Personality and career options - PowerPoint Presentation

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Personality and career options

Amel Skobalj I/O consultant and co-founder of psykologkonsulenten.dkamel@psykologkonsulenten.dk

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Knowledge about personality is important because

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Who am I?

Amel Skobalj, Consultant.Affiliations: SDU, OUH and Psykologkonsulenten.dkMain areas of expertise

: Personality and Social psychology, Political psychology, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, I/O Psychology.I have worked with: Research, Pre-employment testing, Experience with clinical psychology and general consultancy work.

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The plan for today

Session 1: Why you should “speak” personalityGet to know the “Big Five”What are the best predictors of job performance?

Personality on the jobPersonality profilesSession 2: Do people change?Can you change?

How do you change?

Want to start now?

Session 3:

Pop quiz

Job analysis and identifying personality

Group session

Cheer up!

Job related stress

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A definition of personality

Personality is the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptions to, the intrapsychic, physical and social environments (Larsen & Buss, 2015). Traits are defined as the relatively enduring, automatic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish individuals from one another (

Bleidorn, Hopwood and Lucas, 2018).

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Trait theory

Trait theory: The idea that personality is made up of a number of different broad traits or dispositions.The Big Five: Proposes that personality is made up of five broad personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Each trait exists as a broad continuum – High, average and low

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History how it came to be:

The five-factor model (Big five) - based on a combination of a lexical approach and statistical approach (Larsen & Buss, 2013, p. 76).The lexical hypothesis states that practically

all significant individual differences in personality are encoded in the language used, and therefore a comprehensive description of personality can be obtained by compare all the adjectives found in the dictionary (McCrae & Costa, 1997).Allport and Odbert (1936) went through the English dictionary and isolated 17,953 personality descriptive trait

terms - adjectives.

Almost a decade later Cattell

(1943) reduced the list to 171 clusters of traits by eliminating some and merging together others. Eventually he derived at 35 smaller set of clusters of personality traits

.

Through factor analysis:

Fiske

took a subset of 22 of Cattell’s 35 clusters and discovered a five-factor

model

Lewis R. Goldberg, found that key adjective markers of the Big Five are the following:

Surgency

or extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability and Intellect or imagination

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Adjectives that

describe the Big FiveSee the picture at https://www.danishdiabetesacademy.dk/about/dda-career-central

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The Big Five

Each of the five traits consists of 6 lower order facets

Facets provide fine-grained individual differences beyond the five broad domains.The facets are not dependent on each other e.g. you could imagine somebody that is assertive but not talkative (the "strong, silent type

").

However

most studies show that the facets generally stay within the same range.

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Why use the Big Five model?

General consensus that the Big Five serves as a general taxonomy of personality traits/dimensions (John, Naumann and Soto, 2008)Comprehensive theory

and it is easy to understand.

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Why use tests based on the Big Five?

Bridges the gap between research and I/O Psychology: Most researched and well used in personnel selection.Excellent psychometrics properties: Test-retest reliabilities ranging from .69 – .75Concurrent validity

: .71 with the extensively validated NEO PI-RIt focuses on strengths and weaknesses and makes predictions

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The Big Five – a closer look

Important to know the qualitative components of the Big Five, how to spot them, what they look like, how do they affect the way we organize our world. Traits have certain strengths and weaknesses but no individual trait predicts success (maybe) – know the combinations

Each trait has its own motivational frame, but the nature of the job is important as well e.g. extraverts enjoy social interaction and they succeed as marketers or salesmen. Traits are like accents

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Conscientiousness

Best predictor for overall job performance (ratings of performance, productivity data, training proficiency, salary) for all professions; manager, sales, police officer, professionals such as engineers. Barrick and Mount (1991): Most consistent indicator of success for all professions (from .20 to .23).

Greater job satisfaction, greater job security, and more positive and committed social relationships (Langford, 2003).Why they succeed: 3 key correlates: They don’t procrastinate

,

High standards, detail oriented and

they score high on achievement motivation

Better

at planning and sticking to the

plan

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Conscientiousness

High: Industrious, hardworking and reliable so they get ahead. They work longer hours. They postpone pleasure

in order for them to reach their goalsNegative side: High C may lead to annoying compulsive neatness or workaholic behavior.

