Personality and Identity
CHAPTER 3: 104-118
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 261
GABRIELLE DUREPOS
Outline
 Towards an understanding of Personality
 Personality Test:



The Five Factor Model
Vocational Choice Theory
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
 Criticisms of Personality Tests
 Towards an understanding of Identity
 Social Identity Theory
 Social Identity & The Organization
 Conclusions
Towards an Understanding of:
Personality
 Refers to all the mental and behavioral characteristics
that make up and define the uniqueness of an
individual

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These characteristics are called personality traits
Examples include: shy, kind, anxious, trustworthy,
extraverted, introverted, conscientious
 Personality is shaped by both genetic (nature) and
environmental (nurture) influences
 Personality traits remain stable over time

This is unlike identity which is fluid
Personality Test:
The Five Factor Model
 A framework developed to characterize personality

Used by organizations for hiring and assessing leadership styles
 The model represents five basic dimensions of personality:

Extraversion – outgoing, assertive, active, excitement seeking

Agreeableness – the degree to which someone is warm, likeable, kind,
gentle, trusting

Conscientiousness – dependability, conformity

Emotional Stability – opposite includes anxious, neurotic, fearful,
depressed, moody

Openness to experience – creative, imaginative, perceptive,
thoughtful behaviors
Personality Test:
The Five Factor Model
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional stability
Openness to experience
Each of these dimensions are representative of a continuum
Personality Test:
The Five Factor Model
 The only good predictor of job performance has been
shown to be Conscientiousness
 Different test instruments (NEO) are used to measure
where individuals fall each continuum
 Interviews are sometimes used to assess personality traits

however studies have shown that interviewers can not assess traits
that are good predictors of job performance

Eg: Conscientiousness
 Reliability of The Five Factor Model is high
Personality Test:
Vocational Choice Theory
 Holland’s Vocational Choice looks at the individual’s:
 Distinct personality traits
 Choices of occupation
 Their level of satisfaction & productivity level within the occupation
 The premise of Vocational Choice Theory:
 People select occupations based on their personality traits
 Best-fit between an individual and the organization leads to:
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high performance
high satisfaction
low levels of stress
Lack of fit between an individual and the organization leads to:
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increased levels of stress
decreased employee moral
low productivity
high levels of absenteeism
Personality Test:
Vocational Choice Theory

Holland’s occupational classification system: Personalities & occupations are grouped in 6
categories:

realistic

investigative

artistic

social

enterprising

conventional

Each category represents an interaction of:

Cultural forces

Personal forces; example: biological heredity, parents, peers, social class

Individuals seek to match -- Their personality characterization with an occupation’s
characterization


Example: Someone is characterized as enterprising
 this means they are ambitious, extroverted, self-confident, energetic
 They will seek out occupations that have been categorized in the enterprising category – they will
seek out occupations that are consistent with these traits, such as business executive
Vocational choice theory is less reliable
Personality Test:
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
 The Myers-Briggs test is a personality type indicator
 Myers-Briggs Test was designed to:

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Help individuals understand their & others personality type
Find their proper niche of work
Enable them to be productive at work
Enable a good person-organization fit
 Myers and Briggs develop a typology of 16 psychological types

Individuals are classified into the typology
 The instrument:
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Self-report questionnaire
individuals report their personal preference on certain situations
Answers are used to classify individuals into 1 of 16 personality types
Criticisms of Personality Test
 Personality tests are used to assess
the personality of individuals to see if
they may fit a:
 Job
 Workgroup
 Organization
1. Do we know for certain if there is a
relationship between personality
traits & job performance?
 Two meta-analyses were
conducted
 only some aspects of personality
tests are found to be “good
predictors” of job performance
2. High costs of administering personality
test
3. Assumes that jobs remain stable over
time
4. Rely on self-reportage; People can lie on
tests
5. Scores on personality tests can lead to
individuals being classified rigidly and
can lead to stereotypes or discrimination
 ** Hiring decisions, promotion or
termination should never be based solely
on results of personality tests – they
should accompany other methods
Towards an Understanding of:
Identity
 Is the ‘sense of self’ that we experience in different situations, that
we develop over time, as we are socialized through various
experiences
 Fluid, it changes based on situation and role within a situation
 Ex: At work I have a different ‘identity’ than at the pub on Friday
 Shaped by the various groups (musical band; soccer team;
Amnesty International) and social categories (sex, gender,
race, occupation) to which we belong
 Is what we use to tell others ‘who we are’
 Is subject to many different interpretations
Social Identity Theory
 Social Identity theory states that:
 people attach meaning to and develop an ‘identity’ …
 through their membership with various social groups / categories
 The premise is that:

All individuals have an individuated identity

Individuals also have a social identity, which is defined by their self identification with a
social category (ex. race, age, gender, sex)

Through time / experience, we come to associate meaning and values with certain social
categories:
 “oh yeah… you know how irresponsible they are at that age…”
 “…and he didn’t apologize? typical man...”
 “well he is one of us, strong, determined and pays attention to detail. He will do well in the
reserves…”

The meaning we attach to certain social categories to which we belong shapes our identity
Social Identity Theory
 The downside: Stereotyping

Judging a stranger based on the social group or category to which
they are associated

Example:
 “I don’t know her but she is a feminist and you know how they
are…”
Social Identity & The Organization
 The organization influences identity through:

The establishment of norms that affect individuals
 such as professional codes of conduct, dress codes etc.

Categorizing and classifying individuals through the use of
titles
 allocation of physical space
 location in the hierarchy
 roles / sets of tasks and their ascribed importance
 occupation
 department
 workgroup
Social Identity & The Organization
Silos
 Silos in organizations:
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Groups who become closely knit and do not interact with other departments

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often to their detriment
May be due to:

hierarchal structures

social identity of members
 Members of silos:
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perceive themselves to be different and unique from members of other groups

may want to maintain that sense of uniqueness
 Downside includes:
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lack of communication
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lack of coordination

duplication of work

stereotyping

discrimination
Conclusions
 What are the downsides of hiring practices based on
personality tests?
 What does assimilation mean in terms of identity?
 To what degree should / can organizations shape an
individuals identity?