UNIT-II

PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE

Generally personality refers to the set of traits and behaviours that characterise an individual.
A more comprehensive meaning of personality is that it refers to the relatively stable pattern
of behaviour and consistent internal state and explains a person’s behavioural tendencies.

The following elements should form the meaning of personality:

1. Personality has both internal and external elements. The external traits are the
observable behaviours that we notice in an individual’s personality, for example,
sociability. The internal states represent the thoughts, values and genetic
characteristics that we infer from the observable behaviours.
2. An individual’s personality is relatively stable. If it changes at all, it is only after very
long time or as the result of traumatic events.
3. An individual’s personality is both inherited as well as shaped by the environment.
Our personality is partly inherited genetically from our parents. However, these
genetic personality characteristics are altered some-what by life experiences.
4. Each individual is unique in behaviour. These are striking differences among
individuals.
Thus, personality refers to the sum total of internal and external traits of an individual, which
are relatively stable and which make the individual different from others.

Personality refers to the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts
with others. Personality determinants include heredity, environment and situation.

Personality traits: The early work in the structure of personality revolved around
attempts to identify and label enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s
behaviour. Popular characteristics include shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy,
ambitious, loyal, or timid. These characteristics, when they are exhibited in a large
number of situations, are called traits.

1. Reserved Outgoing
2. Less Intelligent More intelligent
3. Affected by feelings Emotionally stable
4. Submissive Dominant
5. Serious Happy-go-luck
6. Expedient Conscientious
7. Timid Venturesome
8. Tough-minded Sensitive
9. Trusting Suspicious
10. Practical Imaginative
11.Forthright Shrewd
12. Self-assured Apprehensive
13. Conservative Experimenting
14. Group-dependent Self-sufficient
15. Uncontrolled Controlled
16. Relaxed Tense
Table 1 Sixteen source traits
Determinants of Personality

(1) Biological Factors:

(i) Heredity: It means the transmission of the qualities such as physical stature, facial
attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition, reflexes etc, from the ancestors
and parents to the descendants. Heredity is generally more important in determining a
person’s temperament than his values and ideals.
(ii) Brain: There is a general feeling that brain plays an important role in the
development of one’s personality. However, no conclusive proof is available so far
about the nature of relationship between the brain and personality.

(iii) Physical features: An individual’s external appearance may have a tremendous

effect on his personality. Such factors include height, weight, colour, facial features,
etc. of the individual.

(2) Family and Social factors: The development of individual’s personality is also
influenced by his family and other social groups. The infant acquires those behaviour patterns
that are customary and acceptable to the standards of the family and the community where
the family lives. The status of the family in the society influences individual’s perception
about self, others, work, money, etc.,

(3) Situational factors: An individual’s personality may change in different situations. The
demands of different situations may call for different aspects of one’s personality. Therefore,
we should not look at the personality factor in isolation.

Group and culture are the early environmental factors that influence later behaviour.
Family and the social setting during early stages of education are the important factors which
influence the initial formation of personality. Whatever the child learns lasts for life time.
Later in life, it is the peer groups of primary affiliations at work, social activities etc. which
shape the personality of an individual.

(4) Other factors:

a) Temperament: Temperament is the degree to which one responds emotionally.

b) Interest: An Individual normally has many interests in various areas. The successful
persons in the same occupation have to a large extent, the same interests.

c) Character: Character primarily means honesty. It is resistance to stealing and cheating

others.

d) Schema: It is an individual’s belief, frame of reference, perception and attitude which

the individual possesses towards the management, the job, working conditions, pay,
fringe benefits, incentive system, and development programmes in the organization.

e) Motives: Motives are the inner drives of an individual. They represent goal directed
behaviour of individual.
Theories of Personality

More light on the nature of personality has been thrown by theories on personality. There are
several theories but the more prominent among them are as follows:

Theory Contributor Explanation

Kretschmer and Individuals are categorized depending
Type Theory
Sheldon upon their physical characteristics.
Individuals are classified on the basis
Trait Theory Gordon Allport
of traits.
Evaluating the personality of an
Psychoanalytic Theory Sigmund Freud individual by psychoanalytical
perspective.
It stresses on the change of behavior
Social Learning Theory Bandura and Walters
through learning from several sources.
Carl Rogers and For Rogers, behavior depends on how
Humanistic Approach
Abraham Maslow an individual perceives the world.

