PERSONALITY

MEANING &
DETERMINANTS
DEFINITIONS OF PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY AS DEFINED BY
SALVADOR MADDI :
A stable set of characteristics and
tendencies , that determine those
commonalities and differences in
psychological behaviour ( thoughts
,feelings and actions) of people,
that have
continuity in time and
they may not be understood as the
sole result of social and biological
pressures of the moment.
The other features are:

Characteristics are fairly stable

and

these characteristics give rise to a

consistent pattern of behaviour.
The other facet of the definition is
presence of some commonalities and
differences among individuals. Every
human being is
a) unique
b) like some other people
c) like all other people.
A leader must appreciate that group
members are unique and may not
respond to rewards and punishment
in the same manner
 An employees personality and his
attitudes together determine his behaviour
This behaviour leads to job performance

Individual behaviour becomes a part of the

group behaviour
Which further becomes group behaviour

Which in turn impacts the organisational

performance
 Definitions of personality
Carl Rogers defines Personality as
Personality is an organised ,
consistent pattern of perception of the
I, around which the individual
interacts and has experiences .

Some psychologists have tried to

define or understand personality with
reference to Traits ,while others have
used the idea of Types

 Traits Theory
The famous one is that of Cattell.
He isolated 117 traits out of 5000
adjectives that can describe traits.
Out of these he further compressed
them to 16 primary traits
Outgoing Vs reserved ,more
intelligent Vs less, Venturesome Vs.
timid,
 Assertive Vs humble, Tough minded
Vs sensitive, Shrewd Vs forthright,
controlled Vs casual, Suspicious Vs
trusting

Ifone can identify the traits properly,

the behaviour of such people can be
predicted well.
 Determinants of personality
Heredity

Environment

Situation

Locus of control
 Big Five

Further research has identified 5

traits

Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
EmotionalStability
Openness to experience
 Locus of Control
Some trust that they are the masters of
their lives and some feel that they are only
puppets
They are called internals and externals

They have very distinct behavior patterns

Hence very distinct work outcomes

 The Internals
The internals are committed,
satisfied, believe in their strengths

They are achievement oriented

They control the environment

 Other determinants
Machiavellianism: Practical, Keep
emotional distance from others

They manipulate others for their gains

They are good at persuading others

For them ends justify the means

They are self starters.
 Type A

They are fast

They are upset with slowness around

They are involved in more than one

thing at a time
Cant cope with leisure time

More quantitative in approach