Personality

When we talk of personality, we don’t mean a person has charm, a positive attitude toward
life, or a constantly smiling face. When psychologists talk of personality, they mean a
dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological
system.

Defining Personality

“The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that
determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” Gordon Allport.

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behaviour is the
result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego.

Think of personality as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts
with others. We most often describe it in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits.

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, with which
individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors, such as “I worry a lot about the future.”
Though self-report measures work well when well-constructed, one weakness is that the
respondent might lie or practice impression management to create a good impression. When
people know their personality scores are going to be used for hiring decisions, they rate
themselves as about half a standard deviation more conscientious and emotionally stable than
if they are taking the test just to learn more about themselves.

Another problem is accuracy. A perfectly good candidate could have been in a bad mood
when taking the survey, and that will make the scores less accurate. Observer-ratings surveys
provide an independent assessment of personality. Here, a co-worker 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 are a better predictor of success on the job.
However, each can tell us something unique about an individual’s behaviour in the
workplace. An analysis of a large number of observer-reported personality studies shows that
a combination of self-report and observer-reports predicts performance better than any one
type of information. The implication is clear: use both observer ratings and self-report ratings
of personality when making important employment decisions.

Personality Determinants

An early debate in personality research centred on whether an individual’s personality was

the result of heredity or of environment. It appears to be a result of both. However, it might
surprise you that research tends to support the importance of heredity over the environment.
Heredity refers to factors determined at conception. Physical stature, facial attractiveness,
gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms
are generally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by who your
parents are—that is, by their 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 separately.

If heredity played little or no part in determining personality, you would expect to find few
similarities between the separated twins. But twins raised apart have much in common, and a
significant part of the behavioural similarity between them turns out to be associated with
genetic factors. One set of twins separated for 39 years and raised 45 miles apart were found
to drive the same model and colour car. They chain-smoked the same brand of cigarette,
owned dogs with the same name, and regularly vacationed within three blocks of each other
in a beach community 1,500 miles away. Researchers have found that genetics accounts for
about 50 percent of the personality similarities between twins and more than 30 percent of the
similarities in occupational and leisure interests.

Interestingly, 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.

Ironically, the most important contribution our parents may make to our personalities is
giving us their genes. This is not to suggest that personality never changes. People’s scores
on measures of dependability tend to increase over time, as when young adults take on roles
like starting a family and establishing a career that require great responsibility. However,
strong individual differences in dependability remain; everyone tends to change by about the
same amount, so their rank order stays roughly the same.

An analogy to intelligence may make this clearer. Children become smarter as they age, so
nearly everyone is smarter at age 20 than at age 10. Still, if Madison is smarter than Blake at
age 10, she is likely to be so at age 20, too. Consistent with the notion that the teenage years
are periods of great exploration and change, research has shown that personality is more
changeable in adolescence and more stable among adults.

Early work on the structure of personality tried to identify and label enduring characteristics
that describe an individual’s behaviour, including shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy,
ambitious, loyal, and timid. When someone exhibits these characteristics in a large number of
situations, we call them personality traits of that person. The more consistent the
characteristic over time, and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more
important that trait is in describing the individual. Early efforts to identify the primary traits
that govern behaviour often resulted in long lists that were difficult to generalize from and
provided little practical guidance to organizational decision makers. Two exceptions are the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Big Five Model, now the dominant frameworks for
identifying and classifying traits.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most
widely used personality assessment instrument in the world. It is a 100-question personality
test that asks people how they usually feel or act in particular 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).

These terms are defined as follows:

● 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. Intuitive rely on unconscious processes and look at 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 their world to
be ordered and structured. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous.

These classifications together describe 16 personality types, identifying every person by one
trait from each of the four pairs. For example, Introverted/ Intuitive/Thinking/Judging people
(INTJs) are visionaries with original minds and great drive. They are sceptical, critical,
independent, determined, and often stubborn. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic,
logical, analytical, and decisive and have a natural head for business or mechanics. The
ENTP type is a conceptualizer, innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to
entrepreneurial ideas. This person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but
may neglect routine assignments.

The MBTI has been widely used by organizations including Apple Computer, AT&T,
Citigroup, GE, 3M Co., many hospitals and educational institutions, and even the U.S. Armed
Forces. Evidence is mixed about its validity as a measure of personality, however; most of
the evidence is against it. One problem is that it forces a person into one type or another; that
is, you’re either introverted or extraverted. There is no in-between, though in reality people
can be both extraverted and introverted to some degree.

The best we can say is that the MBTI can be a valuable tool for increasing self-awareness and
providing career guidance. But because results tend to be unrelated to job performance,
managers probably shouldn’t use it as a selection test for job candidates.

