Lecture 5

PERSONALITY II: Dimensions of Personality

• Lecture - the various dimensions of personality

• Exercise: What is your type? The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)– complete the survey and score it– exploring types– video (15 minutes - if we have time)

• So what?

Class Outline

Dimensions of Personality

• The Big Five Model

• Cognitive Style (and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)

The Big Five Model of Personality

• Directed at the work place

• Five dimensions of personality– Extroversion – Emotional Adjustment – Agreeableness– Conscientiousness– Intellect/openness to experience

The ‘BIG FIVE’ Personality Dimensions• extraversion/introversion

– traits: sociability, gregarious, assertive, talkative, active

• emotional stability (neuroticism)– traits: anxious, depressed, angry, emotional, insecure

• agreeableness (likeability) – traits: courteous, flexible, trusting, cooperative

• conscientiousness (conformity; dependability)– traits: dependability, careful, thorough, responsible

• intellect (openness to experience) – traits: imaginative, cultured, curious, original, broad-minded

Evidence

• conscientiousness predicts performance for all occupational groups

• extroversion predicts performance for managers and sales representatives

• openness to experience and extroversion predict success in training

Cognitive Style

• Carl Jung’s proposal: – individuals have different preferences for how

they approach the world, acquire information, process information, and make decisions

• Four sets of preferences (dimensions)– each with two opposite ‘poles’– individuals vary along each of the four– gives 16 possible personality types

Cognitive Style (cont.)

• Four Dimensions– Introvert vs. Extrovert

(inner v. outer world)– Thinking vs. Feeling

(logic v. subjective view)– Sensing vs. Intuiting

(detail v. broad focus)– Judging vs. Perceiving

(resolution v. flexibility)

Orientation to the world: Extraversion vs. Introversion

• Extraversion - preference for:– action and interaction over reflection– talking things over with others to gain

understanding– oral communication– taking the initiative in social and work settings– getting involved in social activities to ‘re-

energize’

Orientation to the world: Introversion vs. Extraversion

• Introversion - a preference for:– reflection over action– thinking things through to gain understanding– written communication rather than oral– working alone or with one or two others– spending time alone in order to re-energize

Acquiring information: Sensing vs. Intuition

• Sensing - a preference for:– gathering facts and details– focussing on information from the five senses– an orientation to the present rather than the future– being patient with routine tasks but less patient

with complexity– concentration on specific details of a task or

problem rather than the big picture

Acquiring information: Intuition vs. Sensing

• Intuition - a preference for:– looking for patterns and relationships– focussing on what lies beyond the surface– an orientation towards the future rather than the

here and now– being patient with complexity but less patient

with routine– concentrating on the big picture rather than the

details

Processing information: Thinking vs. Feeling

• Thinking - a preference for:– basing decisions upon logical analysis and

cause and effect reasoning rather than personal values and beliefs

– being analytical– being perceived as reasonable by others– wanting things to be fair even at the expense of

harmony

Processing information: Feeling vs. Thinking

• Feeling - a preference for:– Basing decisions upon personal values and

beliefs rather than logical analysis– being sympathetic rather than analytical– being perceived as compassionate– wanting a harmonious outcome even at the

expense of equity and fairness

Decision making: Judging vs. Perceiving

• Judging - a preference for:– making decisions and obtaining closure– being systematic and keeping to a schedule– completing one project before starting another– committing to plans or decisions swiftly– Finishing tasks before deadlines

Decision making: Perceiving vs. Judging

• Judging - a preference for:– taking in all available information before

deciding– being spontaneous and casual– working on multiple projects simultaneously– being flexible, keeping options open– finishing tasks at deadline

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

• Measurement of four dimensions giving 16 possible cognitive styles (e.g. INTP, ESFJ etc.)

• Aid for improving work team functioning• Remember, no one type is ideal or best• Even people who are the same ‘type’ are different -

there are many other dimensions of personality• The MBTI only measures preferences not abilities

or aptitudes.