Chapter

Chapter TWO
TWO
Personality
Personality

What
What is
is Personality?
Personality?
Personality
The sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others.
Personality Traits
Enduring
characteristics that
describe an
individuals behavior.

Personality
Personality
Determinants
Determinants
Heredity
Heredity
Environment
Environment
Situation
Situation

What
What is
is Personality?
Personality?
People differ from
each other in
meaningful ways

People seem to show

some consistency in
behavior

Personalityisdefinedasdistinctive
andrelativelyenduringwaysof
thinking,feeling,andacting

How
How do
dowe
wemeasure
measurepersonality?
personality?
Personality
PersonalityAssessment
Assessment
Observation, interviews, and rating scales
Using an observational technique known
as behavioral assessment, psychologists
can count and record the frequency of
particular behaviors
Useful because they provide a
standardized format, including a list of
traits or behaviors to evaluate

Psychometrics
Psychometrics

Psychometrics
Psychometrics

Psychometrics is the field of

study concerned with the
theory and technique of
educational and psychological
measurement, which includes
the
measurement
of
knowledge, abilities, attitudes,
and personality traits. The field
is primarily concerned with the
study
of
measurement
instruments
such
as
questionnaires and tests.

Psychometrics
Psychometrics
Psychometrics deals with the scientific
measurement of individual differences
(personality and intelligence)
It attempts to measure the
psychological qualities of individuals
and use that knowledge to make
predictions about behaviour
Dawis (1992) suggests that the
invention and development of
psychometric tests in psychology is
comparable in its impact to the
invention of the microscope in
biology

Who
Who put
put the
the metrics
metrics into
into psychometrics?
psychometrics?

If anything exists it
must exist in some
quantity
and
can
therefore
be
measured.
Lord Kelvin 1824-1907

Applications
Applications of
of Personality
Personality Tests
Tests
Criminal psychologists might employ
questionnaires to measure impulsivity
and its relation to crime
Health psychologists might measure
peoples optimism in relation to their
response to cancer diagnosis
Occupational psychologists often employ
personality tests to predict job
performance and job suitability e.g.
Furnham (1992) reported that workers
with high negative affect tend to be
less productive and have less job
satisfaction etc.

Mood
Mood and
and Environmental
Environmental Influence
Influence
Mood does seem to play a part in how
people go about performing in tests,
especially those concerning personality

people in a good mood might answer the

questionnaire completely differently than if
they were in a bad mood
Features of the environment (noise, heat &
light) might also have an impact on our
moods and our cognitive abilities

Hancock (1986) has shown that high

temperature has a significant negative
effect on vigilance, attention, memory and
reaction time

The
The Psychometric
Psychometric Principles
Principles
Reliability

Freedom

Validity

from Bias

Standardization

A
A psychometric
psychometric test
test must
must be
be
Objective: The score must not affected by the
testers beliefs or values
Standardized: It must be administered under
controlled conditions
Reliable: It must minimize and quantify any
intrinsic errors
Predictive: It must make an accurate
prediction of performance
Non Discriminatory: It must not disadvantage
any group on the basis of gender, culture,
ethnicity, etc.

Reliability
Reliability
Reliability is the extent to which a measure is free
from error

Validity
Validity::The
Theextent
extentto
towhich
whichwhat
whatyour
yourclaiming
claimingto
to
measure
measureisisindeed
indeedbeing
beingmeasured
measuredby
byyour
your instrument.
instrument.

Validity
Validityisisthe
theextent
extentto
towhich
whichaameasure
measureaccurately
accurately
measures
measureswhat
whatititclaims
claimsto
to

Relationship
Relationshipbetween
betweenReliability
Reliabilityand
and
Validity
Validity

Problems
Problems in
in personality
personality measurement
measurement

People must give reliable and truthful answers

People must understand the language used
Responses may be affected by mood
People may have multiple identities across
situations and find it difficult to portray their
"real" personality

