Chapter 2: Personality Flashcards
Personality
The relatively stable set of psychological characteristics that influences the way an individual interacts with their environment.
Approaches to Personality Research
- Dispositional approach
- Situational approach
- Interactionist approach
Dispositional approach
individuals possess stable traits or characteristics that influence their attitudes and behaviours.
Individuals are predisposed to behave in certain ways (i.e., they act according to their personality)
Situational approach
characteristics of the organizational setting influence people’s attitudes and behaviour.
Individuals are likely to behave in similar ways when in a specific situation.
Interactionist approach
Individuals’ attitudes and behaviour are a function of both dispositions
Trait activation theory
In weak situations, roles are loosely defined, there are few rules and weak reinforcement and punishment contingencies.
o Personality has the strongest effect in weak situations.
In strong situations, the roles, rules, and contingencies are more defined.
o Personality has less of an impact in strong situations.
The Five-Factor Model of Personality: “The Big Five” (OCEAN)
- Conscientiousness
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
- Openness to Experience
- Extraversion
Conscientiousness
The degree of organization, dependability, thoroughness, and achievement-oriented activities that a person exhibits is a measure of reliability.
Low: Unreliable, unorganized, unpredictable
High: Perseverance, responsible, organized, diligent, dependable
Positively related to job performance for most jobs
Agreeableness
The ability to get along with others; degree of courtesy, trust, cooperation, and tolerance that a person exhibits.
Low: Focused on own needs, less need to be liked by others, irritable, suspicious, inflexible
High: Forgiving, good natured, cooperative, warm, trusting
Positively related to performance in service jobs
Too much or too little can negatively affect performance in certain situations
Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
Inability to handle stress; lack of emotional stability (e.g., emotional swings)
Low Neuroticism: Calm, self-confident, secure, content about themselves and their place in the world
High Neuroticism: Anxious, insecure, sensitive, angry, depressed
A minimum threshold of emotional stability is necessary for job performance
Openness to Experience
The capacity to entertain new ideas and to change as a result of new information; creative, original, open-minded
Low: Cautious, narrow-minded
High: Curious, imaginative, playful, artistic
Positively related to training proficiency
Extraversion
The quality of being comfortable with relationships; degree of sociability
Low: Reserved, quiet, solitary
High: Gregarious, assertive, talkative, expressive
Positively related to performance when job requires social interaction
Locus of Control
= A set of beliefs about whether one’s behaviour is controlled mainly by internal or external forces
High external control: behaviour determined by fate, luck, powerful people
High internal control: behaviour determined by self-initiative, personal actions, free will
Self-Monitoring
The extent to which people observe and regulate how they appear and behave in social settings and relationships
Self-Esteem
The degree to which a person has a positive self-evaluation.
Behavioural plasticity theory = People with low self-esteem tend to be more susceptible to external and social influences than those who have high self-esteem.
positive and negative affectivity
positive affectivity = propensity to view the world, including oneself and other people, in a positive light
negative affectivity = propensity to view the world, including oneself and other people, in a negative light
Proactive behaviour
Taking initiative to improve current circumstances or creating new ones.
Proactive personality
A stable personal disposition that reflects a tendency to take personal initiative across a range of activities and situations and to effect positive change in one’s environment
General self-efficacy (GSE)
general trait that refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to perform successfully in a variety of challenging situations
Core self-evaluations (CSEs)
a broad personality concept that consists of more specific traits that reflect the evaluations people hold about themselves and their self-worth.
- consists of: self-esteem, general self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism
