PERSONALITY

Definition of personality

The definition of personality we most frequently use was produced by Gordon Allport. Allport
said personality is “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical
systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” Personality can also be
defined as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others. It is
most often described in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits. Traits can be defined as
habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion. A trait is a relatively stable, consistent, and
enduring internal characteristic that is inferred from a pattern of behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and
habits in the individual.

Measuring personality

The most important reason managers need to know how to measure personality is that research
has shown personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best
for a job. The most common means of measuring personality is through self-report surveys. In
self-report surveys, individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors, such as ‘I worry a lot
about the future’. Self-report measures work when well-constructed. However, the respondent
might lie or practice impression management to create a good impression. Another problem is
accuracy; a candidate who is in a bad mood when taking the survey may have inaccurate scores.
Another independent way to personality assessment is through observer rating surveys. Here, a
coworker or another observer does the rating, sometimes with the subject’s knowledge and
sometimes not. Though the results of self-report surveys and observer ratings surveys are
strongly correlated, research suggests observer ratings surveys better predict success on the job.
However, each can tell us something unique about an individual’s behaviour. Thus it would be
better to use both observer ratings and self-report ratings of personality when making important
employment decisions.
Personality determinants

An early debate in personality research centered on whether an individual’s personality is the

result of heredity or environment. Personality appears to be a result of both. However, research
tends to support the importance of heredity over the environment.

Heredity refers to factors determined at conception; one’s biological, physiological, and inherent
psychological makeup. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an
individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.
Researchers in many different countries have studied thousands of sets of identical twins who
were separated at birth and raised apart. They found that genetics account for about 50% of the
personality similarities between twins and more than 30% of the similarities in occupational and
leisure interests. Twin studies have suggested parents don’t add much to our personality
development. The personalities of identical twins raised in different households are more similar
to each other than to the personalities of siblings with whom the twins were raised. This is not to
suggest that personality never changes. Research has shown that personality is more changeable
in adolescence and more stable among adults.

Early work on personality tried to identify and label enduring characteristics that describe an
individual’s behaviour. When someone exhibits these characteristics in a large number of
situations, we call them personality traits of that person. Two dominant frameworks to identify
and classify the primary traits that govern behaviour are: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and
the Big Five Model.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used personality assessment
instrument in the world. It is a100 question personality test that asks people how they usually feel
or act in situations. Respondents are classified as extraverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or
intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or perceiving (J or P).

● Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I). Extraverted individuals are outgoing, sociable, and
assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy
● Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N). Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order.
They focus on details. Intuitives rely on unconscious processes and look a the big picture ●
Thinking (T) versus feeling (F). Thinking types use reason and logic to handle problems.
Feeling types rely on their personal values and emotions
● Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P). Judging types want control and prefer order and
structure. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous.

These classifications describe 16 personality types by identifying one trait from each of the
four pairs. Eg. INTJ, ESTJ, ENTP…

One problem with MBTI is that the model forces a person into one type or another; there is
no in-between. The MBTI can be a valuable tool for increasing self-awareness and producing
career guidance.

The Big Five Personality Model

The Big Five Model includes five basic dimensions that underlie all others and encompass
most of the significant variation in human personality. An impressive body of research
supports this model. Moreover, test scores of these traits do a very good job of predicting how
people behave in a variety of real life situations. The big Five Factors are:

● Extraversion. This dimension captures our comfort level with relationships. Extraverts
tend to be gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid,
and quiet
● Agreeableness. This dimension refers to an individual’s propensity to defer to (agree to
follow) others. Highly agreeable people are cooperative, warm, and trusting. People
who score low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.
● Conscientiousness. This dimension is a measure of reliability. A highly conscientious
person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who score low on
this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.
● Emotional stability. This dimension, often labeled by its converse neuroticism, taps a
person’s 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.
● Openness to experience. This dimension addresses range of interests and fascination
with novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically sensitive.
Those at the other end of the category are conventional and find comfort in the
familiar.
Research has found relationships between the bi five personality dimensions and job
performance.

The Dark Triad

The dark triad refers to three socially undesirable traits, which we all have in
varying degrees. These 3 variables which are relevant to OB are: Machiavellianism,
narcissism, and psychopathy. Owing to their negative nature, researchers have labeled
them the dark triad, though they do not always occur together.

Machiavellianism

The personality characteristic of Machiavellianism (often abbreviated Mach) is

named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and
use power. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic (practical), maintains
emotional distance, and believes ends can justify means. ‘If it works, use it’, is consistent
with a high Mach perspective. A considerable amount of research has found high Machs
manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more than do low
Machs. They are more likely to act aggressively and engage in other counterproductive
work behaviours as well. Machiavellianism does not significantly predict overall job
performance. High Mach employees, by manipulating others to their advantage, win in
the short term, but they lose those gains in the long term because they are not well liked.

Narcissism

This trait is named for the Greek myth of Narcissus, a youth so vain and proud he
fell in love with his own image. Narcissism refers to the tendency to be arrogant, have a
grandiose sense of self importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of
entitlement. Evidence suggests narcissists are more charismatic than others. Both leaders
and managers tend to score higher on narcissism, suggesting that certain
self-centeredness is needed to succeed. Narcissists also reported higher levels of work
motivation, job engagement, and life satisfaction than others. While narcissism seems to
have little relationship with job performance, it is fairly strongly related to increased
counterproductive work behaviours and is linked to other negative outcomes. A study
found that while narcissists thought they were better leaders than their colleagues, their
supervisors rated them as worse. In highly ethical contexts, narcissistic leaders are likely
to be perceived as ineffective and unethical.

Psychopathy

In the OB context, psychopathy is defined as a lack of concern for others, and a

lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm. Measures of psychopathy attempt
to assess the person’s motivation to comply with social norms; willingness to use deceit
to obtain desired ends and the effectiveness of those efforts; impulsivity and disregard for
others.

Other personality traits relevant to OB

Core self-evaluation

Core self-evaluation (CSE) refers to bottom line conclusions individuals have about their
capabilities, competence, and worth as a person. People who have positive core
self-evaluations like themselves and see themselves as effective, capable, and in control
of their environment. Those with negative core self-evaluation tend to dislike themselves,
question their capabilities, and view themselves as powerless over their environment.
Core self-evaluations relate to job satisfaction because people positive on this trait see
more challenge in their jobs and actually attain more complex jobs. People with positive
core self-evaluations perform better than others because they set more ambitious goals,
are more committed to their goals, and persist longer in attempting to reach them. They
provide better customer service, are more popular coworkers, and have careers that have
better footing and ascend more rapidly over time. They perform especially well if they
feel their work provides meaning and is helpful to others.
Self-monitoring
This is a personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her
behaviour to external, situational factors. High self-monitors show considerable
adaptability in adjusting their behaviour to external situational factors. They are highly
sensitive to external cues, and can behave differently in varying situations, sometimes
presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private self. Low
self-monitors tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situation; hence,
there is high behavioural consistency between who they are and what they do.

Evidence indicates high self-monitors pay closer attention to the behaviour of others and
are more capable of conforming than are low self-monitors. They also receive better
performance ratings, are more likely to emerge as leaders, and show less commitment to
their organizations. In addition, high self-monitor managers tend to be more mobile in
their careers, receive more promotions and are more likely to occupy central positions in
organizations.

Proactive personality

Those with a proactive personality identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and
persevere until meaningful change occurs, compared to others who passively react to
situations. They actively take the initiative to improve their current circumstances or
create new ones. Such individuals have much desirable behaviour that organizations
desire. They also have higher levels of job performance and career success.