Sample Rorschach Card Inkblot Test

The
The Myers-Briggs
Myers-Briggs Type
Type Indicator
Indicator
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Remained most widely used personality-assessment
instrument in the world for decades
A personality test that taps four characteristics
and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality
types.
Personality
PersonalityTypes
Types
Extroverted
Extrovertedvs.
vs.Introverted
Introverted(E
(Eor
orI)I)
Sensing
Sensingvs.
vs.Intuitive
Intuitive(S
(Sor
orN)
N)
Thinking
Thinkingvs.
vs.Feeling
Feeling(T
(Tor
orF)
F)
Judging
Judgingvs.
vs.Perceiving
Perceiving(P
(Por
orJ)J)

MBTI
MBTI Myers-Briggs
Myers-Briggs Type
Type Indicator
Indicator
The best reason to choose the MBTI instrument
to discover your personality type is that hundreds
of studies over the past 40 years have proven the
instrument to be both valid and reliable. In other
words, it measures what it says it does (validity)
and produces the same results when given more
than once (reliability)

The
The16
16personality
personalitytypes
typesof
ofthe
theMyers-Briggs
Myers-BriggsType
TypeIndicator
Indicator

ISTJ ISFJ
INFJ INTJ
ISTP ISFP
INFP INTP

ESTP ESFP
ENFP ENTP
ESTJ ESFJ
ENFJ ENTJ

The
The Myers-Briggs
Myers-Briggs Type
Type Indicator
Indicator
Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on
your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or
Introversion (I).
Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you
take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is
called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).
Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at
logic and consistency or first look at the people and special
circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get
things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information
and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).
Your Personality Type: When you decide on your
preference in each category, you have your own personality
type, which can be expressed as a code with four letters

Q1.
Q1. Which
Whichisisyour
yourmost
most natural
naturalenergy
energyorientation?
orientation?

Every person has two faces. One is directed towards

the OUTER world of activities, excitements, people, and
things. The other is directed inward to the INNER world of
thoughts, interests, ideas, and imagination.
While these are two different but complementary sides of
our nature, most people have an innate preference
towards energy from either the OUTER or the INNER world.
Thus one of their faces, either the Extraverted (E)
or Introverted (I), takes the lead in their personality
development and plays a more dominant role in their
behavior.

Choose
Choosewhich
whichbest
bestfits
fitsyou
you
Extraverted Characteristics
Act first, think/reflect later
Feel deprived when cutoff
from interaction with the
outside world
Usually open to and
motivated by outside world of
people and things
Enjoy wide variety and
change in people
relationships

Extraversion
Extraversion--EE or
orIntroversion
IntroversionII
Introverted Characteristics
Think/reflect first, then Act
Regularly require an
amount of "private time" to
recharge batteries
Motivated internally, mind is
sometimes so active it is
"closed" to outside world
Prefer one-to-one
communication and
relationships

QQ2.
2.Which
Whichway
wayof
ofPerceiving
Perceivingor
orunderstanding
understandingisismost
most
"automatic"
"automatic"or
ornatural?
natural?
The Sensing (S) side of our brain notices the sights, sounds,
smells and all the sensory details of the PRESENT. It
categorizes, organizes, records and stores the specifics from
the here and now. It is REALITY based, dealing with "what is."
It also provides the specific details of memory & recollections
from PAST events.
The Intuitive (N) side of our brain seeks to understand,
interpret and form OVERALL patterns of all the information
that is collected and records these patterns and relationships.
It speculates on POSSIBILITIES, including looking into and
forecasting the FUTURE. It is imaginative and conceptual.
While both kinds of perceiving are necessary and used by all
people, each of us instinctively tends to favor one over the
other.

Sensing
Sensing SS or
or Intuition
Intuition -- N
N
Sensing Characteristics
Mentally live in the Now,
attending to present
opportunities
Using common sense and
creating practical solutions is
automatic-instinctual
Memory recall is rich in detail
of facts and past events
Best improvise from past
experience
Like clear and concrete
information; dislike guessing
when facts are "fuzzy"

Intuitive Characteristics
Mentally live in the Future,
attending to future
possibilities
Using imagination and
creating/inventing new
possibilities is automaticinstinctual
Memory recall emphasizes
patterns, contexts, and
connections
Best improvise from
theoretical understanding
Comfortable with
ambiguous, fuzzy data and
with guessing its meaning.

