Personality

Module 3
 Personality - Definition

• ‘Personality is the dynamic organization

within the individual of those psychophysical
systems that determine his unique adjustments
to his environment’

• Gordon Allport (1937)

• ‘The sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others’
Personality - Determinants

• Heredity

• Environment

• Situation
 Major Forces Influencing Personality

• Hereditary Forces
• Family Relationship Forces
• Social Class & Other Group Membership
Forces
• Cultural Forces
 Theories of Personality - The Big Five
Model

• Human Personality can be described by 5

Dimensions …

• 1. Extraversion: Refers to the extent to which a

person is comfortable with other people. It is the
tendency to be sociable, gregarious, assertive,
talkative and active. Will fare well in jobs that have a
good deal of social interaction. Eg. Sales Jobs
• 2. Agreeableness: Extent to which a person
subjugates his interests for the sake of the
group.
• Tendency to be courteous, forgiving, tolerant,
trusting & soft hearted.
• This dimension makes a person, an effective
team player.
• Individuals low on this dimension are
described as rude, cold, uncaring &
unsympathetic
• 3. Conscientiousness: A measure of reliability.
Extent to which a person is responsible, &
achievement oriented.
• It is a tendency to be dependable, organized, thorough
& responsible.
• They work hard and enjoy accomplishing things.
• People who are low on this tend to be sloppy,
inefficient, careless & lazy.
• It is the most closely linked dimension to job
performance.
• 4. Emotional Stability (Neuroticism): Refers
to an individual’s ability to withstand stress.
People low on this dimension have anxiety,
depression, anger & embarrassment.
• 5. Openness to experience: Refers to an
individual’s range of interests and indicates
how innovative, curious and creative he is. It
refers to the extent to which an individual is
broad minded, creative, curious & intelligent.
• Such people thrive in occupations where
change & innovation are critical.
• The Myers – Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI):
16 Personality Types
• Extraverted - Introverted (E or I)
• Sensing - Intuitive (S or N)
• Thinking - Feeling (T or F)
• Perceiving - Judging (P or J)
• http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp
• Psychoanalytic Theory by Sigmund Freud:
– There are unconscious determinants of behavior.
– Personality is the interaction between the 3
elements,
– Id
– Ego
– Superego
 Major Personality Attributes Influencing O.B.

• A. Locus of control – refers to an individual’s

perception of what controls his or her fate.
– Internals – internal locus of control – belief that they
are masters of their own fate.
– Externals - external locus of control – belief that
whatever happens to them is due to luck, chance etc.
• Internals – committed , highly satisfied, low
rate of absenteeism, attribute success or failure
to their abilities , achievement oriented.
• Externals –less committed, dissatisfied ,
frequently absent , blames mgmt. for their
failures , reluctant to take the initiative.
• http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html
• B. Machiavellianism – refers to the degree to
which an individual is practical in his
approach , maintains emotional distance from
others and believes that ends justify the means.
• High Mach – good at manipulating ,
persuasion , bargaining.
• C. Self Esteem – the degree of liking an
individual has for himself.
• D. Self Monitoring – refers to the ability of an
individual to adapt his behavior to the
demands of the situation.
• E. Risk taking – refers to the extent to which
an individual is prepared to take risks.
• F. Self Efficacy: It refers to one’s belief in one’s ability to
successfully complete a task.
• Beliefs regarding Self Efficacy are learned from past
experience.
• Includes 3 Dimensions:
– Magnitude – refers to the level of task difficulty that individuals
believe they can attain.
– Strength – refers to whether the belief regarding magnitude is strong
or weak
– Generality – indicates how generalized across different situations the
belief in capability.
 Self Efficacy - Managerial Implications

• Individuals with high levels of Self Efficacy

tend to display high levels of motivation &
performance.

– Selection Decisions
– Training Programs
– Goal Setting & Performance
• G. Creativity: a personality trait that involves the
ability to break away from habit bound thinking and
produce novel and useful ideas.
• It results in Innovation.
• It can be encouraged by giving people opportunity
and freedom to think in unconventional ways.
• Major impediment to Creativity is the fear of failure !
Type A Personality

• Ambitious , achievement oriented , strive to achieve

more things in less time .
• Are always moving, walking & eating rapidly
• Feel impatient with the rate at which events take
place
• Fast in everything they do.
• Involved in more than 1 thing.
• Always busy , unable to cope with leisure time.
• Emphasize numbers and quantity.
Type B Personality

• Not achievement oriented

• No urgency – make best use of leisure time.
• Can relax without guilt.
• Feel no need to display their accomplishments.
Achieving Personality Fit

• Holland’s personality job fit theory

• 6 different personality types.

Typology of personality

• Realistic:
– Prefers physical activities that require skill, strength,
and coordination
– Shy, genuine/ persistent, stable, conforming, practical
– Mechanic, drill press operator, assembly line worker,
farmer
• Investigative
– Prefers activities that involve thinking, organizing, and
understanding
– Analytical, original, curious, independent
– Biologist, economist, mathematician, news reporter
Typology of personality

• Social:
– Prefers activities that involve helping and developing
others
– Sociable, friendly, cooperative, understanding
– Social worker, teacher, counselor, clinical psychologist
• Conventional:
– Prefers rule-regulated, orderly, and unambiguous
activities
– Conforming, efficient, practical, unimaginative,
inflexible
– Accountant, corporate manager, bank teller, file clerk
Typology of personality

• Enterprising:
– Prefers verbal activities where there are opportunities
to influence others and attain power
– Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, domineering
– Lawyer, real estate agent, public relations specialist,
small business manager
• Artistic:
– Prefers ambiguous and unsystematic activities that
allow creative expression
– Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, emotional,
impractical
– Painter, musician, writer, interior decorator
Matching Personalities and Jobs
The Person – Organization Fit