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Personality Chapter 6. Introduction. This lecture will: Introduce psychological and sociological perspectives that have shaped our understanding of personality Describe trait/socio-cultural/psychodynamic and phenomenological approaches to personality
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Personality Chapter 6
Introduction This lecture will: Introduce psychological and sociological perspectives that have shaped our understanding of personality Describe trait/socio-cultural/psychodynamic and phenomenological approaches to personality Look at psychological theories in the workplace and psychological testing Develop your understanding of how these features shape personality
Personality and identity Personality is a relatively enduring pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that characterize a person’s response to his or her environment: It contains reference to individuality and is influenced by social context and traits To study personality we need to find the causes of behavioural patterns – what is the enduring aspect of the personality? Identity is the complex link between inner self and outer context: Identity is linked to culture – individuals are socialized into a culture Diversity of personality is important in a workplace To establish personality can involve testing.
Figure 6.1 - Perceived characteristics of behaviour’s seen as affecting an individuals personality
Theories of personality There are several main theories of personality: Trait Psychodynamic Socio-Cultural Phenomenological This lecture will examine each in turn...
Trait Theory (1) A trait is a relatively enduring personal characteristic. Core traits that are displayed consistently can be used as the basis of predictive theory. Allport (1897-1967) distinguished central from secondary traits. He used factor analysis to find clusters of traits linked to specific behaviour (defined as being introvert or extrovert) Cattell (1965) extended Allport’s ideasby defining core traits with the ’16 Personality factor Questionnaire’
Figure 6.2 - Two hypothetical personality profiles using Cattell’s 16PF test
Trait Theory (2) Eysenck (1916-1997) devised a 3 Factor Model of Personality. He used factor analysis and categories of instability/stability, Introversion and Extroversion His theory related to the Ancient Theory of Humours – which classified people as choleric/melancholic/phlegmatic /Sanguine Figure 6.3 - Eysenck’s major personality dimensions
Trait Theory (3) The Five Factor Model of Personality (“The Big Five”) proposes that personality is organized around five core dimensions: Openness Conscientiousness Extroversion Agreeableness Neuroticism It is similar to Eysenck’s theory, using a smaller number of variables than the earliest theorists
Table 6.1 - The Big Five Model of Personality Trait Structure
Psychodynamic Theory Sigmund Freud developed the psychodynamic theory of personality – this proposes that the personality is: Amix of conscious and subconscious process Expressed as linking id, ego and superego The theory argues that personality goes through seven successive phases to reach maturity It sees anxiety as being formed by the conflict of id and superego to control the ego Defence mechanisms are formed as a result of this conflict
Figure 6.4 - Freud’s conception of the personality structure: ‘the Freudian Iceberg’
Sociocultural Theories These theories root personality in social experience, communities of practice and relationships Three examples of sociocultural theories are: Social cognitive approach Phenomenological approach Socially-constructed approach
The Social Cognitive Approach • The Social Cognitive approach emphasises the role of learning to achieve personality development • Rotter developed a theory based on expectation and the value placed on outcome. He also stressed the idea of a locus of control: • The strong inner locus of control is associated with workplace success • Bandura argues that both personality and environment reciprocally determine the development of personality Figure 6.5 - Bandura’s Model of Reciprocal Determinism
Phenomenological Approach Phenomenology emphasises interpretative aspects of a person’s experience. Theories include: Maslow (1954) believed that motivation is based on a needs hierarchy; his famous “Triangle” or Pyramid Rogers (1961) evolved a theory related to the development of a self-concept; aimed at self-actualization
Socially-constructed Approach • Mead (1863-1931) developed the socially-constructed approach and coined the term ‘looking-glass self’ • This approach argues that personality evolves as consequence of internalization of their context or environment rather than due to innate factors • The idea is rooted in symbolic interactionism
Applying Personality Theories in the Workplace Holland (1985) emphasised the matching of personality and work characteristics He evolved a personality/job fit model which included traits matched to occupations He discerned six personality ‘types’ (see the next slide) His conclusions show intrinsic differences in personalities exist and are practical relative to work place match of personality and job-type (see the slide after that) The conclusions are important for the new forms of ‘knowledge worker’ – the new human capital...
Figure 6.6 - Holland’s Individual-Occupation hexagonal model
Table 6.3 - Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent work environments and jobs
Personality Testing Social capital and the value of skilled employees means a more stringent selection process: An employee must be proactive; capable of co-creating his/her own environment New modes of personality testing include: Interview Personality inventories Behavioural assessment Online assessment Personality tests vary in quality – but they should be reliable and valid They are more subtle than earlier modes of Tayloristic work measurement but have limitations
