Key Exam Questions Key Topics That May Appear in the Exam: Big Five Model Locus of control Traits Cultural values Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Learning Objectives How does personality affect job performance and organizational commitment? Is personality driven by nature or by nurture? What are the “Big Five”? What is personality? What are cultural values? What taxonomies can be used to describe cultural values? What taxonomies can be used to describe personality, other than the Big Five?

Are personality tests useful tools for organizational hiring?

If you are exaggerating your responses to a personality test in a socially desirable fashion, you are

exhibiting ethnocentrism.

faking.

displaying neuroticism.

creative.

using negative affectivity.

________ do not reference dishonesty explicitly but instead assess more general personality traits that are associated with dishonest acts.

Clear purpose tests

Differential reactivity tests

Positive affectivity tests

Veiled purpose tests

Aptitude inventories

Which of the following asks applicants about their attitudes toward dishonesty, the desire to punish dishonesty, and confessions of past dishonesty?

a clear purpose test

differential reactivity

positive affectivity

a veiled purpose test

a Big Five Inventory

Haley wants to accurately gauge the conscientiousness and neuroticism of people applying to work in her convenience store. What is the best way for Haley to assess these qualities in prospective employees before she hires them?

interview the applicants in person

interview the applicants over the telephone

ask the employees to submit to a polygraph test

use a written personality test to assess the applicants

ask friends of the applicants to rate them on these qualities

Lucky administers an integrity test at Garden Haven, a supplier of lawn and garden supplies, in order to screen out potential thieves or dishonest workers. Howard, another Garden Haven employee, frantically finds Lucky and tells him the test is no good because several applicants just told him they faked their answers. What should Lucky do?

nothing because faking is common and does not influence the correlation between scores and performance

do away with unreliable integrity tests and ascertain the qualities of applicants from face-to-face interviews

stop using the integrity test and switch to the more reliable and less invasive polygraph test instead

hire a group of proctors who are trained to catch cheaters to oversee test administration

invalidate all of the tests taken during the testing period referred to by Howard

How does personality affect job performance and organizational commitment?

The principle of ________ suggests that strong situations have clear behavioral expectations, incentives, or instructions that make differences between individuals less important, whereas weak situations lack those cues.

situation awareness

situational strength

situational prevention

situational ethics

situation specificity

The Big Five personality dimension ________ is a key driver of what's referred to as typical performance, which reflects performance in the routine conditions that surround daily job tasks.

neuroticism

conscientiousness

extraversion

openness to experience

agreeableness

Whit is walking to his work station, when he sees Frank fall off a platform and get seriously injured. Though he is usually quiet and passive, Whit pulls Frank to safety, begins first aid, and orders the other workers to do various tasks to help with the situation. This scenario exemplifies

organizational commitment.

typical performance.

trait activation.

cultural values.

ethnocentrism.

Which of the following scenarios is an example of typical performance?

Holly has to skip her breaks and work extra hours for three days to prepare for a surprise audit.

Anna casts five hundred transmission cases, hitting her average production rate for the week.

Ashley breaks the printer trying to load it with the wrong kind of toner cartridge.

Sheila switches departments to fill in for Freddie while he has bypass surgery.

Bart is tired, so he gets by doing as little as possible for a couple of days.

Personality tests are valid and reliable assessments that have been subjected to scientific investigation.

Christina is attending a business meeting at a client's office. Some of the other attendees are formally dressed; others are in shorts and T-shirts. The table is round instead of rectangular, so there is no head to let her know who the most important person at the meeting is. There is no agenda to let her know what the important topics are today. Her personality is most likely to drive her behavior in this situation.

Conscientiousness has a moderate positive effect on performance.

Is personality driven by nature or by nurture?

The Big Five personality dimension that has the biggest influence on job performance is

conscientiousness.

extraversion.

agreeableness.

openness to experience.

neuroticism.

