INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES & Even when raised in sharply different
environments, the twins show remarkable similarity
PERSONALITY
Discussion
The behavior of an employee involves a complex
interaction of the person and the situation. Events
in the surrounding environment (including the
presence and behavior of others) strongly influence
the way people behave at any particular time.
Yet, people always bring something of themselves
to the situation. This “something,” which
represents the unique qualities of the individual, is
personality.
PERSONALITY
Refers to the relatively stable pattern of behaviors
and consistent internal states that explain a
personal behavioral tendencies (Hogan1991).
Is Personality Real?
The Person – Situation Controversy
Some social scientists have rejected the notion of
personality, arguing instead how we behave is
mainly determined by the external conditions we
face (Mischel, 1973). These social scientists have
gone as far as to claim that what we often describe
as personality is really an illusion stemming from
the fact that we want to perceive consistency in
human behavior, because it enables predicting
what they will say or do.
On the opposite side of this controversy are social
scientists who have argued, just as strongly, that
stable traits do exist that these lead people to
behave consistently across time and in different
settings.
In support of their claims, they point to the findings
of the research in which individuals are studied
over extended period of time.
EXPERIMENT ON TWINS
Identical twins studied in completely separate
environments.
Findings:
in many aspects of their personalities (Bouchard Jr
1990).
Evidence also supports the view that personality is
real, that people do show a certain degree of
consistency in their behavior.
Points to Ponder
If personality is much more than an illusion, to what
extent is it responsible for how we behave? In other
words, do we behave the way we do in a given
situation because of personality, because of
situational pressures, or both?
Core research suggests it is “both?”
Importance of Nature and Nurture in
Personality Development
Our behavior is determined by a complex
interaction between our personality traits and the
external environment; both are important and can
affect what we do or say.
Almost all social scientists accept this view known
as interactionists’ perspectives – and it is dominant
position also in organizational behavior.
Hereditary and Learning
Personality emerges over time from the interaction
of genetic and environmental factors.
To a large extent genes predetermine an
individual’s physical characteristics and they
contribute to other important personality
characteristics such as intelligence and
temperament.
Gender, race, size, appearance and even health and
energy are influenced significantly by genes
(Bouchard 1990).
Learning also vitally important
One of the major characteristics that distinguish
human beings from other species is that human
beings have a significantly greater capacity to learn,
remember and think about what happened in the
past, is happening in the present, and might happen
in the future.
Importance and Recognition of Individual
differences in Personality
Individuals learn and acquire knowledge, abilities,
values and attitudes.
Individuals learn their own motives. Overtime their
pattern of behavior becomes identified as their
personalities.
People’s personalities become clearer and more
stable as they grow older.
Personality can be conceptualized from a variety of
theoretical perspectives and at various levels of
abstraction and breadth ( Hampston et al.1986).
Shift in focus from descriptive studies focusing on
child rearing practices to process-oriented
psychology developed in the 1960’s.
Accepting and Managing Individual
differences
Process-oriented approach: Phenomenon of the
1980’s .
The influence of individuals, social structures and
cultural beliefs on one another (House 1981).
Intuition, Judgment, Perception & Sensation
(MBTI)
Myers-Briggs Theory
Myers-Briggs theory was developed by the mother-
daughter partnership of Katharine Briggs and Isabel
Briggs Myers.
Myers-Briggs theory is an adaptation of the theory
of psychological types produced by Carl Gustav
Jung. It is based on 16 personality types, which Jung
viewed as stereotypes (Jung 1921, p. 405). They act
as useful reference points to understand your
unique personality (Jung 1957, p. 304). At the heart
of Myers Briggs theory are four preferences.  possibilities or to anticipate what isn't obvious, and
 
Personality Dichotomies
• People and things (Extraversion or "E"), or ideas
and information (Introversion or "I").
• Facts and reality (Sensing or "S"), or possibilities
and potential (Intuition or "N").
