Perceptions
Group norms

Informal interactions
Interpersonal and

intergroup conflicts

Organization as IcebergEXHIBIT 8-1

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Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Seventh Edition, by Stephen P. Robbins, David A. DeCenzo, and Mary Coulter.
Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.

C H A P T E R 8 | F O U N D AT I O N S O F I N D I V I D U A L B E H AV I O R 2

What Is the Focus of OB?
Organizational behavior focuses on three major areas. First, OB looks at individual behavior.
Based predominantly on contributions from psychologists, this area includes such topics as
attitudes, personality, perception, learning, and motivation. Second, OB is concerned with
group behavior, which includes norms, roles, team building, leadership, and conflict. Our
knowledge about groups comes basically from the work of sociologists and social psychol-
ogists. Finally, OB also looks at organizational aspects including structure, culture, and
human resource policies and practices. We’ve addressed organizational aspects in previous
chapters. In this chapter, we’ll look at individual behavior and in the following chapter, at
group behavior.

What Are the Goals of Organizational Behavior?
The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence behavior. Managers need to be able
to explain why employees engage in some behaviors rather than others, predict how employ-
ees will respond to various actions and decisions, and influence how employees behave.

What employee behaviors are we specifically concerned with explaining, predicting,
and influencing? Six important ones have been identified: employee productivity, absen-
teeism, turnover, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), job satisfaction, and workplace
misbehavior. Employee productivity is a performance measure of both work efficiency and
effectiveness. Managers want to know what factors will influence the efficiency and effec-
tiveness of employees. Absenteeism is the failure to show up for work. It’s difficult for work
to get done if employees don’t show up. Studies have shown that unscheduled absences cost
companies around $660 per employee per year.2 Although absenteeism can’t be totally
eliminated, excessive levels have a direct and immediate impact on the organization’s func-
tioning. Turnover is the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organiza-
tion. It can be a problem because of increased recruiting, selection, and training costs and
work disruptions. Just like absenteeism, managers can never eliminate turnover, but it is
something they want to minimize, especially among
high-performing employees. Organizational citizenship
behavior is discretionary behavior that’s not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but which promotes
the effective functioning of the organization.3 Examples
of good OCB include helping others on one’s work team,
volunteering for extended job activities, avoiding unnec-
essary conflicts, and making constructive statements
about one’s work group and the organization. Organiza-
tions need individuals who will do more than their usual
job duties, and the evidence indicates that organizations
that have such employees outperform those that don’t.4

However, there are drawbacks to OCB as employees may
experience work overload, stress, and work/life conflicts.5

Job satisfaction refers to an employee’s general attitude
toward his or her job. Although job satisfaction is an atti-
tude rather than a behavior, it’s an outcome that concerns
many managers because satisfied employees are more

organizational behavior
The study of the actions of people at work.

behavior
The actions of people.

employee productivity
A performance measure of both work
efficiency and effectiveness.

turnover
Voluntary and involuntary permanent
withdrawal from an organization.

absenteeism
The failure to show up for work.

organizational citizenship behavior
Discretionary behavior that’s not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but which
promotes the effective functioning of the
organization.

job satisfaction
An employee’s general attitude toward his or
her job.

Mitsue Endo’s job at Japan’s Keihin
Express Railway is helping lost customers
find their way and resolving ticket
problems at a Tokyo station used by
250,000 riders each day. Before
beginning work, she uses a “smile”
machine, a laptop computer with
a digital camera mounted on top
that instantly gives her a smile score.
Although the smile test is optional and
smiling is not part of Endo’s formal job
description, she uses it to improve her
interactions with rushed and often
agitated passengers. Endo believes
that presenting a happy face is a
constructive behavior that creates
a more relaxed environment for
customers and sheds a positive light
on her company’s goal of improving
customer service.

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Explain
the role that
attitudes play
in job

performance.

8.2

216 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

likely to show up for work, have higher levels of performance, and stay with an organization.
Workplace misbehavior is any intentional employee behavior that is potentially harmful to
the organization or individuals within the organization. Workplace misbehavior shows up in
organizations in four ways: deviance, aggression, antisocial behavior, and violence.6 Such
behaviors can range from playing loud music just to irritate coworkers to verbal aggression
to sabotaging work, all of which can create havoc in any organization. In the following pages,
we’ll address how an understanding of four psychological factors—employee attitudes, per-
sonality, perception, and learning—can help us predict and explain these employee behaviors.

What Role Do Attitudes Play in Job
Performance?
Attitudes are evaluative statements, either favorable or unfavorable, con-
cerning objects, people, or events. They reflect how an individual feels
about something. When a person says, “I like my job,” he or she is express-

ing an attitude about work.

What Are the Three Components of an Attitude?
To better understand attitude, we need to look at its three components: cognition, affect,
and behavior.7 The cognitive component of an attitude is made up of the beliefs, opinions,
knowledge, and information held by a person. For example, shortly after the September 11,
2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Congress spent weeks debating
whether airport baggage screeners should be federal employees. Some claimed the current
private airport screeners were adequately doing their jobs, even though evidence presented
during the debate showed that knives, pepper spray, and a loaded gun were missed by air-
port screeners.8 The belief held by some congressional leaders that private screeners were
effective is an example of cognition. The affective component is the emotional or feeling
part of an attitude. This component would be reflected in the statement, “I don’t like Erica
because she smokes.” Cognition and affect can lead to behavioral outcomes. The behavioral
component of an attitude refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone
or something. So, to continue our example, I might choose to avoid Erica because of my feel-
ings about her. Looking at attitudes as being made up of three components—cognition,
affect, and behavior—helps to illustrate the complexity of attitudes. For the sake of clarity,
keep in mind that the term usually refers only to the affective component.

What Attitudes Might Employees Hold?
Naturally, managers are not interested in every attitude an employee might hold. Rather,
they’re specifically interested in job-related attitudes, and the three most important and most
studied are job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment.9 Job satisfac-
tion is an employee’s general attitude toward his or her job. When people speak of employee
attitudes, more often than not they mean job satisfaction. Job involvement is the degree to
which an employee identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers
his or her job performance important for self-worth. Finally, organizational commitment
represents an employee’s orientation toward the organization in terms of his or her loyalty
to, identification with, and involvement in the organization.

A new concept associated with job attitudes that’s generating widespread interest is
employee engagement, which is when employees are connected to, satisfied with, and
enthusiastic about their jobs.10 Highly engaged employees are passionate about and deeply
connected to their work. Disengaged employees have essentially “checked out” and don’t
care. They show up for work, but have no energy or passion for it. Exhibit 8-2 lists the key
engagement factors found in a global study of over 12,000 employees.

There are benefits to having highly engaged employees. First, highly engaged employ-
ees are two-and-a-half times more likely to be top performers than their less-engaged

C H A P T E R 8 | F O U N D AT I O N S O F I N D I V I D U A L B E H AV I O R 217

Globally, respect ranks as the no. 1 factor contributing to employee engagement.

GLOBAL CHINA FRANCE GERMANY INDIA JAPAN U.K. U.S.

Respect 125 121 133 129 104 90 144 122

Type of Work 112 75 138 113 116 107 122 112

Work/Life Balance 112 98 133 106 97 119 119 111

Provide Good Service to Customers 108 108 110 108 103 79 122 107

Base Pay 108 113 110 105 103 140 117 114

People You Work With 107 96 105 131 98 107 120 104

Benefits 94 127 81 110 94 75 76 112

Long-Term Career Potential 92 91 89 77 108 94 88 92

Learning and Development 91 83 67 80 98 86 85 82

Flexible Working 87 85 77 92 80 88 83 88

Promotion Opportunities 85 92 79 83 113 92 68 80

Variable Pay/Bonus 80 111 77 65 86 123 56 75

EXHIBIT 8-2 Key Employee Engagement Factors

coworkers. In addition, companies with highly engaged employees have higher retention
rates, which help keep recruiting and training costs low. And both of these outcomes—
higher performance and lower costs—contribute to superior financial performance.11

Do an Individual’s Attitude and Behavior Need
to Be Consistent?
Did you ever notice how people change what they say so that it doesn’t contradict what they
do? Perhaps a friend of yours had consistently argued that American-manufactured cars
were poorly built and that he’d never own anything but a foreign import. Then his parents
gave him a late model American-made car, and suddenly they weren’t so bad. Or, when
going through sorority rush, a new freshman believes that sororities are good and that
pledging a sorority is important. If she’s not accepted by a sorority, however, she may say,
“I recognized that sorority life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, anyway.”

Research generally concludes that people seek consistency among their attitudes and
between their attitudes and their behavior.12 Individuals try to reconcile differing attitudes
and align their attitudes and behavior so that they appear rational and consistent. They do
so by altering either the attitudes or the behavior or by developing a rationalization for the
discrepancy.

cognitive component
The part of an attitude made up of the beliefs,
opinions, knowledge, and information held by a
person.

attitudes
Evaluative statements, either favorable or
unfavorable, concerning objects, people, or
events.

workplace misbehavior
Any intentional employee behavior that is
potentially harmful to the organization or
individuals within the organization.

employee engagement
When employees are connected to, satisfied
with, and enthusiastic about their jobs.

organizational commitment
An employee’s orientation toward the
organization in terms of his or her loyalty to,
identification with, and involvement in the
organization.

job involvement
The degree to which an employee identifies
with his or her job, actively participates in it,
and considers his or her job performance
important for self-worth.

behavioral component
The part of an attitude that refers to an
intention to behave in a certain way toward
someone or something.

affective component
The part of an attitude that’s the emotional or
feeling part.

Note: Scores near 100 are middle importance, scores below 100 are less important, scores above 100 are more important.
Source: Mercer; IndustryWeek, April 2008, p. 24.

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Cognitive dissonance refers to an
inconsistency between attitudes and
behaviors. For example, most people
may believe that they are safe drivers,
yet many may create potentially
unsafe road conditions by driving and
texting at the same time. To reduce the
dissonance, these drivers may either stop
their habit of driving and texting, or they
may rationalize that driving and texting
doesn’t really pose any threat to others’
safety, that they are in control of the
situation, or that everyone else is doing
the same thing.

218 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

What Is Cognitive Dissonance Theory?
Can we assume from this consistency principle that an individual’s behavior can always be
predicted if we know his or her attitude on a subject? The answer isn’t a simple “yes” or “no.”
Why? Cognitive dissonance theory.

Cognitive dissonance theory, proposed by Leon Festinger in the 1950s, sought to explain
the relationship between attitudes and behavior.13 Cognitive dissonance is any incompati-
bility or inconsistency between attitudes or between behavior and attitudes. The theory
argued that inconsistency is uncomfortable and that individuals will try to reduce the dis-
comfort and thus, the dissonance.

Of course, no one can avoid dissonance. You know you should floss your teeth every
day, but you don’t do it. There’s an inconsistency between attitude and behavior. How do peo-
ple cope with cognitive dissonance? The theory proposed that how hard we’ll try to reduce
dissonance is determined by three things: (1) the importance of the factors creating the dis-
sonance, (2) the degree of influence the individual believes he or she has over those factors,
and (3) the rewards that may be involved in dissonance.

If the factors creating the dissonance are relatively unimportant, the pressure to correct
the inconsistency will be low. However, if those factors are important, individuals may
change their behavior, conclude that the dissonant behavior isn’t so important, change their
attitude, or identify compatible factors that outweigh the dissonant ones.

How much influence individuals believe they have over the factors also affects their
reaction to the dissonance. If they perceive the dissonance is something about which
they have no choice, they won’t be receptive to attitude change or feel a need to do so.
If, for example, the dissonance-producing behavior was required as a result of a man-
ager’s order, the pressure to reduce dissonance would be less than if the behavior had
been performed voluntarily. Although dissonance exists, it can be rationalized and jus-
tif ied by the need to follow the manager’s orders—that is, the person had no choice or
control.

Finally, rewards also influence the degree to which individuals are motivated to reduce
dissonance. Coupling high dissonance with high rewards tends to reduce the discomfort by
motivating the individual to believe that there is consistency.

Let’s look at an example. If the factors creating dissonance are relatively unimportant,
the pressure to correct any imbalance would be low. However, say that a corporate man-
ager, Tracey Ford, believes strongly that no company should lay off employees. Unfortu-
nately, Tracey is placed in the position of having to make decisions that would trade off
her company’s strategic direction against her convictions on layoffs. She knows that,
because of restructuring in the company, some jobs may no longer be needed, and the lay-
offs are in the best economic interest of her firm. What will she do? Undoubtedly, Tracey

is experiencing a high degree of cognitive dissonance.
Because of the importance of the issues in this exam-
ple, we cannot expect her to ignore the inconsistency.
To deal with her dilemma, she can follow several steps.
She can change her behavior (lay off employees). Or
she can reduce dissonance by concluding that the dis-
sonant behavior is not so important after all (“I’ve got
to make a living, and in my role as a decision maker, I
often have to place the good of my company above that
of individual organizational members”). A third alter-
native would be for Tracey to change her attitude
(“There is nothing wrong in laying off employees”).
Still another choice would be to seek out more conso-
nant elements to outweigh the dissonant ones (“The
long-term benefits to the surviving employees from our
restructuring more than offset the costs associated with
the retrenchment effort”).

The degree of influence that individuals such as
Tracey Ford believe they have over the elements also will

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have an impact on how they react to the dissonance. If they perceive the dissonance to be
uncontrollable—something about which they have no choice—they are less likely to feel a
need for an attitude change. If, for example, the dissonance-producing behavior were
required by the boss’s directive, the pressure to reduce dissonance would be less than if the
behavior were performed voluntarily. Dissonance would exist, but it could be rationalized
and justified. This is why it’s so critical in today’s organizations for leaders to establish the
ethical culture. Without their influence and support, reducing dissonance toward ethical
behaviors is lessened.14 Rewards also influence the degree to which individuals are motivated
to reduce dissonance. High dissonance, when accompanied by high rewards, tends to reduce
the tension inherent in the dissonance. The reward reduces dissonance by adding to the con-
sistency side of the individual’s balance sheet.

These moderating factors suggest that although individuals experience dissonance, they
will not necessarily move directly toward consistency, that is, toward reducing the disso-
nance. If the issues underlying the dissonance are of minimal importance, if an individual
perceives that the dissonance is externally imposed and is substantially uncontrollable, or
if rewards are significant enough to offset the dissonance, the individual will not be under
great tension to reduce the dissonance.16

How Can an Understanding of Attitudes Help
Managers Be More Effective?
Managers should be interested in their employees’ attitudes because they influence
behavior. Satisfied and committed employees, for instance, have lower rates of turnover
and absenteeism. If managers want to keep resignations and absences down—especially
among their more productive employees—they’ll want to do things that generate posi-
tive job attitudes.

Whether satisf ied workers are productive workers is a debate that’s been going on
for almost 80 years. After the Hawthorne Studies, managers believed that happy work-
ers were productive workers. Since it’s not been easy to determine whether job satisfac-
tion “caused” job productivity or vice versa, some management researchers felt that
belief was generally wrong. However, we can say with some certainty that the correla-
tion between satisfaction and productivity is fairly strong.17 Satisf ied employees do per-
form better on the job. So managers should focus on those factors that have been shown
to be conducive to high levels of employee job satisfaction: making work challenging
and interesting, providing equitable rewards, and creating supportive working condi-
tions and supportive colleagues.18 These factors are likely to help employees be more
productive.

Managers should also survey employees about their attitudes. As one study put it,
“A sound measurement of overall job attitude is one of the most useful pieces of informa-
tion an organization can have about its employees.”19

Finally, managers should know that employees will try to reduce dissonance. If
employees are required to do things that appear inconsistent to them or that are at odds
with their attitudes, managers should remember that pressure to reduce the dissonance
is not as strong when the employee perceives that the dissonance is externally imposed
and uncontrollable. It’s also decreased if rewards are significant enough to offset the dis-
sonance. So the manager might point to external forces such as competitors, customers,
or other factors when explaining the need to perform some work that the individual may
have some dissonance about. Or the manager can provide rewards that an individual
desires.

percent of companies con-
duct employee surveys.

percent of companies that
do conduct employee sur-
veys fail to implement any

changes the survey suggests might be
necessary.

percent of baby boomers
report little or no interac-
tion with their Gen Y work

colleagues.

percent of managers and
employees say they have
decreased their work efforts

in response to rudeness at work.

percent have decreased their
time at work in response to
rudeness at work.

percent of workers polled
say they’re satisfied with
their job and the work

they do.

percent of Fortune 100
companies use the MBTI®

instrument in hiring and
promoting.

cognitive dissonance
Any incompatibility or inconsistency between
attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.

44
46

47
90

89
percent of employees say
they feel disconnected
from their employers.40

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8.3
Describe
different
personality
theories.

