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Akademiese prestasie van homogene klasse studente gevorm aan die hand van enkele persoonlikheidsdimensies

Bright sides of dark personality? A cross‐cultural study on the dark triad and work outcomes

Chronic fatigue syndrome : personality types and coping

  • Authors: Mostert, Karen
  • Date: 2012-08-20
  • Subjects: Chronic fatigue syndrome - South Africa , Personality , Type A behavior
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:2768 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6209
  • Description: Ph.D. , Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a disabling and poorly understood multisystem illness. The illness is characterised by the principal symptom of persistent or intermittent unexplained fatigue, and has physical, psychological, social and community implications. Since CFS remains unexplained by a conventional biomedical diagnosis, confusion and controversy surround the illness. The confusing and controversial issues are the diagnosis, etiology, psychiatric states and the role of psychosocial factors. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the role of certain psychosocial factors, namely personality preferences or type, coping resources, locus of control and Type A behaviour pattern (TABP), in CFS. The total sample consisted of 70 subjects from four samples, namely the CFS patient sample (n = 21), coronary heart disease (CHD) patient sample (n = 14), depression patient sample (n = 15) and healthy sample (n = 20). The CHD patient, depression patient and healthy samples were included for comparative value. The broad hypothesis was that specific personality preferences or types as well as specific coping resources, locus of control and TABP would be characteristic of the CFS patient sample. The second hypothesis was that the CFS patient sample would significantly differ from the comparative samples on these psychosocial factors. Finally, it was hypothesised that the psychosocial factors would be correlated and hence have predictive value for the development and maintenance of CFS. On the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator' s (MBTI®), the CFS patient sample was found to have an over-representation of the introversion (61.9 %), intuition (52.4 %), feeling (66.7 %) and judging (76.2 %) preferences. An analysis of the type distribution and frequencies resulted in two whole types, namely ISFJ and INFJ. A normative interpretation of the Coping Resources Inventory° (CRI©) profile revealed that the CFS patient sample's coping resources in the various domains of cognitive, social, emotional, spiritual/philosophical, physical and total resources were below the mean. The results of the Locus of Control (LOC) Questionnaire revealed that the CFS patient sample primarily utilises an internal locus of control. However, the sample was also found to have a low state of self-regulation. In comparison to the healthy sample, the CFS patient sample had a significantly higher external locus of control. These findings lead to the hypothesis that during stressful situations (such as illness), the CFS patient sample's low state of self-regulation may result in them utilising an external locus of control. The CFS patient sample was found to have a higher mean TABP score than the mean TABP score of the total sample. This sample was also found to have a significantly higher mean TABP score than the healthy sample. Hence, it was concluded that the CFS patient sample exhibited a TABP. The Mann-Whitney U tests were utilised to determine the differences between the CFS patient sample and the various comparative samples. Various of the assessed psychosocial factors were found to differ significantly. However, most of the differences were found between the coping resources of the various samples. Correlations were drawn between the various assessed dimensions to determine whether the psychosocial factors have predictive value. On the MBTI®, a preference for sensing was associated with an external locus of control whereas a preference for judging was associated with a high TABP. A high TABP was associated with a high external locus of control. An external locus of control and TABP have been identified in previous studies on chronic illnesses as predisposing and maintenance factors. Hence, it was hypothesised that a preference for sensing and for judging respectively may be personality preferences that play a role in the development and maintenance of CFS. Subsequently, a high external locus of control and a high TABP respectively were also hypothesised to be predisposing and maintenance factors. The findings of the correlations also lead to the hypothesis that CFS patients with an extraversion and a thinking preference respectively have the ability to cope more effectively with their illness and may even recover quicker. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients with a high internal locus of control and a high state of self-regulation were also hypothesised to have a better overall ability to cope with their illness and may hence recover quicker. The final conclusion of the study's findings was that personality preferences and type, coping resources, locus of control and TABP interact within a complex matrix of socio-behavioural and biological factors in the development and maintenance of CFS. The value of the study is the identification of individuals at risk for the development of CFS and the psychosocial factors involved in the development and maintenance of CFS. In addition to this value, the MBTI ® results can be used to alert psychologists to the issues frequently associated with each MBTI® preference and can hence assist psychologists in the psychotherapeutic treatment of CFS patients. The results of the coping resources' deficits can also assist psychologists in the design and development of stress management programmes for CFS patients.
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Concomitants of attention, personality and rate of information processing

