Chapter 5: Personality and Values
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Self-Monitoring: A personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors
High self-monitors are highly sensitive to external cues and adapt their behavior accordingly, while low self-monitors tend to display consistent behavior reflecting their true attitudes and dispositions.
High self-monitors are adaptable and can present different personas in various situations, sometimes leading to contradictions between their public and private selves.
They pay close attention to the behavior of others and are skilled in conforming to social expectations.
In the workplace, high self-monitors receive better performance ratings, are more likely to emerge as leaders, and tend to have more mobility in their careers, receiving promotions and occupying central positions within organizations.
However, they may display lower commitment to their organizations.
Low Self-Monitors:
Low self-monitors exhibit consistency in their behavior, displaying their true attitudes and dispositions across different situations.
Their behavior aligns closely with who they are as individuals.
Proactive Personality
People who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs
They have higher levels of job performance and do not need much oversight
They tend to be satisfied with their jobs, committed to their organizations, and tend to engage in more networking behaviors. (higher career success)
Personality, Job Search, and Unemployment
Many studies of unemployed job seekers have found that conscientiousness and extraversion were predictive of networking intensity, general job search intensity, interview callbacks, and job offers
positive affectivity is also important in getting interviews, job offers, and becoming employed—primarily due to having a clearer and more open perspective toward the job search process, engaging in more self-monitoring of their motivation, and reducing procrastination.
“approach” and “avoidance” traits: traits that lead to approaching challenges head-on or avoiding them
Personality and Situations
Situation Strength Theory: A theory indicating that the way personality translates into
behavior depends on the strength of the situation
It is the degree to which norms, cues, or standards dictate appropriate behavior
personality traits better predict behavior in weak situations than in strong ones. Researchers have analyzed situation strength in organizations in terms of four elements:
Clarity:
Clarity refers to the degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are clear and easily understandable.
Jobs that provide clear and readily understandable cues about what needs to be done are considered high in clarity.
For example, the job of a janitor may have higher clarity as the tasks and responsibilities are likely well-defined and easily determined.
Consistency:
Consistency pertains to the extent to which cues regarding work duties and responsibilities are compatible and harmonize with each other.
Jobs with high consistency have cues that all point toward the same desired behavior or objective.
For instance, the job of an acute care nurse may have higher consistency as the cues regarding patient care and medical tasks are likely aligned and reinforce a consistent course of action.
Constraints:
Constraints refer to the extent to which an individual's freedom to decide or act is limited by external factors or forces beyond their control.
Jobs that have many constraints impose restrictions on an individual's individual discretion and decision-making abilities.
For example, a bank examiner's job likely involves higher constraints, as there are specific regulations and guidelines that must be adhered to.
Consequences:
Consequences pertain to the degree to which decisions or actions made in a job have significant implications for the organization, its members, clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
Jobs with important consequences imply that the decisions or actions made within that job role can greatly impact the organization and its various stakeholders.
For instance, a surgeon's job carries higher consequences because their decisions and actions directly impact the well-being and lives of patients, making the environment heavily structured to minimize errors and ensure utmost precision.
Reasons why organizations shouldn’t create strong situations for their employees
elements of situation strength are often determined by organization rules and guidelines, which adds some objectivity to them however, the perception of these rules influences how the person will respond to the situation’s strength
jobs with myriad rules and tightly controlled processes can be dull or demotivating
Strong situations might suppress the creativity, initiative, and discretion prized by some organizational cultures.
Trait Activation Theory: A theory that predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than other
applies to personality tendencies
Values: Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence
They are subjective and carry a judgmental element, representing what an individual considers to be right, good, or desirable.
Attributes of Values:
Values have both content and intensity attributes.
Content attributes indicate the mode of conduct or end-state of existence that an individual considers important.
Intensity attributes specify how important a particular value is to an individual.
Hierarchy of Values:
Individuals have a hierarchy of values based on the relative importance they assign to different values.
This hierarchy is determined by the intensity attribute of values.
Stability and Formation of Values:
Values tend to be relatively stable and enduring throughout an individual's life.
Many values are established during early years through influences from parents, teachers, friends, and society.
Personality traits and genetics can also play a role in determining an individual's values.