Chapter 3 PERSONALITY

INTRODUCTION An individual’s personality constitutes the most important and most noticeable parts of an individual's psychosomatic life. Our personalities determine how we act and react, as well as how we interact with and respond to the world.

DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY Personality refers to individual differences in character, patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. Personality is also known as the combination of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioural response patterns of an individual. It is the sum of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with each other.

PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS Brain Physical Factors Heredity Factors Cultural and Religious Factors Social Factors

PERSONALITY TRAITS THE MYER-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-inventory test designed to identify a person's personality type, strengths and preferences. Extraversion (E) - Introversion (I) Sensing (S) - Intuition (N) Thinking (T) - Feeling (F) Judging (J) - Perceiving (P)  

PERSONALITY TRAITS BIG FIVE MODEL The Big Five personality traits are five broad domains or dimensions of personality that are used to describe human personality. Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Neuroticism Agreeableness

ATTRIBUTES OF PERSONALITY LOCUS OF CONTROL Internal and external locus of control Research has found the following trends: Males tend to be more internal than females As people get older they tend to become more internal People higher up in organizational structures tend to be more internal

ATTRIBUTES OF PERSONALITY MACHIAVELLIANISM Research has revealed that individuals who score high on Mach are good at manipulating others and try to win by any means. They do not need to be persuaded to work but instead are able to successfully persuade others.

ATTRIBUTES OF PERSONALITY SELF-ESTEEM Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. It is a judgement of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self. RISK TAKING The tendency to engage in behaviours that have the potential to be harmful or dangerous, yet at the same time provide the opportunity for some kind of outcome that can be perceived as positive.

ATTRIBUTES OF PERSONALITY TYPE A – TYPE B PERSONALITY Type A personality is associated with time urgency, aggressiveness, hostility and competitiveness Type B personality, in contrast, is the one low on these traits. Generally, most people fall somewhere in between these two types, some leaning more towards one type than the other.

PERSONALITY – JOB FIT THEORY Holland’s theory is centred on the notion that most people fit into one of six personality types: Realistic (Doer) – Prefers physical activities that require skill, strength and coordination. Traits include being genuine, stable, conforming and practical. Example professions include architect, farmer and engineer. Investigative (Thinker) – Prefers working with theory and information, thinking, organizing and understanding. Traits include being analytical, curious and independent. Example professions include lawyer, mathematician and professor.

PERSONALITY – JOB FIT THEORY Artistic (Creator) – Prefers creative, original and unsystematic activities that allow creative expression. Traits include being imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, emotional and impractical.  Example professions include artist, musician and writer. Social (Helper) – Prefers activities that involve helping, healing or developing others. Traits include being cooperative, friendly, sociable and understanding. Example professions include counsellor, doctor and teacher.

PERSONALITY – JOB FIT THEORY Enterprising (Persuader) – Prefers competitive environments, leadership, influence, selling and status. Traits include being ambitious, domineering, energetic and self-confident. Example professions include management, marketing and sales person. Conventional (Organizer) – Prefers precise, rule-regulated, orderly and unambiguous activities. Traits include being conforming, efficient, practical, unimaginative and inflexible. Example professions include accountant, clerk and editor.

SUMMARY Personality is the combination of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioural response patterns of an individual.