220 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

What Do Managers Need to Know
About Personality?
“Let’s face it, dating is a drag. There was a time when we thought the com-
puter was going to make it all better . . . But most of us learned the hard
way that finding someone who shares our love of film noir and obscure
garage bands does not a perfect match make.”20 Using in-depth personality

assessment and profiling, Chemistry.com is trying to do something about
making the whole dating process better.
Personality. We all have one. Some of us are quiet and passive; others are loud

and aggressive. When we describe people using terms such as quiet, passive, loud, aggres-
sive, ambitious, extroverted, loyal, tense, or sociable, we’re describing their personalities. An
individual’s personality is a unique combination of emotional, thought, and behavioral pat-
terns that affect how a person reacts to situations and interacts with others. Personality is
most often described in terms of measurable traits that a person exhibits. We’re interested
in looking at personality because just like attitudes, it too affects how and why people behave
the way they do.

Can Personality Predict Behavior?
Literally dozens of traits are attributed to an individual’s behavior. So too are personality
types as they show how people interact with one another and how they solve problems.
Through the years, researchers attempted to focus specifically on which personality types
and personality traits would identify information about the individual. Two of these efforts
have been widely recognized—the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and the Big Five model of
personality.

WHAT IS THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR? One of the more widely used methods
of identifying personalities is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®). The MBTI® assess-
ment uses four dichotomies of personality to identify 16 different personality types based
on the responses to an approximately 100-item questionnaire. More than 2 million individ-
uals take the MBTI® assessment each year in the United States alone. It’s used in such
companies as Apple, Honda, AT&T, Exxon, 3M, as well as many hospitals, educational
institutions, and the U.S. Armed Forces.

The 16 personality types are based on the four dichotomies shown in Exhibit 8-3. That
is, the MBTI® assessment dichotomies include Extraversion versus Introversion (EI), Sens-
ing versus Intuition (SN), Thinking versus Feeling (TF), and Judging versus Perceiving (JP).
The EI scale describes an individual’s orientation toward the external world of the environ-
ment (E) or the inner world of ideas and experiences (I). The Sensing–Intuition scale indi-
cates an individual’s preference for gathering data while focusing on a standard routine
based on factual data (S) to focusing on the big picture and making connections among the
facts (N). Thinking–Feeling reflects one’s preference for making decisions in a logical and
analytical manner (T) or on the basis of values and beliefs and the effects the decision will
have on others (F). The Judging–Perceiving scale reflects an attitude toward how one deals
with the external world—either in a planned and orderly way (J) or preferring to remain
flexible and spontaneous (P).21

How could the MBTI® assessment help managers? Proponents of the instrument believe
that it’s important to know these personality types because they influence the way people
interact and solve problems.22 For example, if your boss is an Intuition type and you’re a
Sensing type, you’ll deal with information in different ways. An Intuition preference indi-
cates your boss is one who prefers gut reactions, whereas you, as a Sensing type, prefer to
deal with the facts. To work well with your boss, you have to present more than just facts
about a situation—you’ll also have to discuss your gut feeling about the situation. The
MBTI® assessment has also been found to be useful in focusing on growth orientations for
entrepreneurial types as well as profiles supporting emotional intelligence (something we’ll
look at shortly).23

C H A P T E R 8 | F O U N D AT I O N S O F I N D I V I D U A L B E H AV I O R 221

SENSING TYPES S

THINKING T FEELING F

INTUITIVE TYPES N

FEELING F THINKING T

IN
T

R
O

V
E

R
T

J
U

D
G

IN
G

P
E

R
C

E
IV

IN
G

E
X

T
R

O
V

E
R

T
S

P
E
R
C
E
IV
IN
G

P
J
U
D
G
IN
G

ISTJ Quiet, serious,
dependable, practical,
matter-of-fact. Value
traditions and loyalty.

ISFJ Quiet, friendly,
responsible, thorough,
considerate. Strive to
create order and
harmony.

INFJ Seek meaning and
connection in ideas.
Committed to firm
values. Organized and
decisive in implementing
vision.

INTJ Have original
minds and great drive for
their ideas. Skeptical and
independent. Have high
standards of competence
for self and others.

ISTP Tolerant and
flexible. Interested in
cause and effect. Value
efficiency.

ISFP Quiet, friendly,
sensitive. Like own
space. Dislike
disagreements and
conflicts.

INFP Idealistic, loyal to
their values. Seek to
understand people and
help them fulfill their
potential.

INTP Seek logical
explanations. Theoretical
and abstract over social
interactions. Skeptical,
sometimes critical.
Analytical.

ESTP Flexible and
tolerant. Focus on here
and now. Enjoy material
comforts. Learn best by
doing.

ESFP Outgoing, friendly.
Enjoy working with
others. Spontaneous.
Learn best by trying a
new skill with other
people.

ENFP Enthusiastic,
imaginative. Want a lot
of affirmation. Rely on
verbal fluency and
ability to improvise.

ENTP Quick, ingenious,
stimulating. Adept at
generating conceptual
possibilities and analyzing
them strategically. Bored
by routine.

ESTJ Practical, realistic,
matter-of-fact, decisive.
Focus on getting
efficient results.
Forceful in
implementing plans.

ESFJ Warmhearted,
cooperative. Want to be
appreciated for who
they are and for what
they contribute.

ENFJ Warm, responsive,
responsible. Attuned to
needs of others.
Sociable, facilitate
others, provide
inspirational leadership.

ENTJ Frank, decisive,
assume leadership.
Enjoy long-term
planning and goal
setting. Forceful in
presenting ideas.

EXHIBIT 8-3 Examples of MBTI® Types

Source: Further information is available at www.cpp.com where you will find the full range of Introduction to Type® titles along with other products that allow you
to expand your knowledge and applications of your MBTI® type. Modified and reproduced by special permission of the Publisher, CPP, Inc., Mountain View, CA
94043, from Introduction to Type®, Sixth Edition by Isabel Briggs Myers. Copyright 1998 by Peter B. Myers and Katharine D. Myers. All rights reserved. Further
reproduction is prohibited without the Publisher’s written consent.

WHAT IS THE BIG FIVE MODEL OF PERSONALITY? Another way of viewing personality is
through a five-factor model of personality—more typically called the Big Five model.24

The Big Five factors are:

1. Extraversion A personality dimension that describes the degree to which someone is
sociable, talkative, and assertive.

2. Agreeableness A personality dimension that describes the degree to which someone
is good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.

3. Conscientiousness A personality dimension that describes the degree to which
someone is responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented.

4. Emotional stability A personality dimension that describes the degree to which
someone is calm, enthusiastic, and secure (positive) or tense, nervous, depressed, and
insecure (negative).

5. Openness to experience A personality dimension that describes the degree to which
someone is imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)
A personality assessment that uses four
dichotomies of personality to identify different
personality types.

personality
A unique combination of emotional, thought,
and behavioral patterns that affect how a
person reacts to situations and interacts with
others.

Big Five model
A personality trait model that examines five
traits: extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, emotional stability, and
openness to experience.IS

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The Big Five model provides more than just a personality framework. Research has shown
that important relationships exist between these personality dimensions and job performance.25

For example, one study reviewed five categories of occupations: professionals (e.g., engineers,
architects, attorneys), police, managers, sales, and semiskilled and skilled employees.26 Job per-
formance was defined in terms of employee performance ratings, training competency, and
personnel data such as salary level. The results of the study showed that conscientiousness
predicted job performance for all five occupational groups.27 Predictions for the other person-
ality dimensions depended on the situation and the occupational group. For example, extra-
version predicted performance in managerial and sales positions, in which high social
interaction is necessary.28 Openness to experience was found to be important in predicting
training competency. Ironically, emotional security was not positively related to job perform-
ance. Although it would seem logical that calm and secure workers would be better perform-
ers, that wasn’t the case. Perhaps it’s a function of the likelihood that emotionally stable workers
often keep their jobs and emotionally unstable people may not. Given that all those participat-
ing in the study were employed, the variance on that dimension was probably small.

WHAT IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE? People who understand their own emotions and are
good at reading others’ emotions may be more effective in their jobs. That, in essence, is
the theme of the underlying research on emotional intelligence.29

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an assortment of noncognitive skills, capabilities,
and competencies that influences a person’s ability to cope with environmental demands
and pressures.30 It’s composed of five dimensions:

� Self-awareness. Being aware of what you’re feeling.
� Self-management. The ability to manage your own emotions and impulses.
� Self-motivation. The ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures.
� Empathy. The ability to sense how others are feeling.
� Social skills. The ability to handle the emotions of others.

Several studies suggest that EI may play an important role
in job performance.31 For instance, one study looked at the
characteristics of Bell Lab engineers who were rated as stars by
their peers. The scientists concluded that these stars were
better at relating to others. That is, it was EI, not academic IQ,
that characterized high performers. A second study of Air
Force recruiters generated similar f indings: Top-performing
recruiters exhibited high levels of EI. Using these findings, the
Air Force revamped its selection criteria. A follow-up investi-
gation found that future hires who had high EI scores were 2.6
times more successful than those with low scores. Organiza-
tions such as American Express have found that implementing
emotional intelligence programs has helped increase its effec-
tiveness; other organizations also found similar results that
emotional intelligence contributes to team effectiveness.33 For
instance, at Cooperative Printing in Minneapolis, a study of its
45 employees concluded that EI skills were twice as important
in “contributing to excellence as intellect and expertise
alone.”34 A poll of human resources managers asked this ques-
tion: How important is it for your workers to demonstrate EI to
move up the corporate ladder? Forty percent of the managers
replied “very important.” Another 16 percent said moderately
important. Other studies also indicated that emotional intelli-
gence can be beneficial to quality improvements in contempo-
rary organizations.35

The implications from the initial EI evidence is that employ-
ers should consider emotional intelligence as a criterion in their
selection process—especially for those jobs that demand a high
degree of social interaction.36

Right orWrong?

It‘s been called the “desperation hustle.”32 Employees who are “anxious

about layoffs want to look irreplaceable.” So they clean up their act.Those

who might not have paid much attention to their manner of dress now do.

Those who were mouthy and argumentative are now quiet and compli-

ant. Those who used to “watch the clock” are now the last to leave. The

fear is there and it’s noticeable.“Managing that fear can be challenging.”

What ethical issues might arise for both employees and for managers?

How could managers approach these circumstances ethically?

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Can Personality Traits Predict Practical Work-Related
Behaviors?
Five specific personality traits have proven most powerful in explaining individual behavior
in organizations. These are locus of control, Machiavellianism, self-esteem, self-monitoring,
and risk propensity.

Who controls an individual’s behavior? Some people believe that they control their own
fate. Others see themselves as pawns of fate, believing that what happens to them in their
lives is due to luck or chance. The locus of control in the first case is internal. In the sec-
ond case, it’s external; these people believe that their lives are controlled by outside forces.37

A manager might also expect to find that externals blame a poor performance evaluation on
their boss’s prejudice, their coworkers, or other events outside their control, whereas “inter-
nals” explain the same evaluation in terms of their own actions.

The second characteristic is called Machiavellianism (“Mach”) after Niccolo Machi-
avelli, who provided instruction in the sixteenth century on how to gain and manipulate power.
An individual who is high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance,
believes that ends can justify means,38 and is found to have beliefs that are less ethical.39 The
philosophy “if it works, use it” is consistent with a high Mach perspective. Do high Machs
make good employees? That answer depends on the type of job and whether you consider eth-
ical implications in evaluating performance. In jobs that require bargaining skills (a labor
negotiator) or that have substantial rewards for winning (a commissioned salesperson), high
Machs are productive. In jobs in which ends do not justify the means or that lack absolute
standards of performance, it’s difficult to predict the performance of high Machs.

People differ in the degree to which they like or dislike themselves. This trait is called self-
esteem (SE).40 The research on SE offers some interesting insights into organizational behav-
ior. For example, SE is directly related to expectations for success. High SEs believe that they
possess the ability to succeed at work. Individuals with high SE will take more risks in job selec-
tion and are more likely to choose unconventional jobs than are people with low SE.41 The most
common finding on self-esteem is that low SEs are more susceptible to external influence than
are high SEs. Low SEs are dependent on positive evaluations from others. As a result, they’re
more likely to seek approval from others and more prone to conform to the beliefs and behav-
iors of those they respect than are high SEs. In managerial positions, low SEs will tend to be con-
cerned with pleasing others and, therefore, will be less likely to take unpopular stands than will
high SEs. Not surprisingly, self-esteem has also been found to be related to job satisfaction.
A number of studies confirm that high SEs are more satisfied with their jobs than are low SEs.

Another personality trait researchers have identified is called self-monitoring.42 Individ-
uals high in self-monitoring can show considerable adaptability in adjusting their behavior
to external, situational factors.43 They’re highly sensitive to external cues and can behave
differently in different situations. High self-monitors are capable of presenting striking con-
tradictions between their public persona and their private selves. Low self-monitors can’t
alter their behavior. They tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situ-
ation; hence, they exhibit high behavioral consistency between who they are and what they
do. Evidence suggests that high self-monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behavior of
others and are more capable of conforming than are low self-monitors.44 We might also
hypothesize that high self-monitors will be more successful in managerial positions that
require individuals to play multiple, and even contradicting, roles.

The final personality trait influencing worker behavior reflects the willingness to take
chances—the propensity for risk taking. A preference to assume or avoid risk has been
shown to have an impact on how long it takes individuals to make a decision and how much

emotional intelligence (EI)
The ability to notice and to manage emotional
cues and information.

locus of control
The degree to which people believe they
control their own fate.

self-esteem (SE)
An individual’s degree of like or dislike for
himself or herself.

Machiavellianism (“Mach”)
A measure of the degree to which people are
pragmatic, maintain emotional distance, and
believe that ends justify means.

self-monitoring
A personality trait that measures the ability to
adjust behavior to external situational factors.

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TYPE CHARACTERISTICS PERSONALITY SAMPLE OCCUPATIONS

Realistic Prefers physical activities Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, Mechanic, drill-press operator, assembly-line
that require skill, strength, and conforming, practical worker, farmer
coordination

Investigative Prefers activities Analytical, original, curious, Biologist, economist, mathematician, reporter
involving thinking, organizing, independent
and understanding

Social Prefers activities that involve Sociable, friendly, cooperative, Social worker, teacher, counselor, clinical
helping and developing others understanding psychologist

Conventional Prefers rule-regulated, Conforming, efficient, practical, Accountant, corporate manager, bank
orderly, and unambiguous activities unimaginative, inflexible teller, file clerk

Enterprising Prefers verbal activities Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, Lawyer, real estate agent, public
where there are opportunities to domineering relations specialist, small business manager
influence others and attain power

Artistic Prefers ambiguous and Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, Painter, musician, writer, interior
unsystematic activities that allow emotional, impractical decorator
creative expression

Source: Reproduced by special permission of the publisher, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., Making Vocational Choices, 3rd ed., copyright 1973, 1985,
1992, 1997 by Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. All rights reserved.

EXHIBIT 8-4 Holland’s Personality-Job Fit

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information they require before making their choice. For instance, in one classic study,
79 managers worked on a simulated human resource management exercise that required
them to make hiring decisions.45 High risk-taking managers made more rapid decisions and
used less information in making their choices than did the low risk-taking managers. Inter-
estingly, the decision accuracy was the same for both groups.

Although it’s generally correct to conclude that managers in organizations are risk averse,
especially in large companies and government bureaus,46 individual differences are still found
on this dimension.47 As a result, it makes sense to recognize these differences and even to
consider aligning risk-taking propensity with specific job demands. For instance, a high risk-
taking propensity may lead to effective performance for a stock trader in a brokerage firm since
this type of job demands rapid decision making. The same holds true for the entrepreneur.48 On
the other hand, this personality characteristic might prove a major obstacle to accountants perform-
ing auditing activities, which might be better done by someone with a low risk-taking propensity.

How Do We Match Personalities and Jobs?
Obviously, individual personalities differ. So, too, do jobs. How do we match the two? The
best-documented personality-job fit theory was developed by psychologist John Holland.49

His theory states that an employee’s satisfaction with his or her job, as well as his or her like-
lihood of leaving that job, depends on the degree to which the individual’s personality matches
the job environment. Holland identified six basic personality types as shown in Exhibit 8-4.

Holland’s theory proposes that satisfaction is highest and turnover lowest when per-
sonality and occupation are compatible.50 Social individuals should be in “people” type
jobs, and so forth. The key points of this theory are that (1) there do appear to be intrinsic
differences in personality among individuals; (2) there are different types of jobs; and
(3) people in job environments compatible with their personality types should be more sat-
isfied and less likely to resign voluntarily than should people in incongruent jobs.

Do Personality Attributes Differ Across Cultures?
Do personality frameworks, like the Big Five model, transfer across cultures? Are dimen-
sions like locus of control relevant in all cultures? Let’s try to answer these questions.

