PERSONALITY

Definition
 Personalityrefers to the sum total of
ways in which an individual reacts and
interacts with others.

 Personalitydeterminants include
heredity, environment and situation.
 Personality 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
 Personality Traits

9. Trusting Suspicious

10. Practical Imaginative

11.Forthright Shrewd

12. Self-assured Apprehensive

13. Conservative Experimenting

14. Group-dependent Self-sufficient

15. Uncontrolled Controlled

 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.
 Determinants of Personality

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 lifetime. Later in life,
the peer groups of primary affiliations at work, social activities etc.,
shape the personality of an individual.
 Determinants of Personality

4. Other factors

i. Temperament: Temperament is the degree to which one responds

emotionally.
ii. 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.
iii. Character: Character primarily means honesty. It is resistance to
stealing and cheating others.
iv. 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 etc., in the organization.
v. Motives: Motives are the inner drives of an individual. They
represent goal directed behaviour of individual.
 Development of Personality-Freudian Stages

 Sigmund Freud propounded psychoanalytic theory of

personality which is based on the notion that man is
motivated more by unseen forces than by conscious and
rational thought.

 This framework contains three aspects, though inter-related

but often conflicting. These are Id, Ego and Superego.

1.The Id: The id is the source of psychic energy and seeks

immediate gratification for biological or instinctual needs
such as hunger, thirst and sex. As an individual matures, he
learns to control the id. But even then, it remains a driving
force throughout life and an important source of thinking and
behaving.
 Freudian Stages

2.The Ego: The ego is the conscious and logical part

of human personality and is associated with the
reality principle. While id represents the
unconscious part, ego is conscious about the
realities of the external environment. The ego keeps
the id in check through intellect and reason.

3.The Super ego: The super ego represents societal

and personal norms and serves as an ethical
constraint on behaviour. It can best be described as
the conscience. The superego provides norms to
ego to determine what is wrong or right.
 Erikson Stages
 Erikson criticized the heavy emphasis given by Freud on the sexual and
biological factors in the development of personality. He felt that relatively
more attention should be given to the social factors. Erikson identified
eight stages of life that characterize the unending development of a
person.

1.Infancy: During the first year of life, a child resolves the basic crisis of
trust Vs mistrust. An infant who is cared for in an affectionate way learns
to trust other people. Lack of love and affection results in mistrust. This
stage makes a serious impact on a child that influences events for
remaining life.

2.Early childhood: In the second and third years of life, a child begins to
assert independence. If the child is allowed to control those aspects of
life that he is capable of controlling, a sense of autonomy will develop. If
the child encounters constant disapproval by elders a sense of self-doubt
and shame is likely to develop.
 Erikson Stages
3.Play age: The four and five year old seeks to discover
just how much he can do. If a child is encouraged to
experiment and to achieve reasonable goals, he will
develop a sense of initiative. If the child is blocked and
made to feel incapable, he will develop a sense of ‘guilt
and lack of self confidence’.

4.School age: From ages 6 to 12, a child learns many new

skills and develops social abilities. If a child experiences
real progress at a rate comparable with abilities, he will
develop a sense of enterprise. The reverse situation
results in a sense of inferiority.
 Erikson Stages
5.Adolescence: The crisis of teenage years is to gain a sense of
identity rather than to become confused about who you are.
While undergoing rapid biological changes, the teenager is also
trying to establish himself or herself as socially separate from
the parents.

 The autonomy, initiative and enterprise developed in earlier

stages are very important in helping the teenager to successfully
resolve this crisis and prepare for adulthood.

6.Early adulthood: The young adult during the twenties faces the
crisis of intimacy versus isolation. The sense of identity
developed during the teenage years allows the young adult to
begin developing deep and lasting relationships.
 Erikson Stages
7.Adulthood: During this stage, the adults face the crisis of
generativity versus self-absorption. Self-absorbed persons never
develop an ability to look beyond themselves. They become
absorbed in career advancement and maintenance; and they never
learn to have concern for future generations, the welfare of
organizations to which they belong or the welfare of society as a
whole.

