What Is Personality?

When we talk of personality, we dont 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 persons 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 subjects 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 individuals 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 individuals 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
arethat is, by their biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup.

The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individuals 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 dont 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. Peoples 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 individuals 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) 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,
youre 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 shouldnt 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 others 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 youll 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 strangers b. find little to say to strangers

51. Are you more likely to trust your: 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 Copy to Copy to
 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.