The five personality factors studied in the Big Five model appear in almost all cross-cultural
studies.51 This includes a wide variety of diverse cultures such as China, Israel, Germany, Japan,

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Spain, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, and the United States. Differences are found in the emphasis
on dimensions. Chinese, for example, use the category of conscientiousness more often and use
the category of agreeableness less often than do Americans. But there is a surprisingly high
amount of agreement, especially among individuals from developed countries. As a case in point,
a comprehensive review of studies covering people from the European Community found that
conscientiousness was a valid predictor of performance across jobs and occupational groups.52

This is exactly what U.S. studies have found.
We know that there are certainly no common personality types for a given country. You can,

for instance, find high risk takers and low risk takers in almost any culture. Yet a country’s
culture influences the dominant personality characteristics of its people. We can see this effect
of national culture by looking at one of the personality traits we just discussed: locus of control.

National cultures differ in terms of the degree to which people believe they control
their environment. For instance, North Americans believe that they can dominate their
environment; other societies, such as those in Middle Eastern countries, believe that life is
essentially predetermined. Notice how closely this distinction parallels the concept of inter-
nal and external locus of control. On the basis of this particular cultural characteristic, we
should expect a larger proportion of internals in the U.S. and Canadian workforces than in
the workforces of Saudi Arabia or Iran.

As we have seen throughout this section, personality traits influence employees’
behavior. For global managers, understanding how personality traits differ takes on added
significance when looking at it from the perspective of national culture.

How Can an Understanding of Personality Help
Managers Be More Effective?
Over 62 percent of companies are using personality tests when recruiting and hiring.53 And
that’s where the major value in understanding personality differences probably lies. Managers
are likely to have higher-performing and more-satisfied employees if consideration is given
to matching personalities with jobs. In addition, compatibility leads to other benefits. By
recognizing that people approach problem solving, decision making, and job interactions dif-
ferently, a manager can better understand why, for instance, an employee is uncomfortable
with making quick decisions or why an employee insists on gathering as much information as
possible before addressing a problem. Or, for instance, managers can expect that individuals
with an external locus of control may be less satisfied with their jobs than those with an inter-
nal locus and also that they may be less willing to accept responsibility for their actions.

Matching personality types to
compatible jobs leads to more satisfied
employees. According to Holland’s
personality job-fit theory, people with
a “social” preference like activities
that involve helping and developing
others. Teachers and aides at the early
childhood learning center shown here
understand the physical and emotional
needs of their energetic three-year-old
students. They enjoy leading the
youngsters in recreational activities
that develop the kids’ physical skills
and in exploratory and educational
procedures that stimulate and develop
their mental abilities.IS

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Describe
perception
and the
factors that
influence it.
8.4

Old woman or young woman? Two faces or an urn? A knight on a horse?

EXHIBIT 8-5 Perceptual Challenges—What Do You See?

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What Is Perception and What Influences It?
Perception is a process by which we give meaning to our environment by
organizing and interpreting sensory impressions. Research on perception
consistently demonstrates that individuals may look at the same thing yet
perceive it differently. One manager, for instance, can interpret the fact
that her assistant regularly takes several days to make important decisions

as evidence that the assistant is slow, disorganized, and afraid to make
decisions. Another manager with the same assistant might interpret the same

tendency as evidence that the assistant is thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate.
The f irst manager would probably evaluate her assistant negatively; the second

manager would probably evaluate the person positively. The point is that none of us sees
reality. We interpret what we see and call it reality. And, of course, as the example shows,
we behave according to our perceptions.

What Influences Perception?
How do we explain the fact that Cathy, a marketing supervisor for a large commercial petro-
leum products organization, age 52, noticed Bill’s nose ring during his employment interview,
and Sean, a human resources recruiter, age 23, didn’t? A number of factors operate to shape
and sometimes distort perception. These factors can reside in the perceiver, in the object or tar-
get being perceived, or in the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she sees, that
individual’s personal characteristics will heavily influence the interpretation. These personal
characteristics include attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expec-
tations. The characteristics of the target being observed can also affect what is perceived. Loud
people are more likely than quiet people to be noticed in a group. So, too, are extremely attrac-
tive or unattractive individuals. Because targets are not looked at in isolation, the relationship
of a target to its background also influences perception (see Exhibit 8-5 for an example), as
does our tendency to group close things and similar things together.

The context in which we see objects or events is also important. The time at which an
object or event is seen can influence attention, as can location, lighting, temperature, and any
number of other situational factors.

How Do Managers Judge Employees?
Much of the research on perception is directed at inanimate objects. Managers, though,
are more concerned with human beings. Our perceptions of people differ from our per-
ceptions of such inanimate objects as computers, robots, or buildings because we make
inferences about the actions of people that we don’t, of course, make about inanimate
objects. When we observe people, we attempt to develop explanations of why they behave

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in certain ways. Our perception and judgment of a person’s actions, therefore, will be sig-
nificantly influenced by the assumptions we make about the person’s internal state. Many
of these assumptions have led researchers to develop attribution theory.

WHAT IS ATTRIBUTION THEORY? Attribution theory has been proposed to explain how we
judge people differently depending on what meaning we attribute to a given behavior.54

Basically, the theory suggests that when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to
determine whether it was internally or externally caused. Internally caused behavior is believed
to be under the control of the individual. Externally caused behavior results from outside causes;
that is, the person is seen as having been forced into the behavior by the situation. That deter-
mination, however, depends on three factors: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays a behavior in many situations
or whether it is particular to one situation. Is the employee who arrived late to work today
also the person coworkers see as a goof-off? What we want to know is whether this behav-
ior is unusual. If it is, the observer is likely to give the behavior an external attribution. If
this action is not unique, it will probably be judged as internal.

If everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the
behavior shows consensus. Our tardy employee’s behavior would meet this criterion if all
employees who took the same route to work today were also late. If consensus is high, you
would be expected to give an external attribution to the employee’s tardiness, whereas if other
employees who took the same route made it to work on time, you would conclude the reason
to be internal.

Finally, a manager looks for consistency in an employee’s actions. Does the individual
engage in the behaviors regularly and consistently? Does the employee respond the same
way over time? Coming in 10 minutes late for work is not perceived in the same way if, for
one employee, it represents an unusual case (she hasn’t been late for several months), but
for another it is part of a routine pattern (he is late two or three times a week). The more con-
sistent the behavior, the more the observer is inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

Exhibit 8-6 summarizes the key elements in attribution theory. It would tell us, for
instance, that if an employee, Mr. Flynn, generally performs at about the same level on other
related tasks as he does on his current task (low distinctiveness), if other employees fre-
quently perform differently—better or worse—than Mr. Flynn does on that current task (low
consensus), and if Mr. Flynn’s performance on this current task is consistent over time (high
consistency), his manager or anyone else who is judging Mr. Flynn’s work is likely to hold
him primarily responsible for his task performance (internal attribution).

CAN ATTRIBUTIONS BE DISTORTED? One of the more interesting findings drawn from
attribution theory is that errors or biases distort attributions. For instance, substantial evi-
dence supports the hypothesis that when we make judgments about the behavior of other
people, we have a tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overesti-
mate the influence of internal or personal factors.55 This fundamental attribution error can
explain why a sales manager may be prone to attribute the poor performance of her sales
agents to laziness rather than to the innovative product line introduced by a competitor.
Individuals also tend to attribute their own successes to internal factors such as ability or
effort while putting the blame for failure on external factors such as luck. This self-serving
bias suggests that feedback provided to employees in performance reviews will be pre-
dictably distorted by them, whether it is positive or negative.

perception
A process by which we give meaning to our
environment by organizing and interpreting
sensory impressions.

attribution theory
A theory used to explain how we judge people
differently, based on what meaning we
attribute to a given behavior.

self-serving bias
The tendency for individuals to attribute their
successes to internal factors while putting the
blame for failures on external factors.

fundamental attribution error
The tendency to underestimate the influence of
external factors and overestimate the influence
of internal factors when making judgments
about the behavior of others.

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MANAGING DIVERSITY | All About Shortcuts

Perceiving and interpreting people’s behavior is a lot of
work, so we use shortcuts to make the task more manage-
able.56 Perceptual shortcuts can be valuable as they let us
make accurate perceptions quickly and provide valid data
for making predictions. However, they aren’t perfect. They
can and do get us into trouble. (See Exhibit 8-7 for a
summary description of the perceptual shortcuts.)

Individuals can’t assimilate all they observe, so
they’re selective in their perception. They absorb bits and
pieces. These bits and pieces are not chosen randomly;
rather, they’re selectively chosen depending on the inter-
ests, background, experience, and attitudes of the
observer. Selective perception allows us to “speed
read” others but not without the risk of drawing an inac-
curate picture.

It’s easy to judge others if we assume that they’re similar
to us. In assumed similarity, or the “like me” effect, the
observer’s perception of others is influenced more by the
observer’s own characteristics than by those of the person
observed. For example, if you want challenges and respon-
sibility in your job, you’ll assume that others want the same.
People who assume that others are like them can, of
course, be right, but not always.

When we judge someone on the basis of our percep-
tion of a group he or she is part of, we’re using the shortcut
called stereotyping. For instance, “Married people are
more stable employees than single persons” or “Older
employees are absent more often from work” are examples
of stereotyping. To the degree that a stereotype is based
on fact, it may produce accurate judgments. However,
many stereotypes aren’t factual and distort our judgment.

When we form a general impression about a person on
the basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence,
sociability, or appearance, we’re being influenced by the
halo effect. This effect frequently occurs when students eval-
uate their classroom instructor. Students may isolate a single
trait such as enthusiasm and allow their entire evaluation to
be slanted by the perception of this one trait. An instructor
may be quiet, assured, knowledgeable, and highly qualified,
but if his classroom teaching style lacks enthusiasm, he might
be rated lower on a number of other characteristics.

When dealing with a diverse workforce, managers
(and others) first have to be aware of when they’re using
a perceptual shortcut. And secondly, they have to ensure
that the shortcut isn’t distorting what they’re perceiving
and thus believing about an individual or a situation.

Individual
behavior

Distinctiveness

Consensus

Consistency

External

Internal

External
Internal
Internal
External

Observation Interpretation
Attribution
of Cause

High

Low

High
Low
High
Low

EXHIBIT 8-6 Attribution Theory

All of us, managers included, use a number of shortcuts to judge others. These short-
cuts can be particularly critical with diverse workforces. See the “Managing Diversity” box
for more information.

How Can an Understanding of Perception Help
Managers Be More Effective?
Managers need to recognize that their employees react to perceptions, not to reality. So whether
a manager’s appraisal of an employee’s performance is actually objective and unbiased or
whether the organization’s wage levels are among the highest in the community is less relevant

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SHORTCUT WHAT IT IS DISTORTION

Selectivity People assimilate certain bits and pieces “Speed reading” others may result in an
of what they observe depending on their inaccurate picture of them
interests, background, experience, and attitudes

Assumed similarity People assume that others are like them May fail to take into account individual differences,
resulting in incorrect similarities

Stereotyping People judge others on the basis of their May result in distorted judgments because
perception of a group to which the others belong many stereotypes have no factual foundation

Halo effect People form an impression of others on the Fails to take into account the total picture
basis of a single trait of what an individual has done

EXHIBIT 8-7 Perceptual Shortcuts

operant conditioning
A theory of learning that says behavior is a
function of its consequences.

learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior that
occurs as a result of experience.

Discuss
learning
theories
and their
relevance in
shaping
behavior.
8.5

than what employees perceive them to be. If individuals perceive appraisals to be biased or
wage levels as low, they’ll behave as if those conditions actually exist. Employees organize and
interpret what they see, so there is always the potential for perceptual distortion. The message
is clear: Pay close attention to how employees perceive both their jobs and management actions.
Remember, the valuable employee who quits because of an inaccurate perception is just as
great a loss to an organization as the valuable employee who quits for a valid reason.

How Do Learning Theories Explain
Behavior?
The last individual behavior concept we’re going to look at is learning. It’s
included for the obvious reason that almost all behavior is learned. If we
want to explain, predict, and influence behavior, we need to understand
how people learn.

The psychologists’ definition of learning is considerably broader than
the average person’s view that “it’s what we do in school.” Learning occurs all
the time as we continuously learn from our experiences. A workable definition of
learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.
Two learning theories help us understand how and why individual behavior occurs.

What Is Operant Conditioning?
Operant conditioning argues that behavior is a function of its consequences. People learn
to behave to get something they want or to avoid something they don’t want. Operant behav-
ior is voluntary or learned behavior, not reflexive or unlearned behavior. The tendency to
repeat learned behavior is influenced by reinforcement or lack of reinforcement that hap-
pens as a result of the behavior. Reinforcement strengthens a behavior and increases the
likelihood that it will be repeated. Lack of reinforcement weakens a behavior and lessens the
likelihood that it will be repeated.

selective perception
The tendency for people to only absorb parts of
what they observe, allowing them to “speed
read” others.

assumed similarity
An observer’s perception of others is influenced
more by the observer’s own characteristics
than by those of the person observed.

stereotyping
When we judge someone on the basis of our
perception of a group he or she is part of.

halo effect
When we form a general impression of a person
on the basis of a single characteristic.

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From the Past to the Present• •
Why does hearing Christmas carols evoke pleasant memories
of childhood?57 Classical conditioning theory would say it’s
because the songs are associated with a festive holiday spirit
and make us remember all the fun and excitement. Classical
conditioning can also explain why a scheduled visit by the
“top brass” brings flurried activities of cleaning, straightening,
and rearranging at a local outlet of a major retail company.
However, classical conditioning is a passive theory. Something
happens, and we react in a specific way. As such, it can
explain simple reflexive behavior. But most behavior by people
at work is voluntary rather than reflexive; that is, employees
choose to arrive at work on time, ask their boss for help with
some problem, or “goof off” when no one is watching. A bet-
ter explanation for behavior is operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning says that people behave the way
they do so they can get something they want or avoid some-
thing they don’t want. It’s voluntary or learned behavior, not
reflexive or unlearned behavior. And Harvard psychologist

B. F. Skinner first identified the process of operant condition-
ing. He argued that creating pleasing consequences to follow
specific forms of behavior would increase the frequency of
that behavior. Skinner demonstrated that people will most
likely engage in desired behaviors if they’re positively rein-
forced for doing so; that rewards are most effective if they
immediately follow the desired response (behavior); and that
behavior that is not rewarded or is punished is less likely to be
repeated. For example, a professor places a mark by a stu-
dent’s name each time the student makes a contribution to
class discussions. Operant conditioning would argue that this
practice is motivating because it conditions a student to
expect a reward (earning class credit) each time she demon-
strates a specific behavior (speaking up in class). Operant
conditioning can be seen in work settings as well. And smart
managers quickly recognize that they can use operant con-
ditioning to shape employees’ behaviors to get work done in
the most effective and efficient manner possible.

B. F. Skinner’s research widely expanded our knowledge of operant conditioning.58

Behavior is assumed to be determined from without—that is, learned—rather than from
within—reflexive or unlearned. Skinner argued that people will most likely engage in
desired behaviors if they are positively reinforced for doing so, and rewards are most effec-
tive if they immediately follow the desired response. In addition, behavior that isn’t rewarded
or is punished, is less likely to be repeated. (For more information about Skinner’s contri-
butions, see the “From the Past to the Present” box.)

You see examples of operant conditioning everywhere. Any situation in which it’s either
explicitly stated or implicitly suggested that reinforcement (rewards) is contingent on some
action on your part is an example of operant conditioning. Your instructor says that if you
want a high grade in this course, you must perform well on tests by giving correct answers.
A salesperson working on commission knows that earning a sizable income is contingent
upon generating high sales in his or her territory. Of course, the linkage between behavior
and reinforcement can also work to teach the individual to behave in ways that work against
the best interests of the organization. Assume that your boss tells you that if you’ll work
overtime during the next three-week busy season, you’ll be compensated for it at the next
performance appraisal. Then, when performance appraisal time comes, you are given no
positive reinforcements (such as being praised for pitching in and helping out when needed).
What will you do the next time your boss asks you to work overtime? You’ll probably refuse.
Your behavior can be explained by operant conditioning: If a behavior isn’t positively rein-
forced, the probability that the behavior will be repeated declines.

What Is Social Learning Theory?
Some 60 percent of the Radio City Rockettes have danced in prior seasons. The veterans help
newcomers with “Rockette style”—where to place their hands, how to hold their hands,
how to keep up stamina, and so forth.59

As the Rockettes are well aware, individuals can also learn by observing what happens
to other people and just by being told about something as well as by direct experiences.
Much of what we have learned comes from watching others (models)—parents, teachers,
peers, television and movie actors, managers, and so forth. This view that we can learn both
through observation and direct experience is called social learning theory.60

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The influence of others is central to the social learning viewpoint. The amount of influ-
ence that these models have on an individual is determined by four processes:

1. Attentional processes. People learn
from a model when they recognize and
pay attention to its critical features.
We’re most influenced by models
who are attractive, repeatedly
available, thought to be impor-
tant, or seen as similar to us.

2. Retention processes. A model’s
influence will depend on how well
the individual remembers the model’s
action, even after the model is no
longer readily available.

