Notes

Meaning of Personality

The word ‘personality’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘persona’ which means
to ‘speak through’. This Latin word means the mask worn by the actors. Therefore, the
personality refers to role which an individual displays to the public. Personality can be
simply defined as an individual’s experiences, values, habits and traits which
collectively determine his or her behavioural patterns.

Personality is a relatively stable set of characteristics that influence an individual's

behaviour and can be described as the sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others.

Determinants of Personality
Biological - Biological traits are the foremost parameter that reflects various factors of
one’s personality. Being the essential determinant of personality, it incorporates a
majority of other factors as well which bring out the various insights about an
individual. Some important constituents under the physical determinants of personality
are:

 Hereditary: Heredity: Heredity is referred to those attributes of personality

which are determined at the time of conception of an individual. The
characteristics such as body type, build, facial attractiveness, eye colour, hair
colour, height, temperament, sex, energy level and reflexes are generally
inherited from the parents either completely or partially. This approach argues
that the basis of human personality lies in the molecular structure of the genes.
 Physical Features: Physical appearance is also among the integral determinants
of personality. How one appears physically actually plays an important role in
how they are perceived by others. Whether one is short, tall, slim, fat, black or
white will obviously have an impression on others and this will have an
influence on the self-conception of the individual. Physical characteristics
include but are not limited to height, skin tone, weight, hair colour, and beauty.

Psychological Determinants of Personality

Considering a personality as a particular style pertaining to each individual, the
psychological approach is amongst the major determinants of personality. This specific
style which is different for each individual actually gets determined through the
accumulative characteristics of mental trends, emotions, sentiments, thought patterns
and complexes. Further, it also studies an individual’s mental conflicts, wishes,
aspirations, feelings of repression, sublimation and emotional well-being.
Cultural Determinants of Personality

Culture defines the norms, values, attitudes and beliefs which are passed from one
generation to another generation. Every individual learns different values and the way
he should behave in different situations from the culture to which he belongs. The way
people develop their attitude towards independence, competition, aggression, task
assigned, risk taking, and cooperation is determined by the culture.

Family Factors: The most significant of the different determinants of personality is

that of family. Family is one of very important determinants of personality. It affects
the personality development of an individual specifically in the early phases of the life.
The environment at home blended with the direct influence of the parents is the major
contributor to the traits that build our personality. A critical impact is driven by the
family, especially in the early and naive age. For example, a child brought up in a
violent household will be quite different and emotionally and socially timid and cold
as compared to a child reared in a warm, adjusting and healthy environment.

Society: Various groups and relevant people of society as well as the organisation exert
a great influence on the personality development of an individual. This phenomenon
is called socialisation. In other words, it can be said that socialisation involves the
process by which a person learns and acquires from the society, the behaviour patterns
that are customary and acceptable to the family, society and organisations

Situational Factors
Situation: Situational factors also play a very important role in determining the
personality of an individual. It is often said that life is a collection of experiences.
Every individual faces different experiences in his life which exert a great deal of
influence on his personality development. It sometimes offers constraints and
sometimes provides push to a person’s behaviour. The traits shown through situational
factors usually vary a lot as different people exhibit different situational personality
traits. For example: You may behave differently in front of your boss in the office
than at a club with your friends.

Intellectual Determinants of Personality

Intelligence is another essential factor that can play an important role in the
development of our personality. Our intellect can influence various aspects and areas
of our behaviour which in turn, can determine our personality. Here are the intellectual
determinants of Personality:
  Humour: Humour is one of the integral intellectual determinants of personality
as it helps us get a realistic view of things, facilitates social acceptance and also
ironically brings forward a lighter perspective of life.
 Morality: Our intellect and worldview play a crucial role in the development of
our morality and how we see certain things as moral or immoral. Thus, morality
is another factor that determines our intellect and thus overall personality as
well.
 Values: An individual learns about values from his/her upbringing as well as
from the society they are brought up in. These values and beliefs also form our
intellectual behaviour and thus are an important determinant of our personality.

Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the Workplace

Personality–job fit theory: A theory that identifies six personality types and proposes
that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines
satisfaction and turnover.
In simple words, Person-job fit is the compatibility between individuals and the job or
tasks they perform at work. If an individual’s personality and the work environment
fit, then the individual will enjoy the work and develop and grow in the career.
Person–organization fit: A theory that people are attracted to and selected by
organizations that match their values, and leave when there is no compatibility.

Holland presented six personality types and proposed that satisfaction and the
propensity to leave a position depend on how well individuals match their
personalities to a job. The table shows the six types, their personality
characteristics, and examples of the congruent occupations for each.

Realistic – “Do-er”
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-
on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals and real-world
materials like wood, tools and machinery. Many of the occupations require working
outside and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
 Likes to work with animals, tools, or machines; generally avoids social activities
like teaching, healing, and informing others;
 Has good skills in working with tools, mechanical or electrical drawings, machines,
or plants and animals;  Values practical things you can see, touch, and use like plants
and animals, tools, equipment, or machines; and  Sees self as practical, mechanical,
and realistic

Investigative – “Thinker”
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas and require an
extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for the facts
and figuring out problems mentally.
or persuading people;

ientific, and intellectual.