In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ is also called inquisitiveness or intellectualness.

conscientiousness

extraversion

agreeableness

openness to experience

neuroticism

Together with cognitive ability, ________ is a key driver of creative thought, as people with this trait excel at the style of thinking demanded by creativity.

conscientiousness

extraversion

agreeableness

openness to experience

neuroticism

In the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ is more likely to be valuable in jobs that involve rapid changes in job demands.

neuroticism

extraversion

agreeableness

conscientiousness

openness to experience

________ reflects whether people attribute the causes of events to themselves or to the external environment.

Differential exposure

Zero acquaintance

Ethnocentrism

Locus of control

Differential reactivity

Neuroticism is linked to a(n) ________ to stressors, meaning that neurotic people are less likely to believe they can cope with the stressors that they experience.

status striving factor

locus of control

positive affectivity

differential reactivity

accomplishment striving factor

Neuroticism is associated with a(n) ________ to stressors, meaning that neurotic people are more likely to appraise day-to-day situations as stressful.

communion striving factor

accomplishment striving factor

differential exposure

openness to experience

locus of control

Negative affectivity is a

strong desire to achieve task-related goals as a means of expressing personality.

strong desire to obtain acceptance in personal relationships as a means of expressing personality.

dispositional tendency to experience unpleasant moods such as hostility, nervousness, and annoyance.

strong desire to obtain power and influence within a social structure as a means of expressing personality.

dispositional tendency to experience pleasant, engaging moods such as enthusiasm, excitement, and elation.

The Big Five dimension neuroticism is synonymous with

extraversion.

openness to experience.

conscientiousness.

collectivism.

negative affectivity.

Positive affectivity is a dispositional tendency to

obtain power and influence within a social structure as a means of expressing personality.

experience pleasant, engaging moods such as enthusiasm, excitement, and elation.

obtain acceptance in personal relationships as a means of expressing personality.

experience unpleasant moods such as hostility, nervousness, and annoyance.

accomplish task-related goals as a means of expressing personality.

Extraverted people tend to be high in

neuroticism.

agreeableness.

status striving.

conflict avoidance.

positive affectivity.

________, who are more energetic and outgoing, are perceived to be more leader-like.

Neurotics

Hysterical individuals

Extraverts

Emotionally adjusted people

Agreeable people

Candace can be described as an ambitious individual. She joined Boulder Distributors as a junior recruiter and wants to climb the corporate ladder to become a team leader in the future. Candace works hard to build up her reputation, makes time to interact with not only her manager but other managers as well, and lets everyone know how passionate she is about working at Boulder. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ best describes Candace.

neuroticism

extraversion

agreeableness

conscientiousness

openness to experience

________ striving reflects a strong desire to obtain power and influence within a social structure as a means of expressing personality.

Accomplishment

Status

Fellowship

Attainment

Communion

Extraverted people prioritize ________ striving.

status

communion

accomplishment

value

attainment

A zero acquaintance situation is a situation in which

two people have just met each other.

two people have no friends in common.

a company forbids romantic relations among employees.

someone has a personality that makes them avoid others.

a company routinely shifts personnel among departments.

Of the Big Five, ________ is the easiest to judge in zero acquaintance situations.

openness to experience

conscientiousness

agreeableness

neuroticism

extraversion

________ focus on getting along, not necessarily getting ahead.

Conscientious people

Agreeable people

Neurotic people

Diligent people

Extraverts

When a fight broke out between two workers at Fish HVAC, Tobias, a coworker, decided to walk away and let the situation resolve on its own. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ best describes Tobias.

neuroticism

extraversion

agreeableness

conscientiousness

openness to experience

Communion striving reflects a

strong desire to achieve task-related goals as a means of expressing personality.

strong desire to obtain acceptance in personal relationships as a means of expressing personality.

dispositional tendency to experience unpleasant moods such as hostility, nervousness, and annoyance.

strong desire to obtain power and influence within a social structure as a means of expressing personality.

dispositional tendency to experience pleasant, engaging moods such as enthusiasm, excitement, and elation.

Agreeable people prioritize ________ striving.

status

communion

accomplishment

attainment

power

Sofia is driven to finish something once she starts it. This often means she stays at work later then other workers, stays more focused when she is at work, and takes shorter breaks than everyone else. Sofia is a(n) ________ striver.

accomplishment

communion

power

status

value

Accomplishment striving describes a

strong desire to achieve task-related goals as a means of expressing personality.

strong desire to obtain acceptance in personal relationships as a means of expressing personality.

dispositional tendency to experience unpleasant moods such as hostility, nervousness, and annoyance.

strong desire to obtain power and influence within a social structure as a means of expressing personality.

dispositional tendency to experience pleasant, engaging moods such as enthusiasm, excitement, and elation.