3. Motor reproduction
processes. After a person
has seen a new behavior by
observing the model, the
watching must become
doing. This process then
demonstrates that the indi-
vidual can actually do the
modeled activities.

4. Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior
if positive incentives or rewards are provided. Behaviors that are reinforced will be
given more attention, learned better, and performed more often.

How Can Managers Shape Behavior?
Managers should be concerned with how they can teach employees to behave in ways that
most benefit the organization.61 Thus, managers will often attempt to mold individuals by
guiding their learning in graduated steps. This process is called shaping behavior (see the
“Developing Your Shaping Behavior Skill” box).

Consider the situation in which an employee’s behavior is significantly different from
that desired by management. If management reinforced the individual only when he or she
showed desirable responses, little reinforcement might happen at all.

We shape behavior by systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves the indi-
vidual closer to the desired response. If an employee who has continually been 30 minutes late
for work arrives only 20 minutes late, we can reinforce this improvement. Reinforcement
would increase as responses more closely approximate the desired behavior.

Four ways can be used to shape behavior: positive reinforcement, negative reinforce-
ment, punishment, or extinction. When a response is followed with something pleasant,
such as when a manager praises an employee for a job well done, it’s called positive rein-
forcement. Rewarding a response with the termination or withdrawal of something pleasant
is called negative reinforcement. Managers who habitually criticize their employees for tak-
ing extended coffee breaks are using negative reinforcement. The only way these employ-
ees can stop the criticism is to shorten their breaks. Punishment penalizes undesirable
behavior. Suspending an employee for two days without pay for showing up drunk is an
example of punishment. Eliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behavior is
called extinction. When a behavior isn’t reinforced, it gradually disappears. Managers who
wish to discourage employees from continually asking distracting or irrelevant questions in

social learning theory
A theory of learning that says people can learn
through observation and direct experience.

shaping behavior
The process of guiding learning in graduated
steps, using reinforcement or lack of
reinforcement.

We see the application of social learning
theory at the major league baseball
teams’ spring training sessions. In this
photo, three talented younger pitchers
early in their major league careers
carefully watch the moves and
techniques of veteran pitcher Randy
Johnson as he throws from the mound
during the San Francisco Giants’ spring
training in Scottsdale, Arizona. Watching
the work of experienced and successful
players like Johnson and then practicing
the skills they observed helps younger
players learn how to fine-tune their
techniques.

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Developing Your Skill
About the Skill
In today’s dynamic work environments, learning is contin-
ual. But this learning shouldn’t be done in isolation or without
any guidance. Most employees need to be shown what’s
expected of them on the job. As a manager, you must
teach your employees the behaviors that are most critical
to their, and the organization’s, success.

Steps in Practicing the Skill
1 Identify the critical behaviors that have a significant

impact on an employee’s performance. Not every-
thing employees do on the job is equally important in
terms of performance outcomes. A few critical behav-
iors may, in fact, account for the majority of one’s results.
These high impact behaviors need to be identified.

2 Establish a baseline of performance. A baseline is
obtained by determining the number of times the
identified behaviors occur under the employee’s pres-
ent job conditions.

3 Analyze the contributing factors to performance
and their consequences. A number of factors, such
as the norms of a group, may be contributing to the
baseline performance. Identify these factors and their
effect on performance.

4 Develop a shaping strategy. The change that may
occur will entail changing some element of perform-
ance—structure, processes, technology, groups, or the
task. The purpose of the strategy is to strengthen the
desirable behaviors and weaken the undesirable ones.

5 Apply the appropriate strategy. Once the strategy
has been developed, it needs to be implemented. In
this step, an intervention occurs.

6 Measure the change that has occurred. An interven-
tion should produce the desired results in performance
behaviors. Evaluate the number of times the identified
behaviors now occur. Compare these with the base-
line evaluation in step 2.

7 Reinforce desired behaviors. If an intervention has
been successful and the new behaviors are produc-
ing the desired results, maintain these behaviors
through reinforcement mechanisms.

Practicing the Skill
a. Imagine that your assistant is ideal in all respects but

one—he or she is hopeless at taking phone messages
for you when you’re not in the office. You’re often in
training sessions and the calls are sales leads you
want to follow up, so you have identified taking
accurate messages as a high impact behavior for
your assistant.

b. Focus on steps 3 and 4, and devise a way to shape
your assistant’s behavior. Identify some factors that
might contribute to his or her failure to take mes-
sages—these could range from a heavy workload to a
poor understanding of the task’s importance (you can
rule out insubordination). Then develop a shaping
strategy by determining what you can change—the
available technology, the task itself, the structure of
the job, or some other element of performance.

c. Now plan your intervention and take a brief meeting
with your assistant in which you explain the change
you expect. Recruit a friend to help you role-play your
intervention. Do you think you would succeed in a real
situation?

meetings can eliminate that behavior by ignoring those employees when they raise their
hands to speak. Soon, the behavior will be diminished.

Both positive and negative reinforcement result in learning. They strengthen a desired
response and increase the probability of repetition. Both punishment and extinction also result
in learning; however, they weaken behavior and tend to decrease its subsequent frequency.

How Can an Understanding of Learning Help
Managers Be More Effective?
Employees are going to learn on the job. The only issue is whether managers are going to
manage their learning through the rewards they allocate and the examples they set, or allow
it to occur haphazardly. If marginal employees are rewarded with pay raises and promo-
tions, they will have little reason to change their behavior. In fact, productive employees, who
see marginal performance rewarded, might change their behavior. If managers want behav-
ior A, but reward behavior B, they shouldn’t be surprised to find employees’ learning to
engage in behavior B. Similarly, managers should expect that employees will look to them
as models. Managers who are consistently late to work, or take two hours for lunch, or help
themselves to company office supplies for personal use should expect employees to read the
message they are sending and model their behavior accordingly.

Discuss

8.6
contemporary

issues
in OB.

C H A P T E R 8 | F O U N D AT I O N S O F I N D I V I D U A L B E H AV I O R 233

Immediate Responsibility
They want to make an important impact on Day 1.

Goal Oriented
They want small goals with tight deadlines so they
can build up ownership of tasks.

High Expectations of Self
They aim to work faster and better than other workers.

Gen Y Workers

High Expectations of Employers
They want fair and direct managers who are highly
engaged in their professional development.

Ongoing Learning
They seek out creative challenges and view colleagues
as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge.

EXHIBIT 8-8 Gen Y Workers

Source: Bruce Tulgan of Rainmaker Thinking. Used with permission.

What Contemporary OB Issues Face
Managers?
By this point, you’re probably well aware of why managers need to understand
how and why employees behave the way they do. We conclude this chapter by
looking at two OB issues having a major influence on managers’ jobs today.

How Do Generational Differences Affect the
Workplace?
They’re young, smart, brash. They wear flip-flops to the office or listen to iPods at their
desk. They want to work, but don’t want work to be their life. This is Generation Y, some
70 million of them, many who are embarking on their careers, taking their place in an
increasingly multigenerational workplace.62

JUST WHO IS GEN Y? There’s no consensus about the exact time span that Gen Y comprises,
but most definitions include those individuals born from about 1982 to 1997. One thing is for
sure—they’re bringing new attitudes with them to the workplace. Gen Yers have grown up with
an amazing array of experiences and opportunities. And they want their work life to provide
that as well, as shown in Exhibit 8-8. For instance, Stella Kenyi, who is passionately interested
in international development, was sent by her employer, the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association, to Yai, Sudan, to survey energy use.63 At Best Buy’s corporate offices,
Beth Trippie, a senior scheduling specialist, feels that as long as the results are there, why
should it matter how it gets done. She says, “I’m constantly playing video games, on a call,
doing work, and the thing is, all of it gets done, and it gets done well.”64 And Katie Patterson,
an assistant account executive in Atlanta says, “We are willing and not afraid to challenge the
status quo. An environment where creativity and independent thinking are looked upon as a
positive is appealing to people my age. We’re very independent and tech savvy.”65

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DEALING WITH THE MANAGERIAL CHALLENGES. Managing Gen Y workers presents
some unique challenges. Conflicts and resentment can arise over issues such as appear-
ance, technology, and management style.

How flexible must an organization be in terms of “appropriate” office attire? It may
depend on the type of work being done and the size of the organization. There are many
organizations where jeans, T-shirts, and flip-flops are acceptable. However, in other settings,
employees are expected to dress more conventionally. But even in those more conservative
organizations, one possible solution to accommodate the more casual attire preferred by
Gen Y is to be more flexible in what’s acceptable. For instance, the guideline might be that
when the person is not interacting with someone outside the organization, more casual wear
(with some restrictions) can be worn.

What about technology? This is a generation that has lived much of their lives with ATMs,
DVDs, cell phones, e-mail, texting, laptops, and the Internet. When they don’t have informa-
tion they need, they just simply enter a few keystrokes to get it. Having grown up with technol-
ogy, Gen Yers tend to be totally comfortable with it. They’re quite content to meet virtually to
solve problems, while bewildered baby boomers expect important problems to be solved with
an in-person meeting. Baby boomers complain about Gen Yers’ inability to focus on one task,
while Gen Yers see nothing wrong with multitasking. Again, flexibility from both is the key.

Finally, what about managing Gen Yers? Like the old car advertisement that used to
say, “this isn’t your father’s car,” we can say that “this isn’t your father’s or mother’s way of
managing.” Gen Y employees want bosses who are open minded; experts in their field, even
if they aren’t tech-savvy; organized; teachers, trainers, and mentors; not authoritarian or
paternalistic; respectful of their generation; understanding of their need for work/life
balance; providing constant feedback; communicating in vivid and compelling ways; and
providing stimulating and novel learning experiences.66

Gen Y employees have a lot to offer organizations in terms of their knowledge, passion,
and abilities. Managers, however, have to recognize and understand the behaviors of this
group in order to create an environment in which work can be accomplished efficiently,
effectively, and without disruptive conflict.

How Do Managers Deal with Negative Behavior
in the Workplace?
Jerry notices the oil is low in his forklift but continues to drive it until it overheats and can’t be
used. After enduring 11 months of repeated insults and mistreatment from her supervisor, Maria
quits her job. An office clerk slams her keyboard and then shouts profanities whenever her com-
puter freezes up. Rudeness, hostility, aggression, and other forms of workplace negativity have
become all too common in today’s organizations. In a survey of U.S. employees, 10 percent said

It’s not surprising that eBay’s young
employees rank the company as one
of the best places to work for millennials.
eBay’s culture of fun, casual dress, and
flexible work schedules that provide
for a work/life balance appeal to
Generation Y employees like those shown
here at eBay’s office in Milan, Italy. The
company’s young workers say that their
managers give them job responsibility
quickly, generous recognition for their
achievements, and learning opportunities
that advance their professional career
development.

C H A P T E R 8 | F O U N D AT I O N S O F I N D I V I D U A L B E H AV I O R 235

they witnessed rudeness daily within their workplaces and 20 percent said that they personally
were direct targets of incivility at work at least once a week. In a survey of Canadian workers,
25 percent reported seeing incivility daily and 50 percent said they were the direct targets at
least once per week.67 And it’s been estimated that negativity costs the U.S. economy some $300
billion a year.68 What can managers do to manage negative behavior in the workplace?

The main thing is to recognize that it’s there. Pretending that negative behavior doesn’t
exist or ignoring such misbehaviors will only confuse employees about what is expected and
acceptable behavior. Although there’s some debate among researchers about the preventive
or responsive actions to negative behaviors, in reality, both are needed.69 Preventing negative
behaviors by carefully screening potential employees for certain personality traits and
responding immediately and decisively to unacceptable negative behaviors can go a long way
toward managing negative workplace behaviors. But it’s also important to pay attention to
employee attitudes since negativity will show up there as well. As we said earlier, when
employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, they will respond somehow.

ApplicationsReview and

Chapter Summary
8.1 Identify the focus and goals of organizational

behavior (OB). OB focuses on three areas: individual
behavior, group behavior, and organizational aspects.
The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence
employee behavior. Six important employee behaviors
are as follows: Employee productivity is a perform-
ance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness.
Absenteeism is the failure to report to work. Turnover
is the voluntary and involuntary permanent with-
drawal from an organization. Organizational citizen-
ship behavior (OCB) is discretionary behavior that’s
not part of an employee’s formal job requirements but
which promotes the effective functioning of an organi-
zation. Job satisfaction is an individual’s general atti-
tude toward his or her job. Workplace misbehavior is
any intentional employee behavior that’s potentially
harmful to the organization or individuals within the
organization.

8.2 Explain the role that attitudes play in job perform-
ance. Attitudes are evaluative statements concerning
people, objects, or events. The cognitive component of
an attitude refers to the beliefs, opinions, knowledge,
or information held by a person. The affective compo-
nent is the emotional or feeling part of an attitude. The
behavioral component refers to an intention to behave
in a certain way toward someone or something.

There are four job-related attitudes: job satis-
faction, job involvement, organizational commit-
ment, and employee engagement. Job satisfaction
refers to a person’s general attitude toward his or her
job. Job involvement is the degree to which an
employee identifies with his or her job, actively

participates in it, and considers his or her job per-
formance to be important to his or her self-worth.
Organizational commitment is the degree to which
an employee identifies with a particular organization
and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in
that organization. Employee engagement is when
employees are connected to, satisfied with, and
enthused about their jobs.

According to cognitive dissonance theory,
individuals try to reconcile attitude and behavior
inconsistencies by altering their attitudes, altering
their behavior, or rationalizing the inconsistency.

8.3 Describe different personality theories. The MBTI®

measures four dichotomies: social interaction, prefer-
ence for gathering data, preference for decision making,
and style of making decisions. The Big Five model
consists of five personality traits: extraversion, agree-
ableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and
openness to experience. Another way to view personal-
ity is through the five personality traits that help explain
individual behavior in organizations: locus of control,
Machiavellianism, self-esteem, self-monitoring, and
risk-taking.

Finally, how a person responds emotionally and
how they deal with their emotions is a function of per-
sonality. A person who is emotionally intelligent has
the ability to notice and to manage emotional cues and
information.

8.4 Describe perception and the factors that influ-
ence it. Perception is how we give meaning to our
environment by organizing and interpreting sensory
impressions.IS

236 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

learning theory says that individuals learn by observ-
ing what happens to other people and by directly
experiencing something.

Managers can shape behavior by using positive
reinforcement (reinforcing a desired behavior by
giving something pleasant), negative reinforcement
(reinforcing a desired response by withdrawing
something unpleasant), punishment (eliminating unde-
sirable behavior by applying penalties), or extinction
(not reinforcing a behavior to eliminate it).

8.6 Discuss contemporary issues in OB. The challenge
of managing Gen Y workers is that they bring new
attitudes to the workplace. The main challenges are
over issues such as appearance, technology, and
management style.

Workplace misbehavior can be dealt with by
recognizing that it’s there; carefully screening poten-
tial employees for possible negative tendencies; and
most importantly, by paying attention to employee
attitudes through surveys about job satisfaction and
dissatisfaction.

To check your understanding of learning outcomes 8.1 – 8.6 , go to

mymanagementlab.com and try the chapter questions.

Understanding the Chapter

1. How is an organization like an iceberg? Use the ice-
berg metaphor to describe the field of organizational
behavior.

2. Does the importance of knowledge of OB differ based
on a manager’s level in the organization? If so, how? If
not, why not? Be specific.

3. Clarify how individuals reconcile inconsistencies
between attitudes and behaviors.

4. Describe what is meant by the term emotional
intelligence. Provide an example of how it’s used in
contemporary organizations.

5. “Instead of worrying about job satisfaction, companies
should be trying to create environments where perform-
ance is enabled.” What do you think this statement

means? Explain. What’s your reaction to this statement?
Do you agree? Disagree? Why?

6. How might a manager use personality traits to
improve employee selection in his department?
Emotional intelligence? Discuss.

7. Describe the implications of social learning theory for
managing people at work.

8. A Gallup Organization survey shows that most work-
ers rate having a caring boss even higher than they
value money or fringe benefits. How should managers
interpret this information? What are the implications?

9. Write down three attitudes you have. Identify the
cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of
those attitudes.

Attribution theory helps explain how we judge
people differently. It depends on three factors. Distinc-
tiveness is whether an individual displays different
behaviors in different situations (that is, is the behav-
ior unusual). Consensus is whether others facing a
similar situation respond in the same way. Consistency
is when a person engages in behaviors regularly and
consistently. Whether these three factors are high or
low helps managers determine whether employee
behavior is attributed to external or internal causes.

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency
to underestimate the influence of external factors and
overestimate the influence of internal factors. The
self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute our own
successes to internal factors and to put the blame for
personal failure on external factors. Shortcuts used in
judging others are selective perception, assumed simi-
larity, stereotyping, and the halo effect.

