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Unit 5 Personality
Structure:
5.1 Introduction
Learning Objectives
5.2 Personality Determinants
5.3 Personality Theories
William Sheldon
Catells 16 PF
MBTI
Big Five personality Model
Type A Type B5.4 Achieving Personality Fit
5.5 Summary
5.6 Terminal Questions
5.7 Answers
5.1 Introduction
The term 'personality' has been derived from the Latin term 'persona' which
means to 'speak through'. The Latin word denotes the masks worn by actors
in ancient Greece and Rome. Therefore, a very common meaning of the
term personality is the role which the person (actor) displays in the public
domain at large. Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and
development of a persons whole psychological system-it looks at some
aggregate whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. For psychologists,
personality includes:
i) Eternal appearances and behaviour
ii) The inner awareness of self as a permanent organizing force, and
iii) The particular organization of measurable traits, both inner and
outer.
Allport (1937) defined personality as the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique
adjustments to his environment.
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Learning Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to: State the determinants of personality
Describe the personality theories
Discuss the personality fit
Personality traits are the key antecedent of an individuals cognitions and
affective states that may influence his or her task and interpersonal or socio-
emotional role behavior (in teams). (Moynihan and Peterson, 2001)
Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of
characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her
cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations. (Ryckman,
2004)
According to Cattell (1965) that which permits a prediction of what a person
will do in a given situation.
Personality is the organized, developing system within the individual that
represents the collective action of that individuals major psychological
subsystems (Mayer, 2007).
Personality refers to those characteristics of the person that account for
consistent patterns of feelings, thinking, and behaving (Pervin, Cervone &
John, 2005).
Personality is the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the
individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or
her interactions with, and adaptations to, the intrapsychic, physical, and
social environments (Larson & Buss, 2005).
J.B Kolasa(1978) defines personality as "Personality is a broad,
amorphous designation relating to fundamental approaches of persons to
others and themselves. To most psychologists and students of behaviour,
this term refers to the study of the characteristic traits of an individual,
relationships between these traits and the way in which a person adjusts to
other people and situations".
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According to Gluck(1968) "Personality is a pattern of stable states and
characteristics of a person that influences his or her behaviour toward goalachievement. Each person has unique ways of protecting these states".
James D Thompson and Donald Van Houten(1967) define personality as
"a very diverse and complex psychological concept. The word 'personality'
may mean something like outgoing, invigorating interpersonal abilities ... but
we must also recognize and explain the fact that development results in
man acquiring a distinctiveness or uniqueness which gives him identity that
enables him and us to recognize him as apart from others. These
distinguishing characteristics are summarized by the term 'personality'.
From the above definitions we can say that personality is a very diverse and
complex psychological concept. It is concerned with external appearance
and behaviour, self, measurable traits, and situational interactions.
5.2 Personality Determinants
The factors affecting personality development are illustrated below:
1. Heredity
The relationship of heredity with personality is a well-accepted fact.
Traits like physique, eye color, hair color, height, temperament, energy
level, intelligence, reflexes, etc. are generally referred to describe the
influence of heredity in developing personality. The heredity approach
argues that the ultimate explanation of an individuals personality is the
molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. Robbins
(2003) has argued that the three different streams of research lend
some credibility to the argument that heredity plays an important part in
determining an individual's personality. The first looks at the genetic
underpinnings of human behavior and temperament among young
children. The second addresses the study of twins who were separated
at birth and the third examines the consistency in job satisfaction over
time and across situations.
2. Environment
Environment comprises of culture, family, social and situational factors.
The environmental factors influence personality of an individual since
they provide the basis of certain experiences which determine the
individuals view about life, both positive and negative.
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3. Culture
Culture establishes norms, attitudes and values that are passed on fromgeneration to generation and create consistencies over time. Every
culture expects and trains its members to behave in the ways that are
acceptable to the group. People from different cultural groups have
different attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition,
cooperation, artistic talent, etc. However, on the basis of culture, an
individuals personality cannot be always assessed, since individuals
within the same culture (but from different family and sub-cultural
background) have been seen to differ in their behavior. To a marked
degree, the child's cultural group defines the range of experiences and
situations he is likely to encounter and the values and personality
characteristics that will be reinforced and hence learned." Culture
requires both conformity and acceptance from its members.
