Chapter 4 Personality and Emotions

Learning Objectives Explain individual personality factors Describe the MTBI personality framework Discuss the Big Five Personality Model Examine how job typology affects the personality-job performance relationship Differentiate emotions from moods

Learning Objectives Contrast felt versus displayed emotions Read emotions Explain gender-differences in emotions Describe external constraints on emotions Apply concepts on emotions to OB issues

What Is Personality? Heredity Situation Environment “The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others” Heredity Situation Environment

Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior Personality Traits Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior Reserved Less Intelligent Affected by Feelings Submissive Serious Expedient Timid Tough-Minded Outgoing More Intelligent Emotionally Stable Dominant Happy-Go-Lucky Conscientious Venturesome Sensitive

Personality Traits Trusting Practical Forthright Self-Assured Conservative Group-Dependent Uncontrolled Relaxed Suspicious Imaginative Shrewd Apprehensive Experimenting Self-Sufficient Controlled Tense

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Type of Social Interaction Extrovert (E) Introvert (I) Preference for Gathering Data Sensing (S) Intuitive (N) Preference for Decision Making Feeling (F) The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator is a 100-question personality test that asks people to select how they usually feel or act in particular situations. On the basis of their answers, they are classified as extroverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and perceiving or judging (P or J). Since results provide insights into what individuals enjoy doing, using this test in employee selection can minimize personality-job conflicts. Thinking (T) Style of Decision Making Perceptive (P) Judgmental (J)

The Big Five Personality Model Extraversion The Big Five Personality Model Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional Stability The five-factor model of personality—the Big Five—offers a comprehensive, unifying framework for identifying personality dimensions. The dimension of extraversion captures one’s comfort level with relationships. Extroverts tend to maintain a large number of relationships. Introverts tend to be reserved and have fewer relationships. The dimension of agreeableness refers to a person’s propensity to defer to others. People high in this dimension value harmony more than having their own way. People low in this dimension focus on their own needs more than on the needs of others. The dimension of conscientiousness refers to the number of goals on which a person focuses. Those high in this dimension pursue fewer goals and tend to be responsible, persistent, and achievement-oriented. Those low in this dimension tend to be more easily distracted, less focused, and more hedonistic. Emotional stability refers a person’s ability to withstand stress. People high on this dimension tend to be calm, enthusiastic, and secure. Those low in this dimension tend to be anxious, nervous, and insecure. Openness to experience refers to one’s range of interests. Those high in this dimension are fascinated by imaginative, creative, and intellectual activities. Those low in this dimension tend to be more conventional and prefer the familiar. Openness to Experience

Personality and Job Performance Openness to Experience Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional Stability What kinds of Jobs?

Personality Attributes and Org Behavior Locus of Control Machiavellian Traits Self-Esteem Self-Monitoring Risk Taking Type A Personality

Locus of Control Internal locus of control External locus of control control what happens External locus of control fate and luck Research findings and Implications externals: higher absenteeism rate, less involved, less satisfied; active; more managerial and professional jobs internals: higher turnover, more successful and satisfied; passive; compliant; structured and routines

Machiavellianism (Mach) Pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and beliefs that ends can justify means Research findings and implications High Machs: persuasive, manipulative, prefer face-to-face interaction; a minimum number of rules and regulations;

Self-esteem Definition research findings Individuals’ degree of liking or disliking of themselves research findings high self-esteem: take more risks; more willing to take a stand; high job satisfaction Low self-esteem: more susceptible to external influence; more prone to conform beliefs and behaviors of others; concern with pleasing others

Self-monitoring Definition Research Findings Individuals’ ability to adjust his/her behavior to external, situational factors Research Findings High self-monitoring: disguise themselves; capable of conforming; put on different faces for different audience Low self-monitoring: display true dispositions;

Type A and Type B Personality competitive, urgency, aggressive, impatient, stressful, rarely creative Type B lay back, relax, methodological

Personality and National Culture Relationship to the Environment Achievement and Material Success

Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory Type Personality Occupations Realistic Shy, Stable, Practical Mechanic, Farmer, Assembly-Line Worker Investigative Analytical, Independent Biologist, Economist, Mathematician Social Sociable, Cooperative Social Worker, Teacher, Counselor Conventional Practical, Efficient Accountant, Manager Bank Teller Holland’s personality job-fit model is based on the notion of fit between an individual’s personality and his or her occupational environment. Holland identified six personality types: realistic, investigative, social, conventional, enterprising, and artistic. Each of the six personality types has a congruent occupational environment, as shown in the table above. Enterprising Ambitious, Energetic Lawyer, Salesperson Artistic Imaginative, Idealistic Painter, Writer, Musician

Occupational Personality Types Realistic R Investigative I Conventional C A Artistic Holland developed a Vocational Preference Inventory questionnaire that contains 160 occupational titles. Respondents indicate which of those occupations they like or dislike, and their answers are used to form personality profiles. The figure above shows that the closer two fields or orientations are in the hexagon, the more compatible they are. Adjacent categories are quite similar, whereas those diagonally opposed are highly dissimilar. The bottom line, according to Holland, is that satisfaction is highest and turnover is lowest when personality and occupation are in agreement. For instance, a realistic person in a realistic job is in a more congruent situation than a realistic person in an investigative job. A realistic person in a social job is the most incongruent situation possible. E S Enterprising Social

What Are Emotions? Affect Moods Emotions A broad range of Feeling lack of contextual Stimulus Emotions Object specific Before we proceed with our analysis, we need to clarify three terms that are closely related. Affect is a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings that people can experience. This term encompasses both emotions and moods. Emotions are intense feelings directed at someone or something. Moods are feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus.

Emotions and Organizational Behavior Displayed Emotions Felt Emotional Labor Every employee expends physical and mental labor in the workplace. Most jobs also require emotional labor which occurs when an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions. Emotions can be separated into those that are felt versus those that are displayed. Felt emotions are an individual’s actual emotions. In contrast, displayed emotions are those that are organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given job. They are not innate; rather, they are learned.

Six Universal Emotions Happiness Fear Anger Research has identified six universal emotions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, and surprise. These emotions can be conceptualized as existing along a continuum. The closer any two emotions are on this continuum, the more people are likely to confuse them. For example, happiness and surprise are often mistaken, but happiness and disgust are rarely confused. People give different responses to identical emotion-provoking stimuli. In some cases, this can be attributed to the individual’s personality. At other times, it is a result of job requirements. Cultural norms in the United States dictate that employees working in service organizations should smile and act friendly when interacting with customers. In some cultures, smiling is seen as a sign of inexperience or flirtatiousness. So cultural factors will influence what is or is not emotionally appropriate. What is acceptable in one culture may seem unusual or dysfunctional in another. And cultures influence how emotions are interpreted. As a result, there is high agreement on what emotions mean within cultures but not between them. Surprise Sadness Disgust

Emotions In The Workplace Gender and Emotions Intensity of Emotions Frequency and Duration Emotionless People

External Constraints on Emotions Organizational Influences (i.e., Disney) Cultural Influences

Emotions and O B Applications Ability and Selection Leadership Deviant Behavior Motivation Decision Making The first way in which emotions affect OB pertains to ability and selection. People who are in touch with their own emotions and can read the emotions of others may be more effective in their jobs. That, in essence, is the theme underlying recent research on emotional intelligence: an assortment of non-cognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influence a person’s ability to cope with environmental demands and pressures. Leadership is a fundamental quality sought by organizations. Effective leaders rely on the expression of feelings to help convey their messages. They link emotions to an appealing vision in order to increase the chances of managers and employees accepting change. Traditional approaches to the study of decision making in organizations have emphasized rationality. Yet it is naïve to assume that decisions are not influenced by one’s feelings. Few issues are more intertwined with emotions than the topic of interpersonal conflict. If a manager wants to resolve conflicts, he or she must identify the emotional elements in the conflict and get the parties to work through their emotions. The dominant approaches to the study of motivation propose that individuals are motivated to the extent that their behavior is expected to lead to desired outcomes and that they essentially trade effort for pay, security, and promotions. The perceptions and calculations of people, however, are filled with emotional content that influences how much effort they exert. Negative emotions can lead to deviant behavior in the workplace. Employee deviance involves actions that violate established norms and threaten the organization, its members, or both. Interpersonal Conflict

Discussion “Traits are powerful predictors of behavior” (p.113) – individuals are highly adaptive or consistent Disposition predictors Contextual predictors Case Incident (p. 115)