8.5 Discuss learning theories and their relevance in
shaping behavior. Operant conditioning argues that
behavior is a function of its consequences. Social

Understanding Yourself

What’s My Basic Personality?
The five-factor model of personality—often referred to as the Big Five—has an
impressive body of research suggesting that five basic personality dimensions underlie
human behavior. This self-assessment exercise will give you an indication of what
your personality is like according to the Big Five model.

INSTRUMENT Listed on the next page is a set of 15 adjective pairs. For each, select the
number along the scale (you must choose a whole number) that most closely describes
you or your preferences.

C H A P T E R 8 | F O U N D AT I O N S O F I N D I V I D U A L B E H AV I O R 237

Sources: Based on O. P. John, “The ‘Big Five’ Factor Taxonomy: Dimensions of Personality in the Natural Language
and in Questionnaires,” in L.A. Pervin (ed.), Handbook of Personality Theory and Research (New York: Guilford Press,
1990), pp. 66–100; and D. L. Formy-Duval, J. E. Williams, D. J. Patterson, and E. E. Fogle, “A ‘Big Five’ Scoring
System for the Item Pool of the Adjective Check List,” Journal of Personality Assessment 65, (1995), pp. 59–76.

1. Quiet 1 2 3 4 5 Talkative

2. Tolerant 1 2 3 4 5 Critical

3. Disorganized 1 2 3 4 5 Organized

4. Tense 1 2 3 4 5 Calm

5. Imaginative 1 2 3 4 5 Conventional

6. Reserved 1 2 3 4 5 Outgoing

7. Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 Cooperative

8. Unreliable 1 2 3 4 5 Dependable

9. Insecure 1 2 3 4 5 Secure

10. New 1 2 3 4 5 Familiar

11. Sociable 1 2 3 4 5 Loner

12. Suspicious 1 2 3 4 5 Trusting

13. Undirected 1 2 3 4 5 Goal-oriented

14. Enthusiastic 1 2 3 4 5 Depressed

15. Change 1 2 3 4 5 Status-quo

SCORING KEY To calculate your personality score, add up your points as follows
(reverse scoring those items marked with an asterisk):

Items 1, 6, and 11*: This is your extraversion score.

Items 2*, 7, and 12: This is your agreeableness score.

Items 3, 8, and 13: This is your conscientiousness score.

Items 4, 9, and 14*: This is your emotional stability score.

Items 5*, 10*, and 15*: This is your openness-to-experience score.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Extraversion—high scores indicate you’re an extravert; low scores indicate
you’re an introvert.

Agreeableness—high scores indicate you value harmony; low scores indicate
you prefer having your say or way on issues.

Conscientiousness—high scores indicate that you pursue fewer goals in a
purposeful way; lower scores indicate that you’re more easily distracted, pursue
many goals, and are more hedonistic.

Emotional stability—high scores indicate positive emotional stability; low
scores indicate negative emotional stability.

Openness to experience—high scores indicate you have a wide range of inter-
ests and a fascination with novelty and innovation; low scores indicate you’re
more conventional and find comfort in the familiar.

What defines a high or low score? No definite cutoffs are available. However, reasonable
cutoffs for each dimension would be 12–15 points = high; 7–11 = moderate; and 3–6 = low.

What are the implications of some of your scores? Studies on the Big Five model
suggest that individuals who are dependable, reliable, thorough, organized, able to plan,
and persistent (that is, high on conscientiousness) tend to have higher job performance,
no matter the occupation. High scores on extraversion indicate you may be suited to a
managerial or sales position. Also, high scores on openness-to-experience are a good
predictor of your ability to achieve significant benefits from training efforts.

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FYIA (For Your Immediate Action)

Wood Designs Plus

To: Ted Sigler, Director of HR
From: Michelle DePriest, President

Re: Hiring

Ted, as we discussed last Friday, our manufacturing operations have grown to the point

where we need to add a couple of people to our executive team; specifically, a corporate

controller and a national sales director. The controller will be responsible for establishing

operational and financial standards (in other words, a lot of number-crunching using financial

and manufacturing statistics) for our various work units. The national sales director will be

responsible for working closely with our sales staff to further develop long-lasting and

mutually beneficial relationships with our customers.

I recall something from a management class I took in college that certain personality

types fit best with certain types of jobs. Could you do some research on this topic for me?

Write up a short report (no more than a page) describing the personality type that might be an

appropriate match for each of these new positions. Get this to me by the end of the week.

This fictionalized company and message were created for educational purposes only. It is not meant to reflect positively
or negatively on management practices by any company that may share this name.

CASE APPLICATION

A29-year-old and a 68-year-old. Howmuch could they possibly have in com-mon? And what could they learn from
each other? At Randstad USA’s Manhattan
office, such employee pairings are common.
One such pair of colleagues sits inches apart
facing each other. “They hear every call the
other makes. They read every e-mail the other
sends or receives. Sometimes they finish each
other’s sentences.”

Randstad Holding NV, a Dutch company, has used this pairing idea since its founding over 40 years ago. The
founder’s motto was “Nobody should be alone.” The original intent was to boost productivity by having sales
agents share one job and trade off job responsibilities. Today, these partners in the home office have an arrange-
ment where one is in the office one week while the other one is out making sales calls, then the next week, they
switch. The company brought its partner arrangement to the United States in the late 1990s. But when it began
recruiting new employees, the vast majority of whom were in their twenties, it realized the challenges and the
potential of pairing different generations together. “Knowing that these Gen Yers need lots of attention in the work-
place, Randstad executives figured that if they shared a job with someone whose own success depended on theirs,
they were certain to get all the nurturing they required.”

Randstad doesn’t just simply pair up people and hope it works. There’s more to it than that! The company
looks for people who will work well with others by conducting extensive interviews and requiring job applicants
to shadow a sales agent for half a day. “One question Randstad asks is: What’s your most memorable moment
while being on a team? If they respond: When I scored the winning touchdown, that’s a deal killer. Everything about
our organization is based on the team and group.” When a new hire is paired with an experienced agent, both indi-
viduals have some adjusting. One of the most interesting elements of Randstad’s program is that neither person is
“the boss.” And both are expected to teach the other.

Discussion Questions

1. What topics of individual behavior do you see in this case? Explain.

2. What do you think about this pairing-up idea? Would you be comfortable with such an arrangement? Why or
why not?

3. What personality traits would be most needed for this type of work arrangement? Why?

4. What types of issues might a Gen Y employee and an older, more-experienced employee face? How could
two people in such a close-knit work arrangement deal with those issues? That is, how could both make the
adjustment easier?

5. Design an employee attitude survey for Randstad’s employees.

Sources: G. Mijuk, “Tough Times for Temp Agencies Likely to Prompt Consolidation,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2009, p. B7; M. Laff, “Gen
Y Proves Loyalty in Economic Downturn,” T&D, December 2008, p. 18; and S. Berfield, “Bridging the Generation Gap,” BusinessWeek, September 17,
2007, pp. 60–61.

239

ODD COUPLES

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le
a

r
n

in
g

o
u

t
c

o
m

e
s

Understanding
Groups and
Managing Work
Teams

CHAPTER

9.1

Describe

the major

concepts of
group

behavior.

9.2

Discuss
contemporary

issues in
managing

teams.

9.3

Discuss
how groups

are turned

into
effective
teams.

Define
a group and
describe the

stages of
group

development.

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p.248

p.244

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Imagine working for an organization that employs more than 2,700
individuals with each one having the identical focus.1 Imagine, too,

that company managers in this organization want you to work hard and
be the best at what you do. If you’re employed by

Ferrari S.p.A., such realities aren’t hard to imagine.
When most people hear the name Ferrari, they

think of expensive, super-fast sports cars. That repu-
tation for speed is why Ferraris continue to be well-

known and respected in racing groups around the world.
The Italian company was founded by Enzo Ferrari in

1928, and even in its early days, racing was an important
part of the Ferrari legend. Today, Luca Cordero (photo on

right), president and managing director of the company,
believes that his employees truly make a difference in pro-

ducing one of the world’s greatest sports cars. He recognizes
that to be the best, he needs employees who understand how

to work together and how to achieve common goals. At Ferrari, employee teams combine their ef-
forts to produce an outstanding automobile, with quality befitting its iconic reputation. You won’t find

traditional assembly lines in the Ferrari factory, nor will you find production quotas. With prices for a
Ferrari starting at $140,000, auto assembly time isn’t measured in seconds. Rather, team tasks often last

more than 90 minutes for each portion of a car. Then the team proudly passes its finished work to the next
team so its work can begin. Average time to manufacture one car: three days. The company produces around

6,000 Ferraris in any one year, although the company hopes to boost that number to 10,000 cars by 2010.
To achieve that goal, the company is expanding current capacity although its singular focus on quality and

teamwork won’t change.
Employees at Ferrari truly enjoy being part of a team. They say that working toward a common goal is one

of the most satisfying elements in their jobs. They also appreciate what the company does for them. They enjoy
a state-of-the-art f itness center, annual physicals at the company’s on-site clinic, an employee cafeteria, and

home-based training for employees to learn English. They feel as if Cordero and his team treat them as associates,
not just as cogs in the Ferrari wheel. As one employee stated, “For many of us working for Ferrari is like working

in the Vatican.” Recently, the company won an award for Best Place to Work in Europe. The prize resulted from the
company’s “Formula-1-inspired workplace initiative called Formula Uomo,” which took the principles of Ferrari’s success

in Formula 1 racing and applied them to the workplace. The main thrust was recognizing its people as the “fulcrum of
the company’s work system.”

Is the team concept at Ferrari working? By all accounts, yes. The company has achieved over $2.3 billion in sales. And more
importantly, the car still retains its appeal as one of the best and most desired in the world. Although profits have been nominal dur-

ing the global economic downturn, there are always going to be customers who want to own the car with the rearing-horse logo.

Up to Speed

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Define
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stages of
group
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242

• Command groups—Groups that are determined by the organization chart and
composed of individuals who report directly to a given manager.

• Task groups—Groups composed of individuals brought together to complete a
specific job task; their existence is often temporary because when the task is
completed, the group disbands.

• Cross-functional teams—Groups that bring together the knowledge and skil

of individuals from various work areas or groups whose members have been trained
to do each other’s jobs.

• Self-managed teams—Groups that are essentially independent and that, in
addition to their own tasks, take on traditional managerial responsibilities, such as
hiring, planning and scheduling, and evaluating performance.

EXHIBIT 9-1 Examples of Formal

Work Groups

Like company executives at Ferrari, managers today believe that the use of teams allows

their organizations to increase sales or produce better products faster and at lower costs.

Although the effort to create teams isn’t always successful, well-planned teams can reinvig-

orate productivity and better position an organization to deal with a rapidly changing

environment.

You’ve probably had a lot of experience working in groups—class project teams, maybe

an athletic team, a fund-raising committee, or even a sales team at work. Work teams are one

of the realities—and challenges—of managing in today’s dynamic global environment. Many

organizations have made the move to restructure work around teams rather than individuals.

Why? What do these teams look like? And how can managers build effective teams? These are

some of the questions we’ll be answering in this chapter. Before we can understand teams,

however, we first need to understand some basics about groups and group behavior.

What Is a Group and What Stages of
Development Do Groups Go Through?
Each person in the group had his or her assigned role: The Spotter, The Back
Spotter, The Gorilla, and the Big Player. For over 10 years, this group—
former MIT students who were members of a secret Black Jack Club—used

their extraordinary mathematical abilities, expert training, teamwork, and
interpersonal skills to take millions of dollars from some of the major casinos

in the United States.2 Although most groups aren’t formed for such dishonest
purposes, the success of this group at its task was impressive. Managers would like

their work groups to be successful at their tasks also. The first step is understanding what a
group is and how groups develop.

What Is a Group?
A group is defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come
together to achieve specific goals. Formal groups are work groups that are defined by the
organization’s structure and have designated work assignments and specific tasks directed
at accomplishing organizational goals. Exhibit 9-1 provides some examples. Informal groups
are social groups. These groups occur naturally in the workplace and tend to form around
friendships and common interests. For example, five employees from different departments
who regularly eat lunch together are an informal group.

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Stage I
Forming

Stage II
Storming

Stage IV
Performing

Stage III
Norming

Stage V
Adjourning

EXHIBIT 9-2 Stages of Group Development

What Are the Stages of Group Development?
Research shows that groups develop through five stages.3 As shown in Exhibit 9-2, these five
stages are: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

The forming stage has two phases. The first occurs as people join the group. In a
formal group, people join because of some work assignment. Once they’ve joined, the second
phase begins: defining the group’s purpose, structure,
and leadership. This phase involves a great deal of uncer-
tainty as members “test the waters” to determine what
types of behavior are acceptable. This stage is complete
when members begin to think of themselves as part of
a group.

The storming stage is appropriately named because
of the intragroup conflict. There’s conflict over who will
control the group and what the group needs to be doing.
When this stage is complete, there will be a relatively
clear hierarchy of leadership and agreement on the
group’s direction.

The norming stage is one in which close relation-
ships develop and the group becomes cohesive. There’s
now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.
This stage is complete when the group structure solidifies
and the group has assimilated a common set of expecta-
tions (or norms) regarding member behavior.

group
Two or more interacting and interdependent
individuals who come together to achieve
specific goals.

storming stage
The second stage of group development,
which is characterized by intragroup conflict.

forming stage
The first stage of group development in which
people join the group and then define the
group’s purpose, structure, and leadership.

Sibyl Goldman, a Yahoo! entertainment
group vice president, leads an “omg”
Web site meeting at Yahoo!’s offices in
Santa Monica, California. This meeting is
an example of the performing stage of
group development. With an established
strong sense of group identity and
camaraderie, the group focuses on its
task of presenting celebrity news stories
in a light and positive way along with
galleries of photos and exclusive videos.
For permanent work groups such as the
“omg” staff, performing is the last stage
in the group development process.

norming stage
The third stage of group development, which is
characterized by close relationships and
cohesiveness.

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Describe
the major

concepts of
group
behavior.
9.2

244 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

The fourth stage is performing. The group structure is in place and accepted by group
members. Their energies have moved from getting to know and understand each other to
working on the group’s task. This is the last stage of development for permanent work
groups. However, for temporary groups—project teams, task forces, or similar groups that
have a limited task to do—the final stage is adjourning. In this stage, the group prepares to
disband. Attention is focused on wrapping up activities instead of task performance. Group
members react in different ways. Some are upbeat, thrilled about the group’s accomplish-
ments. Others may be sad over the loss of camaraderie and friendships.

Many of you have probably experienced these stages as you’ve worked on a group
project for a class. Group members are selected or assigned and then meet for the first
time. There’s a “feeling out” period to assess what the group is going to do and how it’s
going to be done. This is usually followed by a battle for control: Who’s going to be in
charge? Once this issue is resolved and a “hierarchy” agreed on, the group identifies spe-
cific work that needs to be done, who’s going to do each part, and dates by which the as-
signed work needs to be completed. General expectations are established. These decisions
form the foundation for what you hope will be a coordinated group effort culminating in
a project that’s been done well. Once the project is complete and turned in, the group
breaks up. Of course, some groups don’t get much beyond the forming or storming stages.
These groups may have serious interpersonal conflicts, turn in disappointing work, and
get lower grades.

Does a group become more effective as it progresses through the first four stages?
Some researchers say yes, but it’s not that simple.5 That assumption may be generally true,
but what makes a group effective is a complex issue. Under some conditions, high levels
of conflict are conducive to high levels of group performance. There might be situations
in which groups in the storming stage outperform those in the norming or performing
stages. Also, groups don’t always proceed sequentially from one stage to the next. Some-
times, groups are storming and performing at the same time. Groups even occasionally
regress to previous stages. Therefore, don’t assume that all groups precisely follow this
process or that performing is always the most preferable stage. Think of this model as a gen-
eral framework that underscores the fact that groups are dynamic entities and managers
need to know the stage a group is in so they can understand the problems and issues that
are most likely to surface.

What Are the Major Concepts of Group
Behavior?
The basic foundation for understanding group behavior includes roles, norms and
conformity, status systems, group size, and group cohesiveness. Let’s take a closer
look at each of those aspects.

What Are Roles?
We introduced the concept of roles in Chapter 1 when we discussed what managers do. Of

course, managers aren’t the only individuals in an organization who have roles. The concept of
roles applies to all employees in organizations and to their lives outside the organization as well.

A role refers to behavior patterns expected of someone who occupies a given position
in a social unit. Individuals play multiple roles, adjusting their roles to the group to which
they belong at the time. In an organization, employees attempt to determine what behaviors
are expected of them. They read their job descriptions, get suggestions from their bosses,
and watch what their coworkers do. An individual who’s confronted by divergent role expec-
tations experiences role conflict. Employees in organizations often face such role conflicts.
The credit manager expects her credit analysts to process a minimum of 30 applications a
week, but the work group pressures members to restrict output to 20 applications a week so
that everyone has work to do and no one gets laid off. A newly hired college instructor’s col-
leagues want him to give out only a few high grades in order to maintain the department’s
reputation for high standards, whereas students want him to give out lots of high grades to

percent of workers said
their teams were not
given enough resources.

percent of Fortune 1000
companies used team- or
group-based pay to some

degree in 2005.

percent of respondents
identified teams as a key
ingredient to organiza-

tional success.

percent of females wanted
more face-to-face group
meetings.

percent of males wanted
more face-to-face group
meetings.

to 12: the average num-
ber of production workers
per team.

percent of senior execu-
tives said that meeting
deadlines was the most

important characteristic of a good
team player.

percent of workers feel
more productive in a small
group.