4. Family
One of the most important determinants of the personality of a person is
the immediate family. Families influence the behavior of a person
especially in the early stages of life. The nature of such influence will
depend upon the socio-economic level of the family, family size, race,
religion, parent's educational level and geographic location.
The parents play an especially important part in the identification
process, which is important to the person's early development.According to Mischel, the process can be examined from three different
perspectives.
i. Identification can be viewed as the similarity of behaviour including
feelings and attitudes between child and model. Parents being the
first model.
ii. Identification can be looked at as the child's motives or desires to be
like the model.
iii. It can be viewed as the process through which the child actually
takes on the attributes of the model.
From all three perspectives, the identification process is fundamental to
the understanding of personality development.
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5. Situation
Situational factors also play a crucial role in determining the personality of aperson. Every individual goes through different type of experiences and
events in his/her life. Some of the events and experiences, which an
individual goes through in his/her life, can serve as important determinants
of his/her personality. A trauma suffered by a person in the childhood can
sometime change the structure of his/her own personality.
6. Social Factors
There is increasing recognition given to the role of other relevant persons,
groups and especially organizations, which greatly influence an individual's
personality. This is commonly called the socialization process. Socialization
involves the process by which a person acquires, from the enormously widerange of behavioural potentialities that are open to him or her, those that are
ultimately synthesized and absorbed. Socialization starts with the initial
contact between a mother and her new infant. After infancy, other members
of the immediate family father, brothers, sisters and close relatives or
friends, then the social group: peers, school friends and members of the
work group - play influential roles.
Self Assessment Questions
1. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an
individuals personality is the molecular structure of the _____________
2. One of the most important determinants of the personality of a person is
the________ family
5.3 Personality Theories
5.3.1 William Sheldon, 1940's
William Sheldon (1940, 1942, cited in Phares, 1991) classified personality
according to body type. He called this a persons somatotype.
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Sheldon identified three main somatotypes:
Table 5.1 Sheldons Classification of Personality Types.
Sheldon'sSomatotype
Character ShapeSample
Picture
Endomorph[viscerotonic]
relaxed, sociable,tolerant, comfort-loving,peaceful
plump, buxom, developedvisceral structure
Mesomorph[somatotonic]
active, assertive,vigorous, combative
muscular
Ectomorph[cerebrotonic]
quiet, fragile, restrained,non-assertive, sensitive
lean, delicate, poormuscles
Somatotypes
In the 1940s, Sheldon proposed a theory about how there are certain body
types ("somatotypes") that are associated with certain personality
characteristics. William Sheldon (1898-1977) was an American psychologist
who devoted his life to observing the variety of human bodies and
temperaments. He taught and did research at a number of U.S.universities
and is best known for his series of books on the human constitution. He was
a keen observer of animals and birds as a child, and he turned this talent to
good effect by becoming an avid people-watcher, and out of his
observations he gradually elaborated his typology.He claimed that there are
three such somatotypes: endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy.
Endomorphy focused on the digestive system, particularly the stomach
(endoderm); has the tendency toward plumpness, corresponds to
Viscerotonia temperament tolerant, love of comfort and luxury, extravert.
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Mesophorphy focused on musculature and the circulatory system
(mesoderm), has the tendency towards muscularity, corresponds to theSomatotonia temperament courageous, energetic, active, dynamic,
assertive, aggressive, risk taker.
Ectomorphy focused on the nervous system and the brain (ectoderm)
the tendency towards slightness, corresponds to Cerebrotonia
temperament artistic, sensitive, apprehensive, introvert.
On this basis, Sheldon created his very interesting Atlas of Men(Macmillan
Pub Co; 1970) in which all possible body types are graded in a scale from 1
(low) to 7 (high), based on the degree to which they matched these types;
with 4 as average). Each type is represented by a series of photos, and is
given a comical or descriptive name, like "saber tooth tiger" for extreme
mesomorph, "Baluchitherium" (the largest prehistoric land mammal) for
mesomorph and endomorph, "Male Mosquito" for the extreme ectomorph,
and so on. On this scale, the extreme or pure mesomorph has a score of
1-7-1, the pure endomorph 7-1-1, and the pure ectomorph 1-1-7. Most
people of course are a combination of types.
