This document discusses personality and personality traits. It defines personality as a relatively stable set of characteristics that influence behavior. It notes that personality is influenced by both heredity and environment. It describes several major personality attributes that influence organizational behavior, including personality traits, locus of control, Machiavellianism, introversion/extroversion, self-esteem, risk-taking, self-monitoring, and achievement orientation. It also discusses personality types like Type A and Type B and various personality traits theories.

1. By
Dr. H.S. ABZAL BASHA, M.B.A., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor,
Department of Management Studies,
G. Pullaiah College of Engineering & Technology, Kurnool.

4. The word personality comes from the Latin word persona. In the
ancient world, a persona was a mask worn by an actor. While we tend
to think of a mask as being worn to conceal one's identity, the
theatrical mask was originally used to either represent or project a
specific personality trait of a character The sum total of ways in which
an individual reacts and interacts with others.
Personality is a pattern of stable states and characteristics of a person
that influences his or her behavior toward goal achievement

5. DEFINITION
Personality -A relatively stable
set of characteristics that
influences an individual’s
behavior

6. Determinants of
Personality
Heredity Environment
Situational
Nature: It advocates that
Part of personality finds its
Origins in biology (heredity)
Nature: It advocates that
Part of personality finds its
Origins in biology (heredity)

7. Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB
Personality Traits
Authoritative
Locus of
Control
Machiavellianism
Introverts/
Extroverts
Self Esteem
Risk taking
Self-Monitoring
Type A & B
Achievement orientation

8. Personality Types
TYPE A
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
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.

12. PERSONALITY TRAITS
• A personality trait is a personality characteristic
that endures (lasts) over time and across
different situations
• Trait theories of personality focus on
measuring, identifying and describing
individual differences in personality in terms
of traits
• Focus is on what is different- not what is the
same
• Can be used to predict behaviour based on traits

13. • Enduring characteristics that describe an
individual’s behavior.
PERSONALITY TRAITS

14. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI)
A personality test that taps four characteristicsand
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)

17. 4–13
Personality Structure (The “Big Five”
Traits)
Dimension
Characteristics of a person
Scoring +vely on the dimension
Extroversion Outgoing, Talkative, Sociable,
Assertive
Agreeableness
Trusting, good natured,
Cooperative, softhearted
Dependable, responsible,
Achievement-oriented
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability Relaxed, Secure, Unworried
Sensitive, Intellectual,
Imaginative, Broadminded
Openness to
Experience

18. 4–12
Extroversion
This trait includes characteristics such as excitability, sociability,
talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional
expressiveness.
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive
I love excitement and am a cheerful person
Agreeableness
This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust,
altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.
People find me warm and generous and selfless
Big Five Personality Traits
Conscientiousness
Common features of this dimension include high levels of
thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed
behaviors
Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.
People find me reliable and I keep my house clean

19. Emotional Stability
Individuals high in this trait tend to experience emotional
instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
calm, self-confident, secure (positive)
versus nervous, depressed, and insecure
(negative).
am very moody I often feel sad and down
Openness to Experience
This trait features characteristics such as imagination and
insight, and those high in this trait also tend to have abroad
range of interests.
I am a very curious person & enjoychallenges
Imaginativeness, artistic, sensitivity, and intellectualism.

20. 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.

21. Main assumptions of theories
• One: that personality traits are relatively stable and therefore
predictable over time
• Two: Personality traits are relatively stable across different
situations
• Three: trait theories take into account that personality
consists of a number of different traits, and that some people
have ‘more’ or ‘less’ of each trait than others
• Four: some traits are more closely interrelated than
other traits and tend to occur together

22. • Personality traits are described on a
continuum – showing either end of the trait.
• I.e. Confidence continuum

23. Strengths and Limitations of trait
theories
• Provide useful descriptions of personality and its
structure
• Provided the foundation of valid and reliable
personality devices
• Can lead people to accept and use oversimplified
classifications and descriptions
• Underestimate socio-cultural influences on
behaviour