Die invloed van institusionalisering op die persoonlikheid van die adolessente dogter

Die kognitiewe en persoonlikheidstruktuur van die intellektueel-begaafde student

  • Authors: De Beer, Linda Elizabeth
  • Date: 2014-04-02
  • Subjects: Personality , Talented students - Psychology
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:4602 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9947
  • Description: M.A. (Psychology) , One of the oldest problems in psychology, dating back to Galton in the 19th century, is the phenomenon of observed variations in intellectual performance. According to Messick (1973) over half a century of empirical research has uncovered a vast array of dimensions relating to aspects of cognitive functioning. buring this period intellectual giftedness was not the prime objective of theorists, with little attention being paid to this aspect of intellectual functioning. Research into intellectual giftedness is furthermore widely diversified with regard ~o conceptual definitions and methodology (Anastasi, 1965). In South Africa the emphasis has been placed on studies conducted at secondary school level (Coetzee, 19751 Duminy, 1960, Roos, 1983). As a result the cognitive and personality structure of the gifted adult is incomplete regarding theoretical and empirical aspects. The primary objective of the present study was to ascertain whether the cognitive and personality structure of intellectually gifted students differed from the cognitive and personality structure of intellectually average students. In order to investigate the problem a random sample was drawn of registered students (both past and present) at the Rand Afrikaans University. These students were allocated to one of five categories according to their score (I.Q) on the New South Africa.n Group Test of Intelligence •
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Dimensionality of the neuroticism basic traits inventory scale

  • Authors: Clifton, Sebastian
  • Date: 2014-06-19
  • Subjects: Neuroses , Personality
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:11549 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/11256
  • Description: M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) , This study was conducted to examine the dimensionality of the Neuroticism scale of the Basic Traits Inventory in order to contribute to the larger project of developing computer adaptive testing for the five scales of the Basic Traits Inventory. The Neuroticism scale comprises the general factor of Neuroticism and four group factors or facets, namely, Affective Instability, Depression, Self-Consciousness, and Anxiety (Taylor & De Bruin, 2006; Taylor & De Bruin, 2013). Personality constructs and scales are complex as they typically comprise heterogeneous items for reliability and validity purposes (Reise, Morizot, & Hays, 2007). It is therefore to be expected that some studies present evidence of a scale that measures an overarching single dimension – unidimensionality – whilst other studies find evidence of multiple dimensions – multidimensionality (Gibbons et al., 2007; Immekus & Imbrie, 2008; Reise, Moore, & Haviland, 2010). Consequently, specification of a strictly unidimensional model is often not realistic for complex personality constructs and scales. However, test-developers and researchers aspire to unidimensionality (Zinbarg, Yovel, Revelle, & McDonald, 2006) as unidimensionality allows for the unambiguous interpretation of scale scores (Reise et al., 2010), is considered a precondition to reliability and validity, encourages the use of a total score (Netemeyer, Bearden, & Sharma, 2003), meets the unidimensional assumption of item response theory models, and is the prerequisite for the development of computer adaptive testing (Thomas, 1990; Weiss & Gibbons, 2007). Against this background, the key question that was posed in this study was not whether the Neuroticism scale was strictly unidimensional or not, but rather if the scale was unidimensional enough to allow for the meaningful interpretation of a total score (Morizot, Ainsworth, & Reise, 2009). This study focussed on attaining evidence of the presence of a strong general factor which would justify the interpretation of a total score and for applying unidimensional item response theory models to the scale (Reise, 2012). The Basic Traits Inventory was completed by 1 966 participants from various industries and organisations within South Africa. Statistical analyses were performed on the responses to the Neuroticism scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate the unidimensionality and strength of the general factor of the scale, while evaluating the influence of multidimensionality on the interpretation of the general factor or the total score. This dimensionality investigation of the scale was achieved by comparing three confirmatory factor models using the goodness-of-fit indices and the standardised factor loadings of the models. The competing structural models were: a one-factor or unidimensional model which represented the general factor and interpretation of a total score for the scale; a four-factor or multidimensional model which represented the multiple factors of the scale and therefore the interpretation of the group factors or facets; and a bifactor model which allowed for the examination of the strength of the general factor in comparison to that of the group factors of the scale. The results of this study confirmed that the Neuroticism scale is multidimensional as the scale comprises multiple group factors or facets. However, the findings of the study revealed the strong presence of a general factor that runs through all the items of the scale, and consequently suggest that efforts to make use of and interpret separate subscale scores lack the needed empirical evidence to do so. In essence, the findings of the study demonstrated that the presence of unidimensionality in the scale is prominent despite the multidimensionality of the scale, which confirmed that the interpretation of the total score for the scale is justified and preferred irrespective of the multidimensionality of the scale. Overall, the findings and evidence of this study proposed that the Neuroticism scale is unidimensional enough to meet the unidimensional assumption of item response theory models. Accordingly, these results support the advancement of adapting the Neuroticism scale of the Basic Traits Inventory for computer adaptive testing (Reise, 2012; Thomas, 1990; Weiss & Gibbons, 2007). This study further confirmed that when developing a multifaceted scale, it is essential to analyse the dimensionality of the scale in order to determine what the scale is actually measuring. The bifactor model can be employed in the development, exploration and confirmation of the dimensionality of the scale to examine the strength of the general factor relative to the multiple group factors of the scale.
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Emosionele intelligensie en akademiese sukses.