 Generative people see the world as much bigger than themselves.

Productivity at work and societal advancement become important to
them. Through innovation and creativity, they begin to exert
influence that benefits their organizations.

8.Mature adulthood: The person is developed as a highly mature

person. He has gained a sense of wisdom and perspective that can
really guide the younger generations.
 Chris Argyris’ Immaturity – Maturity
Theory
Immaturity Characteristics Maturity Characteristics
Passivity Activity

Dependence Independence

Few ways of behaving Diverse behaviour

Shallow interests Deep interests

Short-time perspective Long-time perspective

Subordinate position Super ordinate position

Lack of self awareness Self awareness and control

 Big Five Model

◦ Extraversion – Sociable, talkative and assertive

◦ Agreeableness – Good natured, co-operative, and

trusting

◦ Conscientiousness – Responsible, dependable, persistent

and achievement-oriented

◦ Emotional Stability - Viewed from a negative stand point:

tense, insecure and nervous

◦ Openness to experience – Imaginative, artistically sensitive and

intellectual
 Profiles of Type A and Type B Personalities

Type A Profile Type B Profile

Is always moving Is not concerned about time

Walks rapidly Is Patient

Talks rapidly Doesn’t brag

Eats rapidly Plays for fun, not to win

Is impatient Relaxes without guilt

Does two things at once Has not pressing deadlines

 Profiles of Type A and Type B Personalities

Type A Profile Type B Profile

Can’t cope with leisure time Is mild-mannered

Is obsessed with numbers Is never in a hurry

Measures success by quantity

Is aggressive

Is competitive

Constantly feels under time

 Levinson’s Adult Life Stages
 The work of Daniel Levinson on adult life stages
has received attention. At first, he believed that
“the life structure evolves through a relatively
orderly sequence throughout the adult years’’.

 Unlike other stage theories that were event-

oriented (for example, marriage, parenthood or
retirement), his was age-based.

 In particular he believed there was little variability

(a maximum of two or three years) in four
identifiable stable periods.
 Levinson’s Adult Life Stages

1. Entering the adult world (ages 22-28)

2. Settling down (ages 33-40)
3. Entering middle adulthood (ages 45-50)
4. Culmination of middle adulthood (ages 55-60)

He identified four transitional periods:

1. Age-thirty transition (ages 28–33)

2. Mid-life transition (ages 40-45)
3. Age-fifty transition (ages 50-55)
4. Late adult transition (ages 60-65)
 .

Douglas T.Hall’s Career Stage Model

 Hall has synthesized Levinson’s theory and other

adult stage theories (in particular the work of
Erikson) into an overall model for career stages.

 There are four major career stages.

1. Exploration (ages 15-25)

2. Establishment (ages 25-45)
3. Maintenance (ages 45-65)
4. Decline (after 65)
High

Maintenance
Employee Work Performance

Exploration Establishment

Stagnation?
Decline

Low
Age 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

Needs Identity / Intimacy / Generativity / Integrity

 Douglas T.Hall’s Career Stage
Model
 During the first stage there is considerable
exploration. The young employee is searching for
an identity and undergoes considerable self-
examination and role tryouts. This stage usually
results in taking a number of different jobs and is,
in general, a very unstable and relatively
unproductive period in the person’s career.

 In the second stage, establishment, the employee

begins to settle down and indicates a need for
intimacy. This is usually a growing, productive
period in the employee’s career.
 Douglas T.Hall’s Career Stage
Model
 The third stage of maintenance occurs when the person
levels off into a highly productive plateau and has a
need for generativity i.e. the concern to leave
something to the next generation. This need often leads
the person to assume a paternalistic or a mentor role
with younger subordinates. The person may either have
a growth spurt or become stagnant during this stage.

 The final stage, decline, is self-explanatory. The person

indicates a need for integrity i.e. the person needs to
feel satisfied with his or her life choices and overall
career).