Personality

Objectives
In this section you will:
_ Examine the various theories of personality
_ Identify the applications of personality measurement through questionnaires and
_ Identify the characteristics of personality questionnaires
Individual diferences 13
1.2.1 Introduction
Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical
systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.6
This defnition summarizes the complex interaction of eliefs! thoughts and ehaviour
that
typify how individuals are perceived y others and y themselves" The individual#s
ehaviour can then e classifed according to style! such as $outgoing# or $inward
loo%ing#"
&ur personality as the learned 'rofessor (ans Eysenc%) has noted! is unique to each one
of
us! and when comined with other attriutes such as intelligence leads to measurale
performance in wor%" The %ey reason for studying personality is that if one accepts it
can
e defned and measured! then employee personality! the organization and *os can e
matched to acquire a perfect $ft#"
Indeed! personality can determine good or ad wor% performance! including the critical
aility to wor% successfully alongside and with other people" +ith the growth of
teamwor%!
changing wor% pressures and systems! wor%place stress! and the importance of
leadership!
the personality of managers is of concern to employers"
&ur di,culty is that a great deal of contention exists aout the nature of personality
and
ways in which it can e evaluated" -ost people use ad*ectives to descrie personality
according to stereotypical traits! such as $lazy#! $fastidious#! $cheerful# and so on" +e
tend to
$cluster# aspects of a personality y referring to an easily identifale pattern or $type#
that
depends on crude physical! racial as well as ehavioural characteristics! such as
$women with
londe hair are dum#! $fat people are *olly#! $foreigners are untrustworthy#! and so on"
1.2.2 Development of personality
-ost accept that personality is formed y a comination of what is inherited .origins in
$nature#/! and environment! upringing and social experiences .origins in nurture/:
_ Nature: (eredity .genetic inheritance/: 0etermines physical characteristics! special
ailities .intelligence/ and emotional reactivity
_ Nurture: Environmental: Exposure to unique family experiences! culture! e"g" gender
roles and societal role models! values! traumatic events
_ Maturation: 1ocialization .peer groups! wor% colleagues and early adult experiences/
1.2.3 !eories of personality
Theories of personality can e divided into two main approaches"
Idio"rap!ic #individualistic$
This involves studying each person in their own right and the ways in which they
function"
Idiographic literally means self2report" 3ernon has termed these intuitive or su*ective
theories ecause they involve compiling a profle of the individual! which records their
individual traits" 'ersonality! as well as eing an inherited function! is also one derived
from
the way people are treated" Through this social process we develop an understanding
aout
ourselves" The theme of the $loo%ing2glass self# was developed y 4" (" -ead"5 6or
example! if our ehaviour stimulates a response of disli%e! fear and distrust this may e
the
desired response and we will enhance our personality traits that reinforce this
ehaviour"
7lso! the opposite would e true"
In the same category as idiographic is the humanistic theory of personality" This
emphasizes the positive nature of $human eings# and $self2actualization#! proponents
eing