Personality and

Attitudes

Definition:
The unique qualities of an individual and

how those qualities affect understanding of

themselves and others

The Role of Heredity and the Brain

External appearance due to genetics
Internal characteristics nature vs. nurture

Twin Studies show that 40% are fixed

60% developable

How would you describe it?

Is it inherited?
Are you more like your mom or dad?

Does it change over time?

Does it change depending on who you are

with?

Trait Theory - understand individuals by

breaking down behavior patterns into
observable traits
Psychodynamic Theory - emphasizes the
unconscious determinants of behavior
Humanistic Theory - emphasizes
individual growth and improvement
Integrative Approach - describes
personality as a composite of an
individuals psychological processes

The Four Perspectives on Personality

Perspective

Behavior Springs From

Psychoanalytic

Unconscious conflicts
between pleasure-seeking
impulses and social restraints

Assessment Techniques
Projective tests aimed at
revealing unconscious
motivations

Evaluation
A speculative, hard-to-test
theory with enormous cultural impact

Trait

Expressing biologically
(a)Personality inventories
influenced dispositions, such
that assess the strengths
as extraversion or introversion of different traits
(b)Peer ratings of behavior
patterns

A descriptive approach criticized as sometimes underestimating the variability

of behavior from situation
to situation

Humanistic

Processing conscious feelings

about oneself in the light of
ones experiences

A humane theory that

reinvigorated contemporary
interest in the self; criticized
as subjective and sometimes
naively self-centered and
optimistic

Social-cognitive

Reciprocal influences between

people and their situation,
colored by perceptions of
control

(a)Questionnaire
assessments
(b)Empathic interviews

(a)Questionnaire assessments Art interactive theory that inof peoples feelings of control tegrates research on learning,
(b) Observations of peoples
cognition, and social behavior,
behavior in particular
criticized as underestimating
situations
the importance of emotions
and enduring traits

How much of personality

is based on genetics?
How much of your personality
was developed, learned,
strengthened over time?

Socialization trains us how to act

in relationship to others.
Parents are our first teachers.

Challenging jobs
Relevant Training
Timely and consistent feedback
Mentoring relationships
Orientation programs
Work group morale

Thousands of Traits
Significant Overlap
Futile to Study Personality
Barrick and Mount Propose the Big
5
Big 5 now Widely Accepted and Used
Other Personality Traits or Individual
Differences Still Researched

Extraversion

Gregarious, assertive,
sociable
Agreeableness
Cooperative, warm,
agreeable
Conscientiousness Hardworking, organized,
dependable
Emotional stability Calm, self-confidant, cool
Openness to
experience

Creative, curious,
cultured

Sources: P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, The NEO-PI Personality Inventory (Odessa, Fla.: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992); J. F. Salgado, The
Five Factor Model of Personality and Job Performance in the European Community, Journal of Applied Psychology 82 (1997): 30-43.

Self concept :
Self esteem and Self efficacy

Peoples self-esteem has to do with

their self perceived competence and
self image.

Self efficacy is concerned with self

perception of how well a person can
cope with situations as they arise.

Core Self Evaluation Traits

Self-Esteem
Your belief as to your competence and your

image
High self-esteem positive attitudes, feelings,
and satisfaction

Locus of Control

Generalized Self Efficacy

Neuroticism (emotional stability)

Self-Esteem

Feelings of Self
Worth

Success tends
to increase
self-esteem

Failure tends
to decrease
self-esteem

Locus of Control
Internal

External

I control what
happens to me!

People and
circumstances
control my fate!

Learned Helplessness
Uncontrollable
bad events

Perceived
lack of control

Important Issue
Nursing Homes
Prisons
Colleges

Generalized
helpless behavior

Generalized Self-Efficacy - beliefs and

expectations about ones ability to accomplish a
specific task effectively
Sources of self-efficacy
Prior experiences and prior success
Behavior models (observing success)
Persuasion
Assessment of current physical & emotional
capabilities

Self-Monitoring

Behavior based on cues from people & situations

High self monitors

flexible: adjust
behavior according
to the situation and
the behavior of
others
can appear
unpredictable &
inconsistent

Low self monitors

act from internal
states rather than
from situational cues
show consistency
less likely to respond
to work group norms
or supervisory
feedback

Low-self
monitors

High-self
monitors
Get promoted

Accomplish tasks, meet others

expectations, seek out central
positions in social networks

Change employers

Make a job-related
geographic move

Self-promote

Demonstrate higher levels of managerial

self-awareness; base behavior on others
cues and the situation

Positive Affect - an individuals

tendency to accentuate the positive
aspects of oneself, other people, and
the world in general
Negative Affect - an individuals
tendency to accentuate the negative
aspects of oneself, other people, and
the world in general

A strong
situation can
overwhelm the effects
of individual personalities
by providing strong cues
for appropriate
behavior

Strong
personalities
will dominate
in a weak
situation

Halls Career Stage Model

4 Stages in Career
Exploration Seeks an identity and tries
out various roles. Unstable in career, less
productive, job switcher
Establishment settles down, good
relations with co-workers, productivity
Maintenance - productivity , acts as a
mentor
Decline productivity , evaluation of
decisions w.r.t. life and career

Argyris Immaturity to
Maturity Theory

Immaturity ----------------------------------------- Maturity

Passive Active
Dependence
Independence
Behave in a few ways
Capable of behaving in
many ways
Erratic Shallow interests Deeper and stronger
interests
Short term perspective
Long term
perspective
Subordinate Position
Superordinate Position
Lack of self-awareness Awareness and control
over self

Socialization

Edgar Schein made significant

contributions to Socialization Process
which is termed as a Process through
which an individuals personality is
influenced by his interactions with
certain persons, groups and society.

Achieving Person-Job Fit

Personality-Job Fit
Theory (Holland)
Identifies six
personality types and
proposes that the fit
between personality
type and occupational
environment
determines satisfaction
and turnover.

Personality
PersonalityTypes
Types
Realistic
Realistic
Investigative
Investigative
Social
Social
Conventional
Conventional
Enterprising
Enterprising
Artistic
Artistic

Projective Test - elicits an individuals response to

abstract stimuli
Behavioral Measures - personality assessments
that involve observing an individuals behavior in a
controlled situation
Self-Report Questionnaire - assessment involving
an individuals responses to questions
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - instrument
measuring Jungs theory of individual differences.

Projective Test-Types

Rorschach Inkblot
The Rorschach Inkblot was one of the
first projective tests, and continues to
be one of the best-known.
The Thematic Apperception Test
(TAT)
In the Thematic Apperception Test, an
individual is asked to look at a series
of ambiguous scenes.

Based on Carl Jungs work

People are fundamentally different
People are fundamentally alike
People have preference combinations for

extraversion/introversion, perception,
judgment

Briggs & Myers developed the MBTI

to understand individual differences

Preferences

Represents

Extraversion Introversion

How one
re-energizes
How one gathers
information
How one makes
decisions
How one orients to the
outer world

Sensing

Intuiting

Thinking

Feeling

Judging

Perceiving

Big 5, MBTI
Matter in:
Certain jobs (sales, QA, leadership)
At certain times (e.g., status quo, crisis)
More than performance?
Honesty
Theft
Absenteeism
Turnover
Commitment/Satisfaction