a. Endomorphic Body Type:
soft body
underdeveloped muscles
round shaped over-developed digestive system
Associated personality traits:
love of food
tolerant
evenness of emotions
love of comfort
sociable
good humoured
relaxed
need for affection
b. Mesomorphic Body Type:
hard, muscular body
overly mature appearance
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rectangular shaped
thick skin upright posture
Associated personality traits:
adventurous
desire for power and dominance
courageous
indifference to what others think or want
assertive, bold
zest for physical activity
competitive
love of risk and chance
c. Ectomorphic Body Type:
thin
flat chest
delicate build
young appearance
tall
lightly muscled
stoop-shouldered
large brain
Associated personality traits:
self-conscious
preference for privacy
introverted
inhibited
socially anxious
artistic
mentally intense
emotionally restrained
Sheldon measured the proportions of hundreds of juvenile delinquent boys
and concluded that they were generally mesomorphs (Ornstein, 1993).
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Body types have been criticized for very weak empirical methodology and
are not generally used in psychology. The use of somatotyping (usingdifferent taxonomies) is used more often in alternative therapies and
Eastern psychology and spirituality.
Traits are underlying tendencies to behave in a consistent and distinctive
style and they describe the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings,
thoughts, or behaviors. Possession of a trait is, therefore, a matter of
degree.
Some of the most important research works on personality traits are
mentioned below:
5.3.2 Cattells 16 Personality Factor Model
Early research on personality traits resulted in isolating large numbers of
traits, which made it impossible to predict behavior. Cattells (1973) is one of
the most important personality trait theory, where the number of traits have
been reduced. Cattell referred to these 16 factors as primary factors.
Primary Factors and Descriptors in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model
(Adapted From Conn & Rieke, 1994).
Table 5.2 Cattlels 16 Primary Factors.
Descriptors of Low Range Primary Factor Descriptors of High Range
1 Reserve, impersonal,distant, cool, reserved,impersonal, detached,formal, aloof (Sizothymia)
Warmth Warm, outgoing, attentive toothers, kindly, easy going,participating, likes people(Affectothymia)
2 Concrete thinking, lowergeneral mental capacity,less intelligent, unable tohandle abstract problems(Lower Scholastic MentalCapacity)
Reasoning Abstract-thinking, moreintelligent, bright, highergeneral mental capacity, fastlearner (Higher ScholasticMental Capacity)
3 Reactive emotionally,changeable, affected byfeelings, emotionally lessstable, easily upset (LowerEgo Strength)
Emotional StabilityEmotionally stable, adaptive,mature, faces reality calm(Higher Ego Strength)
4 Deferential, cooperative,avoids conflict, submissive,humble, obedient, easily led,docile, accommodating(Submissiveness)
Dominance Dominant, forceful, assertive,aggressive, competitive,stubborn, bossy (Dominance)
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5 Serious, restrained, prudent,taciturn, introspective, silent
(Desurgency)
Liveliness Lively, animated, spontaneous,enthusiastic, happy go lucky,
cheerful, expressive, impulsive(Surgency)
6 Expedient, nonconforming,disregards rules, selfindulgent (Low Super EgoStrength)
Rule-Consciousness
Rule-conscious, dutiful,conscientious, conforming,moralistic, staid, rule bound(High Super Ego Strength)
7 Shy, threat-sensitive, timid,hesitant, intimidated(Threctia)
Social Boldness Socially bold, venturesome,thick skinned, uninhibited(Parmia)
8 Utilitarian, objective,unsentimental, toughminded, self-reliant, no-nonsense, rough (Harria)
Sensitivity Sensitive, aesthetic,sentimental, tender minded,intuitive, refined (Premsia)
9 Trusting, unsuspecting,accepting, unconditional,easy (Alaxia)
Vigilance Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical,distrustful, oppositional(Protension)
10 Grounded, practical,prosaic, solution orientated,steady, conventional(Praxernia)
Abstractedness Abstract, imaginative, absentminded, impractical, absorbedin ideas (Autia)
11 Forthright, genuine, artless,open, guileless, naive,unpretentious, involved(Artlessness)
Privateness Private, discreet, nondisclosing,shrewd, polished, worldly,astute, diplomatic(Shrewdness)
12 Self-Assured, unworried,complacent, secure, free of
guilt, confident, self satisfied(Untroubled)
Apprehension Apprehensive, self doubting,worried, guilt prone, insecure,
worrying, self blaming (GuiltProneness)
13 Traditional, attached tofamiliar, conservative,respecting traditional ideas(Conservatism)
Openness toChange
Open to change, experimental,liberal, analytical, critical, freethinking, flexibility (Radicalism)
14 Group-oriented, affiliative, ajoiner and followerdependent (GroupAdherence)
Self-Reliance Self-reliant, solitary,resourceful, individualistic, selfsufficient (Self-Sufficiency)
15 Tolerated disorder,unexacting, flexible,undisciplined, lax, self-conflict, impulsive, careless
of social rues, uncontrolled(Low Integration)
Perfectionism Perfectionistic, organized,compulsive, self-disciplined,socially precise, exacting willpower, control, self
