Personality Traits

Personality Traits
What is personality?
 People use different terms like good, popular, strong, honest, weak, polite, etc., to
denote personality.
 The word personality can be traced to the Latin words ‘per sona’ which are
translated as “to speak through”.
 Definition:
 Acc. to Gordon Allport, personality is “the dynamic organization
within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his
unique adjustments to his environment.”
 Acc. to Fred Luthans defines the term personality as “how people

affect others and how they understand and view themselves, as well as
their pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the person-
situation intervention.”
Personality Traits
 Acc. to Luthans, the way people affect others depends on their personality
traits.
 Personality traits include: height, weight, facial features, colour, dimensions,
etc.
 Personality traits are enduring characteristics like shyness, submissiveness,
laziness, timidity, loyalty, aggressiveness, creativity, dynamism, etc., exhibited
in a large number of situations.
 Allport and Odbert identified 17,953 personality traits.
 It is highly difficult to predict the individual behaviour based on such a large
number of traits.
 R. B. Cattell reduced this number to 171.
 He further reduced them to 16 personality factors, which he called the source or
primary traits.
 The 16 personality factors are found to be generally steady and constant sources
of behaviour.
 They help in predicting individual behaviour in specific situations.
R. B. Cattell -- Sixteen Personality Traits
1) Reserved vs. Outgoing

2) Less intelligent vs. More intelligent
3) Affected by feelings vs. Emotionally stable
4) Submissive vs. Dominant
5) Serious vs. Happy-to-lucky
6) Expedient vs. Conscientious
7) Timid vs. Venturesome
8) Tough-minded vs. Sensitive
9) Trusting vs. Suspicious
10) Practical vs. Imaginative
11) Forthright vs. Shrewd
12) Self-assured vs. Apprehensive
13) Conservation vs. Experimenting
14) Group dependent vs. Self-sufficient
15) Uncontrolled vs. Controlled
16) Relaxed vs. Tense
The Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
 This is a 100-question personality test asking the respondents
how they usually feel or act in particular situations. (most
widely used personality test).
 Dichotomies (i.e., individulas based on answers are

classified as):
 Extraversion or Introversion (E or I)
 Sensing or Intuition (S or N)
 Thinking or Feeling (T or F)
 Judgment or Perception (J or P)
 These classifications are classified into 16 personality traits
 People with INTJs viz., introverted, intuitive, thinking and

judging have original minds, and great drive for their own
ideas and purposes. Their characters are skeptical, critical,
independent, determinant, determined and often stubborn.
 People with ESTJs are: organizers, realistic, logical

analytical, decisive and have a natural head for
business/mechanics.
 ENTPs are: conceptualizes, innovative, individualistic and

versatile entrepreneurs, resourceful in solving challenging
problems.
BIG FIVE PERSONALITY
TRAITS
Big Five personality traits
 In contemporary psychology the "Big Five" factors (or Five Factor
Model; FFM) of personality are five broad domains or dimensions of
personality which are used to describe human personality.
 The Big five factors are
 Openness, (Some disagreement remains about how to interpret the Openness
factor, which is sometimes called "Intellect".)
 Conscientiousness,
 Extraversion,
 Agreeableness, and
 Neuroticism (is sometimes referred to as Emotional Stability.)
 Each factor consists of a cluster of more specific traits that correlate together. For
example, extraversion includes such related qualities as sociability, excitement
seeking, impulsiveness, and positive emotions.
Overview
 The Big Five factors and their constituent traits can be summarized as follows:
 Openness - (inventive / curious vs. cautious / conservative). Appreciation for art, emotion
, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience.
 Conscientiousness - (efficient / organized vs. easy-going / careless). A tendency to show

self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous
behavior.
 Extraversion - (outgoing / energetic vs. shy / reserved). Energy, positive emotions,

urgency, and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others.
 Agreeableness - (friendly / compassionate vs. competitive / outspoken). A tendency to be

compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
 Neuroticism - (sensitive / nervous vs. secure / confident). A tendency to experience

unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability.
Extreme Traits of the BIG FIVE
Extremes Interims
Gregarious, energetic, Extroversion Shy, unassertive,

self – dramatising withdraw
Warm, tactful, Agreeableness Independent, cold,
considerate rude
Well planned, neat, Conscientiousness Impulsive, careless,
dependable irresponsible
Stable, confident, Emotional Stability Nervous, self-
effective doubting, moody
Imaginative, curious, Openness to Dull, unimaginative,
original Experience literal-minded
Big Five Traits and Job Performance
 The research studies conclude that:

 Individuals who are dependable, reliable, careful, thorough, able to plan,
organized, hardworking, persistent, and achievement-oriented tend to have high
job performance in most occupations.
 Individuals with high conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge
as they exert great levels of efforts on their job. This, in turn results in higher
levels of job performance.
 There is a positive relationship between conscientiousness and organizational
citizenship behaviour.
 The self-concept
 Almost all people try to understand themselves by virtue of their qualities,
characters, actions, reactions, responses, etc.
 This process in personality theory is called the Self-concept.
 This process involves the interaction of the background, one’s own psychology, values,
social, economic, religious and other internal factors of oneself.
 The concepts of self-esteem (deals with the perceived competence) and self-efficacy
(deals with the perceived performance based on the situation) are concerned with self-
concept.
Determinants of Personality
 Heredity –
 biological, physiological and psychological characteristics like
facial attractiveness, temperament, gender, muscle
composition, energy level etc., either substantially or partly
are inherited by one’s parents.
 Environment –
 factors which encircle us and which influence us. Like culture
– which is learnt from family members, friends, peers, social
groups and teachers, etc.
 Situation –
 Individual’s personality changes in different situations, in
order to meet the situational demands.

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 Acc. to Fred Luthans defines the term personality as “how people

1) Reserved vs. Outgoing

 Dichotomies (i.e., individulas based on answers are

 People with INTJs viz., introverted, intuitive, thinking and

 People with ESTJs are: organizers, realistic, logical

 ENTPs are: conceptualizes, innovative, individualistic and

 Conscientiousness - (efficient / organized vs. easy-going / careless). A tendency to show

 Extraversion - (outgoing / energetic vs. shy / reserved). Energy, positive emotions,

 Agreeableness - (friendly / compassionate vs. competitive / outspoken). A tendency to be

 Neuroticism - (sensitive / nervous vs. secure / confident). A tendency to experience

Gregarious, energetic, Extroversion Shy, unassertive,

 The research studies conclude that:

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