• Logic and truth (Thinking or "T"), or values and
relationships (Feeling or "F").
• A lifestyle that is well-structured (Judgment or
"J"), or one that goes with the flow (Perception
or "P").
Myers and Jung
In Myers Briggs theory, for each pair you prefer one
style more than the other. Jung also allowed a
middle group where you like an equal balance of
the two. You combine the letters associated with
your preferences to get your Myers Briggs
personality type. For example, having preferences
for E, S, T and J gives a personality type of ESTJ.
Although you have preferences, you still use all
eight styles - in the same way that most people are
right-handed but they still use both hands.
EXTRAVERSION and INTROVERSION
The first pair of styles is concerned with the
direction of your energy. If you prefer to direct your
energy to deal with people, things, situations, or
"the outer world", then your preference is for
EXTRAVERSION. If you prefer to direct your energy
to deal with ideas, information, explanations or
beliefs, or "the inner world", then your preference
is for INTROVERSION.
SENSING and INTUITION
 The second pair concerns the type of
information/things that you process. If you prefer
to deal with facts, what you know, to have clarity,
or to describe what you see, and then your
preference is for SENSING. If you prefer to deal
with ideas, look into the unknown, to generate new
then your preference is for INTUITION. The letter N
is used for intuition because I have already been
allocated to Introversion.
 THINKING and FEELING
 The third pair reflects your style of decision-
making. If you prefer to decide on the basis of
objective logic, using an analytic and detached
approach, then your preference is for THINKING. If
you prefer to decide using values - i.e. on the basis
of what or who you believe is important - then your
preference is for FEELING.
JUDGMENT and PERCEPTION
The final pair describes the type of lifestyle you
adopt. If you prefer your life to be planned and
well-structured then your preference is for
JUDGING. This is not to be confused with
'Judgmental', which is quite different. If you prefer
to go with the flow, to maintain flexibility and
respond to things as they arise, then your
preference is for PERCEPTION.
Do the alphabet math to find your personality type?
When you put these four letters together, you get a
personality type code. Having four pairs to choose
from means there are sixteen Myers Briggs
personality types.
SIXTEEN PERSONALITY TYPES
BIG 5 Factors
Personality comprises of many elements,
psychologists work to identify critical factors that
help people observe and understand an individual’s
style and behavior pattern. One such set of factors
is referred to by some psychologists as the “Big
Five” (Mc Crae 1992; Smith et al.2001)
EXTRAVERSION
Extraversion focuses on the comfort level of an
individual in interaction with others. For example,
an individual's behavior may range from being
assertive, outgoing, talkative, open (extraversion)
to being timid, quiet, reserved (introversion).
AGREEABLENESS
This refers to an individual’s behavior towards
others while interacting with them. For example,
the behavior may range from being warm, co-
operative and close (high agreeableness) to cold,
antagonistic, and distant (low agreeableness).
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
Refers to the extent to which individuals show
consistent and reliable behavior while working in an
organization. An individual’s style may range from
being responsible, dependable, reliable and
consistent (high conscientiousness), to being
unreliable, disorganized, and inconsistent (low
conscientiousness); from performing work in a
detailed and structured manner to performing work
in a general and spontaneous way.
EMOTIONAL STABILITY / NEUROTICISM
This refers to the ability of an individual to control
his or her emotions at the time of crisis. Individuals
with high stability are more controlled with their
emotions and are calm and self-confident. On the
other hand, those with low emotional stability are
more nervous, depressed, and insecure in their
approach.
OPENNESS (to experience)
Measures the individual’s openness to any kind of
experience that helps him or her to do the job
effectively. Individuals who are open to experience
are more approachable, creative and sensitive.
However, those who are less open to experience
are conservative in their approach and feel
uncomfortable in a new environment.
In Analysis
Key elements of each factor combine to provide a
overall understanding of an individual’s personality.
This ability to understand different personalities
helps managers predict an individual's behavior in
different situations.