Conscientious people prioritize

status striving.

communion striving.

accomplishment striving.

curiosity.

power striving.

According to longitudinal studies, the two Big Five dimensions most dependent on genes are

conscientiousness and extraversion.

extraversion and openness.

agreeableness and openness.

openness and conscientiousness.

neuroticism and agreeableness.

Ingrid has brought in a consultant to help her understand the people working on her team. The consultant tells Ingrid that one of the people on her team is neurotic. Which person is it?

Don, who does not like his job, but says he only has himself to blame for being there.

Winston, who always looks on the bright side, even in poor circumstances.

Katina, who is always in a hurry, fidgeting, and bossing people around.

Belinda, who works long hours against all odds to complete projects.

Tabby, who worries more about making friends than doing her job.

Cung leads the design team at Rapidware, a software firm that deigns custom software to meet its clients' needs. He needs to hire an employee to recognize when new approaches are needed and to learn what clients need and quickly come up with an innovative way to serve them. Which of the following candidates would best meet Cung's requirements?

Lanny, a fast worker who forces others to do things his way

Gale, a lovable character who encourages and helps everyone

Rico, a curious person who loves art and buys the latest gadgets

Gage, a very successful worker who is self-proclaimed old school

Jennifer, a methodical worker who defines herself by her career success

Twin studies have shown that genetics has the most effect on which of the Big Five personality traits?

extraversion

conscientiousness

neuroticism

openness to experience

agreeableness

Which of the following scenarios represents a zero acquaintance situation?

Kareem never associates with coworkers outside of the office.

Larry is at a conference and has just been introduced to Heidi.

Marco refuses to speak to Charlie because of political differences.

Whitman took a personality test that labeled him as being neurotic.

Bryce and Layla have a discussion and realize they do not have any mutual friends.

In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, openness to experience is positively related to performance across all occupations.

Neurotic people tend to have an external locus of control.

From the perspective of job performance, neuroticism is the most important of the Big Five.

Of the Big Five, openness to experience is the easiest to judge in zero acquaintance situations.

Conscientious people are dependable, organized, reliable, ambitious, hardworking, and persevering.

Extraversion changes quite significantly over a person's life span.

What are the "Big Five"?

The Source, an engineering company, introduced a 360-degree feedback system. Lou, who was being considered for a promotion, was described as eager to learn and innovate. Isaac was appreciated for his meticulous and organized work and was the one the team could depend on during crunch time. Gloria's ability to be cooperative, accommodating, and sociable to customers who had grievances was well acknowledged in the feedback. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ best describes Gloria.

intuition

neuroticism

extraversion

conscientiousness

openness to experience

The Source, an engineering company, introduced a 360-degree feedback system. Lou, who was being considered for a promotion, was described as eager to learn and innovate. Isaac was appreciated for his meticulous and organized work and was the one the team could depend on during crunch time. Gloria's ability to be cooperative, accommodating, and sociable to customers who had grievances was well acknowledged in the feedback. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ best describes Lou.

intuition

agreeableness

neuroticism

conscientiousness

openness to experience

The Source, an engineering company, introduced a 360-degree feedback system. Lou, who was being considered for a promotion, was described as eager to learn and innovate. Isaac was appreciated for his meticulous and organized work and was the one the team could depend on during crunch time. Gloria's ability to be cooperative, accommodating, and sociable to customers who had grievances was well acknowledged in the feedback. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ best describes Isaac.

intuition

agreeableness

neuroticism

conscientiousness

openness to experience

Adjectives that describe opposite traits for agreeableness would include

nervous, moody, and emotional.

careless, sloppy, and lazy.

critical, selfish, and rude.

quiet, shy, and inhibited.

calm steady, and relaxed.

