Big Five model and Personality

Personality
“Relatively stable pattern of behaviours and consistent internal states that explain
a person's behavioural tendencies”
1. The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.
2. Mean how people affect others and how they understand and view themselves, as well as their
pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and Person-situation interaction.
Personality
“The relatively stable set of
psychological attributes that
distinguish one person from
another”
The “Big Five” Personality Traits
1. A set of fundamental traits that
is especially relevant to
organizations.
2. The traits include agreeableness,
conscientiousness, negative
emotionality, extraversion, and
openness.
The Nature of Personality
• Acknowledge and appreciate that workers’ feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors are partially
determined by their personalities, which are difficult to change—adjust your own behaviors to work
with them.
• When trying to understand workers’ attitudes and behaviors, remember that they are determined by
the interaction of an individual’s personality and the situation.
• If possible, structure the work environment to suit an individual’s personality.
• Encourage an acceptance and appreciation of the diverse personalities in the organization.
The Big Five Model of Personality
Personality is typically described in terms of traits. A trait is a specific component of a personality that
describes the particular tendencies a person has to feel, think, and act in a certain way. Thus, an individual’s
personality is a collection of traits, thought to be organized hierarchically. The Big Five model of personality
places five general personality dimensions at the top of this hierarchy—extroversion, neuroticism,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience
1. Extroversion
Refers to the tendency to be sociable, friendly, and expressive. Extraversion, or positive affectivity, is
one of the Big Five personality traits, and describes the predisposition of individuals to experience positive
emotional states and feel good about themselves and the world. Extroverts are more sociable, affectionate, and
friendly than introverts and experience higher levels of job satisfaction.
2. Emotional Stability
Refers to the tendency to experience positive emotional states. Another Big Five trait, neuroticism, or
negative affectivity, refers to people’s dispositions to experience negative emotional states, feel distressed,
and view the world around them negatively. They may play devil’s advocate in an organization, pointing out

problems with a proposed course of action. Individuals high on neuroticism often experience negative moods,
feel stressed, and have a negative orientation at work. They are more critical of their own performance, a
tendency that drives them to make improvements and excel in critical thinking and evaluation. In group
decision making, these individuals exert a sobering influence by pointing out the negative aspects of a
decision.
3. Agreeableness
Being courteous, forgiving, tolerant, trusting, and self-hearted. Agreeableness is a Big Five trait capturing
the distinction between individuals who get along well with others and those who do not. Individuals high in
agreeableness are caring, affectionate, and likable, whereas individuals low in this dimension are antagonistic,
mistrustful, unsympathetic, and uncooperative. Agreeableness is likely to contribute to being a team player
and is helpful in fostering good working relationships.
4. Conscientiousness
Is exhibited by those who are described as
dependable, organized, and responsible.
The Big Five trait of conscientiousness
refers to the extent to which an individual
is careful, scrupulous, and persevering.
Individuals high on this dimension are
organized and self-disciplined, whereas
individuals low in conscientiousness may
lack direction and self-discipline.
Conscientiousness has been found to be a
good predictor of performance in many
jobs in a wide variety of organizations.
5. Openness to Experience
Reflects the extent to which an individual has broad interests and is willing to be a risk-taker. Openness
to experience is a trait that refers to the extent to which an individual is original, is open to a wide
variety of stimuli, has broad interests, and is willing to take risks, rather than being narrow-minded or
cautious. For openness to experience to be translated into creative and innovative behavior in
organizations, the organization must remove obstacles to innovation