Low:

Performs poorly at work and in school – fail to see the big picture and plan ahead. Seen in inmates with frequent arrests

(

Clower

&

Bothwell

, 2001).

Low scorers may not necessarily lack moral principles, but they are less exacting in applying them

.

Health

: C

predicts good health habits, health outcomes and longevity (Hampson & Friedman).

Low

C predicts the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors such as smoking, substance abuse and poor diet and exercise habits (

Bogg

& Roberts, 2004,

Trull

& Sher, 1994).

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Conscientiousness at work

They have stable and secure relationships – helps them deal with stress They plan a lot – mitigates the effect of stress Hough et al. (1990) found a correlation of .80 between reliability (an aspect of Conscientiousness) and job performance.

Job: Organizing information or physical spaces, adhering to specific, high standards of performance, and meeting deadlines

consistently without failure, such as an accountant where there are specific rules and protocols in the work space. Researchers and professors score high on C – they tend to be detail oriented.

Items

: conscientiousness (C): I keep my belongings neat and clean

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Emotional stability

Opposite of neuroticism, which is a negative trait. Taps into the way people cope with these stresses. People high on the trait neuroticism experience more negative emotions, irrational

ideas, being less able to control impulses, and coping poorly with stress. High ES: These people are usually calm, even-tempered, relaxed and able to face stressful situations without becoming upset (Hough et al., 1990).Low ES: Such people swing up and down more than emotionally stable individuals (Murray, Allen, &

Trinder

, 2002).

Women who experienced

early pregnancy loss

developed

PTSD

at a higher rate if they scored high on neuroticism.

They generally experience

negative

affects such as fear, sadness, embarrassment, anger, guilt and disgust

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Emotional stability at work

N is a poor predictor for professional success – thrown of track more easily because they cannot filter during stress. They engage in more self-handicapping behavior. They are more likely to choke under pressure, such as a time deadline to complete a task (Byrne et al., 2015).

High N people are typically emotionally intelligent and sensitive to others’ suffering, but not inspiring – not fit to be a leader. For someone who can openly air concerns and be frank about negative experiences in the workplace or downsides to a strategy, seek someone high in this trait.

Jobs?

Jex

and Chen (1995

): These people seek out

lower complexity

jobs

High N outperforms ES in environments that are busy (

Smillie

et al., 2006).

ES people can work as

social

workers and nurses

. Where their mood won’t rub off on

clients.

Item

: neuroticism (N): I have frequent mood swings.

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Extraversion

Where individuals get their energy: Introverts “recharge” in solitude, and require breaks from stimulation, whereas extraverts get energy from being around people, and require social stimulation in order to thrive. High: Talkative and outgoing, likes meeting new people and going new places, sometimes impulsive, hates routine and gets bored easily.

Feels more positive emotions – especially during social gatherings (Oelermns & Bakker, 2014). Low: Quiet and withdrawn, who prefers being alone or with a few friends to being in large crowds, who prefers routines and schedules, and who prefers the familiar to the unexpected.

High E more social support = important for coping with illness (

Verkman

, Glass,

Brisette

&

Seeman

, 2000).

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Extraversion at work

Extraverts have a greater impact on their social environment, often assuming leadership positions,(Jensen-Campbell & Graziano, 2001).Experiments also show that extraverts are more cooperative than introverts (Hirsh & Peterson, 2009), which might contribute to their positive work experiences

.Jobs: Extraverts are often well-suited to jobs involving frequent contact with a variety of people (team work or contact with clients), particularly involving sales and negotiation (Steward, 1996). Barrick and Mount (1991) Extraversion predicted success for the two occupations involving interpersonal skills, managers and sales representatives (r = .18 and .15, respectively

).

Introverts function well independently, but are also adept at social situations that are structured and in their control; introverts frequently make excellent teachers and team leaders, though they may not be adept at interacting on an even playing field with a large, ever-changing group

.