QQ3.
3.Which
Whichway
wayof
offorming
formingJudgments
Judgmentsand
andmaking
makingchoices
choicesisismost
most
natural?
natural?
The Thinking (T) side of our brain analyzes information in
a DETACHED, objective fashion. It operates from factual
principles, deduces and forms conclusions systematically. It is our
logical nature.
The Feeling (F) side of our brain forms conclusions in
an ATTACHED and somewhat global manner, based on
likes/dislikes, impact on others, and human and aesthetic values.
It is our subjective nature.
While everyone uses both means of forming conclusions, each
person has a natural bias towards one over the other so that when
they give us conflicting directions - one side is the natural trump
card or tiebreaker.

Thinking
Thinking TT or
or Feeling
Feeling -- FF
Thinking Characteristics
Instinctively search for
facts and logic in a decision
situation.
Naturally notices tasks and
work to be accomplished.
Easily able to provide an
objective and critical
analysis.
Accept conflict as a natural,
normal part of relationships
with people.

Feeling Characteristics
Instinctively employ
personal feelings and impact
on people in decision
situations
Naturally sensitive to
people needs and reactions.
Naturally seek consensus
and popular opinions.
Unsettled by conflict; have
almost a toxic reaction to
disharmony

Q4.
Q4.What
Whatisisyour
your"action
"actionorientation"
orientation"towards
towardsthe
theoutside
outsideworld?
world?

All people use both judging (thinking and feeling)

and perceiving (sensing and intuition) processes to store
information, organize our thoughts, make decisions, take actions
and manage our lives. Yet one of these processes
(Judging or Perceiving) tends to take the lead in our relationship
with the outside world. . . while the other governs our inner world.
A Judging (J) style approaches the outside world WITH A
PLAN and is oriented towards organizing one's surroundings,
being prepared, making decisions and reaching closure and
completion.
A Perceiving (P) style takes the outside world AS IT COMES and is
adopting and adapting, flexible, open-ended and receptive to new
opportunities and changing game plans.

Judging
Judging JJ or
or Perceiving
Perceiving -- PP
Judging Characteristics
Plan many of the details in
advance before moving into
action.
Focus on task-related
action; complete meaningful
segments before moving on.
Work best and avoid stress
when able to keep ahead of
deadlines.
Naturally use targets, dates
and standard routines to
manage life.

Perceiving Characteristics
Comfortable moving into
action without a plan; plan
on-the-go.
Like to multitask, have
variety, mix work and play.
Naturally tolerant of time
pressure; work best close to
the deadlines.
Instinctively avoid
commitments which interfere
with flexibility, freedom and
variety

Your
Your 44 Personality
Personality Type
Type Letters
Letters

ISTJ
ISTJ
Quiet, serious, earn
success by thoroughness
and dependability.
Practical, matter-of-fact,
realistic, and responsible.
Decide logically what
should be done and work
toward it steadily,
regardless of distractions.
Take pleasure in making
everything orderly and
organized their work,
their home, their life. Value
traditions and loyalty.

ISFJ
ISFJ
Quiet, friendly,
responsible, and
conscientious. Committed
and steady in meeting
their obligations.
Thorough, painstaking,
and accurate. Loyal,
considerate, notice and
remember specifics about
people who are important
to them, concerned with
how others feel. Strive to
create an orderly and
harmonious environment
at work and at home.

INFJ
INFJ
Seek meaning and
connection in ideas,
relationships, and material
possessions. Want to
understand what
motivates people and are
insightful about others.
Conscientious and
committed to their firm
values. Develop a clear
vision about how best to
serve the common good.
Organized and decisive in
implementing their vision.

INTJ
INTJ
Have original minds and
great drive for
implementing their ideas
and achieving their goals.
Quickly see patterns in
external events and
develop long-range
explanatory perspectives.
When committed, organize
a job and carry it through.
Skeptical and
independent, have high
standards of competence
and performance for
themselves and others.