Johari Window:
The Johari window is a technique that helps people better understand their relationship with
themselves and others. It was created by psychologists Joseph Luft (1916–2014) and
Harrington Ingham (1916–1995) in 1955, and is used primarily in self-help groups and
corporate settings as a heuristic exercise. Luft and Ingham named their model "Johari" using
a combination of their first names.
In the exercise, subjects pick a number of adjectives from a list, choosing ones they feel
describe their own personality. The subject's peers then get the same list, and each picks an
equal number of adjectives that describe the subject. These adjectives are then inserted into a
two-by-two grid of four cells.
The philosopher Charles Handy calls this concept the Johari House with four rooms. Room
one is the part of ourselves that we and others see. Room two contains aspects that others see
but we are unaware of. Room three is the private space we know but hide from others. Room
four is the unconscious part of us that neither our selves nor others see.
The Four Quadrants
Open (Arena): Adjectives that both the subject and peers select go in this cell (or quadrant)
of the grid. These are traits that subject and peers perceive.
Blind: Adjectives not selected by subjects, but only by their peers go here. These represent
what others perceive but the subject does not.
Hidden (Ficade or Private): Adjectives selected by the subject, but not by any of their
peers, go in this quadrant. These are things the peers are either unaware of, or that are untrue
but for the subject's claim.
Unknown: Adjectives that neither subject nor peers selected go here. They represent
subject's behaviors or motives that no one participating recognizes—either because they do
not apply or because of collective ignorance of these traits.

One therapeutic target may be the expansion of the Open (Arena) square at the expense of
both the Unknown square and the Blind Spot square, resulting in greater knowledge of
oneself, while voluntary disclosure of Private (Hidden or Facade) squares may result in
greater interpersonal intimacy and friendship.

Transactional Analysis
Transactional analysis (TA) is a psychoanalytic theory and method of therapy wherein
social transactions are analyzed to determine the ego state of the patient (whether parent-like,
childlike, or adult-like) as a basis for understanding behaviour. In transactional analysis, the
patient is taught to alter the ego state as a way to solve emotional problems. The method
deviates from Freudian psychoanalysis which focuses on increasing awareness of the
contents of unconsciously held ideas. Eric Berne developed the concept and paradigm of
transactional analysis in the late 1950s.
TA is not only post-Freudian, but, according to its founder's wishes, consciously extra-
Freudian. That is to say that, while it has its roots in psychoanalysis, since Berne was a
psychoanalytically-trained psychiatrist, it was designed as a dissenting branch of
psychoanalysis in that it put its emphasis on transactional rather than "psycho-" analysis.