sentimental (High Self-ConceptControl)
16 Relaxed, placid, tranquil,torpid, patient, composedlow drive (Low ErgicTension)
Tension Tense, high energy, impatient,driven, frustrated, overwrought, time driven. (HighErgic Tension)
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5.3.3 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The MBTI classifies human beings into four opposite pairs (dichotomies),base on their psychological opposites. These four opposite pairs result into
16 possible combinations. In MBTI, Individuals are classified as (McCrae
and Costa, 1989) :
a. Extroverted or introverted (E or I).
b. Sensing or intuitive (S or N).
c. Thinking or feeling (T or F).
d. Perceiving or judging (P or J).
These classifications are then combined into sixteen personality types.
For example:
a. INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and great drivefor their own ideas and purposes. They are characterized as skeptical,
critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn.
b. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive,
and have a natural head for business or mechanics. They like to
organize and run activities.
c. The ENTP type is a conceptualizer. He or she is innovative,
individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. This
person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may
neglect routine assignments.
Activity 1
5.3.4 The big five model
Many researchers argue that five basic dimensions underlie all other
personality dimensions (e.g; McCrae and Costa, 1990; Digman, 1997). The
five basic dimensions are:
1. Extraversion. Comfort level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be
gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid,
and quiet.
Visit the following site to get more details about using MBTI.http://www.myersbriggs.org/
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2. Agreeableness. Individuals propensity to defer to others. High
agreeableness people cooperative, warm, and trusting. Lowagreeableness people cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.
3. Conscientiousness. A measure of reliability. A high conscientious
person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those
who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and
unreliable.
4. Emotional stability.A persons ability to withstand stress. People with
positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure.
Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious,
depressed, and insecure.
5. Openness to experience. The range of interests and fascination with
novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically
sensitive. Those at the other end of the openness category are
conventional and find comfort in the familiar.
Extraversion
Extraversion (also "extroversion") is marked by pronounced engagement
with the external world. Extraverts enjoy being with people, are full of
energy, and often experience positive emotions. They tend to be
enthusiastic, action-oriented individuals who are likely to say "Yes!" or "Let's
go!" to opportunities for excitement. In groups they like to talk, assert
themselves, and draw attention to themselves.
Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extraverts.
They tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and less dependent on the social
world. Their lack of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness
or depression; the introvert simply needs less stimulation than an extravert
and more time alone to re-charge their batteries.
Sample Extraversion items
I am the life of the party.
I don't mind being the centre of attention. I feel comfortable around people.
I start conversations.
I talk to a lot of different people at parties.
I am quiet around strangers. (reversed)
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I don't like to draw attention to myself. (reversed)
I don't talk a lot. (reversed) I have little to say. (reversed)
I keep in the background. (reversed)
b. Agreeableness
Agreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation
and social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others.
They are therefore considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to
compromise their interests with others. Agreeable people also have an
optimistic view of human nature. They believe people are basically honest,
decent, and trustworthy.
I am interested in people.
I feel others emotions.
I have a soft heart.
I make people feel at ease.
I sympathize with others feelings.
I take time out for others.
I am not interested in other peoples problems. (reversed)
I am not really interested in others. (reversed)
I feel little concern for others. (reversed)
I insult people. (reversed)c. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness concerns the way in which we control, regulate, and
direct our impulses. Impulses are not inherently bad; occasionally time
constraints require a snap decision, and acting on our first impulse can be
an effective response. Also, in times of play rather than work, acting
spontaneously and impulsively can be fun. Impulsive individuals can be
seen by others as colourful, fun-to-be-with, and zany. Conscientiousness
includes the factor known as Need for Achievement (NAch).