  • Authors: De Korte, Annemari
  • Date: 2012-08-16
  • Subjects: Emotional maturity , Personality , Intellect , Intelligence tests - South Africa , Academic achievement - South Africa
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:2599 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6048
  • Description: M.A. , The principal aim of the study was to determine whether or not certain aspects of emotional intelligence account for the difference between students' academic success or failure. Although an in-depth study of existing literature on the topic of academic prowess soon disclosed that all aspects of an individual's functioning play a part in his or her academic performance, a flaw was uncovered in this argument in terms of the link between the individual's ability to deal with emotional processes and his or her academic functioning. The present study could, therefore, be considered to be the springboard for theory-building regarding the link between aspects of emotional intelligence and academic performance. Various studies in the domain of emotions have been undertaken with a view to study the manner in which individuals evaluate, communicate and apply emotions in their bid to solve problems and to adapt to circumstances of life. Emotional intelligence can be viewed as a meta ability that co-determines the extent to which an individual develops his or her potential, acquires and hones skills (including his or her intellect) and achieves his or her objectives. The manner in which the individual processes emotional contents could, therefore, have a profound effect on all intra and interpersonal aspects of his or her functioning, including his or her academic performance. In addition, existing literature soon discloses the multidimensional nature of the concept academic success to be a complex interchange between cognitive and non-cognitive factors. The interdependency between a number of these factors often serves to complicate any attempt to study them, however, and oft-times results in inconsistent and even contradictory findings. In the present study, the part that the individual's way of coping with emotional contents plays in his or her academic performance is subjected to close scrutiny. The experimental group selected for the purposes of the present study comprised 133 students in the age group 18 to 23 enrolled for a course in Psychology 1 at the Rand Afrikaans University. The said experimental group was deemed to represent the population of Human Sciences students at this institution. Based on their final-marks for Psychology 1, these students were divided into two categories, namely students who achieved academic success and students who failed to achieve academic success. Following, both groups of students were subjected to the Emotional Intelligence Battery of tests. Hotelling's T2-test was then used to determine whether or not the mean vectors of the two groups differed from each other. The F-test was applied to determine whether or not the variances between the two independent groups were homogeneous. Student's t-test was used to determine whether or not there be a statistically significant difference between the two means in terms of the five sub-scales of the Emotional Intelligence Battery. A stepwise discriminant analysis was conducted to determine which of the five variables (viz. the Social Translations (CBT) sub-scale of the Four Factor Tests of Social Intelligence, the Hogan Empathy Scale (HIES), the Self—Control Schedule (SCS), the Neuroticism sub-scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the total score of the Adolescent Self-Concept Scale (ASCS)) to the greatest extent contributed towards the differences between the two criterion groups (viz. academically successful students; academically unsuccessful students). The results of Hotelling's T 2-test indicated that the Emotional Intelligence Battery did indeed differentiate between students who achieved academic success and those who failed to achieve academic success in the specified population. Statistically significant differences were found in the vectors of means of Group 1 (viz. students who achieved academic success) and Group 2 (viz. students who failed to achieve academic success) with respect to the five sub-scales of the Emotional Intelligence Battery taken together. Statistically significant differences were found between the means of the two groups in respect of both the Social Translations sub-scale of the Four Factor Tests of Social Intelligence and the Hogan Empathy Scale. No statistically significant differences were, however, uncovered between the means of the two groups in respect of the rest of the sub-scales of the Emotional Intelligence Battery. The results of the stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that the variables Test 1 (the Social Translations sub-scale of the Four Factor Tests of Social Intelligence) and Test 5 (the Adolescent Self-Concept Scale (ASCS)) contributed towards the discrimination between Group 1 (academically successful students) and Group 2 (academically unsuccessful students). All in all, 64.8% of the experimental subjects was correctly classified by the two variables. In the present study, research was only undertaken in respect of the link between certain aspects of emotional intelligence and academic success. The present study could, therefore, be deemed to constitude an exploratory study, as no other study has ever been undertaken in the domain of the processing of emotional content in academic success. It is recommended that future research subject academic performance to a multidimensional scrutiny, with emotional intelligence being one of the factors. Further, it is recommended that future research be undertaken to determine the skills and abilities of experimental subjects from different cultural backgrounds and of both sexes, and that a comparison be drawn between these subjects' abilities and skills and their emotional intelligence.
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Gender differences in the 16-PF five global factors among South African NPO volunteer workers : an exploratory study