Artistic - “Creator”
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns.
They often require self-expression, and the work can be done without following a clear
set of rules.
activities like art, drama, crafts, dance, music, or creative
writing; generally
avoids highly ordered or repetitive activities;
-- in creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art;
-- like drama, music, art, or the works of creative writers;
and

Social - “Helper”
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and
teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to
others.
-- like, teaching, nursing, or giving first aid,
providing information;
generally avoids using machines, tools, or animals to achieve a goal;
giving information;

Enterprising – “Persuader”
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting and carrying out projects. These
occupations can involve leading people and making decisions. Sometimes they require
risk taking and often deal with business.

activities that
require careful observation and scientific, analytical thinking;

Conventional – “Organizer”
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedure and routines.
These occupations can include working with data and details more than ideas. Usually
there is a clear line of authority to follow.
ally
avoids ambiguous,
unstructured activities

The ‘Big 5’ personality traits

OR
Personality Frameworks
OR
The Big Five Personality Model

The Big Five Personality Model is a framework which provides five basic dimensions
of personality viz. Extraversion, Agreeableness, Emotional stability,
Conscientiousness and Openness to experience. These five traits are so important and
describe most of the significant variations of
personality that they are named as ‘The Big Five Model of Personality’. These traits
are discussed
as follows:
: This dimension of personality describes the comfort level of an
individual in terms of their relationships with others. Extroverts are more talkative,
social, gregarious, friendly and confident. In opposite to this introverts are reserved,
less social and calm.
bleness: This trait refers to an individual’s ability to get along with others.
Highly agreeable personalities are cooperative and caring. Whereas, people who score
low on this dimension tend to be uncooperative, disagreeable and self-centred.
Stability: This trait reflects a person’s ability to withstand stress. People
who are highly emotionally stable tend to be calm, secure and self-confident. On the
other hand, people who are emotionally weak tend to be depressed, nervous and
insecure.
Conscientiousness: This dimension assesses the reliability score of an individual.
Highly conscientious people are more dependable, reliable, systematic and well
organised. Whereas, people who have low conscientiousness are irresponsible, less
dependable, negligent and unorganised.
Openness to Experience: This dimension measures a person’s interests and
creativity. Extremely open people are highly creative and are always open to new
ideas. Whereas, people who score low on this dimension are less interested or don’t
respond to new ideas. They generally stick to the conventional ways of doing things.
Various researchers have found strong relationship between these five dimensions of
personality and individual’s performance on the job. The employees who score high
on conscientiousness tend to acquire higher job knowledge and perform better on the
job. Individuals who are emotionally stable tend to be happier and satisfied from the
job as compared to those who are emotionally weak. This is because emotionally stable
people generally think positively and experience less negative emotions. In addition to
this, extraverts also stay happier on their jobs, express their feelings freely and
experience positive emotions as compared to introverts. Extraverts also tend to
perform better in the jobs that involve frequent interpersonal interactions and require
more social skills. The table given below summarizes the effect of big five traits on
the performance of individuals on the job.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The MBTI was developed by Katherine Briggs and is based on Carl Jung’s theory
of psychological type. MBTI is an instrument which is very commonly used
worldwide to assess personality of an individual. This instrument is comprised of 100
statements pertaining to human personality. It indicates your personality preferences
in four dimensions:
 Extraverted people are social, friendly and self-
confident whereas, introverted people are more shy and calm.
Sensing Vs. Intuitive: Sensing personalities are very practical and prefer to follow
routine and orders. On the other hand, intuitive types of people are not practical and
usually rely on unconscious processes.
Thinking Vs. Feeling: Feeling types of people generally take decisions based on
their personal values and emotions. Thinking types of people are generally more
logical and rational.
Judging Vs. Perceiving: Judging types want control and prefer their world to be
ordered and structured. Perceiving types are more flexible and spontaneous.

Higher and lower score in each of these dimensions help in classifying the individuals
into different categories of personality. For example:
Introverted/Intuitive/Thinking/Judging (INTJ) type of people are independent,
determined, great creative thinkers and have strong drives for their own ideas.
Extraverted/Sensing/Thinking/Judging (ESTJs) are logical, rational, analytical good
organizers and decision makers. Therefore, it can be said that MBTI is a very useful
tool which is widely used for selection of employees, increasing self-awareness and
providing career guidance.
MBTI assessment is ideal for

 Team development

 Leadership development

 Conflict management

 Stress management

 Career development

DARK TRIAD

The "dark triad" is the name for a mix of malevolent personality traits:
Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. People with dark triad traits are
manipulative,

These people may gain your trust and then exploit it for personal gain.

It can be difficult to identify the dark triad, but certain behaviors can signal whether a
person has these traits. Read on to learn about the dark triad, including personality
traits and how to recognize them.

People with all three traits often disregard others and lack compassion and empathy.
They generally rate high in their willingness to exploit others to get ahead and
experience little remorse when they cause harm. They can also be deceitful and
aggressive.

The dark triad describes three different but interrelated negative personality types.
These include:

Machiavellianism: This means being highly manipulative. It's a personality trait

describing a manipulative individual who deceives and tricks others to achieve goals.

Narcissism: This is defined as feeling superior and entitled. People with narcissism
can be selfish, arrogant, lacking empathy, boastful, and sensitive to criticism and
insults.

Psychopathy: The personality traits associated with psychopathy include antisocial

behavior, expressing volatility, lacking empathy, and being without remorse. They are
emotionally cold and impulsive, prone to taking significant risks.