The benefits of high conscientiousness are obvious. Conscientious
individuals avoid trouble and achieve high levels of success through
purposeful planning and persistence. They are also positively regarded by
others as intelligent and reliable. On the negative side, they can be
compulsive perfectionists and workaholics. Furthermore, extremely
conscientious individuals might be regarded as stuffy and boring.
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Unconscientious people may be criticized for their unreliability, lack of
ambition, and failure to stay within the lines, but they will experience manyshort-lived pleasures and they will never be called stuffy (i.e. dull, boring,
unimaginative).
Sample Conscientiousness items
I am always prepared.
I am exacting in my work.
I follow a schedule.
I get chores done right away.
I like order.
I pay attention to details.
I leave my belongings around. (reversed)
I make a mess of things. (reversed)
I often forget to put things back in their proper place. (reversed)
I shirk my duties. (reversed)
d. Neuroticism
Neuroticism, also known inversely as Emotional Stability, refers to the
tendency to experience negative emotions. Those who score high on
Neuroticism may experience primarily one specific negative feeling such as
anxiety, anger, or depression, but are likely to experience several of these
emotions. People high in Neuroticism are emotionally reactive. Theyrespond emotionally to events that would not affect most people, and their
reactions tend to be more intense than normal. They are more likely to
interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as
hopelessly difficult. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for
unusually long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood.
These problems in emotional regulation can diminish a neurotic's ability to
think clearly, make decisions, and cope effectively with stress.
At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in Neuroticism are
less easily upset and are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm,
emotionally stable, and free from persistent negative feelings. Freedom fromnegative feelings does not mean that low scorers experience a lot of positive
feelings; frequency of positive emotions is a component of the Extraversion
domain.
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Causes of Openness
Openness is heritable, like all of the major personality dimensions, withestimates clustering around 0.4. One environmental cause of increased
openness appears to be exposure to tertiary (College) education.
Locus of control
A persons perception of the source of his/her fate is termed locus of control.
Locus of control was formulated within the framework of Rotter's (1954)
social learning theory of personality. Rotter (1975) pointed out that
internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an
either/or typology. Internalstend to attribute outcomes of events to their own
control. Externals attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances.
For example, college students with a strong internal locus of control maybelieve that their grades were achieved through their own abilities and
efforts, whereas, those with a strong external locus of control may believe
that their grades are the result of good or bad luck, or to a professor who
designs bad tests or grades capriciously; hence, they are less likely to
expect that their own efforts will result in success and are therefore less
likely to work hard for high grades.
Individuals who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have
higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work setting, and are
less involved on their jobs than are internals. Internals, facing the same
situation, attribute organizational outcomes to their own actions. Internals
believe that health is substantially under their own control through proper
habits; their incidences of sickness and, hence, of absenteeism, are lower.
Internals generally perform better on their jobs, but one needs to consider
differences in jobs. Internals search more actively for information before
making a decision, are more motivated to achieve, and make a greater
attempt to control their environment, and hence, internals do well on
sophisticated tasks. Internals are more suited to jobs that require initiative
and independence of action and want autonomy and independence in their
jobs. Externals are more compliant and willing to follow directions and beled, and do well on jobs that are well structured and routine and in which
success depends heavily on complying with the direction of others.
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Activity 2
Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism is the term that some social and personality
psychologists use to describe a person's tendency to deceive and
manipulate others for personal gain. The concept is named after
Renaissance diplomat and writer Niccol Machiavelli, who wroteIl Principe
(The Prince).
Christie and Geis (1970) developed a test for measuring a person's level of
Machiavellianism. This eventually became the MACH-IV test, a twenty-statement personality survey that is now the standard self-assessment tool
of Machiavellianism. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic,
maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means.
High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade
others more. High Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors and
flourish when they interact face to face with others, rather than indirectly,
and when the situation has a minimum number of rules and regulations,
thus, allowing room for improvisation. High Machs make good employees in
jobs that require bargaining skills or that offer substantial rewards for
winning.
