Personality, Cultural Values, & Ability

UNIT 3: PERSONALITY, CULTURAL VALUES, & ABILITY

PSY 2061: Psychology at Work

In This Lecture

  1. Individual

  2. Relational

  3. Organizational Performance

  4. Commitment

    • Personality

    • Cultural Values

    • Abilities

Personality

What Is Personality?

  • Definition: Personality refers to the pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are characteristic of a person.

  • Consistency: It is relatively consistent across time and situations.

  • Composition: Personality consists of a collection of genetically determined traits.

Big Five Personality Model

Key Theories of Personality

  • Differences in personality can be accounted for by five broad factors (traits):

The Big Five Traits: OCEAN

  1. Openness to Experience

    • Traits: Curious, creative, open-minded, adaptable.

    • Predictive Outcomes:

      • Training success

      • Effectiveness in fluid and innovative workplaces

  2. Conscientiousness

    • Traits: Organized, responsible, hard-working, dependable.

    • Predictive Outcomes:

      • Job performance

      • Citizenship behavior

      • Low counterproductive behavior

    • Related to organizational commitment and lower use of withdrawal behaviors.

    • Note: May be less effective in fluid work settings.

  3. Extraversion

    • Traits: Sociable, talkative, assertive, dominant.

    • Characteristics:

      • Often emerges as leaders

      • Focus on upward mobility and reputation development

    • Challenge: Struggles with remote work due to lesser face-to-face interaction.

  4. Agreeableness

    • Traits: Compassionate, kind, cooperative, sympathetic.

    • Effectiveness:

      • Effective in collaborative situations and service roles

      • Strong communication skills.

  5. Neuroticism

    • Traits: Anxious, insecure, emotional, nervous.

    • Characteristics:

      • Tendency to appraise events as stressful

      • Low confidence in coping skills

    • Linked to poorer job performance.

Key Theories of Personality

Big Five Personality Model and Motivational Strivings

  • Observation: Personality traits are predictive of motivational strivings.

  • Explanation: This framework provides a pathway through which personality traits translate into actions.

Types of Motivational Strivings

  1. Accomplishment Striving

    • Definition: Tendency to set and work towards task-related goals.

  2. Status Striving

    • Definition: Tendency to pursue power and influence within social structures.

  3. Communion Striving

    • Definition: Value establishing meaningful relationships with others.

Narcissism

  • Concept: Response to the Big Five Model’s inadequacy to capture "dark" traits.

  • Traits: Collection of three related socially aversive traits including a grandiose sense of self.

  • Dark Triad (DT) Introduction: Integrates narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.

Psychopathy

  • Definition: Characterized by callousness and thrill-seeking behavior.

  • Relation to Big Five: Addresses shortcomings of the Big Five Model regarding "dark" traits, emphasizing aversive social traits.

Machiavellianism

  • Definition: Describes a manipulative and power-seeking nature.

  • Relation to Big Five: Relates to the Big Five Model's limitations in encompassing dark personality traits.

Dark Triad (DT)

Primary Outcomes

  • Positive Relation: Counterproductive behaviors.

  • Negative Relation: Affective commitment (remaining forms of commitment are less clear).

Dark Triad & Leadership (Palmer et al., 2020)

  • Traits Impact: DT traits are predictive of positions of power and workplace productivity.

  • Cautions:

    • Greater burnout and reduced well-being among subordinates.

    • Increased counterproductive and withdrawal behaviors from subordinates.

Personality Assessment in Organizations

Effectiveness

  • Utility: Personality assessments are effective in workplaces and are highly predictive of important work outcomes.

  • Administration: They are fast and easy to administer, however, they are susceptible to social desirability responding.

Sample Personality Assessment

  • Assessment Items:

    1. I see myself as someone who is talkative.

    2. I tend to find fault with others.

    3. I do a thorough job.

    4. I am depressed, blue.

    5. I am original, come up with new ideas.

    6. I am reserved.

    7. I am helpful and unselfish with others.

    8. I tend to be lazy.

    9. I am emotionally stable, not easily upset.

    10. I am inventive.

    11. I have an assertive personality.

    12. I can be cold and aloof.

    13. I persevere until the task is finished.

    14. I can be moody.

Cultural Values

Culture in Organizations

  • Definition: Refers to the identity of the organization, which is stable, deeply-rooted, and developed intentionally.

  • Shaping Influences: Shaped by core cultural values, also known as organizational culture.

Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Values

Overview

  • Purpose: Models used to understand differences between cultures.

