PERSONALITY & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

PERSONALITY DEFINED

In organizations, does personality matter? Ask that question of anybody who has spent any time in organizations or teams, and, intuitively, most will respond in the affirmative. Frequently, people will be more than willing to cite examples of how personalities have affected team performances or how personalities made life in an organization unbearable (or, an enjoyable experience). Personalities, in a study of organizational behaviour do matter.

So, what is personality? The word personality comes from the Latin root persona, meaning "mask." According to this root, personality is the impression we make on others; the mask we present to the world. Later in this discussion we'll allude to the word's origins as we discuss peoples' behaviours as manifestations of their personalities.

For purposes of our study, we'll define personality as "a unique set of traits and characteristics, relatively stable over time." Clearly, personality is unique insofar as each of us has our own personality, different from any other person's. Our definition further suggests that personality does not change from day to day. Over the short-term, our personalities are relatively set or stable. However, our definition does not suggest that personality is somehow rigid, unchangeable, and cast in concrete. Our definition recognizes that, over a longer term, personality may change.

To examine whether this change is indeed consistent with most peoples' reality, we ought to examine "where personality comes from"; what are the origins of personality?

THE ORIGINS OF PERSONALITY: THE NATURE-NURTURE DEBATE
AD AD
For psychologists studying the development of personality, "nature vs. nurture" was a central debate. "Nature vs. nurture" suggests that biology (a person's genes) and society (the environment in which a person grows up) are competing developmental forces. In the past, the debate sought to find whether one may be more important than the other. Today most psychologists would concede both nature and nurture are necessary for personality development. Both help to make us who we are.

One way to determine how genetics and environment affect personality is to turn to the study of behavior genetics. Looking at behavior of individuals, psychologists try to determine what percentage of that behavior is related to genetic differences and what percentage is related to environmental differences.

Twin studies are useful for studying genetic differences. For example, in order to understand the influence of both nature and nurture, we might study identical twins who share a home environment and have the same genetic makeup and fraternal twins who share a home environment but do not share the exact same genetic makeup. In such studies, researchers have found that genetic differences can account for 40 to 50 percent of differences in personality traits, while environmental influences account for about 30 percent of differences in personality traits.

What is the nature of these environmental influences? The home environment -- parents and siblings (and perhaps others in an extended family) -- plays a role in determining personality. Influences from outside the family are also important to the development of personality. Under the general rubric of "culture" we might include schools, churches, and other institutions with which an individual comes into contact.

To clearly distinguish between what constitutes nature, and what is nurture is difficult. For example, apparent "outside influences" may have more to do with genes than it would seem at first. People may seek out or even create environments to which they are genetically predisposed. A combative person is more likely than a peace-loving person to find an environment in which arguments are likely to take place.

Genes may not directly influence personality traits, but genes do govern the development of our nervous and endocrine systems. Hence, to the extent that body chemistry affects our behavior, we can argue that genetics influences personality. As an example, we can look at the relationship between testosterone and aggression. Men, on average, are more physically aggressive than women. Boys engage in far more roughhouse play than girls. Men also commit 90 percent of all violent crimes. Is testosterone the cause of this aggression? (Click for a discussion of aggression. Nature, Genetics, and Female versus Male Aggression: )
<!--webbot BOT="HTMLMarkup" endspan --> <!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" TAG="XBOT" StartSpan -->

In adulthood, men have up to ten times the amount of circulating testosterone typically found in women. Numerous studies have linked testosterone to aggression in other species, and some studies that have found the same relationship in humans.

We do know that prenatal testosterone irrevocably changes the brain structure of fetuses. Normally, only male babies are exposed to a significant amount of testosterone in the womb. Occasionally, though, female babies are exposed to testosterone-like hormones. When this happens, these girls later tend to engage in roughhouse play and show patterns of interests more typical of boys.
AD AD
CAN PERSONALITY BE MEASURED?

If we wish to measure the current in a electric circuit, we can insert an ammeter into the circuit. If we wish to measure the weight of some substance, we simply place that substance on scales designed to measure weight. What about personality? Unfortunately, we cannot directly "measure" personality. But if we cannot directly observe the seemingly unconscious, how do we know it exists?

The answer to the question lies in the fact that we can, in fact, directly observe behaviors. As students of human behavior, we are then left to infer personality from the behaviors it manifests.

Psychologists thus use behavioral indicators in constructing projective tests. These tests are designed to draw conclusions about personality from observed behaviors. For example, conclusions about personality traits and characteristics may be based on how people interpret ambiguous situations.

Perhaps the most famous projective test is the Rorschach inkblot test. Published in 1921, this test asks people to interpret what they see in an inkblot. The assumption is that, because the inkblots have no particular meaning, anything an individual says about them is shaped by their personality; they "project" elements of their personality onto what they see.

THE THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST (TAT)

Although the basic assumption of inkblot testing is sound, its reliability (ability to deliver the same results when given by different people in different situations) and validity (ability to test what it presumes to test) are suspect.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective test that offers more validity. The TAT consists of drawings or photographs of real-life situations. People taking the test are instructed to construct stories based on these images, and trained raters then score the recorded story for predefined themes. Psychologists assume that the stories people tell reflect the unconscious.
 AD AD

It is obvious that people differ from each other...
How and why they differ is less clear and is an important part of the study of personality.


Research in personality ranges from analyses of genetic codes and studies of biological systems to the study of sexual, social, ethnic, and cultural bases of thought, feelings, and behavior. Personality research includes studies of cognitive abilities, interpersonal styles, and emotional reactivity.

We'll define personality as "a unique set of traits and characteristics, relatively stable over time."