L02 The Significance of Personality: Proceed with Caution

Although there is evidence that personality matters, the authors of the text assigned to this lesson make clear that we need to be careful to always credit the results of personality testing devices. As they point out,

Even assessment using the most rigorous and valid measures is likely to be somewhat imprecise. There are also times when using more specific personality traits to predict outcomes such as turnover or performance are more useful than the more general Big Five traits because the more specific trait more directly influences the intended outcome. (Griffin, 2020, p. 91)

We also need to be careful in making choices merely on a single characteristic. For example, there is a general belief that extraverted persons will perform better in sales and marketing positions compared with introverts (Griffin, 2020, p. 90). To make a hiring decision solely on that personality trait doesn’t take into account the fact that an introverted person’s actual behavior at work might be more predictive of job success than his or her underlying personality traits.

In a Ted Talk that has been viewed more the 25,000,000 times, Susan Cain discusses her own personal journey as an introvert.

 

 

If Ms. Cain had never identified herself as an introvert, would you have come to that conclusion solely based on the manner in which she performed during this presentation?