  • Initial Focus: Originally intended for national culture but now applicable to organizational cultures.

Key Dimensions

  1. Individualism-Collectivism

    • Definition: Degree to which employees are integrated into groups.

    • Collectivism: Focused on team effort.

    • Individualism: Focus on individual effort leading to greater creativity and innovation.

  2. Power Distance

    • Definition: Willingness to accept unequal power distribution.

    • Low Power Distance:

      • Characteristic of a flat organizational structure.

      • Employees report directly to leaders.

    • High Power Distance:

      • Characteristic of a hierarchical structure with numerous levels of management.

      • Higher acceptance of unequal power distribution.

  3. Uncertainty Avoidance

    • Definition: Perception of ambiguity as either a threat or an opportunity.

    • High Uncertainty Avoidance:

      • Ambiguity viewed as a threat, leading to clear policies and high levels of management guidance.

    • Low Uncertainty Avoidance:

      • Ambiguity viewed as an opportunity, promoting risk-taking, innovation, and adaptability.

  4. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation

    • Short-Term Orientation: Focuses on present success.

    • Long-Term Orientation: Prioritizes success in the long-term through practices such as hiring for potential, investing in training, and attracting new customers.

  5. Masculinity vs. Femininity

    • Definition: Valuing stereotypically male versus female traits.

    • Masculine Traits: Assertiveness, competition, and financial success valued.

    • Feminine Traits: Valued include measured action, collaboration, and employee well-being.

Limitations of Hofstede’s Dimensions

  • Critique: Developed using a limited sample (one company, largely male).

  • Implication: Represents an oversimplification of culture.

  • Recommendation: Use it as a component of a more thorough analysis.

Abilities

Definition of Ability

  • Ability refers to a relatively stable capability to perform a range of different but related activities. Unlike skills, it is not specific to a task.

Types of Abilities

Cognitive Ability

Components of Cognitive Ability:

  1. Verbal Ability

    • Definition: Ability to communicate using oral and written comprehension.

    • Skills Involved: Oral/written expression (producing communication).

  2. Quantitative Ability

    • Definition: Using numbers to solve problems.

    • Skills Involved:

      • Number facility

      • Mathematical reasoning (applying formulas to solve problems).

  3. Reasoning Ability

    • Definition: Ability to think critically, be sensitive to problems, and apply logical reasoning.

    • Skills Involved:

      • Deductive Reasoning: Using specific evidence to generate plausible general solutions.

      • Inductive Reasoning: Using general rules as a starting point to solve problems.

  4. Spatial Ability

    • Definition: Ability to grasp relationships between objects in space.

    • Skills Involved:

      • Spatial orientation

      • Visualization (forming/manipulating mental images).

  5. Perceptual Ability

    • Definition: Understanding patterns and details.

    • Skills Involved:

      • Speed/flexibility of closure

      • Perceptual speed (identifying similarities/differences among objects).

General Cognitive Ability: The G-Factor

  • Concept: Most individuals show similar scores across all components of intelligence, indicative of a general level of cognitive ability that influences all specific abilities.

Cognitive Ability Assessment

Characteristics:

  • Administration: Tests are fast and easy to administer.

  • Concerns: Tests may have an adverse effect on specific groups.

Work Outcomes of Cognitive Ability

  • Predictive of adaptability.

  • Weaker links to citizenship behavior, counterproductive behavior, and organizational commitment.

Emotional Intelligence

Components of Emotional Intelligence

  1. Self-Awareness

    • Definition: Ability to recognize, acknowledge, and understand one’s emotions and their effect on behavior.

  2. Other Awareness

    • Definition: Ability to recognize, acknowledge, understand emotions in others and consider these emotions before responding in social situations (i.e., empathy).

  3. Emotion Regulation

    • Definition: Ability to manage disruptive emotions in oneself and others, whether these emotions are positive or negative; includes expressing emotions appropriately.

  4. Use of Emotions

    • Definition: Ability to use emotions to achieve specific goals; involves harnessing emotions for self-motivation.

Work Outcomes of Emotional Intelligence

  • Emotional intelligence as a general construct is predictive of:

    • Task Performance: Particularly prominent in collaborative environments.

    • Citizenship Behavior: Positive correlation with engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors.

Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Psychological Safety

  • Predictive Nature: Emotional intelligence is predictive of effective leadership.

  • Organizational Impact: Strong correlation with organizational performance and connection with subordinates.

  • Psychological Safety: Emotionally intelligent leaders foster psychological safety, which subsequently promotes innovation and better decision-making.