Facets

: Assertiveness (speak out in groups and take charge) – present in 20 percent of the most effective sales persons (

Saxena

, 2010).

Fractl

(2019) found that assertiveness was the third most important factor shared by marketing leaders.

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Intellect-Openness

Openness to Experience describes a dimension of cognitive style that distinguishes imaginative, creative vs down-to-earth, conventional people. Facility for thinking in symbols and abstractions far removed from concrete experience. Depending on the individual's specific intellectual abilities, this symbolic cognition may take

a specific form High: Doesn’t mind ambiguity, thinks in complex ways and enjoy challenging activities. Entertains novel ideas and unconventional values, and they experience both positive and negative emotions more keenly than do closed individuals

Low

:

Less-open people have more tunnel vision and find it easier to ignore competing stimuli.

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Openness at work

Research has shown that Openness to Experience is related to success in consulting (Hamilton, 1988), training (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Vinchur et al., 1998) and adapting to change

(Horton, 1992; Raudsepp, 1990).Barrick and Mount (1991) O predicted training proficiency (

p = .25).

I

ntelligent

, curious, broad-minded, and cultured and thus more likely to have positive attitudes toward learning experiences in general

.

Jobs:

Jobs with a lot of abstraction and novelty and uncertainty such as an artist or entrepreneur.

Item

: openness (O): I enjoy trying new and foreign

foods

.

Other

occupational

groups

that

score

high

on O?

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Agreeableness

The motto of the highly agreeable person might be “let’s all get along.” Might be very important for jobs that requires compromise and prosocial traitsHigh: Favor using negotiation to resolve conflicts, prefers cooperative family life and

harmonious social interaction.Values prosocial behaviors and judge harshly those who commit antisocial acts (Kammrath & Scholer, 2011).

G

ood

at reading other people’s minds and forgive people for their transgressions (Nettle & Liddle, 2008

). – Necessary to keep the peace

Low:

Aggressiveness – asserts power to resolve social conflicts.

Wu and Clark (2003) found that aggressiveness was strongly linked to many everyday

behaviors: Hitting

someone

in

anger, blowing up when things don’t work

properly etc.

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Agreeableness on the job

Tett et al. (1991) A is a significant predictor of job performance. Selectively prefer professions in which their likeability is an asset.Have

a mild temperament - can adapt to a variety of situations and work well with a variety of types of people They are adept at taking the perspective of another person (Colbert et al, 2004).Down side

:

Not good at raising

concerns, providing critical comments, pointing out flaws with a strategy, or doing anything that might “rock the boat”.

If

you need a critical, discerning perspective, seek an employee low in agreeableness

.

Jobs

: Politicians in Italy score

high on scales of

A (

Caprara

et al., 2003).

The co-operative

nature of agreeable individuals

leads them to

to success in occupations where

teamwork and

likeability

is important e.g. customer service or

fundraiser (Judge et al., 1999).

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Overall

Traits are important because: They are associated with motives which we seek to fulfill through the right career, organization and job. Once hired, personality variables influence most of what happens at work including: (a) learning and training processes and outcomes; (b) health and safety on the job; (c) satisfaction with one’s job, coworkers, and supervisors; and (d) which people emerge as leaders as well as which ones are effective as leaders.

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Overview

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The picture can be found at www.danishdiabetesacademy.dk/node/3361

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Combinations of Big Five variables

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Combinations of Big Five variables

Detailed look with combinations - helps us understand how we are being perceived by others.Difference between marketers and salesmen? What

if a person scores high on neuroticism which tends to make people confused and emotionally unstable? Which trait might predict whether this person actually becomes aggressive during this confusion? Answer: Aggression against other people when angry is well predicted by Neuroticism, but being high on Agreeableness appears to cool the tempers that these emotionally unstable people sometimes experience (Ode, Robinson, &

Wilkowski

, 2008

).

The

personality profiles I created

– makes

clear predictions under which conditions certain traits are helpful and how they may

interact

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Combinations

Good grades are best predicted by? Answer: High C and ES – Less likely to procrastinate (Watson, 2001).Academic dishonesty is more likely among?Answer: Low C and A (

Giluk et al., 2015). Educational achievement and earnings are predicted?Answer: High C, O and ES (O’Connell & Sheikh, 2011).Leadership

effectiveness in business settings is best predicted

by?

