Personality Tests 1

Running Head: Personality Tests

Personality Tests and Group/Leadership Dynamic

Julia Dahl
Glen Allen High School

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Introduction
Personality shapes each and every individual. It determines an individuals actions,
reactions, and motives in both the leadership and group settings. Since ancient times, great
thinkers sought to categorize people into categories based on the individuals thoughts, feelings,
and behavior. Hippocrates presented the first known personality model. Greek physician, Galen
applied body fluid to varying temperaments. Wilhelm Wundt expanded previous personality
theory as he was labeled the first individual to make clear distinction between the body and
personality. Additional theorists including Sigmund Freud, Edward Spranger, Henry Link, Erich
Fromm, Carl Jung, Myers and Briggs, Abraham Maslow, and John Watson submitted their
thoughts regarding personality. From the middle age philosophers to modern day media, people
seek categorical labels that if taken advantage of could help improve professional settings. Tests,
studies, and divisions characterize individuals through time. Much research and experimentation
has gone into questioning the various components of personality and leadership. As claims are
made, research begs the question of how predictable these tests can truly be of future
compatibility, group communication, or leadership ability.
Trait Theory
Pioneered by Gordon Allport and embellished by many key psychologists, the trait theory
defines the Big Five factors influencing personality and is widely accepted and measured.
Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism make
up the Big Five, but many additional traits have been included within the Trait Theory.
Researchers define traits as characteristic ways in which an individual perceives, feels, believes,
or acts, and study them to determine the possibility of their genetic basis and their stability
(Boeree, 2009). The famous Myers-Briggs test developed Jungs trait theories through looking at

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traits as opposites of each other and asking individuals a series of questions to determine the
polarity of four different categories in which they fall under. Hans Eysenck worked to make the
trait business more mathematical, through his use of factor analysis and trait dimensions
(Boeree, 2009).
Personality and Leadership
The indication of personality provides many theories of traits that correlate strongly or
weakly with leadership abilities. Michelle C. Bligh (2011) discussed leadership and the Big Five
to determine that the traits were not specific enough to find true leadership correlations, but traits
such as intelligence, self-confidence, determination, sociability, and integrity were (p. 639-640).
Focusing in on the education setting, Dolly Adams researched the relationship between
personality type and leaders preferred leadership approaches. Although facing situational
differences, Adams (2009) determined that an understanding of ones personality type and
leadership approach should lead to transformational behavior (p. 115). Because personality is
rooted in the stability of temperament, leadership approach can be predicted in some cases but
due to the varying contexts of leadership, other times it cannot be predicted.
In contrast, other researchers did find significant correlation between the trait theory and
leadership. Utilizing the five-factor model, studies proved that extraversion correlated most
consistently, and the overall five-factor model had a significant correlation as a whole indicating
strong support for the leader trait perspective when traits are organized according to the fivefactor model (Judge, 2002, p. 765).
Additional research looked specifically at the relationship between personality and
transformational and transactional leadership. Transformational leadership being a style of
leadership where the leader holds high standards of moral and ethical conduct, known as the

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idealized influenc[ers], while transactional leadership is aimed more towards monitoring and
controlling employees through rational or economic means (Bono, 2004, p. 901-902).
Researchers found hundreds of correlations across 26 independent studies, and personality traits
relating to 3 dimensions of transformational leadership and 3 dimensions of transactional
leadership (Bono, 2004, p. 901). This study additionally found extraversion to be the strongest,
most consistent correlate of transformational leadership. Research supports that leadership and
personality types do hold a relationship, but many critics counter that the situations, ethos, and
ability surrounding the individual change independent of personality.
Personality and Group Dynamic
Personality types and their relationships with group dynamic is essential in creating an
effective leader/constituent relationship. Research delves into the relationship with individuals
in team settings, teamwork and performance, teamwork behavior, and team communication to
suggest possible solutions to professional roadblocks. Frederick P. Morgeson asked the question
would professional, traditional hiring techniques be effective for hiring into team settings
including a personality test in the hiring process. Morgeson (2005) found no significant data that
suggested specific personality traits could predict performance in the group (p. 603-604).
Countering Morgesons research, another study did locate a relationship between the personality
trait of agreeableness and its predictive power over interpersonal teamwork behavior (Tasa, 2011,
p. 65).
Apart from scientific studies, psychologists suggest that if individuals objectively observe
other behaviors, communication can be strengthened. This obvious notion lends itself to the
Putziers quote, Personality testing can be valuable because we often see another person's
strength as a weakness. For example, someone who likes to work alone in a detached analytical

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way may not be seen as a team player when in fact, the team needs someone who can do
analytical work well and enjoy doing it, even though it requires hours of lonely work.
Conclusion
Research into the potential implications of personality on leadership and teamwork
abilities unveils the uncertainty in research but also the strengths between the relationships and
ease of small changes that could be made in the professional setting to better leader/constituent
relationships and productivity. While some studies lack significant findings and highlight the
power of context, many studies find significance in extraversions connection with leadership.
Taken together, the results indicate that personality plays an important role in group dynamics
and teamwork. While some traits are not essential in every leader or constituent, scores on the
Big Five Personality test can, more or less, conjecture the effectiveness of group performance
and leadership ability of an individual based on extraversion, openness, conscientiousness,
agreeableness, and neuroticism.

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References
Adams, D. (2009). Personality type and leadership approach. Journal of Leadership
Education, 8(2), 111-134. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from
http://aole.memberlodge.org/Resources/Documents/jole/2009_fall/Adams.pdf.
Aronson, Z., Reilly, R., & Lynn, G. (2006). The impact of leader personality on new product
development teamwork and performance: The moderating role of uncertainty. Journal of
Engineering and Technology Management, 23, 221-247. Retrieved March 19, 2015, from
www.sciencedirect.com.
Bligh, M. (2011). Personality theories of leadership. In Encyclopedia of Group Processes &
Intergroup Relations (pp. 639-642). SAGE Publications. Retrieved March 19, 2015, from
http://www.sagepub.com/northouseintro2e/study/chapter/encyclopedia/encyclopedia1.2.p
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Boeree, C. (2009). Trait Theories. Retrieved March 31, 2015, from
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/genpsytraits.html
Bono, J., & Judge, T. (2004). Personality and transformational and transactional Leadership: A
Meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 901-910. Retrieved March 9, 2015,
from http://www.timothy-judge.com/Judge%20and%20Bono%20personality-TF--JAP
%20published.pdf.
History of personality theory and assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from
https://www.colorcode.com/media/whitepaper.pdf
Judge, T., Ilies, R., Bono, J., & Gerhardt, M. (2002). Personality and leadership: A Qualitative
and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 765-780. Retrieved March 9,
2015, from http://workforceuniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Judge_ 2002.pdf.

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Marsiglia, A. (2005, January 1). Relationship between leadership and personality. Retrieved
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Phipps, S., & Prieto, L. (2011). Influence of personality factors on transformational leadership:
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