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enhance their grade point averages. To the degree that the
instructor sincerely seeks to satisfy the expectations of both his
colleagues and his students, he faces role conflict.

How Do Norms and Conformity Affect
Group Behavior?
All groups have established norms, acceptable standards that
are shared by the group’s members. Norms dictate output lev-
els, absenteeism rates, promptness or tardiness, the amount of
socializing allowed on the job, and so on. Norms, for example,
dictate the dress code of customer service representatives at a
credit card processing company. Most workers who have little
direct customer contact come to work dressed casually. How-
ever, on occasion, a newly hired employee will come to work
dressed in a suit. Those who do are teased and pressured until
their dress conforms to the group’s standard.

Although each group has its own unique set of norms, com-
mon classes of norms appear in most organizations. These norms
focus on effort and performance, dress, and loyalty. Probably the
most widespread norms are related to levels of effort and per-
formance. Work groups typically provide their members with
explicit cues on how hard to work, what level of output to have,
when to look busy, when it’s acceptable to goof off, and the like.
These norms are extremely powerful in affecting an individual
employee’s performance. They’re so powerful that performance
predictions based solely on an employee’s ability and level of
personal motivation often prove wrong.

Some organizations have formal dress codes—even describ-
ing what’s considered acceptable for corporate casual dress. How-
ever, even in the absence of codes, norms frequently develop to
dictate the kind of clothing that should be worn to work. College
seniors, when interviewing for their first postgraduate job, pick
up this norm quickly. Every spring, on college campuses around
the country, students interviewing for jobs can be spotted; they’re
the ones walking around in the dark gray or blue pinstriped suits.
They’re enacting the dress norms they’ve learned are expected in
professional positions. Of course, acceptable dress in one organiza-
tion will be different from another’s norms.

Few managers appreciate employees who ridicule the organization. Similarly, profes-
sional employees and those in the executive ranks recognize that most employers view
persons who actively look for another job unfavorably. People who are unhappy know that
they should keep their job searches secret. These examples demonstrate that loyalty norms
are widespread in organizations. This concern for demonstrating loyalty, by the way, often
explains why ambitious aspirants to top management positions willingly take work home
at night, come in on weekends, and accept transfers to cities in which they would otherwise
prefer not to live. Because individuals desire acceptance by the groups to which they
belong, they’re susceptible to conformity pressures. The impact of group pressures for

Right orWrong?

You’ve been hired as a summer intern in the events planning department
of a public relations firm in Dallas.After working there about a month, you
conclude that the attitude in the office is “anything goes.” Employees know
that supervisors won’t discipline them for ignoring company rules. For
example, employees turn in expense reports, but the process is a joke.
Nobody submits receipts to verify reimbursement and nothing is ever said.
In fact, when you tried to turn in your receipts with your expense report, you
were told, “Nobody else turns in receipts and you don’t really need to
either.” Although the employee handbook says that receipts are required
for reimbursement, you know that no expense check has ever been denied
because of failure to turn in a receipt. Also, your coworkers use company
phones for personal long-distance calls even though that’s also prohibited
by the employee handbook. And one of the permanent employees told
you to “help yourself” to any paper, pens, or pencils you might need here
or at home.What are the norms of this group? Suppose that you were the
supervisor in this area. How would you go about changing the norms?

adjourning stage
The final stage of group development for
temporary groups, during which groups prepare
to disband.

role
Behavior patterns expected of someone who
occupies a given position in a social unit.

norms
Standards or expectations that are accepted
and shared by a group’s members.

performing stage
The fourth stage of group development, when
the group is fully functional and works on the
group task.

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conformity on an individual member’s judgment and attitudes was demonstrated in the
classic studies by Solomon Asch.7 Asch’s results suggest that group norms press us toward
conformity. We desire to be one of the group and to avoid being visibly different. We can
generalize this finding to say that when an individual’s opinion of objective data differs sig-
nificantly from that of others in the group, he or she feels extensive pressure to align his
or her opinion to conform with those of the others (see our previous discussion on group-
think, p. 72). The “From the Past to the Present” box has additional background informa-
tion on Asch’s contributions to group theory.

What Is Status and Why Is It Important?
Status is a prestige grading, position, or rank within a group. As far back as scientists have
been able to trace human groupings, they’ve found status hierarchies: tribal chiefs and their
followers, nobles and peasants, the haves and the have-nots. Status systems are important
factors in understanding behavior. Status is a significant motivator that has behavioral con-
sequences when individuals see a disparity between what they perceive their status to be and
what others perceive it to be.

From the Past to the Present• •
Does the desire to be accepted as a part of a group leave
one susceptible to conforming to the group’s norms? Will the
group exert pressure that’s strong enough to change a mem-
ber’s attitude and behavior? According to the research by
Solomon Asch, the answer appears to be yes.6

Asch’s study involved groups of seven or eight people who
sat in a classroom and were asked to compare two cards held
by an investigator. One card had one line; the other had three
lines of varying length. As shown in Exhibit 9-3, one of the lines
on the three-line card was identical to the line on the one-line
card. The difference in line length was quite obvious; under
ordinary conditions, subjects made errors of less than 1 percent.
The object was to announce aloud which of the three lines
matched the single line. But what happens if all the members
of the group begin to give incorrect answers? Will the pressure
to conform cause the unsuspecting subject (USS) to alter his
or her answers to align with those of the others? That’s what
Asch wanted to know. He arranged the group so that the USS
was unaware that the experiment was fixed. The seating was
prearranged so that the USS was the last to announce his or
her decision.

The experiment began with two sets of matching exer-
cises. All the subjects gave the right answers. On the third set,
however, the first subject gave an obviously wrong answer—for
example, saying “C” in Exhibit 9-3. The next subject gave the
same wrong answer, and so did the others, until it was the
unsuspecting subject’s turn. He knew that “B” was the same
as “X” but everyone else said “C.” The decision confronting
the USS was this: Do you publicly state a perception that differs
from the preannounced position of the others? Or do you give
an answer that you strongly believe to be incorrect in order to
have your response agree with the other group members?
Asch’s subjects conformed in about 35 percent of many
experiments and many trials. That is, the subjects gave answers
that they knew were wrong but were consistent with the replies
of other group members.

For managers, the Asch study provides considerable in-
sight into group behaviors. The tendency, as Asch showed, is
for individual members to go along with the pack. To diminish
the negative aspects of conformity, managers should create
a climate of openness in which employees are free to discuss
problems without fear of retaliation.

X A B C

EXHIBIT 9-3 Examples of Cards Used in Asch’s Study

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Status may be informally conferred by characteristics such as education, age, skill,
or experience. However, anything can have status value if others in the group admire it.
Of course, just because status is informal doesn’t mean that it’s unimportant or that
there’s disagreement on who has it or who doesn’t. Members of groups have no problem
placing people into status categories, and they usually agree about who’s high, low, and
in the middle.

It’s important for employees to believe that the organization’s formal status system is
congruent. That is, there should be equity between the perceived ranking of an individual
and the status symbols he or she is given by the organization. For instance, incongruence
may occur when a supervisor earns less than his or her employees or when a desirable
office is occupied by a lower-ranking individual. Employees may view such cases as a dis-
ruption to the general pattern of order and consistency in the organization.

Does Group Size Affect Group Behavior?
The size of a group affects that group’s behavior. However, that effect depends on what
criteria you’re looking at.8

The evidence indicates, for instance, that small groups complete tasks faster than larger
ones. However, if a group is engaged in problem solving, large groups consistently get
better marks than their smaller counterparts. Translating these results into specific numbers
is a bit trickier, but we can offer some parameters. Large groups—with a dozen or more
members—are good for gaining diverse input. Thus, if the goal of the group is to find facts,
larger groups should be more effective. On the other hand, smaller groups are better at doing
something productive with those facts. Groups of approximately five to seven members
tend to act more effectively.

One of the more disturbing findings is that, as groups get incrementally larger, the con-
tribution of individual members often tends to lessen. That is, although the total productivity
of a group of four is generally greater than that
of a group of three, the individual produc-
tivity of each group member declines as
the group expands. Thus, a group of four
will tend to produce at a level of less
than four times the average individual
performance. The best explanation for
this reduction of effort is that disper-
sion of responsibility encourages indi-
viduals to slack off; a behavior referred
to as social loafing.9 When the results of
the group can’t be attributed to any single
person, the relationship between an
individual’s input and the group’s output
is clouded. In such situations, individuals
may be tempted to become “free riders”
and coast on the group’s efforts. In other
words, efficiency is reduced when indi-
viduals think that their contributions
cannot be measured. The obvious con-
clusion from this finding is that man-
agers who use work groups should also
provide a means by which individual
efforts can be identified.

status
A prestige grading, position, or rank within a
group.

social loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less
effort when working collectively than when
working individually.

Group cohesiveness, the degree to
which group members are attracted to
each other and share goals, was high for
the cast and crew of Wushu: The Young
Generation. Everyone involved in the film,
from the executive producer and kung
fu star Jackie Chan to the young actors,
was focused on the goal of introducing
an authentic representation of wushu, a
martial arts form that combines exercise,
the performing arts, and competitive
sports. Authenticity included filming the
movie in a real martial arts school in
China today and presenting the skills of
the young actors, all of whom are martial
arts students who perform the action
scenes themselves. Shown here at a press
conference for the film are Chan with the
film’s production team members and the
young actors and actresses.

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9.3

Discuss
how groups
are turned

into
effective
teams.

248 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

Are Cohesive Groups More Effective?
Intuitively, it makes sense that groups that experience a lot of internal disagreement and
lack of cooperation are less effective than are groups in which individuals generally agree,
cooperate, and like each other. Research has looked at group cohesiveness, the degree to
which members are attracted to one another and share the group’s goals. The more that
members are attracted to one another and the more that a group’s goals align with each in-
dividual’s goals, the greater the group’s cohesiveness.

Previous research has generally shown that highly cohesive groups are more effec-
tive than are those with less cohesiveness, but the relationship between cohesiveness and
effectiveness is more complex.10 A key moderating variable is the degree to which the
group’s attitude aligns with its formal goals or those of the larger organization.11

The more cohesive a group is, the more its members will follow its goals. If these goals
are favorable (for instance, high output, quality work, cooperation with individuals out-
side the group), a cohesive group is more productive than a less cohesive group. But if
cohesiveness is high and attitudes are unfavorable, productivity decreases. If cohesive-
ness is low and goals are supported, productivity increases, but not as much as when
both cohesiveness and support are high. When cohesiveness is low and goals are not
supported, cohesiveness has no significant effect on productivity. These conclusions are
summarized in Exhibit 9-4.

How Are Groups Turned into Effective Teams?
When companies like W. L. Gore, Volvo, and Kraft Foods introduced
teams into their production processes, it made news because no one else
was doing it. Today, it’s just the opposite—the organization that doesn’t
use teams would be newsworthy. It’s estimated that some 80 percent of
Fortune 500 companies have at least half of their employees on teams.

And over 70 percent of U.S. manufacturers use work teams.12 Teams are
likely to continue to be popular. Why? Research suggests that teams typi-

cally outperform individuals when the tasks being done require multiple
skills, judgment, and experience.13 Organizations are using team-based structures

because they’ve found that teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events
than are traditional departments or other permanent work groups. Teams have the abil-
ity to quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband. In this section, we’ll discuss what
a work team is, the different types of teams that organizations might use, and how to
develop and manage work teams.

Cohesiveness

High

Low
A

lig
n

m
e

n
t

o
f

G
ro

u
p

a
n

d
O

rg
a

n
iz

a
ti

o
n

a
l G

o
a

Strong increase
in productivity

Moderate increase
in productivity

No significant effect
on productivity

Decrease in
productivity

High Low

EXHIBIT 9-4 Group Cohesiveness and Productivity

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Aren’t Work Groups and Work Teams the Same?
At this point, you may be asking yourself: Aren’t teams and groups the same thing? No. In
this section, we clarify the difference between a work group and a work team.14

Most of you are probably familiar with teams especially if you’ve watched or participated
in organized sports events. Work teams do differ from work groups and have their own unique
traits (see Exhibit 9-5). Work groups interact primarily to share information and to make deci-
sions to help each member do his or her job more efficiently and effectively. There’s no need
or opportunity for work groups to engage in collective work that requires joint effort. On the
other hand, work teams are groups whose members work intensely on a specific, common goal
using their positive synergy, individual and mutual accountability, and complementary skills.

These descriptions should help clarify why so many organizations have restructured
work processes around teams. Managers are looking for that positive synergy that will
help the organization improve its performance.15 The extensive use of teams creates the
potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in (or even fewer)
inputs. For example, until the economic downturn hit, investment teams at Wachovia’s
Asset Management Division (which is now a part of Wells Fargo & Company) were able
to significantly improve investment performance. As a result, these teams helped the bank
improve its Morningstar financial rating.16

Recognize, however, that such increases are simply “potential.” Nothing inherently magi-
cal in the creation of work teams guarantees that this positive synergy and its accompanying pro-
ductivity will occur. Accordingly, merely calling a group a team doesn’t automatically increase
its performance.17 As we show later in this chapter, successful or high-performing work teams
have certain common characteristics. If managers hope to gain increases in organizational per-
formance, it will need to ensure that its teams possess those characteristics.

What Are the Different Types of Work Teams?
Teams can do a variety of things. They can design products, provide services, negotiate deals,
coordinate projects, offer advice, and make decisions.18 For instance, at Rockwell
Automation’s facility in North Carolina, teams are used in work process optimization projects.
At Arkansas-based Acxiom Corporation, a team of human resource professionals planned and
implemented a cultural change. And every summer weekend at any NASCAR race, you can
see work teams in action during drivers’ pit stops.19 The four most common types of work

Work Teams

Collective
performance

Complementary

Individual

and mutual

Positive

Goal

Skills

Accountability

Synergy

Work Groups

information

Random and varied

Individual

Neutral
(sometimes negative)

EXHIBIT 9-5 Groups Versus Teams

group cohesiveness
The degree to which group members are
attracted to one another and share the group’s
goals.

work teams
Groups whose members work intensely on
specific, common goals using their positive
synergy, individual and mutual accountability,
and complementary skills.IS

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teams are problem-solving teams, self-managed work teams,
cross-functional teams, and virtual teams.

When work teams first became popular, most were
problem-solving teams, which are teams from the same
department or functional area involved in efforts to
improve work activities or to solve specific problems.
Members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work
processes and methods can be improved. However, these
teams are rarely given the authority to implement any of
their suggested actions.

Although problem-solving teams were helpful, they
didn’t go far enough in getting employees involved in
work-related decisions and processes. This led to another
type of team, a self-managed work team, which is a for-
mal group of employees who operate without a manager
and are responsible for a complete work process or seg-
ment. A self-managed team is responsible for getting the
work done and for managing themselves. This usually

includes planning and scheduling of work, assigning tasks to members, collective control
over the pace of work, making operating decisions, and taking action on problems. For
instance, teams at Corning have no shift supervisors and work closely with other manufac-
turing divisions to solve production-line problems and coordinate deadlines and deliveries.
The teams have the authority to make and implement decisions, finish projects, and address
problems.20 Other organizations such as Xerox, Boeing, PepsiCo, and Hewlett-Packard
also use self-managed teams. It’s estimated that about 30 percent of U.S. employers now
use this form of team; and among large firms, the number is probably closer to 50 percent.21

Most organizations that use self-managed teams find them to be effective.22

The third type of team is the cross-functional team, which we introduced in Chapter 5
and defined as a work team composed of individuals from various specialties. Many organiza-
tions use cross-functional teams. For example, ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company,
uses cross-functional teams of scientists, plant managers, and salespeople to review and mon-
itor product innovations.23 The concept of cross-functional teams is even being applied in health
care. For instance, at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, intensive care unit (ICU) teams
composed of a doctor trained in intensive care medicine, a pharmacist, a social worker, a
nutritionist, the chief ICU nurse, a respiratory therapist, and a chaplain meet daily with every
patient’s bedside nurse to discuss and debate the best course of treatment. The hospital credits
this team care approach with reducing errors, shortening the amount of time patients spent in
ICU, and improving communication between families and the medical staff.24

One of the most popular types of work
teams is the problem-solving team. The
employees shown here are members of
a Customer Support Team at AhnLab,
Inc., a leading Web security firm in Seoul,
South Korea, that develops security
solutions for information networks and
provides security consulting services.
Members of the team use their positive
synergy in working on the common goal
of solving customer problems such as
cyber attacks that slow Web sites.