ISTP
ISTP
Tolerant and flexible, quiet
observers until a problem
appears, then act quickly
to find workable solutions.
Analyze what makes
things work and readily
get through large amounts
of data to isolate the core
of practical problems.
Interested in cause and
effect, organize facts using
logical principles, value
efficiency.

ISFP
ISFP
Quiet, friendly, sensitive,
and kind. Enjoy the
present moment, whats
going on around them.
Like to have their own
space and to work within
their own time frame.
Loyal and committed to
their values and to people
who are important to them.
Dislike disagreements and
conflicts, do not force their
opinions or values on
others.

INFP
INFP
Idealistic, loyal to their
values and to people who
are important to them.
Want an external life that
is congruent with their
values. Curious, quick to
see possibilities, can be
catalysts for implementing
ideas. Seek to understand
people and to help them
fulfill their potential.
Adaptable, flexible, and
accepting unless a value is
threatened.

INTP
INTP
Seek to develop logical
explanations for
everything that interests
them. Theoretical and
abstract, interested more
in ideas than in social
interaction. Quiet,
contained, flexible, and
adaptable. Have unusual
ability to focus in depth to
solve problems in their
area of interest. Skeptical,
sometimes critical, always
analytical.

ESTP
ESTP
Flexible and tolerant, they
take a pragmatic approach
focused on immediate
results. Theories and
conceptual explanations
bore them they want to
act energetically to solve
the problem. Focus on the
here-and-now,
spontaneous, enjoy each
moment that they can be
active with others. Enjoy
material comforts and
style. Learn best through
doing.

ESFP
ESFP
Outgoing, friendly, and
accepting. Exuberant
lovers of life, people, and
material comforts. Enjoy
working with others to
make things happen. Bring
common sense and a
realistic approach to their
work, and make work fun.
Flexible and spontaneous,
adapt readily to new
people and environments.
Learn best by trying a new
skill with other people.

ENFP
ENFP
Warmly enthusiastic and
imaginative. See life as full
of possibilities. Make
connections between
events and information
very quickly, and
confidently proceed based
on the patterns they see.
Want a lot of affirmation
from others, and readily
give appreciation and
support. Spontaneous and
flexible, often rely on their
ability to improvise and
their verbal fluency.

ENTP
ENTP
Quick, ingenious,
stimulating, alert, and
outspoken. Resourceful in
solving new and
challenging problems.
Adept at generating
conceptual possibilities
and then analyzing them
strategically. Good at
reading other people.
Bored by routine, will
seldom do the same thing
the same way, apt to turn
to one new interest after
another.

ESTJ
ESTJ
Practical, realistic, matterof-fact. Decisive, quickly
move to implement
decisions. Organize
projects and people to get
things done, focus on
getting results in the most
efficient way possible.
Take care of routine
details. Have a clear set of
logical standards,
systematically follow them
and want others to also.
Forceful in implementing
their plans.

ESFJ
ESFJ
Warmhearted,
conscientious, and
cooperative. Want harmony
in their environment, work
with determination to
establish it. Like to work
with others to complete
tasks accurately and on
time. Loyal, follow through
even in small matters.
Notice what others need in
their day-by-day lives and
try to provide it. Want to be
appreciated for who they
are and for what they
contribute.

ENFJ
ENFJ

ENTJ
ENTJ

Warm, empathetic,
responsive, and
responsible. Highly
attuned to the emotions,
needs, and motivations of
others. Find potential in
everyone, want to help
others fulfill their potential.
May act as catalysts for
individual and group
growth. Loyal, responsive
to praise and criticism.
Sociable, facilitate others
in a group, and provide
inspiring leadership.

Frank, decisive, assume

leadership readily. Quickly
see illogical and inefficient
procedures and policies,
develop and implement
comprehensive systems to
solve organizational
problems. Enjoy long-term
planning and goal setting.
Usually well informed, well
read, enjoy expanding
their knowledge and
passing it on to others.
Forceful in presenting
their ideas.

5Factors
Personality
Model
5Factors
Personality
Model
Modern personality theory is
a relatively new field and really
began in the 1920s.
the
psychologists Costa & McCrae
published details of a '5 trait'
model These 5 aspects of
personality are referred to as
the 5-factors or sometimes
just the Big 5.

