Personality and ability

1. Personality and Ability
Dr. G C Mohanta, BE, MSc(Engg), MBA, PhD(Mgt)
Professor

2. Personality
 Personality is relatively stable set of
characteristics that influences an
individual’s behavior and lend it
consistency.
 Personality is sum total of ways in which an
individual reacts to & interacts with others
 Personality is measurable traits that a
person exhibits, such as, shy, aggressive,
submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal and timid
 Personality is a collection of emotional
thought and behavioral patterns unique to a
person that is consistent over time.

3. Eight Major Personality Factors & Traits
 1. Neuroticism (reflects emotional instability versus
emotional stability)
 2. Extraversion (high on sociability, talkativeness, energy
and assertiveness)
 3. Openness (capacity to entertain different and non-
customary ideas and to change one's behaviour accordingly)
 4. Agreeableness (friendly and cooperative)
 5. Conscientiousness (dependability and thoroughness)
 6. Self-monitoring of behavior (adjusting how we appear to
others)
 7. Risk taking and thrill seeking (craving constant
excitement)
 8. Optimism (a tendency to experience positive states)
 All eight factors have substantial impact on job
behavior and performance

4. 16
Ability
 Ability is the mental or physical capacity
to do something.
 Types of ability
 Cognitive ability
 Physical ability
 Motor skill
 Physical skill
 Emotional intelligence

5. Cognitive Ability
Synonymous with the general notion of intelligence,
cognitive ability has been shown to influence:
 Reasoning
 Decision making
 Information processing capacity
 Learning
 Adaptability to change, particularly in novel or complex
situations

6. Physical Abilities
People’s capacities to engage in the physical
tasks required to perform a job.
Common types:
 Strength: The capacity to exert physical force
against various objects.
 Flexibility: The capacity to move one’s body in an
agile manner.
 Stamina: The capacity to endure physical activity
over prolonged periods.
 Speed: The ability to move quickly.

7. Emotional Intelligence
 The ability to understand and manage one’s own feelings
and emotions and the feelings and emotions of others.
 Emotional intelligence refers to qualities, such as,
understanding one’s feelings, empathy for others and the
regulation of emotion to enhance living.
 Emotional intelligence deals with ability to connect with
people and understand their emotions:
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Social awareness
4. Relationship management
 High emotional intelligence is associated with the ability to
cope with job setbacks.

8. 8
Abilities
Cognitive Intelligence: The ability to
understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to
the environment, to learn from experience, to
engage in various forms of reasoning, and to
overcome obstacles by careful thought.
Practical Intelligence: Adeptness at solving the
practical problems of everyday life.

9. Successful Intelligence
Intelligence that represents a good balance
between cognitive intelligence (IQ), practical
intelligence and creative intelligence.

10. Other Cognitive Abilities
 Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly recognize
similarities and differences in visual stimuli.
 Example: A designer recognizing irregular patterns in
a fabric.
 Number Aptitude: The ability to work with numbers in
a quick and accurate manner.
 Example: An accountant spotting an error in a
financial report.
 Spatial Visualization: The ability to imagine how
various objects will look when rotated or moved in space.
 Example: An architect planning a change in a building
design.

11. Management of Ability
 Selection
 Identify tasks to be accomplished
 Identify abilities needed to accomplish tasks
 Develop accurate measures of abilities
 Placement
 Match workers to jobs to capitalize on their abilities
 Training