Answer: High E, A, C and ES

(Silverthorne, 2001).

   

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Why you should learn to speak “personality”

Karen Schultz (I/O psychologist): More and more companies are using personality tests.Uncovers personal preferences and working style: Your preferences for working structured (C). Your preferences for working with details or working holistically (C vs O). Your preferences for leading others and your preferences for taking initiatives in social contexts (E). Your preferences for being supportive (A and E, to some degree O).

Find the right career for you: More satisfaction (Person – organization and job fit) leads to more productivity – higher chance of promotion. Riketta (2008) – longitudinal studies (meta-analysis): Found a positive and significant link between satisfaction and performance, but a close to zero effect in the opposite direction. Personality affects our job satisfaction:

Judge, Higgins,

Thoreson

and Barrick (1999) Big Five measures completed in childhood

correlated with job satisfaction =

Conscientiousness

(.40) Neuroticism (-22).

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Why you should learn to speak “personality” part 2

You don’t want to be dissatisfied: (Faragher, Cass & Cooper, 2005) found that 22.8% of the variation in burnout scores is accounted for by job satisfaction.

High N has been found to be associated with lower work satisfaction, higher risk of burnout, and physical ill health, while the opposite has been found for E, C, and AImpression management: Knowing how you are perceived by others can help you avoid the horn effect

– high stakes situations

Horn

effect

is when you judge a person and attribute negative qualities to them based on one known quality. These judgments tend to be stable.

Nisbett

and Wilson (1977

): What does attractiveness have to do with teaching?

Introverts are especially in the danger of

subjected to the horn effect.

important.

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Why you should learn to speak “personality” part 3

Better cooperation: Find out what your colleagues like. Stoughton, Thompson & Meade (2013) SoMe might help. More and more people are changing their jobs

: 427,993 people have changed jobs in Denmark from January to June in 2018 (The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment). Meaning more competition, this is why it is more important than ever to know your strengths and weaknesses.

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What are the best predictors or job performance?

Criterion-related validity: A test has this type of validity if it is useful for predicting performance or behavior in another situation (past, present, or future). Criterion related validity:

<.10 = poor.10- .32 = moderate< .32 = good

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pictures

are

removed from the slides

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What are the best predictors or job performance?

Personality factors are important - creativity, leadership, integrity, attendance and cooperation

Personality adds incremental validity  over GMA: Conscientiousness: 30.3%, agreeableness 20.12%. Emotional stability also added validity over GMA but the percentage was smaller, 9.07%.

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What are the best predictors or job performance?

Traits are associated with certain tendencies and characteristics Traits might not predict success but characteristics and tendencies associated with traits does.Ones and Viswesvaran (1998b): Correlations between integrity tests and Big Five factors are .42 for Conscientiousness, .40 for Agreeableness, .33 for Emotional

StabilityPredictive validity of integrity test for predicting supervisory ratings of job performance is .41, which is a better relationship than C (.22)Wright and Cropanzano

(1998) found

negative affectivity

correlated .72 with emotional exhaustion (burnout) in social welfare workers, and emotional exhaustion correlated −.27 (p < .05) with job performance. So emotional exhaustion is a better correlate than most of the big five traits are

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Sum

No single trait is associated with success – rather one has to match individual traits with the requirements from the job. People high in openness perform well and are motivated in creative, varied environments. Conscientious employees are self-motivated and organized, and require little supervision.

Extroverted employees will perform well in social, stimulating tasks. Neurotic and agreeable employees work best with team support, and are motivated by approval, social support, and external incentives.A and N predicts performance in jobs where employees work in groups, E success in sales and management positions, O In artistic jobs, and C in conventional jobs (Barrick, Mount & Gupta, 2003

).

Highly neurotic individuals are more likely to experience burnout and to change jobs, whereas ES and C people are more satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organizations (

Thoresen

et al., 2003).

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Job profiles

https://www.danishdiabetesacademy.dk/about/dda-career-central