IT AND TEAMS

W
ork teams need information to do

their work. With work teams often

being not just steps away, but con-

tinents away from each other, it’s important to

have a way for team members to communi-

cate and collaborate. That’s where IT comes

in. Technology has enabled greater online

communication and collaboration within

teams of all types.25

The idea of technologically aided collab-

oration actually originated with online search

engines. The Internet itself was initially

intended as a way for groups of scientists

and researchers to share information. Then,

as more and more information was put “on

the Web,” users relied on a variety of search

engines to help them find that information.

Now, we see many examples of collaborative

technologies such as wiki pages, blogs, and

even multiplayer virtual reality games.

Today, online collaborative tools have

given work teams more efficient and effective

ways to get work done. For instance, engineers

at Toyota use collaborative communication

tools to share process improvements and

innovations. They have developed a “widely

disseminated, collectively owned pool of com-

mon knowledge, which drives innovation at a

speed few other corporate systems can

match.” And there’s no disputing the suc-

cesses Toyota has achieved. Managers every-

where should look to the power of IT to help

work teams improve the way work gets done.

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The final type of team is the virtual team, which is a team that uses technology to link
physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. For instance, a virtual team
at Boeing-Rocketdyne played a pivotal role in developing a radically new product.26 Another
company, Decision Lens, uses a virtual team environment to generate and evaluate creative
ideas.27 In a virtual team, members collaborate online with tools such as wide-area networks,
videoconferencing, fax, e-mail, or Web sites where the team can hold online conferences.28

Virtual teams can do all the things that other teams can—share information, make decisions,
and complete tasks; however, they lack the normal give-and-take of face-to-face discussions.
That’s why virtual teams tend to be more task-oriented—especially if the team members have
never personally met.

What Makes a Team Effective?
Much research has been done on what it is that makes a team effective.29 Out of these efforts, we
now have a fairly focused model identifying those characteristics.30 Exhibit 9-6 summarizes what
we currently know about what makes a team effective. As we look at this model, keep in mind
two things. First, teams differ in form and structure. This model attempts to generalize across all

virtual team
A type of work team that uses technology to
link physically dispersed members in order to
achieve a common goal.

cross-functional team
Teams made up of individuals from various
departments and that cross traditional
departmental lines.

self-managed work team
A type of work team that operates without a
manager and is responsible for a complete
work process or segment.

problem-solving teams
A team from the same department or functional
area that’s involved in efforts to improve work
activities or to solve specific problems.

Team Effectiveness

Work design
• Autonomy
• Skill variety
• Task identity
• Task significance

Composition
• Abilities of members
• Personality
• Allocating roles
• Diversity
• Size of teams
• Member flexibility
• Member preferences

Context
• Adequate resources
• Leadership and structure
• Climate of trust
• Performance evaluation
and reward systems

Process
• Common purpose
• Specific goals
• Team efficacy
• Conflict levels
• Social loafing

EXHIBIT 9-6 Team Effectiveness Model

Source: S. P. Robbins and T. A. Judge, Organizational Behavior, 13th ed. (Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009), p. 328.

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teams, so you should only use it as a guide.31 Secondly, the model assumes that managers have
already determined that teamwork is preferable to individual work. Creating “effective” teams
in situations in which individuals can do the job better would be wasted effort.

One thing we need to clarify first before looking at the model is what we mean by team
effectiveness. Typically, it includes objective measures of a team’s productivity, managers’
ratings of the team’s performance, and aggregate measures of member satisfaction. As you
can see from the model, there are four key components of effective teams including the con-
text, the team’s composition, work design, and process variables.

WHAT FACTORS IN THE CONTEXT APPEAR TO MAKE A TEAM EFFECTIVE? Four contextual
factors appear to be most significantly related to team performance. These include adequate
resources, leadership and structure, a climate of trust, and performance evaluation and
reward systems.

As part of the larger organization system, a team relies on resources outside the
group to sustain it. If it doesn’t have adequate resources, the team’s ability to perform
its job effectively is reduced. This factor appears to be so important to team performance
that one research study concluded that “perhaps one of the most important characteris-
tics of an effective work group is the support the group receives from the organization.”32

Resources can include timely information, proper equipment, encouragement, adequate
staffing, and administrative assistance.

If a team can’t agree on who is to do what or ensure that all members contribute equally
in sharing the work load, it won’t function properly. Agreeing on the specifics of work and how
all the team members’ individual skills fit together requires team leadership and structure.
This can come from the organization or from the team itself. Even in self-managed teams, a
manager’s job is to be more of a coach by supporting the team’s efforts and managing outside
(rather than inside) the team. See the “Developing Your Coaching Skill” box for more infor-
mation on coaching skills.

Members of effective teams trust each other. And they also trust their leaders.33 Why
is trust important? It facilitates cooperation, reduces the need to monitor each other’s
behavior, and bonds members around the belief that others on the team won’t take advan-
tage of them. Trusting the team leader is also important because it means the team is will-
ing to accept and commit to the leader’s goals and decisions.

The final contextual factor of an effective team is a performance evaluation and
reward system. Team members have to be accountable both individually and jointly. So, in
addition to evaluating and rewarding employees for their individual contributions, managers
should consider group-based appraisals, profit-sharing, and other approaches that reinforce
team effort and commitment.

WHAT TEAM COMPOSITION FACTORS LEAD TO EFFECTIVENESS? Several team composi-
tion factors are important to a team’s effectiveness. These include team member abilities, per-
sonality, role allocation, diversity, size of teams, member flexibility, and member preferences.

Part of a team’s performance depends on its members’ knowledge, skills, and abilities.34

Research has shown that to perform effectively, a team needs three different types of skills.
First, it needs people with technical expertise. Next, it needs members with problem-solving
and decision-making skills. Finally, a team needs people with interpersonal skills. A team
can’t achieve its performance potential if it doesn’t have or can’t develop all these skills. And
the right mix of these skills is also critical. Too much of one at the expense of another will
lead to lower team performance. However, a team doesn’t necessarily need all these skills
immediately. It’s not uncommon for team members to take responsibility for learning the
skills in which the group is deficient. That way a team can achieve its full potential.

As we saw in the last chapter, personality significantly influences individual behavior. It’s
also true for team behavior. Research has shown that three of the Big Five dimensions are rel-
evant to team effectiveness.35 For instance, high levels of both conscientiousness and openness-
to-experience tend to lead to higher team performance. Agreeableness also appears to matter.
And teams that had one or more highly disagreeable members performed poorly. Maybe you’ve
had that not-so-good experience in group projects that you’ve been part of!

C H A P T E R 9 | U N D E R S TA N D I N G G R O U P S A N D M A N A G I N G W O R K T E A M S 253

Nine potential team roles have been identified. (See Exhibit 9-7.) High-performing
work teams have people to fill all these roles and have selected people to fulfill these roles
based on their skills and preferences.36 On many teams, individuals may play multiple
roles. It’s important for managers to understand the individual strengths a person will bring
to a team and select team members with those strengths in mind to ensure that these roles
are filled.

Team diversity is another factor that can influence team effectiveness. Although many of
us hold the optimistic view that diversity is desirable, research seems to show the opposite. One
review found that “Studies on diversity in teams from the last 50 years have shown that surface-
level social-category differences such as race/ethnicity, gender, and age tend to . . . have
negative effects” on the performance of teams.37 However, there is some evidence showing that
the disruptive effects of diversity decline over time, although little evidence exists that diverse
teams perform better eventually. The “Managing Diversity” box describes some of the chal-
lenges managers face in managing diverse teams.

What size should a work team be in order to be effective? At Amazon.com, work teams
have considerable autonomy to innovate and to investigate ideas. And Jeff Bezos, founder and

Developing Your Skill
About the Skill
Effective managers are increasingly being described as
coaches rather than bosses. Just like coaches, they’re
expected to provide instruction, guidance, advice, and
encouragement to help team members improve their
job performance.

Steps in Practicing the Skill
1 Analyze ways to improve the team’s performance

and capabilities. A coach looks for opportunities for
team members to expand their capabilities and improve
performance. How? You can use the following behav-
iors. Observe your team members’ behaviors on a day-
to-day basis. Ask questions of them: Why do you do a task
this way? Can it be improved? What other approaches
might be used? Show genuine interest in team members
as individuals, not merely as employees. Respect them
individually. Listen to each employee.

2 Create a supportive climate. It’s the coach’s respon-
sibility to reduce barriers to development and to facili-
tate a climate that encourages personal performance
improvement. How? You can use the following behav-
iors. Create a climate that contributes to a free and
open exchange of ideas. Offer help and assistance.
Give guidance and advice when asked. Encourage
your team. Be positive and upbeat. Don’t use threats.
Ask, “What did we learn from this that can help us in
the future?” Reduce obstacles. Assure team members
that you value their contribution to the team’s goals.
Take personal responsibility for the outcome, but don’t
rob team members of their full responsibility. Validate
team members’ efforts when they succeed. Point to

what was missing when they fail. Never blame team
members for poor results.

3 Influence team members to change their behavior.
The ultimate test of coaching effectiveness is whether
an employee’s performance improves. You must en-
courage ongoing growth and development. How can
you do this? Try the following behaviors. Recognize and
reward small improvements and treat coaching as a
way of helping employees to continually work toward
improvement. Use a collaborative style by allowing
team members to participate in identifying and choos-
ing among improvement ideas. Break difficult tasks
down into simpler ones. Model the qualities that you
expect from your team. If you want openness, dedica-
tion, commitment, and responsibility from your team
members, demonstrate these qualities yourself.

Practicing the Skill
Collaborative efforts are more successful when every mem-
ber of the group or team contributes a specific role or task
toward the completion of the goal. To improve your skill at
nurturing team effort, choose two of the following activities
and break each one into at least six to eight separate tasks
or steps. Be sure to indicate which steps are sequential, and
which can be done simultaneously with others. What do you
think is the ideal team size for each activity you choose?
a. Making an omelet
b. Washing the car
c. Creating a computerized mailing list
d. Designing an advertising poster
e. Planning a ski trip
f. Restocking a supermarket’s produce department

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CEO, uses a “two-pizza” philosophy; that is, a team should be small enough that it can be fed
with two pizzas. This “two-pizza” philosophy usually limits groups to five to seven people,
depending, of course, on team member appetites!38 Generally speaking, the most effective
teams have five to nine members. And experts suggest using the smallest number of people
who can do the task.

Explorer-
Promoter

Creator-
Innovator

Team

Reporter-
Adviser

Linker

Upholder-
Maintainer

Controller-
Inspector

Concluder-
Producer

Thruster-
Organizer

Assessor-
Developer

Coordinates and
integrates

Offers insightful
analysis of

options

Encourages the
search for more

information

Provides structureFights external
battles

Provides
direction and

follow-through

Examines
details and

enforces rules

Champions ideas after
they have been

initiated

Initiates
creative ideas

EXHIBIT 9-7 Team Member Roles

MANAGING DIVERSITY | The Challenge of Managing Diverse Work Teams

Managing teams composed of people who are similar isn’t
always easy. But add in diverse members and it can be even
more challenging! However, the benefits from the diverse
perspectives, skills, and abilities are worth it.39 Four interper-
sonal factors are important for meeting the challenge of
coordinating a diverse work team: understanding, empathy,
tolerance, and communication.

You know that people aren’t the same, yet they need to
be treated fairly and equitably. And differences (cultural,
physical, or other) can cause people to behave in different
ways. You need to understand and accept these differ-
ences and encourage each team member to do the same.

Empathy is closely related to understanding. As a team
leader, you should try to understand others’ perspectives.
Put yourself in their place and encourage team members
to empathize as well. For instance, suppose an Asian
woman joins a team of Caucasian and Hispanic men.
They can make her feel more welcome and comfortable
by identifying with how she might feel. Is she excited or
disappointed about her new work assignment? What were

her previous work experiences? How can they help her
feel more comfortable? By empathizing with her, existing
team members can work together better as an effective
group.

Tolerance is another important interpersonal considera-
tion. Just because you understand that people are different
and you empathize with them doesn’t mean that it’s any
easier to accept different perspectives or behaviors. But it’s
important to be tolerant and open-minded about different
values, attitudes, and behaviors.

Finally, open and two-way communication is important
to managing a diverse team. Diversity problems may inten-
sify if people are afraid or unwilling to openly discuss issues
that concern them. If a person wants to know whether a
certain behavior is offensive to someone else, it’s best to ask.
Likewise, a person who is offended by another’s behavior
should explain his or her concerns and ask that person to
stop. Such communication exchanges can be positive when
they’re handled in a nonthreatening, low-key, and friendly
manner.

Source: Based on C. Margerison and D. McCann, Team Management: Practical New Approaches (London: Mercury
Books, 1990).

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Team member preferences need to be considered. Why? Some people just prefer not to
work on teams. Given the option, many employees will opt not to be part of a team. When
people who would prefer to work alone are forced on a team, it creates a direct threat to the
team’s morale and to individual member satisfaction.40

HOW DOES WORK DESIGN AFFECT TEAM EFFECTIVENESS? Effective teams need to
work together and take collective responsibility for completing tasks. An effective team
must be more than a “team in name only.”41 Important work design elements include
autonomy, using a variety of skills, being able to complete a whole and identifiable task
or product, and working on a task or project that has a significant impact on others.
Research indicates that these characteristics enhance team member motivation and
increase team effectiveness.42

WHAT TEAM PROCESSES ARE RELATED TO TEAM EFFECTIVENESS? Five team process vari-
ables have been shown to be related to team effectiveness. These include a common pur-
pose, specific team goals, team efficacy, managed conflict, and minimal social loafing.

An effective team has a common plan and purpose. This common purpose provides
direction, momentum, and commitment for team members.43 Members of successful
teams put a lot of time and effort into discussing, shaping, and agreeing on a purpose that
belongs to them both individually and as a team.

Teams also need specific goals. Such goals facilitate clear communication and help
teams maintain their focus on getting results.

Team efficacy describes when teams believe in themselves and believe they can
succeed.44 Effective teams have confidence in themselves and in their members.

Effective teams need some conflict. Conflict on a team isn’t necessarily bad and
can actually improve team effectiveness.45 But, it has to be the right kind of conflict.
Relationship conflicts—those based on interpersonal incompatibilities, tension, and
autonomy toward others—are almost always dysfunctional. However, task conflicts—
those based on disagreements about task content—can be benef icial because they may
stimulate discussion, promote critical assessment of problems and options, and can
lead to better team decisions.

Finally, effective teams work to minimize the tendency for social loafing, which we
discussed earlier in this chapter. Successful teams make members individually and jointly
accountable for the team’s purpose, goals, and approach.46

Effective teams have a common plan
and purpose that provide direction,
momentum, and commitment for team
members. The goal of “The Elvis Hit
Making Team” was to bring back Elvis
Presley’s famous Memphis rock sound.
Dedicated to accomplish this goal,
musicians, such as the members of the
New York String Section shown here,
vocal groups, bands, and composers
who created the original Memphis sound
reunited in a historical music project that
took place in recording studios
throughout America during a ten-year
period. The team members effectively
worked together to accomplish their
goal of bringing back the Memphis
sound by releasing a CD titled “The End:
A New Beginning.”

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Discuss
contemporary
issues in
managing
teams.

9.4

256 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

How Can a Manager Shape Team Behavior?
There are several things managers can do to shape a team’s behavior including proper selection,
employee training, and rewarding the appropriate team behaviors. Let’s look at each.

WHAT ROLE DOES SELECTION PLAY? Some individuals already possess the interpersonal
skills to be effective team players. When hiring team members, managers should check
whether applicants have the technical skills required to successfully perform the job and
whether they can fulfill team roles.

Some applicants may have been socialized around individual contributions and, conse-
quently, lack team skills, which could also be true for some current employees being moved into
teams due to organizational restructuring. When faced with this, a manager can do several
things. First, and most obvious, if team skills are woefully lacking, don’t hire the person. If suc-
cessful performance is going to require interaction, not hiring the individual is appropriate. On
the other hand, an applicant who has some basic skills can be hired on a probationary basis and
required to undergo training to shape him or her into a team player. If the skills aren’t learned
or practiced, then the individual may have to be let go.

CAN INDIVIDUALS BE TRAINED TO BE TEAM PLAYERS? Performing well in a team
involves a set of behaviors.47 As we discussed in the preceding chapter, new behaviors can
be learned. Even people who feel strongly about the importance of individual accomplish-
ment can be trained to become team players. Training specialists can conduct exercises so
employees can experience what teamwork is all about. The workshops can cover such
topics as team problem solving, communications, negotiations, conflict resolution, and
coaching skills. It’s not unusual, too, for these individuals to be exposed to the stages of
team development that we discussed earlier.48 At Verizon Communications, for example,
trainers focus on how a team goes through various stages before it gels. And employees are
reminded of the importance of patience, because teams take longer to do some things—
such as make decisions—than do employees acting alone.49

WHAT ROLE DO REWARDS PLAY IN SHAPING TEAM PLAYERS? An organization’s reward
system needs to encourage cooperative efforts rather than competitive ones. For instance,
Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics division organized its 20,000-plus employees into teams.
Rewards are structured to return a percentage increase in the bottom line to the team members
on the basis of achievements of the team’s performance goals.

