Personality & Dispute

Resolution

Nida Mohammad Khan Achakzai

Personality

Latin __ Persona __ Speak to

It is the mixture of psychological and physiological
characteristics which a human being behave the
way he or she responds the outer environment.
 “ The combination of
characteristics or qualities that
form an individual's distinctive
character.”
 DISPUTE ?

A DISAGREEMENT or ARGUMENT
 Characteristics

• Influence (Ext / Int)

• Mixture (look / B. Language)

• Individual differences

• Can change

No power to predict one’s behavior in future.

Personality-Profiling Instruments
More then 2500 PPI in use
Two most Popular Instruments:deductive
1. BIG FIVE SYSTEM

2. MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)

THE BIG FIVE
Openness to Experience
(intellect, imagination, curiosity, creativity)

Conscientiousness
(order, duty, deliberation, self-discipline)

Extraversion
(sociability, assertiveness, activity, positive emotions)

Agreeableness
(trust, nurturance, kindness, cooperation)

Neuroticism
(anxiety, depression, moodiness ,vulnerability to stress)
 Extroversion
Extroverted people Introverted people
• Energetic • Shy
• Enthusiastic • Retiring
• Dominant • Submissive
• Sociable • Quiet
• Talkative
 Agreeableness
Low Agreeableness
• Cold
• Quarrelsome
 Conscientiousness
Impulsive Conscientious
• Careless • Cautious
• Disorderly • Dependable
• Undependable • Organized
• Responsible
 Neuroticism
Emotionally stable
• Calm
• Contented
 Openness
Low on Openness
• Down to earth
• Conventional
• Conformist
• Simple
VDO
 Implications for Negation
• Extrovert negotiator would be ambitious and assertive
• Agreeable Negotiators agree too quickly and tend to reduce
individual’s distributive outcomes
• Conscientious negotiators would do through preparation
before and be likely to outperform. (best negotiators)
• Negotiators with high neuroticism are calm and collected.
While low on the dimension would be easily angered and
slow to calm down. (Negotiator must be emotionally stable)
• Negotiators with high openness to experience would be
curious, empathic listeners, high on tolerance and devise
creative solutions to the dispute.
 MBTI
Personality Trait instrument developed by Katherine Briggs
& Isabel Briggs in 1950s

The Test is based on 4 axes

1. Introvert – Extrovert
2. Sensing -- Intuiting
3. Thinking – Feeling
4. Perceiving -- Judging
MBTI
1. INTROVERTED OR EXTRAVERTED?
Social Contact
Cont…

Implications for Conflict:

•Introvert experiences the other one as CONFRONTATIONAL.
•Extravert experience the other as AVOIDING THE ISSUE.
 2. SENSING OR INTUITING?
Selecting Information
Sensing Intuiting
 Concrete
 Present  Abstract Thinkers
 Reality
 Future
 Absorb Information
Sequentially  Imaginations
 Don’t like to guess  Ideas behind realities
 Physical Characteristics  Like to guess
 Creates associations
.
 Cont…

Implications for Conflict:

• Intuiting type make argument based on general issues & frustrated with lengthy work
• Sensing types get detail information & frustrated when suggestions are not practical
 3. THINKING OR FEELING?
Judgment of Information for decision making

FEELERS THINKERS

 Caring  General Standards

 Avoid stating their real  Follow Principles
concerns
Implications for Conflict:
•Thinkers view feelers as irrational, inconsistent and illogical.
•Feelers view thinkers as cold and uncaring
4. JUDGING OR PERCEIVING?
 Cont…

Implications for Conflict:

 Judgers view perceivers as flaky and indecisive.
 Perceivers view Judgers as rigid and over controlling.
 Caveats, Complications & Concerns
 Reliability Problems
(<47% who take MBTI second time got different results)
 Little Ability to Predict Behavior
(knowing someone’s tendency does not mean you can predict
how that person will behave in particular circumstances)
 Axes may not be Opposed
(One can be strong on both ends, can be weak on both ends)

“I SEE A PATTERN HERE AND THE PATTERN IS YOU”

The personality Types
 Conclusions
• No one is alike, all possess unique personality
traits.
• So, familiarity with the personality differences
can be a coaching tool for negotiators.
• Specific personality traits can give people
(during negotiations) better outcomes.
• The negotiation should differ with different
personality types.
 Tests
• http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-
win/JTypes2.asp
• http://www.personal.psu.edu/~j5j/IPIP/ipipne
o300.htm