Chapter – 6

Personality & Attitudes

 Defining Personality
 Combination of stable physical and mental
characteristics that give the individual his identity

 Sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and

interacts with others

 Set of characteristics that underlie a relatively stable

pattern of behavior in response to ideas, objects or
people.
Determinants of Personality

Heredity Environment Situation

Personality
Measuring Personality
Personality Traits
The BIG FIVE Model
2. Extraversion
3. Agreeableness
4. Conscientiousness
5. Emotional Stability
6. Openness to Experience

• Conscientiousness
Strongest association with Task performance
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Dimensions of MBTI

Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I)

Sensing (S) – Intuition (N)
Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)
Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)

Combined into 16 unique personality types

 Circle the number that best represents your behavior for
each dimension

1 Am casual about 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Am never late

appointments
2 Am never competitive 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Am very competitive

3 Never feel rushed even 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Always feel rushed

under pressure
Try to do many things at
4 Take things at a time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 once, think about what I am
going to do next
5 Do things slowly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Do things fast
(eating, walking etc.)
6 Express feelings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ‘sit on’ feelings

7 Have many interests 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Have few interests

outside work
 1 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Agree
2 – Disagree 5 – Strongly Agree
3 – Neither Agree nor Disagree

1. The best way to handle people is telling them what they want to hear
2. When u ask someone to do something for u, it is best to give the real
reason for wanting it rather than giving reasons that might carry
more weight
3. Anyone who completely trusts anyone else is asking for trouble
4. It is hard to get ahead without cutting corners and bending the rules
5. It is safest to assume that all people have a vicious streak and that it
will come out when given a chance
6. It is never right to lie to someone else.
7. Most people are basically good and kind
8. Most people work hard only when they are forced to do so.
Personality Attributes
1) Locus of Control
2) Machiavellianism
3) Self Esteem
4) Self Efficacy
5) Self Monitoring
6) Risk Taking
7) Type A – Type B
Personality Theories
1) Traits Theory
‘Common set of traits’ on which individuals can be compared

2) Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud – powerful unconscious biological drives
motivate human behavior

7) Behavioral Theory
‘Focuses on behavior that can be seen and factors that cause
it’
 Personality Theories
4) Cognitive Theory
Persons pattern of thinking affect how he interprets and
internalizes life’s event.

5) Physique – Temperament theory

Endomorphy (Plump) – Relaxed, Sociable, Tolerant
Mesomorphy (Muscular) – Assertive, risk taking, adventurous
Ectomorphy (Thin) – Apprehensive, Avoid social interaction
Levinson’s theory of Adult Life Stages
 Daniel Levinson (1986) developed a comprehensive
theory of adult development
 Personality development progresses with age

Era’s
Phases
Pre-adulthood
Early adulthood Transition in period

Middle adulthood Period of Stability

Late adulthood
Transition out period
Levinson’s theory of Adult Life Stages

22
Step into Adult stage
28
Age 30 Transition
33
STABILITY

Settle down
40
Period

Mid-life Transition
45
Enter mid -adulthood
50
Age 50 Transition
55
Approaching old age
60
Late adult Transition
65
Hall’s Career Stage Model
1. Exploration
Seek identity for himself, unstable, less productive

2. Establishment
Settling down, Interactions, Productivity increase

 Maintenance
Mentoring, Productivity maximum, stagnation

5. Decline
Productivity declines, evaluate his life/career
Immaturity – Maturity Theory
 Chris Argyris
 ‘Seven personality changes should take place
in individuals if they are to develop as mature
individuals.’
 ‘Changes reside on a continuum and the
healthy personality develops along the
continuum from immaturity to maturity.’
Personality – Job Fit Theory
 John Holland
 ‘Extent to which a person’s ability and personality match
requirements of job’
 Vocational Preference Inventory Questionnaire

Personality Turnover
Job Satisfaction

Work environment
+
Job Requirement
 Personality – Job Fit Theory
 Most people are one of six personality types

 People who choose to work in an environment similar to

their personality type are more likely to be successful &
satisfied
 People of the same personality type working together in
a job create a work environment that fits their type.
 People of the same personality tend to "flock together."