Transactional analysis integrates the theories of psychology and psychotherapy because it has
elements of psychoanalytic, humanist and cognitive ideas.
According to the International Transactional Analysis Association, TA "is a theory of
personality and a systematic psychotherapy for personal growth and personal change."
1. As a theory of personality, TA describes how people are structured psychologically. It
uses what is perhaps its best known model, the ego-state (Parent-Adult-Child) model,
to do this. The same model helps explain how people function and express their
personality in their behaviour
2. As Berne set up his psychology, there are four life positions that a person can hold,
and holding a particular psychological position has profound implications for how an
individual operationalizes his or her life. The positions are stated as:
1. I'm OK and you are OK. This is the healthiest position about life and it means
that I feel good about myself and that I feel good about others and their
competence.
2. I'm OK and you are not OK. In this position I feel good about myself but I see
others as damaged or less than and it is usually not healthy.
3. I'm not OK and you are OK. In this position the person sees him/herself as the
weak partner in relationships as the others in life are definitely better than the
self. The person who holds this position will unconsciously accept abuse as
OK.
4. I'm not OK and you are not OK. This is the worst position to be in as it means
that I believe that I am in a terrible state and the rest of the world is as bad.
Consequently, there is no hope for any ultimate supports.
3. It is a theory of communication that can be extended to the analysis of systems and
organisations.
4. It offers a theory for child development by explaining how our adult patterns of life
originated in childhood. This explanation is based on the idea of a "Life (or
Childhood) Script": the assumption that we continue to re-play childhood strategies,
even when this results in pain or defeat. Thus it claims to offer a theory
of psychopathology.
 5. In practical application, it can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of many types of
psychological disorders and provides a method of therapy for individuals, couples,
families and groups.
6. Outside the therapeutic field, it has been used in education to help teachers remain in
clear communication at an appropriate level, in counselling and consultancy, in
management and communications training and by other bodies.
Philosophy
 People are OK; thus each person has validity, importance, equality of respect.
 Positive reinforcement increases feelings of being OK.
 All people have a basic lovable core and a desire for positive growth.
 Everyone (with only few exceptions, such as the severely brain-damaged) has the
capacity to think.
 All of the many facets of an individual have a positive value for them in some way.
 People decide their story and destiny; therefore these decisions can be changed.
 All emotional difficulties are curable.
Freedom from historical maladaptations embedded in the childhood script is required in order
to become free of inappropriate, inauthentic and displaced emotions which are not a fair and
honest reflection of here-and-now life (such as echoes of childhood suffering, pity-me and
other mind games, compulsive behaviour and repetitive dysfunctional life patterns). The aim
of change under TA is to move toward autonomy (freedom from childhood script),
spontaneity, intimacy, problem solving as opposed to avoidance or passivity, cure as an ideal
rather than merely making progress and learning new choices.

Nature and Dimensions of Attitude

An attitude is a positive, negative or mixed evaluation of an object that is expressed at some
level of intensity. Our attitude can vary in strength along both positive effect and with
negative effect, with ambivalence or with apathy and indifference. It usually implies feelings
that are either positive or negative. Social psychologists use the term attitude differently.
Gordon Allport formulated the following definition. “An attitude is a mental and neural state
of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon
the individual’s response to ill object and situation with which it is related”.

An attitude is an expression of a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a person, place, thing