Promotions, pay raises, and other forms of recognition should be given to employees
who are effective collaborative team members. Taking this approach doesn’t mean that
individual contribution is ignored, but rather that it’s balanced with selfless contributions to
the team. Examples of behaviors that should be rewarded include training new colleagues,
sharing information with teammates, helping resolve team conflicts, and mastering new
skills in which the team is deficient.50 Finally, managers can’t forget the inherent rewards
that employees can receive from teamwork. Work teams provide camaraderie. It’s exciting
and satisfying to be an integral part of a successful team. The opportunity to engage in
personal development and to help teammates grow can be a satisfying and rewarding
experience for employees.51

What Current Issues Do Managers Face
in Managing Teams?
Few trends have influenced how work gets done in organizations as much
as the use of work teams. The shift from working alone to working on
teams requires employees to cooperate with others, share information, con-

front differences, and sublimate personal interests for the greater good of
the team. Managers can build effective teams by understanding what influ-

ences performance and satisfaction. However, managers also face some

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current challenges in managing teams, including those associated with managing global
teams and with understanding when teams aren’t the answer.

What’s Involved with Managing Global Teams?
Two characteristics of today’s organizations are obvious: they’re global and work is increas-
ingly done by teams. This means that any manager is likely to have to manage a global team.
What do we know about managing global teams? We know there are both drawbacks and
benefits in using global teams (see Exhibit 9-8). What are some of the challenges associ-
ated with managing global teams?

HOW DO TEAM COMPOSITION FACTORS AFFECT MANAGING A GLOBAL TEAM? In
global organizations, understanding the relationship between team effectiveness and team
composition is more challenging because of the unique cultural characteristics represented
by members of a global team. In addition to recognizing team members’ abilities, skills,
knowledge, and personality, managers need to be familiar with and clearly understand the
cultural characteristics of the groups and the group members they manage.52 For instance,
is the global team from a culture in which uncertainty avoidance is high? If so, members
will not be comfortable dealing with unpredictable and ambiguous tasks. Also, as man-
agers work with global teams, they need to be aware of the potential for stereotyping,
which can lead to problems.

HOW DOES TEAM STRUCTURE AFFECT MANAGING A GLOBAL TEAM? Some of the
structural areas where we see differences in managing global teams include conformity,
status, social loafing, and cohesiveness.

Are conformity f indings generalizable across cultures? Research suggests that
Asch’s findings are culture-bound.53 For instance, as might be expected, conformity to
social norms tends to be higher in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures.
Despite this, however, groupthink tends to be less of a problem in global teams because
members are less likely to feel pressured to conform to the ideas, conclusions, and
decisions of the group.54

Also, the importance of status varies between cultures. The French, for example, are
extremely status conscious. Also, countries differ on the criteria that confer status. For
instance, in Latin America and Asia, status tends to come from family position and for-
mal roles held in organizations. In contrast, while status is important in countries like the
United States and Australia, it tends to be less “in your face.” And it tends to be given
based on accomplishments rather than on titles and family history. Managers must under-
stand who and what holds status when interacting with people from a culture different
from their own. An American manager who doesn’t understand that office size isn’t a
measure of a Japanese executive’s position or who fails to grasp the importance the British

EXHIBIT 9-8

DRAWBACKS BENEFITS

• Disliking team members • Greater diversity of ideas

• Mistrusting team members • Limited groupthink

• Stereotyping • Increased attention on understanding others’

• Communication problems ideas, perspectives, etc.

• Stress and tension

Source: Based on N. Adler, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 4th ed. (Cincinnati, OH:
Southwestern Cengage Publishing, 2002), pp 141–47.

Global Teams

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place on family genealogy and social class is likely to unintentionally offend others and
lessen his or her interpersonal effectiveness.

Social loafing has a Western bias. It’s consistent with individualistic cultures, like the
United States and Canada, which are dominated by self-interest. It’s not consistent with col-
lectivistic societies, in which individuals are motivated by group goals. For instance, in
studies comparing employees from the United States with employees from the People’s
Republic of China and Israel (both collectivistic societies), the Chinese and Israelis showed
no propensity to engage in social loafing. In fact, they actually performed better in a group
than when working alone.55

Cohesiveness is another group structural element where managers may face special chal-
lenges. In a cohesive group, members are unified and “act as one.” There’s a great deal of
camaraderie and group identity is high. In global teams, however, cohesiveness is often more
difficult to achieve because of higher levels of “mistrust, miscommunication, and stress.”56

HOW DO TEAM PROCESSES AFFECT MANAGING A GLOBAL TEAM? The processes that
global teams use to do their work can be particularly challenging for managers. For one thing,
communication issues often arise because not all team members may be fluent in the team’s
working language. This can lead to inaccuracies, misunderstandings, and inefficiencies.57

However, research has also shown that a multicultural global team is better able to capitalize
on the diversity of ideas represented if a wide range of information is used.58

Managing conflict in global teams isn’t easy, especially when those teams are virtual
teams. Conflict can interfere with how information is used by the team. However, research
shows that in collectivistic cultures, a collaborative conflict management style can be most
effective.59

When Are Teams Not the Answer?
Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than does individual work.60 Teams require
managers to communicate more, manage conflicts, and run meetings. So, the benefits of using
teams need to exceed the costs. And that’s not always the case!61 In the rush to use teams, some
managers have introduced them into situations in which it would have been better to have
individuals do the work. So before rushing into implementing teams, just because everyone’s
talking about their popularity, you should carefully evaluate whether the work requires or will
benefit from a collective effort.

According to Hofstede’s cross-cultural
characteristics, India ranks high in power
distance and low in uncertainty
avoidance. Thus, managers of this
Microsoft team in India might expect that
team members would be more accepting
of a manager’s authority but also have
high tolerance for unstructured, unclear,
and unpredictable situations. It’s important
for team managers to know and
understand the cultural characteristics of
team members in order to help that team
be most effective.

C H A P T E R 9 | U N D E R S TA N D I N G G R O U P S A N D M A N A G I N G W O R K T E A M S 259

How do you know whether work is better done individually or by a group? Three “tests”
have been suggested.62 First, can the work be done better by more than one person? Task
complexity would be a good indicator of a need for different perspectives. Simple tasks that
don’t require diverse input are probably better done by individuals. Second, does the work
create a common purpose or set of goals for the people in the group that’s more than the sum
of individual goals? For instance, many car dealerships use teams to link customer-service
personnel, mechanics, parts specialists, and sales representatives. Such teams can better
meet the goal of outstanding customer satisfaction. The final test to assess whether teams
or individuals are better suited for doing work is to look at the interdependence of the indi-
viduals. Using teams makes sense when there’s interdependence between tasks; that is, when
the success of everyone depends on the success of each person and the success of each per-
son depends on the others. For example, soccer is an obvious team sport. Success requires
a lot of coordination between interdependent players. On the other hand, swim teams aren’t
really teams, except on relays. They’re groups of individuals, performing individually, whose
total performance is merely the sum of their individual performances.

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ApplicationsReview and

Chapter Summary

To check your understanding of learning outcomes 9.1 – 9.4 , go to

mymanagementlab.com and try the chapter questions.

Understanding the Chapter

1. Think of a group to which you belong (or have
belonged). Trace its development through the stages of
group development as shown in Exhibit 9-2. How
closely did its development parallel the group devel-
opment model? How might the group development
model be used to improve this group’s effectiveness?

2. Contrast (a) self-managed and cross-functional teams
and (b) virtual and face-to-face teams.

3. How do you explain the popularity of work teams in
countries such as the United States and Canada, whose
national cultures place a high value on individualism?

4. “All work teams are work groups, but not all work
groups are work teams.” Do you agree or disagree
with this statement? Discuss.

5. Would you prefer to work alone or as part of a team?
Why? Support your response with data from the self-

9.1 Define a group and describe the stages of group
development. A group is two or more interacting and
interdependent individuals who come together to
achieve specific goals. Formal groups are work groups
that are defined by the organization’s structure and
have designated work assignments and specific tasks
directed at accomplishing organizational goals. Infor-
mal groups are social groups.

The forming stage consists of two phases:
joining the group and defining the group’s purpose,
structure, and leadership. The storming stage is one
of intragroup conflict over who will control the
group and what the group will be doing. The norm-
ing stage is when close relationships and cohesive-
ness develop as norms are determined. The
performing stage is when group members began to
work on the group’s task. The adjourning stage is
when the group prepares to disband.

9.2 Describe the major concepts of group behavior.
A role refers to a set of behavior patterns expected of
someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
At any given time, employees adjust their role behav-
iors to the group of which they are a part. Norms are
standards shared by group members. They informally
convey to employees which behaviors are acceptable
and which are unacceptable. Status is another factor to
know since status can be a significant motivator and it
needs to be congruent. Also, group size affects group
behavior in a number of ways. Smaller groups are
generally faster at completing tasks than are larger ones.
However, larger groups are frequently better at fact
finding because of their diversified input. As a result,
larger groups are generally better at problem solving.
Finally, group cohesiveness is important because of its
impact on a group’s effectiveness at achieving its goals.

9.3 Discuss how groups are turned into effective teams.
Effective teams have common characteristics. They
have adequate resources, effective leadership, a
climate of trust, and a performance evaluation and
reward system that reflects team contributions. These
teams have individuals with technical expertise as well
as problem-solving, decision-making, and interper-
sonal skills and the right traits, especially conscien-
tiousness and openness to new experiences. Effective
teams also tend to be small, preferably of diverse
backgrounds. They have members who fill role
demands and who prefer to be part of a team. And
the work that members do provides freedom and
autonomy, the opportunity to use different skills and
talents, the ability to complete a whole and identifi-
able task or product, and work that has a substantial
impact on others. Finally, effective teams have mem-
bers who believe in the team’s capabilities and are
committed to a common plan and purpose, specific
team goals, a manageable level of conflict, and a mini-
mal degree of social loafing.

9.4 Discuss contemporary issues in managing teams.
The challenges of managing global teams can be
seen in the team composition factors, especially the
diverse cultural characteristics; in team structure,
especially conformity, status, social loafing, and
cohesiveness; and in team processes, especially with
communication and managing conflict; and the man-
ager’s role in making it all work.

Managers also need to know when teams are not
the answer. They can do this by assessing whether the
work can be done better by more than one person; by
whether the work creates a common purpose or set of
goals for the members of the team; and by the amount
of interdependence among team members.

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C H A P T E R 9 | U N D E R S TA N D I N G G R O U P S A N D M A N A G I N G W O R K T E A M S 261

Understanding Yourself

What’s My Attitude Toward Working in Groups?
One thing is for certain about organizations these days: more and more work is being
performed by teams. So, it’s quite likely that you’ll be part of a team at some point if you’ve
not already been so.

Teams comprised of members who enjoy being part of a group can be quite effective.
However, research has indicated that as little as one person with a negative attitude toward
working in groups can hurt team performance. Why? Team members with negative attitudes
can increase interpersonal conflict among group members, harming cohesiveness and team
processes. Team morale and satisfaction are lowered, and performance ultimately declines.

INSTRUMENT Using the scale below, indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with
each of the following statements about your feelings toward working in groups or teams.

1 = Strongly disagree

2 = Disagree

3 = Neutral

4 = Agree

5 = Strongly agree

1. I don’t miss group meetings or team practices. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I enjoy being part of a group. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I support my teammates or fellow group members. 1 2 3 4 5

4. I feel I must respect the decisions made by my group. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I am not good at working with a group. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I prefer to do everything alone. 1 2 3 4 5

7. I work best when I am alone. 1 2 3 4 5

8. I keep to myself. 1 2 3 4 5

9. I don’t think it’s important to socialize with others. 1 2 3 4 5

Source: L. R. Goldberg, J. A. Johnson, H. W. Eber, R. Hogan, M. C. Ashton, C. R. Cloninger, and H. G. Gough,
“The International Personality Item Pool and the Future of Public-Domain Personality Measures,” Journal of
Research in Personality (40) (2006), 84–96.

assessment exercise included in the “Understanding
Yourself ” section.

6. “To have a successful team, first find a great leader.”
What do you think of this statement? Do you agree?
Why or why not?

7. What traits do you think good team players have? Do
some research to answer this question and write a short
report detailing your findings using a bulleted list format.

8. Do some research on diverse teams and write a short
report contrasting the pros and cons of diverse teams.

SCORING KEY To score the measure, first reverse-code items 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 so that 1 = 5,
2 = 4, 3 = 3, 4 = 2, and 5 = 1. Then, compute the sum of the nine items. Scores will range
from 9 to 45.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION This measure assesses your attitude toward working
in groups. Scores at or above 36 indicate that you enjoy working in groups and that you
are a “team player.” Scores at or below 18 indicate the opposite—that you prefer to work
alone and do not enjoy being part of a team. Scores between 18 and 36 indicate no partic-
ularly strong feelings either way.

If you scored low on this measure and find yourself on a team at some point, try to
see the benefits of teamwork. Not only is work shared among individuals, but teams also
can facilitate feelings of inclusion and camaraderie among team members. Remember to
be patient, however. Although teams often outperform individuals working by themselves
(especially on complex tasks that require multiple skills and experience), they tend to take
longer to reach decisions.

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262 PA R T F O U R | L E A D I N G

FYIA (For Your Immediate Action)

Colorado State High School Sports Association

To: Eric Gershman, Manager, Program Infractions Investigations
From: Audrey Costa, Director of Association Services

Subject: Conflicts on Investigation Teams

Eric, we’ve got a potentially big problem on our hands. I’ve been receiving complaints

that the members of the five-person investigation teams we’re sending out to high

schools to investigate allegations of rules infractions are having conflicts. Because

these team members have to work closely together in interviewing people, interpreting

the rules, and writing up reports, I’m worried that this conflict may be hurting the quality

of the team’s investigation process. We’ve got to address this problem immediately in

order to protect our reputation for being fair and reasonable in our rules enforcement.

Please send me a bulleted list (no longer than a page) describing how you’re going to

address this problem and get it to me as soon as possible. Once I’ve had a chance to

look it over, we’ll get together to discuss it.

This fictionalized company and message were created for educational purposes only. It is not meant to reflect
positively or negatively on management practices by any company that may share this name.

CASE APPLICATION

How do you combine two packaged-food companies, both withvery well-known household brand names, and make it work?That’s the challenge managers at General Mills faced when it
acquired Pillsbury. The company’s chief learning officer, Kevin Wilde
(standing at left in the photo), said, “Let’s get the best out of both
of our marketing organizations. And let’s not stop there.” So they
decided to identify, share, and integrate the best practices from both
companies. And employee teams played a major role in how the
company proceeded.

An intensive training program called “Brand Champions” was cre-
ated and launched. The program was designed not just for marketing
specialists, but for all employees from different functional areas who
worked on particular brands. These cross-functional teams attended the
in-house training together as a unified group. According to one of the
program developers (Beth Gunderson, seated in the photo), specific
benefits of including these teams soon became evident. “A person from
human resources, for instance, would ask a provocative question pre-
cisely because she wasn’t a marketer. And you’d see the look on the marketers’ faces: Whoa, I never thought of
that.” It helped employees understand and appreciate different perspectives.

Another benefit of including people from different functions was improved communication throughout the
company. People were no longer griping about what other functional areas were doing. Employees began to under-
stand how the other functional areas worked and how each area’s contribution was important to the overall success
of the company.

The training program has been so successful that now General Mills’ production plants have asked for a mini-
version of the course. “They want to understand the language marketers speak and why things are done as they are.”
Oh . . . and one other example of how successful the program has been. Betty Crocker is well-known for pack-
aged cake mixes, but less so for cookie mixes. Inspired by input from the group, the cookie-mix team decided to
go after scratch bakers. (These are people who bake from scratch rather than from a boxed mix. As one person said,
they were “taking on grandma.”) The cookie mixes were reformulated and now the brand owns 90 percent of the
dry cookie mix category.

Discussion Questions

1. What benefits did the cross-functional teams bring to General Mills?

2. What challenges would there be in creating an effective cross-functional team? How could managers deal
with these challenges?

3. Explain how roles, norms, status, group size, and cohesiveness might affect these teams.

4. Explain how each of the characteristics of effective teams (see Exhibit 9-6) would be important for an effec-
tive cross-functional team.

Sources: Based on L. Gratton and T. J. Erickson, “8 Ways to Build Collaborative Teams,” Harvard Business Review (November 2007), pp. 100–109;
and J. Gordon, “Building Brand Champions,” Training (January/February 2007), pp. 14–17.

263

MIXING IT UP

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Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Seventh Edition, by Stephen P. Robbins, David A. DeCenzo, and Mary Coulter.
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