 Most people, are a combination of types -- like

Realistic-Investigative, or Artistic-Social
 Personality – Job Fit Theory

Realistic Investigative

Conventional Artistic

Enterprising Social
 Socialization Process

The process through which an individual’s

personality is influenced by his interaction
with others
 Organizational Socialization
 “Process through which people move from outsiders to
effective, participating members of their organization”
 “Process that adapts employee’s to organization’s
culture”
 Gradual & continuous process

 Schein – Socialization process is learning the prevailing

values, norms & behavioral patterns
 Stages in Organizational Socialization
Taking on the role

Reality Settling in

Breaking in
on
ati
Expectations
ia liz
c
So
Getting in

1. Anticipatory Socialization – Learning about prospective

organization
2. Encounter Stage – Newcomer learning about duties
3. Metamorphosis Stage – Full fledged member
Mentoring
 Socializing people individually

 “The process by which a more experienced

employee (Mentor), advises, counsels & enhances

the professional development of a new employee
(protégé)
Techniques for Socialization
 Orientation programs
 Mentors
 Role models
 Training
 Reward system
 Assigning to high performance work groups
Beliefs, Values & Attitudes
 Beliefs
“ Beliefs are assumptions or convictions you
hold as true about some thing, concept or
person”

Beliefs are about how we think things really are,

& what therefore expect as likely
consequences that will follow from our
behavior
 Values
“ Individuals idea of what is right or desirable”

Values are about how we have learnt to think things

ought to be or people ought to behave, especially in
terms of qualities such as honesty, integrity and
openness

 Values form gradually within individuals and society.

 Deeply held values are frequently formed early in life
 Values maybe – Personal, Social, Political, Economic
etc.
 Attitudes
“ The mental predisposition to act that is expressed by
evaluating a particular entity with some degree of
favor or disfavor .”

 Attitudes are the established ways of responding to people and

situations that we have learned, based on the beliefs, values
and assumptions we hold.
 Attitudes manifested through behavior
 Acquired from interactions with family, friends, society,
reference groups
 Attitudes
Opinion, value,
belief segment
Intention
(THOUGHTS)

al

Co
to
r
io

gn
behave av

itiv
h

in a Components
Be

e
certain of
segment Attitude

Affective

Emotional or feeling
segment
Changing Attitudes

 Through information/ coercion/ involvement/

feedback etc.
 Job Related Attitudes

 Job Satisfaction

 Job Involvement

 Organizational Commitment
 Job Satisfaction

“Collection of feelings and beliefs that people

have about their current job.”

“Individuals general attitude towards his/her job”

Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is an

 Affective attitude
 Dynamic
 A part of life satisfaction
 An emotional response to a job
Determinants of Job Satisfaction

Personality

Work Job
Values
Situation Satisfaction

Social Influence
Impact of Job Satisfaction

 JS – Productivity
 “Happy workers are productive workers” – Myth
 Research – “Productive workers are likely to be
happy”

 JS – Turnover
 JS – Absenteeism
 JS – Morale
Measuring Job Satisfaction
1) JS Surveys / Attitude Surveys
 Single Global Rating method
 Summation Score

3) Use of existing information

 Performance records
 Turnover
 Exit interview
 Absenteeism
 Medical records
 Suggestions
 Grievances
Effects / Outcomes of Job Satisfaction

 Attitudes > Good predictor of behavior

 Positive attitude - Constructive behavior

 Negative attitude - Destructive behavior

Effects / Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
A) Withdrawal Behavior

1) Psychological withdrawal
- wasting time, daydreaming
- not putting best effort

2) Physical withdrawal
- Turnover
- Absenteeism
- Lateness
 Expressing Dissatisfaction
Active

EXIT VOICE

Destructive Constructive

NEGLECT LOYALTY

Passive
B) Counterproductive Behavior

 Workplace Violence
 Theft
 Drug use/ Alcohol
Constructive Behavior
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
 ‘above and beyond call of duty’
 Helping co-workers,
 constructive suggestions
 spreading goodwill
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
 Leon Festinger
 Dissonance
“Existence of non – fitting relations among cognitions”
“ Conflict among attitudes”
 Key assumption of the theory
“Dissonance is psychologically uncomfortable and an
individual will seek to reduce it”
 Cognitive Dissonance Theory

“ People want to behave in accordance with

their attitudes and usually will take corrective
action to alleviate dissonance and achieve
balance”
Reducing dissonance
Depends on
- Significance of the element
- Their Controllability
- Rewards associated