Session 8-9

Personality and Values

1
What is personality?

❑ The sum total ways in which an individual interacts with people

and reacts to situations

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 2

 Personality Determinants
• Heredity- factors determined at conception.

• Physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle

composition and energy level

• Heredity approach: Personality is the molecular structure of

the genes located in the chromosomes

• Twins

• 50% personality similarities between twins

• 30% similarities in occupational and leisure interest

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 3
Environment: the environment that an individual is
exposed to plays a major role in shaping his personality.

Situation: Different situations bring out different

aspects of an individual’s personality.

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 4

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
•Most widely used personality
assessment instrument in the
world
•A personality test that taps four
characteristics and classifies
people into 1 of 16 personality
types

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 5

MBTI
• Based on the answers Individuals are classified as follows
• Extravert (E) Vs Introvert (I)
• Extraverts are outgoing, Sociable &
Assertive
• Introverts are quiet and shy

• Sensing (S) Vs Intuitive (N)

• Sensing are practical, prefers routine and
order. Focus on detail
• Intuitive rely on unconscious processes
and look at “Big Picture”
UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 6
MBTI
• Thinking (T) Vs Feeling (F)
• Thinking types use reason and logic to handle
problems
• Feeling types rely on their personal values and
emotions
• Judging (J) Vs Perceiving (P)
• Judging types want control and prefer their
world to be ordered and structured
• Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 7

The Big Five Personality Model
• Big Five factors

1. Extraversion
2. Agreeableness
3. Conscientiousness
4. Emotional stability
5. Openness to experience
UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 8
 • Extraversion
• A personality dimension
describing someone who is
sociable, gregarious and
assertive
• Agreeableness
• A personality dimension
that describes someone who is
good natured, cooperative and
trusted
• Conscientiousness
• A personality dimension
that describes someone who is
responsible, dependable,
persistent and organized
UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 9
 • Emotional Stability
• A personality dimension that
characterizes someone as calm,
self confident.

• Openness to experience
• A personality dimension that
characterizes someone in terms
of imagination, sensitivity and
curiosity

• https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=6SuFGpYQt0E

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 10

 How Big 5 traits predict behavior at work
• Extraverts feel positive emotions than introverts

• Agreeable people are better liked than disagreeable

• Higher conscientiousness, higher level of job knowledge (academic

performers) leading to higher level of job performance

• Score high on emotional stability are happy employees.

• Score high on openness to experience are more creative in science

and art

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 11

 Type A Personality
The characteristics of type A personalities are:
❑ Always, moving, walking and eating rapidly

❑ Feel impatient with the rate at which most events

take place

❑ Strive to think or do two or more things at once

❑ Measuring in terms of numbers

❑ Always busy and find themselves unable to cope

with leisure time.

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 12

 Proactive personality
• People who identify opportunities, show initiative, act and

preserve until meaningful change occurs

• They are likely to be leaders and to act as a change agents

• They may also leave to start their own organization

• They select, create and influence work situations in their

favor.

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi

13
Values
• Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state
of existence is personally or socially preferable

• They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an

individual’s ideas as to what is right, good or desirable

• Content Attribute: mode of conduct or end state of existence is

important

• Intensity Attribute: specifies how important it is

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 14

Value system
•A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual’s values
in terms of their intensity.
• Are values fluid and Flexible?
• NO
• Relatively Stable and enduring

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 15

 Dominant work values in today’s workforce
Cohort Entered the Approximate Dominant work values
workforce current age

Socialists 1950s to the 55+ Hardworking, conservative, conforming, loyalty to

late 1980s the organization, emphasis on a comfortable and
secure life

Liberals Early 1990 to Mid 40s to Mid Success, Achievement, Ambition, Dislike of
2000 50s Authority, Loyalty to career

Xers 2000-2005 Late 20s to early Work-life balance, Dislike of rules, confident, want
40s financial success, self-reliant but team-oriented,
loyalty to both self and relationships

Millennials 2005 to Early 20s Comfortable with Technology, Entrepreneurial,

present want to get rich quickly, high sense of entitlement

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 16

 Terminal Vs Instrumental values
• Rokeach Value Survey (RVS)- Milton Rokeach

• Consists of two sets of values

• Terminal Values: Desirable end state of existence; the goals a

person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime (18 TV)

• Instrumental Values: Preferable modes of behavior or means

of achieving one’s terminal values (18 IV)

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 17

 Rokeach, 1973
• One mode of behavior may be instrumental to the attainment of several terminal values;
• Several modes may be instrumental to the attainment of one terminal value
• TOP 3 Survey
• Females tend to value happiness more than males
• Males value exciting life significantly higher than females
• Among instrumental values,
• Obedience, responsibility, and love were more frequently mentioned by females than by
males.
• It must be pointed out that males did not mention the value of love at all
• Males tend to value self-control more than females

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 18

UPO Ses 8-9 L. Gandhi 19