What is personality? And what relevance has this concept to understanding behaviour in the workplace? I will be researching about personalities and the relevance that they have in regards to behaviour in the workplace. I will be discussing many factors ranging from trait and type theories to the nature-nurture debate. A personality is a combination of natural traits, combined with life experiences which determine our individual characteristics and set us out in a distinctive persona.
The term personality is used to determine the differences between individuals. A person could be social, reliable, depressed or content, these are all traits but are we born with these? Or are they inherited? The Nature-Nurture debate is about whether a particular individual’s behaviour is a product of inherited genes or learned characteristics. The debate has never really been won. Everyone is aware that we inherit characteristics such as our eye colour, freckles and many more however where did we get our personalities?
The debate seeks to find out whether our personalities are from our genes or through life experiences. Over the years, scientists have carried out various studies on twins. If genetics do not play a part in their personalities and they are bought up under the same conditions then they would be similar regardless of their genes, however studies show that they resemble each other more than non-twins and also show that they have remarkable similarities when separated. 1
Controversial psychologist John Watson believes in the nurture side of the debate, he said: ‘Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select… regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. ’ John Watson carried out an experiment with a young orphan called Albert. He demonstrated that a phobia could be explained by ‘classical conditioning’. 2
Personality theory also involves behaviour, it is assumed that one’s behaviour has stability, things such as illness or substance related mood swings are not treated as a personality characteristic. Although it is assumed that one’s behaviour has stability, sometimes personalities appear to be flexible, and for example the CEO of an organisation may be seen as a domineering, stressed and callous character in the office however may also be a loving father and husband at home. It is seen that some personality features are completely down to social and physical conditions.
3 Type and Trait are major components when determining the structure of a personality. One of the very first personality theorists Hippocrates believed that one’s behaviour was determined by bodily ‘humours’. One of the theories was that if an individual had high amounts of phlegm, they were a phlegmatic person and had behaviours such as being apathetic and sluggish. Hippocrates theory has been proved to be untrue by both evidence and personal knowledge as there are more than four types of personalities across the world.
Psychometric testing is becoming ever so popular within organisations; it is the study of personality and compares individuals in terms of traits. This is the nomothetic approach. The idiographic approach centres on individuals having a unique personality structure. It emphasises that people have traits which are unique to them and that it is impossible to compare them with others. The big five which is a nomothetic approach is used widely within organisations to assess personalities based on the traits.
There are two questionnaires available; one is a short one with 60 questions covering the five factors. The second one is called the ‘full facet’ version which has 240 questions and covers all 30 traits. The assessments are used for recruitment, promotion and development purposes. ‘The big five’ trait by Paul T. Costa and Robert McCrae The five personality traits include; Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and lastly Neuroticism. The big five (OCEAN) are a set of factors that range from high to low.
Openness:At one end individuals are highly keen to learn new things, they are creative in their thinking as well as open minded and intellectual. These traits are useful for entrepreneurs. At the other end, individuals are less creative and more narrow minded. The job roles suited to these traits include finance managers and project managers. | Conscientiousness:At one end individuals are organized, self-disciplined and achievement orientated. These traits are useful for leaders. At the other end individuals are disorganized and irresponsible; these traits are useful for the roles of researchers and detectives.
| Extraversion: At one end individuals are extraverts; this is one of the easiest traits to recognise. Extraverts are sociable and gain energy from other people. These traits are useful for the roles of sales people and politicians. At the other end are the introverts, these individuals are less sociable and prefer to work alone or in small groups. Introverts meet the requirements for roles in production management and natural sciences. | Agreeableness:At one end are the adapters, individuals who are good natured and compliant. These traits are useful for teachers.
At the other end are the challengers, those who are irritable and uncooperative, these traits are useful for the military leadership. | Neuroticism:At one end individuals are anxious, depressed and self-conscious. These traits are useful for the role of a social scientist. At the other end are more emotionally stable and tend to be calm and content. These traits are useful for air traffic controllers and pilots. | Two out of the big five have been consistently associated with good performance in the workplace; these are conscientiousness and emotional stability.
4 In conclusion it is apparent that nature awards us with inborn capabilities and traits and nurture takes these tendencies and moulds them as we learn and develop. Psychometric testing although controversial has many advantages if used in the correct way, it can help individuals make more career decisions and enable them to further develop for both themselves and the organisation.
Reference List: 1)Kimberly Powell . 2010. Nature Vs Nurture . [ONLINE] Available at: http://genealogy. about. com/cs/geneticgenealogy/a/nature_nurture. htm. [Accessed 07 February 12] 2) Kimberly Powell . 2010.The Nurture Theory . [ONLINE] Available at: http://genealogy. about. com/cs/geneticgenealogy/a/nature_nurture_2. htm. [Accessed 07 February 12]. 3)
David A. Buchanan and Andrzej A. Huczynski, D. A. B, 2010. Organizational Behaviour . 7th ed. Chapter 6 page 169: Pearson 4) David A. Buchanan and Andrzej A. Huczynski, D. A. B, 2010. Organizational Behaviour . 7th ed. Chapter 6 page 179: Pearson 5) Emma Carter . 2008. David Brent Jokers Out, Office Cheerleaders In. [ONLINE] Available at: http://t-mobilenewscentre. co. uk/david-brent-jokers-out-office-cheerleaders-in/. [Accessed 07 February 12].