Self-esteem ( SE)
Self-esteem is defined as the degree to which people like or dislike
themselves (Robbins, 2003). Individuals with high self-esteem tend to take
more risks in job selection and are more likely to choose unconventional
jobs in contrast to people with low self-esteem. Low SEs are more
susceptible to external influence than are high SEs. Low SEs are dependent
on the receipt of positive evaluations from others. In managerial positions,
therefore, low SEs will tend to be concerned with pleasing others.
Self-monitoringIt refers to an individuals ability to adjust his or her behavior to external,
situational factors. Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable
adaptability. They are highly sensitive to external cues, and are capable of
behaving differently in different situations, and presenting striking
Visit the following site to identify your Big Fivehttp://similarminds.com/big5.html
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contradictions between their public persona and their private self. Low self-
monitors cannot disguise themselves in that way. They tend to display theirtrue dispositions and attitudes in almost every situation resulting in a high
behavioral consistency between who they are and what they do. High self-
monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behavior of others. High self-
monitoring managers tend to be more mobile in their careers and receive
more promotions. High self-monitor is capable of putting on different faces
for different audiences.
5.3.5 Type A and Type B personality
Type A personality is a set of characteristics that includes, being impatient,
excessively time-conscious, insecure about one's status, highly competitive,
hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation (Friedman & Rosenman
1974).
i. Are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly:
ii. Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place;
iii. Strive to think or do two or more things simultaneously;
iv. Cannot cope with leisure time; and
v. Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how
much of everything they acquire.
Type B personality is rarely hurried by the desire to obtain an increasing
number of things or participate in events demanding an ever-decreasingamount of time (Friedman & Rosenman, 1974). Never suffer from a sense
of time urgency with its accompanying impatience;
i. Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or
accomplishments unless such exposure is demanded by the situation;
ii. Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at
any cost; and
iii. Can relax without guilt.
Self Assessment Questions
3. Cattell referred to these 16 factors as _____________ factors.
4. The MBTI classifies human beings into _____________ opposite pairs
5. Locus of control was formulated within the framework of Rotter's
___________ theory of personality
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5.4 Achieving Personality-Job- Fit
According to Holland (1997), workers are not passive victims of theirenvironments, but actively seek potentially compatible work environments. If
an individuals personality and the work environment fitthat is, if the
personality is congruent with the work environmentthe individual will most
likely enjoy the work and develop and grow in the career. Matching people
to the organizational culture at the time of hiring should result in higher
employee satisfaction and reduced turnover. Holland has proposed Six
themes of people and work environments, within which all jobs can be
classified:
1. Realistic
2. Investigative
3. Artistic4. Social
5. Enterprising
6. Conventional
The above-mentioned classification is shown in more details in the following
chart:
Table 5.3: Personality Job Fit
Type PersonalityCharacteristics
Congruent Occupation
Realistic: Prefers physicalactivities that require skill,strength, and coordination
Shy, genuine,persistent, stable,conforming, practical
Mechanic, drill pressoperator,assembly-line worker, farmer
Investigative: Prefers activitiesthat involve thinking,organizing, and understanding
Analytical, original,curious,independent
Biologist, economist,mathematician, news reporter
Social: Prefers activities thatinvolve helping anddeveloping others
Sociable, friendly,cooperative,understanding
Social workers, teacher,counselor, clinicalpsychologist
Conventional: Prefers rule-regulated, orderly, andunambiguous activities
Conforming, efficient,practical,unimaginative,inflexible
Accountant, corporatemanager, bank teller, fileclerk
Enterprising: Prefers verbalactivities in which there are
opportunities to influenceothers and attain power
Self-confident,ambitious,
energetic, domineering
Lawyer, real estate agent,public relations specialist,
smallbusiness manager
Artistic: Prefers ambiguous andunsystematic activities thatallow creative expression
Imaginative, disorderly,idealistic,emotional, impractical
Painter, musician, writer,interior decorator
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Self Assessment Questions
6. Holland has proposed _________ themes of people and workenvironments, within which all jobs can be classified
7. _____________ person prefers verbal activities in which there are
opportunities to influence others and attain power.
