Personality Overview and Traits

Personality

• Personality is a combination of characteristics that describe how an individual reacts and interacts with others.
• Personality can also be described as a pattern of enduring ways in which a person feels, thinks, and behaves.

Personality Determinants

• Personality is determined by heredity (nature) and environment (nurture).
• Environmental factors influencing personality include: cultural factors, social factors, and situational factors.
• The debate about nature vs nurture focuses on determining how much of personality is inherited.

The Big Five Personality Traits

• The Big Five personality traits were developed by several researchers including: D.W.Fiske, Norman, Smith, Goldberg, and McCrae & Costa.
• The Big Five traits are: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Personality and Work Behaviour

• The relationship between personality and work behavior depends on the nature of the work.
• Personality traits become important when considering the different personality traits needed for successful work in various roles.

Locus of Control

• Locus of Control was proposed by Julian Rotter (1966).
• The theory describes two main categories of Locus of Control: Internal and External.
• Internal Locus of Control: People believe that they are in control of their own lives and that their actions have a direct impact on outcomes.
• External Locus of Control: People believe that external factors, such as fate, chance, or luck, determine outcomes.

Locus of Control and Work Behaviour

• Internal Locus of Control: Those with an Internal Locus of Control are more likely to be independent, self-empowered, and prefer to negotiate change.
• External Locus of Control: Those with an External Locus of Control are more likely to be compliant, conforming, and prefer to be told what to do.

Locus of Control and Crisis Situations

• Internal Locus of Control: In crisis situations, those with an Internal Locus of Control tend to accept responsibility for their actions and decisions, think independently, and try to resolve problems before escalation.

• External Locus of Control: In crisis situations, those with an External Locus of Control tend to be fatalistic, blame others, and avoid taking responsibility.

Individual Differences

• Individual differences include physical qualities, demographic differences, abilities, skills, and personality.
• Understanding individual differences is important because it helps determine the qualities needed to succeed in different roles.

Positive and Negative Sides of Big Five Traits

• Openness:

  • Positive: Increased learning, more adaptable to change.
  • Negative: Easily bored with routine tasks.

• Conscientiousness:

  • Positive: Disciplined, tend to live longer.
  • Negative: Don't adapt easily to change, longer learning curves.

• Extraversion:

  • Positive: Emotionally expressive.
  • Negative: Impulsive, risky behaviors.

• Agreeableness:

  • Positive: Better liked, rule abiding, less likely to engage in deviant behavior.
  • Negative: Poor negotiators.

• Emotional Stability:

  • Positive: Less health complaints, less hyper vigilant, less negative thinking.
  • Negative: Can take unnecessary risks.

The Big Five Traits and Work Behavior

• Performance: Conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness are associated with better performance.

• Happiness/Satisfaction: Emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness are associated with greater work happiness and satisfaction.

• Leadership: Extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness are associated with leadership potential.

Personality Across Time

• Personality traits tend to stabilize over time.

Summary

• People are fundamentally the same but also have unique differences.
• Individual differences are a product of biology and experiences.
• Some individual differences are associated with specific work outcomes.
• Some individual differences are more stable than others.