The day before Angel begins an important assignment at work, she shows a tendency to get nervous, moody, and insecure. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the personality dimension ________ best describes Angel.

openness to experience

conscientiousness

agreeableness

extraversion

neuroticism

Peyton is a well-liked intern at Gary's Tri-State Metal Sales. Customers and co-workers describe Peyton as kind, cooperative, sympathetic, and warm. Peyton probably has a great deal of the Big Five Trait of

conscientiousness.

agreeableness.

extraversion.

neuroticism.

openness.

Kartik never raises his voice or loses his temper, and he explains things calmly in chaotic situations when others cannot. He is described by his coworkers as cool and relaxed. Kartik probably scores

high in openness to experience.

high in neuroticism.

high in introversion.

low in neuroticism.

low on introversion.

Quincy is always wondering about why things happen, how things work, and what would happen if something was different. He thinks of exciting possibilities that are often outside the box. He is described by his friends as classy and eloquent. Quincy is probably high on the trait of

openness to experience.

conscientiousness.

neuroticism.

extraversion.

introversion.

Which of the following is a dimension of the Big Five taxonomy?

integrity

motivation

extraversion

veiled purpose

locus of control

Herb's office is impeccably organized. Herb always shows up on time and can be counted to volunteer when someone is needed to go above and beyond usual duties. Herb says he will run the company someday, and he is willing to put in as many hours and as much suffering as it takes to get there. Herb exemplifies the personality trait of

neuroticism.

extraversion.

agreeableness.

conscientiousness.

openness to experience.

Which of the following scenarios describes a worker with a neurotic personality?

Raul greets everyone entering the office with a handshake and a funny story.

Lynn stays two hours after closing all week to complete her blueprints perfectly.

Tyler envisions and then experiments with a new approach to do his job every week.

David takes on a substantial part of Jo's workload just to help her and everyone on the team have a pleasant day.

Amy yells at Jacob to go away when he asks her how she is doing, then brings him coffee with a big smile an hour later.

Arney has been retained by Fluffy Soft Programmers to hire a new worker because he is an expert at personality types and their effect on job performance. Which one of the following interviewees should Arney hire?

Joy, who likes to work hard until a task is completely finished

Theresa, who has very complex ideas and constantly seeks answers

Linda, who goes out of her way to help others and show them respect

Barbara, who talks to everyone and likes to be in the middle of the action

Andrea, who gets easily jealous and worries that she is not good enough to do her job

Those with low scores on neuroticism are more likely to demonstrate Type A behavior patterns.

Miriam is known as a person who is talkative. In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, the extraversion personality dimension best describes Miriam.

In the context of the Big Five taxonomy, a submissive person is said to be an extravert.

What is personality? What are cultural values?

People's beliefs create their social reputations.

Personality traits are a function of both your

values and beliefs.

beliefs and environment.

environment and genes.

genes and perceptions.

culture and beliefs.

Traits are defined as

recurring regularities or trends in people's responses to their environment.

shared beliefs about desirable end states or modes of conduct in a given culture.

tendencies to regard new situations as a challenge and to adjust behaviors to meet that challenge.

dispositional tendencies to experience pleasant, engaging moods such as enthusiasm, excitement, and elation.

the structures and propensities inside people that explain their characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.

Personality is a collection of multiple

abilities.

traits.

aptitudes.

emotions.

capacities.

________ refer(s) to the structures and propensities inside a person that explain his or her characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.

Personality

Cultural values

Attributions

Ethnocentrism

Perception

Kevin fidgets and taps on things, sighs often, squirms, constantly checks the time, and yells at people when they ask him how a project is going. The people who work with Kevin perceive him as uptight, mean, anxious, and rude. These perceptions are primarily formed by Kevin's

abilities.

perception.

personality.

ethnocentrism.

cultural values.

Which of the following scenarios demonstrates personality?

Dalton can perform any mechanical task well.

Lulu scores extremely well on an intelligence test.

Monte lacks coordination and performs poorly in all sports.

Shanda is generally friendly, likable, and calm under pressure.

Phoebe volunteers in the crisis shelter like everyone in her church.

Personality refers to the structures and propensities inside people that explain their characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.

Felix started his new job about a month ago. When asked, he says he likes most of his coworkers. One of them, though, is mean-spirited, obnoxious, petty, and belligerent. Felix is describing his coworker's social traits.

