October 6, 2009 PERSONALITY BY GROUP SIX

PERSONALITY

What is personality?

The dynamic organization within the individual, of those psychophysical systems that determine
his unique adjustments to his environment.

Measuring Personality

Helpful in hiring decisions

Most common method: self-reporting surveys

Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality – often better

predictors

Personality Determinants

 Heredity: refers to those factors that were determined at conception. Physical structure,
facial attractiveness, gender, temperaments, muscle composition and reflexes, energy
level and biological rhythms are characteristics that are generally considered to be either
completely or substantially influenced by who your parents are; that is, by their
biological, physiological and inherent physiological makeup.

 Environment: culture plays a major role in the formation of our personality. The society
in which we are raised, our early conditioning, the norms among our family, friends,
socials groups and other influences that we experience.

For example, culture establishes the norms, attitudes, and values that are passed along
from one generation to the next and create consistencies over time.
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Factors effecting Personality development

Biological Cultural and Family Situational

Socialization Process
contributions Contribution factors
• Heredity • Learning • Social Groups • Place of
• Genetic Content • Peer work
Engineering • Values system • Organizations
and • Beliefs
Intelligence • Traits such as
• Split-brain independence,
thinking and aggressiveness
psychology. etc
• Physical
Characteristics
and the rate
of maturing

 Situation: Influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality. An

individual’s personality, although generally stable and consistent, does change in
different situations. The different demands of different situations calls forth different
aspects of one’s personality.

For example, place of work.

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LOCUS OF CONTROL

The degree to which people believe that they are the masters of their own fate.

 Externals: Individuals who believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside
forces such as luck or chances.

• Individuals who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have
higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work settings.

• Externals perceive themselves as having less control over the organizational

outcomes that are important to them.

• Externals are more compliant and willing to follow directions.

 Internals: Individuals who believe that they control what happens to them.

• Internals exhibit more motivation and willingness to take action in their initial
interviews, which has been shown to relate to significantly more second
interviews.

• Initials attribute organizational outcomes to their own actions. If the situation is

unattractive, they believe they have no one else to blame but themselves.

• Internals search more for information before making a decision, are more
motivated to achieve, and make a greater attempt to make difference to their
environment.

SELF-ESTEEM:

Self-esteem refers to feeling of like or dislike of one-self. This

trait, naturally, varies from person to person.
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Self-esteem is directly related to desire for success. People with high

self-esteem believe that they have abilities to undertake challenging jobs.
They tend to choose unconventional jobs than those with lower self-esteem.

People with low self-esteem are more susceptible to external

influence than are those with high esteems. Low esteems are dependent on
the receipt of positive evaluations from others. As a result, they are more
likely to seek approval from others and more prone to conform to the beliefs
and behaviors of those they respect than are high esteems. In managerial
positions, low esteems will tend to be concerned with pleasing others and,
therefore, less likely to take unpopular stands than are high esteems.

Self-esteem is also related to job satisfaction. High esteems are more

satisfied with their jobs than the low esteems.

SELF-MONITOR:

Another personality trait that has recently received increased

attention is called self-monitoring. It refers to an individual’s ability to adjust
his or her behaviors to external factors.

Individuals high in self-monitoring can show considerable

adaptability in adjusting their behavior to external, situational factors. They
are highly sensitive to external cues and can behave differently in different
situations. High self-monitors are capable of presenting striking
contradictions between their public, personal and their private selves. Low
self-monitors cannot deviate their behaviour.They tend to display their true
dispositions and attitude in every situation, hence there is high behavioral
consistency between who they are and what they do.

The high self-monitors tend to pay closer attention to the

behavior of other’s and are more capable of conforming than are low self-
monitors. We might also hypothesize that high self-monitors will be more
successful in managerial positions where individuals are required to play
multiple, and even contradicting roles. The high self-monitor is capable of
putting on different “faces” for different audiences.
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Machiavellianism:-
This term is derived from Niccolo Machiavelli’s writing
,who wrote
how to gain and use power i.e. on an individual’s ability to manipulate
people .Thus such Mach can easily be game for participating in
organizational politics those who are high Machs , believe ‘end justify
means .They try to manipulate more and themselves less persuaded .Yet
there are situational factors which affect high mach and they are able to
flourish face to face rather than indirect situations. Whereas situations
involving minimum rules and regulations and emotional involvement with
details irrelevant to winning is a cause of distraction for low Machs
For instance ,where jobs involve good bargaining skills (could be negotiations
with labour)
Or where rewards are awarded for good performance and winning
(commission sales) Machiavellians can perform better.

The Big Five model:

The five factor model of personality – more typically called as “Big Five.”

Extroversion:

A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious and

assertive. This dimension captures one’s comfort level with relationships. Introverts tend to be
reserved, timid and quiet.

Agreeableness:

This dimension refers to an individual’s propensity to defer to others. This

personality dimension that describes about someone who is good-natured, cooperative and
trusting. People who score low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable and antagonistic.
 October 6, 2009 PERSONALITY BY GROUP SIX

Conscientiousness:

A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable,

persistent and organized. This dimension is a measure of reliability. Those who score low on this
dimension are easily distracted, disorganized and reliable.

Emotional Stability:

This dimension taps a person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive
emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident and secure. Those with high negative scores
tend to be nervous, anxious, depressed and insecure.

Openness to experience:

The final dimension addresses one’s range of interests and fascination with
novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious and artistically sensitive. Those at the other
end of the openness category are conventional and find comfort in the familiar.

Types of personality

Type A personality:

Aggressive involvement in a chronic incessant struggle to achieve more and

more in less time and if necessary against the opposing efforts of other things or people.

Characteristics:

1. Is restless so he always moves walks and eats rapidly.

2. Is inpatient with the pace of things ,dislikes waiting and is impatient with those who are
not impatient.

3. Does several things at once.

4. Cannot cope with lesser time.

5. Usually does not complete one thing before starting another.

 October 6, 2009 PERSONALITY BY GROUP SIX

6. Uses nervous gestures such as clenched fists and banking on tables

7. Does not have time to relax and enjoy life

Type B personality

It is just opposite and is more relaxed ,sociable and has a balanced outlook on life.

Characteristics:

1.Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience

2. Can relax without guilt.

3. Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost.

4 .Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments unless

such exposure is demanded by the situation.

BY

APOORV

SUPRAJA

SAJIT

SREEJITH

CHAKRADHAR
October 6, 2009 PERSONALITY BY GROUP SIX