Five
Five Factor
Factor Model
Model or
or The
The Big
Big Five
Five
The model considered to be the most accurate
model representative of basic human traits.

Tested in more than 50 countries.

Used in more than 1,000 research papers.

The
The Big
Big 5s.
5s. 55 Traits/Factors
Traits/Factors
1.

Extraversion - How energetic one is.

2.

Agreeableness - Ones level of orientation towards other people.

3.

Conscientiousness - How structured one is.

4.

Neuroticism - Tendency to worry.

5.

Openness to Experience - Tendency to be speculative and imaginative.

People who score high on this factor like to work in cooperation with others,
are talkative, enthusiastic and seek excitement. People who score low on this
factor prefer to work alone, and can be perceived as cold, difficult to
understand, even a bit eccentric.
Those who score high on this factor are usually co-operative, can be
submissive, and are concerned with the well-being of others. People who score
low on this factor may be challenging, competitive, sometimes even
argumentative.
People who score high on this factor are usually productive and disciplined and
single tasking. People who score low on this factor are often less structured,
less productive, but can be more flexible, inventive, and capable of
multitasking.
People who score low on this factor are usually calm, relaxed and rational. They
may sometimes be perceived as lazy and incapable of taking things seriously.
People who score high on this factor are alert, anxious, sometimes worried.
People who score high on this factor are neophile and curious and sometimes
unrealistic. People who score low on this factor are down-to-earth and practical
and sometimes obstructive of change.

The
The Big
Big Five
Five Model
Model of
of Personality
Personality Dimensions
Dimensions
Extroversion
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive

Agreeableness
Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.

Conscientiousness
Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.

Neuroticism/Emotional Stability
Calm, self-confident, secure (positive) versus nervous,
depressed, and insecure (negative).

Openness to Experience
Imaginativeness, artistic, sensitivity, and intellectualism.

Overview
Overview of
of the
the Big
Big 5
5

Why
Why is
is Personality
Personality Important
Important in
in OB
OB

Major
Major Personality
PersonalityAttributes
Attributes Influencing
Influencing OB
OB
Locus of control
Machiavellianism
Narcissism
Self-esteem
Self-monitoring
Risk taking
Type A personality

Locus
Locus of
of Control
Control
Locus of Control
The degree to which people believe
they are masters of their own fate.
Internals
Individuals who believe that
they control what happens to
them.

Externals
Individuals who believe
that what happens to them
is controlled by outside
forces such as luck or
chance.

Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism (Mach)
Degree to which an individual is
pragmatic, maintains emotional distance,
and believes that ends can justify means.
Narcissism
Narcissism::AAperson
personwho
whohas
has
grand
grandsense
senseof
ofself
selfimportance,
importance,
requires
requiresexcessive
excessiveadmiration
admiration&&
is
isarrogant.
arrogant.
Considers
Considershimself
himselfaaPerson
Personof
of
many
manytalents.
talents.
Fell
Fellin
inlove
lovewith
withown
ownimage.
image.

Self-Esteem
Self-Esteem and
and Self-Monitoring
Self-Monitoring
Self-Esteem (SE)
Individuals degree of
liking or disliking
themselves.
Self-Monitoring
A personality trait that
measures an individuals
ability to adjust his or her
behavior to external,
situational factors.

Risk-Taking
Risk-Taking
High Risk-taking Managers
Make quicker decisions
Use less information to make decisions
Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial
organizations

Low Risk-taking Managers

Are slower to make decisions
Require more information before making decisions
Exist in larger organizations with stable
environments

Risk Propensity
Aligning managers risk-taking propensity to job
requirements should be beneficial to organizations.

Personality
Personality Types
Types

Type As
1. are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly;
2. feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place;
3. strive to think or do two or more things at once;
4. cannot cope with leisure time;
5. are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in
terms of how many or how much of everything they acquire.
Type Bs
1. never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its
accompanying impatience;
2. feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements
or accomplishments;
3. play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their
superiority at any cost;
4. can relax without guilt.