Iran

Fern's company is expanding, and she would like a foreign presence to reach broader markets and have some diversification. Fern wants a factory where rules are strictly followed, performance is high, and workers are able to accept the authority of people above them. In which of the following places should she choose to build her factory?

China

Brazil

Greece

Mexico

Germany

Low-power distance cultures prefer that power be distributed uniformly where possible, in an egalitarian fashion.

What taxonomies can be used to describe personality, other than the Big Five?

Abby flunked the midterm and tells everyone it is the teacher's fault. She did not study because she knew it would just be a waste of time. After all, she knew the teacher had it in for her. Abby demonstrates a(n)

external locus of control.

internal locus of control.

low level of neuroticism.

high level of extraversion.

high level of conscientiousness.

Chance lives in Louisiana on a boat he built. Chance is good at carpentry and electrical work. According to the RIASEC model, the ________ type of personality dimension best describes Chance.

artistic

realistic

enterprising

conventional

investigative

Zenda's psychology curriculum required her to study an individual's personality type using the process of interviewing. She selected Evan, her brother's roommate, as her test subject. The highlighted points of her research were that Evan is a law graduate, who is a musician in his spare time. He is an independent person who paid his own way through law school. His friends get annoyed with his impulsive behavior. According to the RIASEC model, Zenda classified Evan under the ________ type of personality dimension.

artistic

realistic

enterprising

investigative

conventional

According to the RIASEC model, an investigative person enjoys

practical, hands-on, real-world tasks.

persuading, leading, or outperforming others.

abstract, analytical, and theory-oriented tasks.

organizing, counting, or regulating people or things.

entertaining and fascinating others using imagination.

________ are expressions of personality that influence behavior through preferences for certain environments and activities.

Values

Beliefs

Tests

Interests

Ethics

The most appropriate use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is

in the job satisfaction prediction context.

in a team-building context.

to gauge the commitment of employees across jobs.

to predict the motivation of employees.

to forecast the performance of employees across jobs.

Approaching tasks by planning and setting goals describes the ________ type of Myers-Briggs indicator.

perceiving

introversion

extraversion

feeling

judging

Compton and Lula are successful stockbrokers working with the Market Beat Brokerage firm. Before buying a company's stock, Compton reviews the company's reports and past data. Lula, on the other hand, buys stock based on speculation. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the type best describes Compton, and the type best describes Lula.

feeling; thinking

sensing; intuition

perceiving; judging

short-term; long-term

extraversion; introversion

One of the preferences the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator uses to evaluate individuals is

short-term versus long-term orientation.

individualism-collectivism.

conventional versus artistic.

thinking versus feeling.

masculinity-femininity.

Neurotic people tend to

strive for status.

be communion strivers.

hold an external locus of control.

exhibit enthusiastic and upbeat mood patterns.

be extroverts.

Carter was categorized as ISTJ on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Which of the following behaviors would we expect to see out of Carter?

following speculations and imagined ideas

being energized by the presence of people

approaching decisions in a logical manner

being spontaneous in approaching a task

worrying if a decision will anger others

Which of the following scenarios represents the most appropriate use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

Patrick suspects Gary is neurotic and uses it to find out.

Amberly administers it to screen applicants for employment.

Jonna uses it to see if she might be interested in being a welder.

Mack thinks he is smarter than everyone else and uses it to prove his point.

Stu applies it to build understanding of the different approaches used on his team.

Nikola wants to use some type of a test to help his employees better understand how different team members approach tasks at work. What should he do?

give a test that identifies no bad personality types

give a test that divides workers into five personality types

use an assessment to match employee traits with ideal jobs

use an assessment to identify which traits workers inherited

give a test that points out personality types that make bad employees

Holland's RIASEC model includes the personality dimensions of conscientiousness and neuroticism.

Artistic people tend to enjoy abstract, analytical, theory-oriented tasks.

Holland's RIASEC model focuses on people's vocational interests.

The most appropriate use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is in a team-building context.

The Big Five dimension ________ is also called by its flip side emotional stability or emotional adjustment.

conscientiousness

extraversion

agreeableness

openness to experience

neuroticism