Chapter 2

Question 1

What is Personality?

Answer 1

The relatively stable set of psychological characteristics that influences the way an individual interacts with his or her environment and how he or she feels, thinks, and behave

Question 2

Why do we care?

Answer 2

Personality helps predict behavior - especially for certain jobs
Personality can help match people to the job - reduce mismatches

Question 3

Approaches to Personaility Research

Answer 3

• dispositional apprach
• situational approach
  interactionsit approach

Question 4

dispositional approach

Answer 4

focuses on individual dispositions and personality.
Individuals possess stable traits or characteristics that influence their attitudes and behaviours.
Individuals are predisposed to behave in certain ways

Question 5

Situational approach weak

Answer 5

In weak situations, roles are loosely defined, there are few rules and weak reinforcement and punishment contingencies – Personality has the strongest effect in weak situations.

Question 6

strong situational

Answer 6

In strong situations, the roles, rules, and contingencies are more defined.
You know what to do, instructions are clear
Personality has less of an impact in strong situations

Question 7

Interactionist approach

Answer 7

in organizational behavior is a function of both dispositions and the situation
To predict and understand organizational behaviour, one must know something about an individual’s personality and the setting in which that person works

Question 8

Trait activation theory

Answer 8

is traits that lead to certain behaviours only when the situation makes the need for the trait salient
Key concept is fit:

Question 9

How to Describe Personality

Answer 9

5 major dimensions of personality
- conscientiousness
- agreeable
- neuroticism (emotional stability)
- openness to experience
- extraversion

Question 10

Conscientiousness

Answer 10

The degree of organization, dependability, thoroughness, and achievement-oriented activities that a person exhibits; a measure of reliability.

Question 11

conscientiousness high

Answer 11

Perseverance, responsible, organized, diligent, dependable

Question 12

Conscientiousness low

Answer 12

unreliable, unorganized, unpredictable

Question 13

Agreeable

Answer 13

The ability to get along with others; degree of courtesy, trust, cooperation, and tolerance that a person exhibits.

Question 14

agreeable high

Answer 14

Forgiving, good natured, cooperative, warm, trusting

Question 15

agreeable low

Answer 15

Focused on own needs, less need to be liked by others, irritable, suspicious, inflexible

Question 16

Neuroticism (emotional stability)

Answer 16

Inability to handle stress; lack of emotional stability (e.g., emotional swings)

Question 17

Neuroticism (emotional stability) low

Answer 17

Calm, self-confident, secure, content about themselves and their place in the world

Question 18

Neuroticism (emotional stability) high

Answer 18

: Anxious, insecure, sensitive, angry, depressed
A minimum threshold of emotional stability is necessary for job performance

Question 19

Opennes to experience

Answer 19

The capacity to entertain new ideas and to change as a result of new information; creative, original, open-minded
Positively related to training proficiency

Question 20

Opennes to experience low

Answer 20

Cautious, narrow-minded

Question 21

Opennes to experience low high

Answer 21

urious, imaginative, playful, artistic

Question 22

Extraversion

Answer 22

The quality of being comfortable with relationships; degree of sociability

Question 23

Implications of Employees’ Personailites

Answer 23

• person job fit
• person organization fit

Question 24

Locus of control

Answer 24

refers to individual’s beliefs about the location of factors that control their behaviour

Question 25

High internal:

Answer 25

stronger links between the effort they put in and the performance level that they achieve, work influences rewards, self-initative, personal actions, free will

Question 26

High external:

Answer 26

fate, luck, powerful people

Question 27

Self-monitoring:

Answer 27

Extent to which people observe and regulate how they appear and behave in social settings and relationships

Question 28

high self monitoring

Answer 28

High: observe the thoughts, actions, and feelings of others

Question 29

Self-esteem

Answer 29

is the degree to which a person has a positive self-evaluation

Question 30

Behavioural plasticity theory,

Answer 30

people with low self-esteem are more susceptible to external and social influences than those who have high self-esteem – they are more pliable

Question 31

Positive affectivity

Answer 31

are people who experience positive emotions and moods like joy and excitement and view the world, including themselves in a positive light, they are cheerful, enthusiastic, livly, sociable, and energetic

Question 32

Negatively affectivity

Answer 32

are people who experience negative emotions and moods like fear and anxiety and view the world in a negative light. They have an overall negative view of themselves and the world around them, they tend to be distressed, depressed and unhappy

Question 33

Proactive behaviour

Answer 33

involves challenging the status quo rather than passively adapting to present conditions

Question 34

Proactive personality

Answer 34

are people who are relatively unconstrained by situational forces and act to change and influence their enviornment

Question 35

General Self-Efficacy (GSE)

Answer 35

is a general trait that refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to perform successfully in a variety of challenging situations
- motivational trait - reflects peoples belif that they can suceed at a varitey of tasks eaher than how they feel about themselves

Question 36

Core Self-Evaluations (CSEs)

Answer 36

• are a multidimensional trait and a broad personality concept that consists of several more specific traits
  Individuals hold evaluation about themselves and their self-worth or worthiness, competence, and capability