Personality has a significant role to play in deciding whether you
have the enthusiasm and motivation that the employer is looking
for. It also determines how well you are going to fit in to the
organization, in terms of your personality, attitude and general
work style? In most working situations it’s the personalities of
the people involved that affect the day-to-day success of the
organization. If a manager can’t motivate their staff or the team
doesn't work well together, then quality of service and
productivity will suffer.
There have also been significant changes in the past 20 years
in the way that organizations operate. For example, management
styles tend to be less autocratic and there are usually fewer
levels of management than there were. The move towards more
knowledge based and customer focused jobs means that individuals
have more autonomy even at fairly low levels within organizations.
In addition, most organizations expect to undergo frequent changes
in the way that they operate in order to remain competitive. All
of these factors have contributed to your personality being seen
as more important now than it was in the past.
The companies that produce personality tests and the human
resources staff who use them invariably refer to these tests as
personality ‘questionnaires’ rather than ‘tests’. This is done to
avoid giving the impression that there are right and wrong answers
and that the test can be either passed or failed. Obviously, no
one type of personality is necessarily better or worse than any
other. However, remember that you are being given this test for a
reason, the employer is plainly looking for something otherwise
they would not be investing time and money on the testing process.
How is Personality Measured
Psychologists define personality as:
“The particular pattern of behavior and thinking that
prevails across time and contexts, and differentiates one person
from another.”
In trying to understand these behavior patterns, psychologists
attempt to identify and measure individual personality
characteristics, often called personality traits.
A personality trait is assumed to be some enduring
characteristic that is relatively constant. This is opposed to
the present temperament of that person which is not
necessarily a stable characteristic. Consequently, trait theories
are specifically focused on explaining the more permanent
personality characteristics that differentiate one individual from
another. For example, things like being; dependable, trustworthy,
friendly, cheerful, etc.
Modern personality theory is a relatively new field and really
began in the 1920’s. There have been many attempts to define
personality traits and some psychologists have developed models
with hundreds of traits. Whilst others believe that there are as
few as three. In 1990, the psychologists Costa & McCrae published
details of a '5 trait' model. This has received significant
support from other research and is now widely accepted among
psychologists. These 5 aspects of personality are referred to as
the 5-factors or sometimes just ‘the Big 5’.
Each of these 5 personality traits describes, relative to other
people, the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings,
thoughts, or behaviors. Everyone possesses all 5 of these traits
to a greater or lesser degree. For example, two individuals could
be described as ‘agreeable’ (agreeable people value getting along
with others). But there could be significant variation in the
degree to which they are both agreeable.
These 5 traits/factors are:
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People who score high on this
factor like to work in cooperation with others, are
talkative, enthusiastic and seek excitement. People who
score low on this factor prefer to work alone, and can be
perceived as cold, difficult to understand, even a bit
eccentric.
Those who score high on this
factor are usually co-operative, can be submissive, and are
concerned with the well-being of others. People who score
low on this factor may be challenging, competitive,
sometimes even argumentative.
People who score high on this
factor are usually productive and disciplined and “single
tasking”. People who score low on this factor are often less
structured, less productive, but can be more flexible,
inventive, and capable of multitasking.
People who score low on this
factor are usually calm, relaxed and rational. They may
sometimes be perceived as lazy and incapable of taking
things seriously. People who score high on this factor are
alert, anxious, sometimes worried.
People who score high on this
factor are neophile and curious and sometimes unrealistic.
People who score low on this factor are down-to-earth and
practical and sometimes obstructive of change. |
All 5 personality traits exist on a continuum rather than as
attributes that a person does or does not have. Each of these 5
traits is made up 6 facets, which can be measured independently.
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Personality Factor |
Facets |
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Extraversion |
Friendliness
Gregariousness
Assertiveness
Activity Level
Excitement-Seeking
Cheerfulness |
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Agreeableness |
Trust
Morality
Altruism
Cooperation
Modesty
Sympathy |
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Conscientiousness |
Self-Efficacy
Orderliness
Dutifulness
Achievement-Striving
Self-Discipline
Cautiousness |
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Neuroticism |
Anxiety
Anger
Depression
Self-Consciousness
Immoderation
Vulnerability |
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Openness to experience |
Imagination
Artistic Interests
Emotionality
Adventurousness
Intellect
Liberalism |
When thinking about personality traits it is important to ignore
the positive or negative associations that these words have in
everyday language. For example, Agreeableness is obviously
advantageous for achieving and maintaining popularity. Agreeable
people are better liked than disagreeable people. On the other
hand, agreeableness is not useful in situations that require tough
or totally objective decisions. Disagreeable people can make
excellent scientists, critics, or soldiers.
How
Personality Profiles are Used >
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