Personality is defined as the sum total of ways an individual reacts to and interacts with others, as well as measurable traits they exhibit. It is influenced by heredity, environment, and situation, and described through enduring characteristics like the Big Five model of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assesses personality types based on four dichotomous scales of extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving.

1. Personality
• What is Personality?
– The sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts to and interacts with others
– Measurable traits that a person exhibits.
– An enduring combination of motives, emotions,
values, interests, attitudes and competencies.

2. What is Personality?
Personality
The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts
and interacts with others; measurable traits a person
exhibits.
Personality
Personality Traits
Determinants
Enduring characteristics • Heredity
that describe an • Environment
individual’s behavior.
• Situation

3. Determinants of Personality
• Heredity/ Physiological Determinants
– physical differences, IQ, potential, temperament
• Environment
– culture, norms of family, friends & social groups,
other influences
• Situation
– in class vs. at a party
– on-the-field/court vs. off-the-field/court

4. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
A personality test that taps four characteristics and
classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.
Personality Types
• Extroverted vs. Introverted (E or I)
• Sensing vs. Intuitive (S or N)
• Thinking vs. Feeling (T or F)
• Judging vs. Perceiving (P or J)
Score is a combination of all
four (e.g., ENTJ)

5. Meyers-Briggs, Continued
A Meyers-Briggs score
– Can be a valuable too for self-awareness and
career guidance
BUT
– Should not be used as a selection tool because it
has not been related to job performance!!!

6. The Big Five Model of Personality
Dimensions
Extroversion
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive
Agreeableness
Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.
Conscientiousness
Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.
Emotional Stability
Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus
nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative).
Openness to Experience
Curious, imaginative, artistic, and sensitive

7. Assess your own personality…with the major
personality attributes influencing OB
• Locus of control: internal…………………………….external
• Machiavellianism low……………………………………high
• Self-Esteem: low…………………………………….high
• Self-Monitoring low…………………………………….high
• Risk Taking low……………………………………..high
• Type A Personality “B”………………………………………”A”

8. •Self Esteem
Individuals’ degree of liking or disliking themselves.
•Locus of Control
The degree to which people believe they are
masters of their own fate.
•Internals (Internal locus of control)
Individuals who believe that they
control what happens to them.
•Externals (External locus of control)
Individuals who believe that what
happens to them is controlled by
outside forces such as luck or chance.

9. Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism (Mach)
Degree to which an individual is pragmatic,
maintains emotional distance, and believes
that ends can justify means.
Conditions Favoring High Machs
• Direct interaction with others
• Minimal rules and regulations
• Emotions distract for others

10. Self-Monitoring
Self-Monitoring
A personality trait that measures
an individual’s ability to adjust
his or her behavior to external,
situational factors.
High Self-Monitors
• Receive better performance
ratings
• Likely to emerge as leaders
• Show less commitment to their
organizations

11. Risk-Taking
• High Risk-taking Managers
– Make quicker decisions
– Use less information to make decisions
– Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial organizations
• Low Risk-taking Managers
– Are slower to make decisions
– Require more information before making decisions
– Exist in larger organizations with stable environments
• Risk Propensity
– Aligning managers’ risk-taking propensity to job
requirements should be beneficial to organizations.

12. Personality
Type A’s Types
1. are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly;
2. feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place;
3. strive to think or do two or more things at once;
4. cannot cope with leisure time;
5. are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of
how many or how much of everything they acquire.
Type B’s
1. never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying
impatience;
2. feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or
accomplishments;
3. play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority
at any cost;
4. can relax without guilt.

13. Personality Types
Proactive Personality
Identifies opportunities,
shows initiative, takes
action, and perseveres
until meaningful change
occurs.
Creates positive change
in the environment,
regardless or even in
spite of constraints or
obstacles.