A power point prepared for the H818 online Conference, delivered during the third session 17-2-14. An overview of an approach towards studying the effect of personality on interaction with openness. The Big 5 personality model is identified as a useful model to use to investigate whether personality affects inclusiveness and if being informed about these effects an implementation model might be identified. Development of the method to include ethnographic approaches to investigate working with openness is suggested.

1. Does personality affect our
participation with the open
environment?
Debbie Meakin
H818, Inclusion/Implementation Presentation

2. Background
• Teaching delivery
• Differentiation – Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic and needs
• Multiple intelligences
• Reading – book ‘Quiet’ by Susan Cain (2012)
• Self awareness
• MBTI

3. Introduction
• The accessibility of online environments is a general entitlement to being
inclusive (TechDis)
• Inclusion?
• About potential barriers to online access
• What about personality? Is this also about behaviour
• ie participation?
• Personality has been the subject of studies looking at
online interaction
• Does personality present barriers?

4. Personality is organised into 5
dimensions or traits
• The five-factor model (FFM )has five areas known as dimensions and
these are, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
neuroticism and openness to experience.
• These are also known as the ‘Big 5’
• Also can be linked to learning styles (according to Wikipedia) and
MBTI
• Stability of this personality testing is agreed by psychologists

5. ‘Big 5’

6. Other studies
• Shyness and anxiety have been found to have an effect in engaging
online, but not in relation to email use or chat rooms (Scealy, Phillips
& Stevenson 2002)
• In another study it was found that openness is a positive factor online
for entertainment, social relationships and communication while
agreeableness has a negative impact on communication (Tsao 2013)

7. Other studies
• When
working
online four
areas of
personality
affected
behaviour
online less
than offline
(Blumer
and
Doering,
2012).

8. A method
• Based on previous work using a questionnaire approach and a test –
retest situation for being offline and online
• Move this to a not open/open approach with the questionnaire
• Devising appropriate questions about working in the open
environment
• Identifying the sample group(s)

9. My Results – Big 5 Personality Test
www.outofservice/bigfive/results

10. My Results – Big 5 Personality Test
www.outofservice/bigfive/results

11. Other methods
• Self reporting – determination of personality using easily accessed
websites
• Using self reporting and compare with responses to open
environment working
• Ethnographic approach
• Focus groups

12. Inclusion and/or Implementation
• Is personality something that can affect inclusion and accessibility to
the online environment?
• Is personality something that can affect engagement with openness?
• Knowing the effects of personality in different online and open
situations, can approaches to engage people in openness be
considered?

13. Questions please?

14. References
• McCrea, RR; John O. (1992). “An Introduction to the Five-Factor Model and
Its Applications”. Journal of Personality 60 (2): 175-215.
• Scealy, M.;Phillips; JG. Stevenson, R. (2002). Shyness and anxiety as
predictors of patterns of internet usage. CyberPsychology & Behaviour 5
(6): 507-515.
• TechDis: http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/
• Tsao, WC. (2013). Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors of Internet Usage
Categories. International Journal of Management 30 (4): 374-386.
• Questionnaire sites: will analyse responses and produce a profile (eg
http://personality-testing.info/tests/BIG5.php;
http://www.fetzer.org/sites/default/files/images/stories/pdf/selfmeasures
/Personality-BigFiveInventory.pdf).