PERSONALITY

Objective of the present session:

To understand individual differences and their importance in understanding behavior. To be able to understand the basic concepts of personality theories Explain how personality is measured Identify several personality characteristics and their influences on behavior using case study and other exercises.

Individual differences and OB

The way in which factor such as skills, abilities, personalities, perceptions, attitudes, values and ethics differ from one individual to another

Variables Influencing Individual Behavior

The person Skills and abilities Personality Perception Attitudes Values Ethics The environment Organization Work Group Job Personal Life

Behaviour

Individual differences and OB

In order to understand human behavior, we must know something about the person and something about the situation. Personality is one such important and fascinating individual difference to understand human behavior.

Personality

Personality refers to the psychological qualities that influence an individuals characteristic behavior patterns in a broadly distinctive and consistent manner, across different situation and time
The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others

Striking and habitual features of a persons behavior

Determinants of Personality
Heredity Environment Situation

Personality Theories
Four major theories1.Trait theory 2.Psychodynamic theory 3.Humanistic theory 4.The integrative approach

Personality Theories
Trait Theory:

Personality traits are enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior Consistently found dimensions of thinking, behavior and feeling Allow individuals to be placed in a continuum with respect to different traits (e.g., introversionextraversion, neuroticism-emotional stability)

A trait is a temporally stable, cross situational individual difference.

Trait Theory-Sixteen Primary Personality Traits

Reserved Less intelligent Affected by feelings Submissive Serious Expedient Timid Tough-minded Trusting Practical Forthright Self-assured Conservative Group-dependent Uncontrolled Relaxed VS Outgoing More intelligent Emotionally stable Dominant Happy-go-lucky Conscientious Venturesome Sensitive Suspicious Imaginative Shrewd Apprehensive Experimenting Self-sufficient Controlled Tense

Personality Type Approach Myers-Briggs

MBTI: One of the most widely used personality frameworks that taps four characteristics and classifies people into one of 16 personality types.
A person has: primary and second choice auxiliary Introvert (I) or Extravert (E) Sensing (S) or Intuition (N) Thinking (T) or Feeling (F) Perceiving (P) or Judging (J)
Hence there are 2x2x2x2=16 different MBTI personality types, as shown ENTP ENFP ESTP ESFP ENTJ ENFJ ESTJ ESFJ INTP INFP ISTP ISFP INTJ INFJ ISTJ ISFJ

Trait Theory-The Big Five Model

Classifications:
Extraversion
Emotional Stability

Openness to Experience
Agreeableness Conscientiousness

Personality Theories
Psychodynamic theory:
The personality theory that emphasizes the unconscious determinants of behavior

Freuds concept of Id, Ego and Superego

Id. The most primitive element, the source of drives and impulses operating in uncensored manner.
Superego. The conscience self containing values and should and should-not of personality. Ego. The reality principle, manages the conflict between Id and Superego.

Personality Theories
Humanistic theory:

Focuses on individual growth and improvement. It is distinctly people centered and also emphasizes the individuals view of world. It contributes an understanding of the self to personality theory and contends that the Self concept is the most important part of an individuals personality (concept of Real self and Ideal self).

Personality Theories

Integrative approach:
Personality is described as a composite of the individuals psychological processes. Personality disposition include emotions, cognitions, attitudes, expectancies, and fantasies. (Dispositions-tendencies of individuals to respond to situations in consistent ways. Influenced by both genetics and experiences, dispositions can be modified). Integrative approach focuses on both person (dispositions) and situational variables as combined predictors of behavior.

Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB

Locus of Control Machiavellianism Self-Esteem Self-Monitoring Risk Taking Type A and Type B Personalities

Locus of Control

The degree to which people believe they are in control of their own fate

Internals

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

Externals

Machiavellianism

Degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means

Self-Esteem

Individuals degree of liking or disliking of themselves

Self-Monitoring

A personality trait that measures an individuals ability to adjust behaviour to external situational factors

Risk-Taking

Refers to a persons willingness to take chances or risks

Type A Personality

Always moving, walking, and eating rapidly. Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place. Strive to think or do two or more things at once. Cannot cope with leisure time. Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how much of everything they acquire.

Type B Personality

Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience. Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments unless such exposure is demanded by the situation. Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost. Can relax without guilt.

Measurement
Assessments can be structured or unstructured

Structured - long list of questions answered by the person. e.g. MMPI - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 550 questions directed at 10 scales (subtests) each measuring a different aspect of personality

MMPI Examples

Depression - I often feel that life is not worth living Paranoia - Several people are following me everywhere Schizophrenia - I seem to hear things that other people cannot hear Psychopathic deviance - I often was in trouble in school although I did not understand for what reasons. I sometimes gossip with other people

Measurement

Unstructured personality measurement

e.g. Projective techniques - present ambiguous stimulus and individual will project some kind of structure that reflects underlying psychological characteristics. Some of them are,

Free association Rorschach Inkblot tests Thematic Apperception Test

Exercise

Five Factor Test http://www2.wmin.ac.uk/~buchant/wwwffi Case discussion: Daniel Rothstein

Group exercise: Break off into groups of 5 or 6 Identify personality characteristics of business entrepreneurs Identify personality characteristics that hinder high performance and justify.