UNIT-1: PERSONALITY
Concept and Role of Personality: Definitions
The word personality has been derived from the Latin word “Persona"
which refers to the mask worn by performers in order to either project
different roles or disguise their identities. In this sense personality refers to
external appearance or the role one plays.
According to Allport "personality is the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique
adjustment to his environment.”
Personality is the unique and relatively stable ways in which people think,
feel and behave.
At its most basic, personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. It is believed that
personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent
throughout life.
Explanations for personality can focus on a variety of influences, ranging
from genetic explanations for personality traits to the role of the
environment and experience in shaping an individual's personality.
Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of
thinking, feeling and behaving. The study of personality focuses on two
broad areas: One is understanding individual differences in particular
personality characteristics, such as sociability or irritability. The other is
understanding how the various parts of a person come together as a whole.
Personality is the combination of behavior, emotion, motivation, and
thought patterns that define an individual. Personality psychology attempts
to study similarities and differences in these patterns among different
people and groups.
Traits and patterns of thought and emotion play important roles as well as
the following are the fundamental characteristics of personality:
• Consistency: There is generally a recognizable order and regularity
to behaviors. Essentially, people act in the same ways or similar ways
in a variety of situations.
• Psychological and physiological: Personality is a psychological
construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by
biological processes and needs.
• Behaviors and actions: Personality not only influences how we
move and respond in our environment, but it also causes us to act in
certain ways.
• Multiple expressions: Personality is displayed in more than just
behavior. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close
relationships, and other social interactions.
Factors affecting personality:
The ‘determinants of personality ‘or the ‘factors of personality’: The
development of personality depends upon -
Environmental Factors: Among the factors that exert pressures on our
personality formation are the culture in which we are raised; our early
conditioning; the norms among our family, friends, and social groups; and
other influences that we experience.
These environmental factors play a important role in shaping our
personalities. It establishes the attitudes, values, norms, and perceptions of
an individual. Based on the cultures and traditions, different senses of right
and wrong are formed in individuals.
These environmental factors also include the neighborhood a person lives
in, his school, college, university, workplace, friends, parents; everybody
plays a role as the determinants of one’s personality.
Physical Factors: There are many physical factors which will determine a
person’s personality. These physical factors include the overall physical
structure of a person: his height, weight, color, sex, beauty, body language,
etc.
Physical factors are one of the major reasons for that. Most of the physical
structures change from time to time, and so does the personality. With
exercises, cosmetics, surgeries etc. many physical features are changed,
and therefore, the personality of the individual also evolves.
Situational Factors: The situational factors can be commonly observed
when a person behaves contrastingly and exhibits different traits and
characteristics. In this way, situational factors impact a personality in a
significant way. They often bring out the traits of a person that are not
commonly seen. An individual’s personality, although generally stable and
consistent, does change in different situations.
The different demands of different situations call forth different aspects of
one’s personality. This aspect is very important for organization behavior
because the manager has control over the organizational situation.
Hereditary: Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at
conception. Physical structure, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament,
muscle composition, and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are
characteristics that are generally considered to be either completely or
substantially influenced by the parents.
Family and Social Factors: Family and social groups have the most
significant impact on personality development. Parents and other family
members have a strong influence on the personality development of the
child. Parents have more effect on personality development as compared
to other members of the family.
Besides a person’s home environment and family members, there are other
influences arising from social factors like- friends, neighbor, relatives, etc.
These groups have their impact through socialization and identification
process.
Identification Process: The identification process occurs when a person
tries to identify himself with some person to whom he feels ideal in the
family.
• First identification can be viewed as the similarity of behavior
between the child and the model.
• Second identification can be looked in as the child motives or desires
to be like the model.
• Third, it can be viewed as the process through which the child
actually takes on the attributes of the model.
Cultural Factors: Culture is the underlying determinant of human decision
making. It generally determines attitude towards independence, aggression
competition, and cooperation. Each culture expects and trains its members
to behave in a way that is acceptable to the group
Intelligence: There is definitely some relationship between intelligence and
personality. Intelligence is mainly hereditary. Persons who are very
intelligent can make a better adjustment in home, school, and society than
those persons who are less intelligent.
Sex Differences: Boys are generally more assertive, tough-minded and
vigorous (energetic). They have better need to succeed with regard to
interest and aptitudes. Boys show interest in machinery and outdoor
activities. They prefer adventures.
But girls play less vigorous games. They are quieter and interested in
personal appearance. They are more injured by personal, emotional and
social problems.
Thus sex differences play a vital role in the development of the personality
of an individual.
Psychological Factors: Psychological factors play a big role in the
functioning of human behavior and the development of one’s personality.
Some of the psychological factors are- motives, acquired interests,
attitudes, character, intellectual capacities etc.
Beyond the joint influence of these factors however, the relative
contribution of each factor to personality varies with the character or
personality process involved and perhaps with the individual concerned.
Roles of Personality
Personality affects academic and job performance, social and political
attitudes, the quality and stability of social relationships, physical health and
mortality, and risk for mental disorder.”
Personality plays a key role in organizational behavior because of the
way that people think, feel, and behave effects many aspects of the
workplace. People’s personalities influence their behavior in groups, their
attitudes, and the way they make decisions.
In the workplace, personality affects such things as motivation, leadership,
performance, and conflict. The more that management understands how
personality in organizational behavior works, the better equipped they are
to be effective and accomplish their goals.
One factor which determines the importance of personality in OB is the
environment where the personality of an individual is being studied; after
all, personality’s impact on an organization is relative and depends on how
the organization has been structured.
.The beliefs and values remain relatively stable regardless of what situation
we are in.
Our feelings and behaviors, on the other hand, tend to be easily influenced
by the environment in which we function.
Traits such as openness, emotional stability, and agreeableness all predict
that an individual will have less conflict, work better in teams, and have
positive attitudes about his or her work.
People with this type of personality should be placed in situations where
they would be working with or leading others. Positive-interpersonal skill is
a personality trait that greatly affects the workplace.
Individuals who exhibit this trait generally enjoy working with other people,
and they have the empathy and sensitivity that enables them to get along
well with others.
Decision-making and independence are greatly affected by personality.
Personality traits such as self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and pro-activity
contribute to good decision-making under pressure and independence,
while traits such as neuroticism and not being open do not.