or event. These are fundamental determinants of our perceptions of, and actions toward all
aspects of our social environment. Attitudes involve a complex organization of evaluative
beliefs, feelings, and tendencies toward certain actions.
How much we like or dislike something determines our behavior towards that thing.
We tend to approach, seek out or be associated with things we like; we avoid, shun or reject
things we do not like.
Some examples of attitudes are- he has a positive attitude about the changes, she is friendly
and has a good attitude, he was showing some attitude during practice today, so the coach
benched him, I like my friends that means I am expressing my attitudes towards my friends,
etc.
Definition of Attitude
Attitude is manner, disposition, feeling and position with regard to a person or thing,
tendency or orientation especially in the mind.
According to Gordon Allport, “An attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness,
organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s
response to all objects and situations with which it is related.”
Frank Freeman said, “An attitude is a dispositional readiness to respond to certain
institutions, persons or objects in a consistent manner which has been learned and has
become one’s typical mode of response.”
Thurstone said, “An attitude denotes the sum total of man’s inclinations and feelings,
prejudice or bias, preconceived notions, ideas, fears, threats, and other any specific topic.”
Anastasi defined attitude as, “A tendency to react favorably or unfavorably towards a
designated class of stimuli, such as a national or racial group, a custom or an institution.”
According to N.L. Munn, “Attitudes are learned predispositions towards aspects of our
environment. They may be positively or negatively directed towards certain people, service
or institution.”
Characteristics of Attitude
Attitude can be described as a tendency to react positively or negatively to a person or
circumstances. Thus the two main elements of attitude are this tendency or predisposition and
the direction of this predisposition. It has been defined as a mental state of readiness;
organize to through experience which exerts a directive or dynamic influence on the
responses. These can also be explicit and implicit.
Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our
behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still, have an effect on our
beliefs and behaviors. As said by psychologists Thomas which imposes limits as a level
attitude trend is positive and negative, associated with the object of psychology. Object
psychology here include symbols, words, slogans, people, institutions, ideas and so on.
Characteristics of Attitude are;
1. Attitudes are the complex combination of things we tend to call personality, beliefs,
values, behaviors, and motivations.
2. It can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favorable to very unfavorable.
3. All people, irrespective of their status or intelligence, hold attitudes.
4. An attitude exists in every person’s mind. It helps to define our identity, guide our
actions, and influence how we judge people.
5. Although the feeling and belief components of attitude are internal to a person, we can
view a person’s attitude from his or her resulting behavior.
6. Attitude helps us define how we see situations, as well as define how we behave
toward the situation or object.
7. It provides us with internal cognitions or beliefs and thoughts about people and
objects.
8. It can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitude is those that we are consciously
aware of an implicit attitude is unconscious, but still, have an effect on our behaviors.
9. Attitudes cause us to behave in a particular way toward an object or person.
10. An attitude is a summary of a person’s past experience; thus, an attitude is grounded
in direct experience predicts future behavior more accurately.
11. It includes certain aspects of the personality as interests, appreciation and social
conduct.
12. It indicates the sum total of a man’s inclinations and feelings.
13. An attitude is a point of view, substantiated or otherwise, true or false which one
holds towards an idea, object or person.
14. It has aspects such as direction, intensity, generality or specificity.
15. It refers to one’s readiness for doing Work.
16. It may be positive or negative and may be affected by age, position, and education.
Attitude may be defined as a feeling or disposition to favour or to be against objects, persons,
and situations. It is a well-defined object of reference. It may be defined as ‘an enduring
predisposition or readiness to react or behave in a particular manner to a given object or
situation, idea, material or person’. It describes and evaluates the action with respect to an
object or a situation, with each belief having a cognitive effect and behavioural components.
Each of these beliefs is a predisposition that results in some preferential response towards the
object or the situation. Actually, it is frequently used in describing people and explaining
their behavior. For example:-
“I like her attitude”, “He has a good attitude” etc. Actually, it is characterized by the tendency
to feel and behave in a particular way toward some object.
Components of Attitude
Attitudes comprise of three basic components: emotional, informational and behavioural.
These three components are described below:
1. Informational or Cognitive Component: The informational component consists of
beliefs, values, ideas and other information a person has about the object. It makes no
difference whether or not this information is empirically correct or real. For example, a
person seeking a job may learn from his own sources and other employees working in the
company that in a particular company the promotion chances are very favourable. In reality,
it may or may not be correct. Yet the information that person is using is the key to his attitude
about that job and about that company.
2. Emotional or Affective Component: The informational component sets the stage for the
more critical part of an attitude, its affective component. The emotional components involve
the person’s feeling or affect-positive, neutral or negative-about an object. This component
can be explained by this statement.” I like this job because the future prospects in this
company are very good”.
3. Behavioural Component: The behavioural component consists of the tendency of a
person to behave in a particular manner towards an object. For example, the concerned
individual in the above case may decide to take up the job because of good future prospects.
Out of the three components of attitudes, only the behavioural component can be directly
observed. One cannot see another person’s beliefs (the informational component) and his
feelings (the emotional component). These two components can only be inferred. But still
understanding these two components is essential in the study of organisational behaviour or
the behavioural component of attitudes.
The components are illustrated in the following table:
Workplace and Attitudes
Taking this a step further, we can assemble some ideas of how these three components can
impact the workplace.
The challenge in the workplace is that now these components are tied to work functions,
policy, procedures and organizational structure, as well as the people and individuals present
in the organization.
For example, we could have thoughts or beliefs (cognitive) about managers in general, and
those thoughts or beliefs could manifest themselves is not trusting a manager (effective), and
thus we would never want to develop a close relationship with a manager (behavioral).
It is important to make the point here that these are attitudes – and yes, they can be wrong.
Just because we have an attitude that does not mean it is correct. It is just how we feel about a
person or situation.
Obviously not every manager is trustworthy, but if we let our negative attitudes dictate how
we view and react to managers, we will never be able to see if some are really good people
and can be trusted.

Three Types of Attitudes

A person can have thousands of attitudes, but organizational behavior focuses our attention
on a very limited number of work-related attitudes. Most of the research in organizational
behavior has been concerned with three attitudes. Three types of attitudes are;
 Job Satisfaction,

 Job Involvement,

 Organizational Commitment.

Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction is the level of contentment a person feels regarding his or
her job. This feeling is mainly based on an individual’s perception of satisfaction. A person
with a high level of job satisfaction holds positive attitudes about the job, while a person who
is dissatisfied with his or her job holds a negative attitude about the job. A person having a
negative attitude shows a personality disposition that is inclined to experience nervousness,
tension, upset, distress, etc. whereas those with a positive attitude will feel happy themselves,
others and their work. Generally, it is deemed a high level of job satisfaction means positive
attitudes towards the job and vice versa. When people speak of employee attitudes, more
often than not they mean job satisfaction. In fact, the two are frequently used
interchangeably.
Job Involvement: Job involvement refers to the degree with which an individual identifies
psychologically with his or her job and perceives his or her perceived performance level
important to self-worth. High levels of job involvement are related to fewer absences and
lower resignation rates. However, it seems to more consistently predict turnover than
absenteeism, according to as much as 16 percent of the variance in the former.
Organizational Commitment: The last job-attitude refers to organizational commitment. It
is understood as one’s identification with his or her organization and feels proud of being its
employee. It is defined as a state in which an employee identifies with a particular
organization and, its goals, and wishes to maintain membership in the organization. Different
studies demonstrate that an individual’s level of organizational commitment is a better
indicator of turnover than the far more frequently used job satisfaction predictor, explaining
as much as 34 percent of the variance. Basically, turnover and absenteeism are low when
employees have an organizational commitment.
Barriers to Change Attitudes
Employees’ attitudes can be changed and sometimes it is in the best interests of management
to try to do so. For example, if employees believe that their employer does not look after their
welfare, the management should try to change employees’ attitude and help to develop a
more positive attitude towards them. However, the process of changing the attitude is not
always easy. Actually, the barriers are the limits which prevent the organization from
achieving its predetermined goals. So every organization should be aware of these and should
take corrective actions. Barriers to Change Attitudes are;
 Prior Commitment.

 Insufficient Information.

 Balance and Consistency.

 Lack of Resources.

 Improper Reward System.

 Resistance to Change.

MOTIVATION
  Prior Commitment: When people feel a commitment towards a particular course of
action that has already been agreed upon and thus it becomes difficult for them to
change or accept the new ways of functioning.
 Insufficient Information: It also acts as a major barrier to change attitudes.
Sometimes people do not see a reason why they should change their attitude due to
unavailability of adequate information. Sometimes people do not see a reason why
they should change their attitude due to unavailability of adequate information.
 Balance and Consistency: Another obstacle to a change of attitude is the attitude
theory of balance and consistency. That is human beings prefer their attitudes about
people and things to be in line with their behaviors towards each other and objects.
 Lack of Resources: If plans become excessively ambitious, they can sometimes be
obstructed by the lack of resources on the part of a company or organization. So, in
this case, if the organization wants to change the attitude of the employees towards the
new plan, sometimes it becomes impossible for the lack of resources to achieve this.
 Improper Reward System: Sometimes, an improper reward system acts as a barrier
to change attitude. If an organization places too much emphasis on short-term
performance and results, managers may ignore longer-term issues as they set goals
and formulate plans to achieve higher profits in the short term. If this reward system is
introduced in the organization, then the employees are not motivated to change their
attitude.
 Resistance to Change: Another barrier is resistance to change. Basically, change is a
continuous process within and outside the organization to achieve the set goal. When
the authority changes a plan of the organization the employees have to change
themselves. But some of them do not like this. If their attitude regarding the change of
plan cannot be changed, the organization will not be successful.
Ways of Changing Attitude
 New information will help to change attitudes.

 Negative attitudes are mainly formed owing to insufficient information.

 Attitudes may change through direct experience.

 Another way in which attitudes can be changed is by resolving discrepancies

between attitudes and behavior.

 Change of attitude can come through the persuasion of friends or peers.

 Attitudes may change through legislation.

 Since a person’s attitudes are anchored in his membership group and reference

groups, one way to change the attitude is to modify one or the other.
 Fear can change attitude. If low levels of fear are used, people often ignore them.

 Changing the attitude differs with reference to the situation also.