5.5 Summary
Let us sum up what we have discussed in this unit:
The term 'personality' has been derived from the Latin term 'persona' which
means to 'speak through'. The factors affecting personality development are
Heredity, Environment, Culture, Family, and Situation. Personality Traits areunderlying tendencies to behave in a consistent and distinctive style and
they describe the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings, thoughts, or
behaviors. Possession of a trait is, therefore, a matter of degree. Early
research on personality traits resulted in isolating large numbers of traits,
which made it impossible to predict behavior.
According to Sheldon(1940) there is a link between physiological traits and
characteristics of an individual with his behavior. There are basically three
types-endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. Cattells (1973) is one of
the most important personality trait theory, where the number of traits have
been reduced. Cattell referred to these 16 factors as primary factors. The
MBTI classifies human beings into four opposite pairs (dichotomies), base
on their psychological opposites. These four opposite pairs result into 16
possible combinations. Many researchers argue that five basic dimensions
underlie all other personality dimensions (e.g; McCrae and Costa, 1990;
Digman, 1997). The five basic dimensions are Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, and openness to experience. A
persons perception of the source of his/her fate is termed locus of control.
Locus of control was formulated within the framework of Rotter's (1954)
social learning theory of personality. Rotter (1975) pointed out that
internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an
either/or typology. Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own
control.
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Machiavellianism is the term that some social and personality psychologists
use to describe a person's tendency to deceive and manipulate others forpersonal gain. Self-esteem is defined as the degree to which people like or
dislike themselves (Robbins, 2003). Self-monitoring refers to an individuals
ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors. Individuals
high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability. Type A personality is
a set of characteristics that includes, being impatient, excessively time-
conscious, insecure about one's status, highly competitive, hostile and
aggressive, and incapable of relaxation. Type B personality is rarely hurried
by the desire to obtain an increasing number of things or participate in
events demanding an ever-decreasing amount of time.
According to Holland (1997), workers are not passive victims of theirenvironments, but actively seek potentially compatible work environments. If
an individuals personality and the work environment fit that is, if the
personality is congruent with the work environment the individual will most
likely enjoy the work and develop and grow in the career. Matching people
to the organizational culture at the time of hiring should result in higher
employee satisfaction and reduced turnover.
5.6 Terminal Questions
1. Describe the determinants of personality.
2. Explain The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.3. Explain the personality dimensions mentioned in big five model.
4. Explain Type A and Type B personality.
5. Based on Hollands approach, explain personality-job-fit.
5.7 Answers
Answers to Self Assessment Questions
1. Genes
2. Immediate
3. Primary
4. Four
5. Social learning
6. Six
7. Enterprising
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Answers to Terminal Questions
1. Refer section 5.22. Refer section 5.3
3. Refer section 5.3
4. Refer section 5.3
5. Refer section 5.4
Glossary
Words Meaning
Agreeableness A person's ability to get along with others.
Culture Broadly, social heritage of a group (organized community orsociety). It is a pattern of responses discovered, developed, orinvented during the group's history of handling problems whicharise from interactions among its members, and between themand their environment
Extraversion The quality of being comfortable with relationships; the oppositeextreme, introversion, is characterized by more social discomfort
Family Social unit of two or more persons related by blood, marriage, oradoption and having a shared commitment to the mutualrelationship. See also household
Locus ofcontrol
The extent to which people believe their circumstances are afunction of their own actions versus external factors beyond theircontrol
Personality The relatively stable set of psychological attributes thatdistinguish one person from another.
Suggested Reading
Read the book
The Prince. (Penguin-London) by Machiavelli, Niccolo (2004)
Additional References
http://www.thepersonalitysystem.org/PFAAssets/Miscellaneous/Assertin
g%20the%20definition%20of%20personality.pdf http://dakota.fmpdata.net/PsychAI/PrintFiles/PersTheories.pdf
http://similarminds.com/big5.html
http://www.myersbriggs.org/
http://www.kheper.net/topics/typology/somatotypes.html
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organized.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/community.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/pattern.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/response.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/developed.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/group.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/handling.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/problem.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/member.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/environment.htmlhttp://similarminds.com/big5.htmlhttp://www.myersbriggs.org/http://www.myersbriggs.org/http://similarminds.com/big5.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/environment.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/member.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/problem.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/handling.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/group.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/developed.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/response.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/pattern.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/community.htmlhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organized.html