Personality and Human Behaviour Unit 2 - Leading Personality and Human Behaviour

Personality Most psychologists believe that human personality is determined by a combination of genetics/heredity and environment/experiences. Personality is an individual's behavioural and emotional characteristics. It is what makes an individual unique.

Personality A personality trait is a habitual pattern of behaviour, thought, and emotion.

Big Five Theory A five-dimensional personality model nicknamed the "Big Five" is attributed primarily to psychologist Lewis Goldberg. In this model, the personality of an individual is described by indicating the degree to which the individual displays each dimension.

Openness imaginative, curious, open to new ideas and change, appreciation for art, adventure, and unusual ideas vs. traditional, oriented toward routine, resistant to change

Conscientiousness a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement vs. careless, trying to do too much and failing, or doing too little

Extraversion outgoing, sociable, tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others vs. reserved, reflective, preference to spend time alone or with fewer people

Agreeableness affable, friendly, and conciliatory vs. aggressive, dominant, and disagreeable

Neuroticism a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability vs. relaxed, secure, and unworried

OCEAN OCEAN is a mnemonic to remember these five dimensions of personality This model describes personality but does not describe how personality is formed. Personality is influenced and formed by cultural, social, and family factors

Personality Assessment Instruments One common method used to assess personality is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®). This assessment uses a multiple choice questionnaire where the individual selects answers that are the best fit

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Energy/Focus         Extraversion (E)   or     Introversion (I) Information              Sensing (S)          or     Intuition (N) Decisions                 Thinking (T)          or     Feeling (F) Structure                  Judging (J)           or     Perceiving (P)

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator The result is a profile stated as a four letter type, e.g. ESFP or INFJ. There are sixteen different types based on the four categories.

True Colours Another personality assessment frequently used in business world is True Colors. This method describes personalities as one of four colours: Green, Blue, Orange, or Gold.

Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence is a relatively new area of psychological research Emotional Intelligence, referred to as both EI and EQ, deals with an individual’s ability to identify, assess, and manage his/her own emotions, as well as the ability to be aware of others’ emotions.

Personality Assessments in the Workplace Why would a manager want to use personality assessments in the workplace? Managers have discovered that they are able to work more successfully with others if they have insight into their own personalities, as well as the personalities of the people they work with.

Personality Assessments in the Workplace The goal of administering personality assessments should be to allow managers to increase their own leadership effectiveness by helping them to interact more effectively with their staffs.