MBTI Personality Type Test

1. At a party do you: a. Interact with many, including strangers’ b. Interact with a few, known
to you

2. Are you more: a. Realistic than speculative b. Speculative than realistic

3. Is it worse to: a. Have your “head in the clouds” b. be “in a rut?”

4. Are you more impressed by: a. Principles b. Emotions?

5. Are more drawn toward the: a. convincing b. touching

6. Do you prefer to work: a. to deadlines b? Just “whenever”

7. Do you tend to choose: a. Rather carefully b. somewhat impulsively

8. At parties do you: a. Stay late, with increasing energy b. Leave early with decreased energy

9. Are you more attracted to: a. Sensible people b. Imaginative people

10. Are you more interested in: a. what is actual b. What is possible?

11. In judging others are you more swayed by: a. Laws than circumstances b. Circumstances
than laws

12. in approaching others is your inclination to be somewhat: a. Objective b. Personal

13. Are you more: a. punctual b. Leisurely

14. Does it bother you more having things: a. incomplete b. Completed

15. In your social groups do you: a. Keep abreast of other’s happenings b. Get behind on the
news

16. In doing ordinary things are you more likely to: a. Do it the usual way b. Do it your own
way

17. Writers should: a. “Say what they mean and mean what they say” b. Express things more
by use of analogy

18. Which appeals to you more: a. Consistency of thought b. Harmonious human

relationships

19. Are you more comfortable in making: a. Logical judgments b. Value Judgments?

20. Do you want things: a. Settled and decided b. Unsettled and undecided?

21. Would you say you are more: a. Serious and determined b. Easy-going

22. In phoning do you: a. rarely question that it will all be said b. Rehearse what you’ll say

23. Facts: a. “Speak for themselves” b. Illustrate principles

24. Are visionaries: a. somewhat annoying b. rather fascinating

25. Are you more often: a. a cool-headed person b. a warm-hearted person?

26. Is it worse to be: a. unjust b. merciless?

27. Should one usually let events occur: a. by careful selection and choice b. randomly and
by chance

28. Do you feel better about: a. having purchased b. having the option to buy?

29 In company do you: a. initiate conversation b. wait to be approached

30. Common sense is: a. rarely questionable b. frequently questionable

31. Children often do not: a. make themselves useful enough b. exercise their fantasy enough

32. in making decisions do you feel more comfortable with: a. standards b. feelings

33. Are you more: a. firm than gentle b. gentle than firm

34. Which is more admirable: a. the ability to organize and be methodical b. the ability to
adapt and make do

35. Do you put more value on: a. infinite b. open-minded?

36. Does new and non-routine interaction with others: a. stimulate and energize you b. tax
your reserves

37. Are you more frequently: a. a practical sort of person b. a fanciful sort of person?

38. Are you more likely to: a. see how others are useful b. see how others see

39. Which is more satisfying: a. to discuss an issue thoroughly b. to arrive at agreement on an

issue

40. Which rules you more: a. your head b. your heart

41. Are you more comfortable with work that is: a. contracted b. done on a casual basis

42. Do you tend to look for: a. the orderly b. whatever turns up

43. Do you prefer: a. many friends with brief contact b. a few friends with more lengthy
contact

44. Do you go more by: a. facts b. principles?

45. Are you more interested in: a. production and distribution b. design and research?

46. Which is more of a compliment: a. “There is a very logical person.” b. “There is a very
sentimental person.”
47. Do you value in yourself more that you are: a. unwavering b. devoted

48. Do you more often prefer the a. final and unalterable statement b. tentative and
preliminary statement?

49. Are you more comfortable: a. after a decision b. before a decision?

50. Do you: a. speak easily and at length with stranger’s b. find little to say to strangers

51. Are you more likely to trust you’re: a. experience b. hunch?

52. Do you feel: a. more practical than ingenious b. more ingenious than practical?

53. Which person is more to be complimented – one of: a. clear reason b. strong feeling?

54. Are you inclined more to be: a. fair-minded b. sympathetic

55. Is it preferable mostly to: a. make sure things are arranged b. just let things happen?

56. In relationships should most things be: a. re-negotiable b. random and circumstantial

57. When the phone rings do you: a. hasten to get to it first b. hope someone else will answer

58. Do you prize more in yourself: a. a strong sense of reality b. a vivid imagination?

59. Are you drawn more to: a. fundamentals b. overtones?

60. Which seems the greater error: a. to be too passionate b. to be too objective

61. Do you see yourself as basically: a. hard-headed b. soft-hearted?

62. Which situation appeals to you more: a. the structured and scheduled b. the unstructured
and unscheduled

63. Are you a person that is more: a. routinized than whimsical b. whimsical than routinized

64. Are you more inclined to be: a. easy to approach b. somewhat reserved

65. In writings do you prefer: a. the more literal b. the more figurative

66. is it harder for you to: a. identify with others b. utilize others

67. Which do you wish more for yourself: a. clarity of reason b. strength of compassion?

68. Which is the greater fault: a. being indiscriminate b. being critical

69. Do you prefer the: a. planned event b. unplanned event

70. Do you tend to be more: a. deliberate than spontaneous b. spontaneous than deliberate

Scoring

Col 1 Col 2 Col 3 Col 4 Col 5 Col 6 Col 7 A B A B A B A B A B A B A B 1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68
69 70 Copy to Æ Copy to Æ Copy to Æ

EI SN TF JP

1. Copy your answers to this answer key carefully. 2. Count the number of checks in each of
the A and B columns, and total at the bottom. 3. Copy the totals for Column 2 to the spaces
below the totals for Column 3. Do the same for Columns 4 and 6. 4. Add totals downwards
to calculate your totals. 5. Circle the letter with this highest score. This is your type.