Graphology and personality: a correlational analysis

  • Authors: Broschk, Sonja
  • Date: 2008-10-31T09:07:24Z
  • Subjects: Graphology , Personality
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:13888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1421
  • Description: M.A. , The title of this dissertation reads as follows: Graphology and Personality: A Correlational Analysis. The aim of this dissertation is to introduce a different projective technique (as of yet not very widely used) into the psychological arena of assessment. Graphology is a projective technique that allows the analyst to delve into the personality of the individual. Very shortly, graphology can be defined as the assessment or analysis of a person’s handwriting. When a child first attempts to learn his “A,B,C” at school, he/she is guided by what is known as the copybook. This book is a set guideline used to teach children how to write. The child is taught to model the letter in exactly the same way as depicted in the copybook. However, as the child grows and develops psychologically, so will the way he/she learnt the A,B,C develop into a more freely created skill. It is this ‘freedom’ of expression that allows the graphologist to delve extensively into the personality. The flexor and extensor muscles of the hand manually create the expression of handwriting, but the psychological expression stems from the psychological processes within the mind. These psychological processes are the starting points that lead to the distinct representation of handwriting by every single individual. Handwriting is therefore an actual expression of the mind and not just of the hand. Thus, one can use handwriting as a measure to determine personality, as once the individual has developed sufficiently, he/she will have a distinctive handwriting different to everyone else. Graphology is an analysis tool or projective technique, not limited to only certain areas of personality but to all areas of personality. This would include the intellectual sphere and consciousness of the person, the day-to-day workings and sociability of the individual, as well as the biological demands, such as physical activity, sexual urges, materialistic motivation and financial cravings, to name but a few aspects. What makes graphology such a proficient test, is the fact that within the dynamics of human nature, the same trait lends itself to different interpretations according to other characteristics that would reinforce, confirm or contradict the same. The dissertation thus introduces the many faceted areas of graphology and applies it to the personnel arena; i.e. the individual ‘tested’ for this dissertation is applying for a position as sales person. Graphology is then used to determine whether the individual has the specific character traits needed to be a successful sales person. In determining the proficiency of this test, the graphological test was compared to the Personal Profile Analysis (PPA). The PPA is a widely used test to determine personality traits, with specialisation in personnel recruitment. Consequently, the results were very similar to the results of the PPA, which claimed that the individual could be a successful sales person. However, the graphological assessment did offer slightly more in-depth insight into the personality traits, which could have a negative impact on this person’s work situation. In conclusion, the graphological assessment tool proved to be more efficient and effective in determining the character of the individual specifically within the sales person position. The aim of this dissertation is to prove that graphology is a highly effective and efficient tool that can be used in many areas (not just for personnel assessment), to determine character traits. The dissertation starts with the introduction into the field of graphology, including the hypothesis statement and the objectives of the study. This is then followed by a short historical narration of the Projective Technique. This includes the definition of a projective technique and the types of projective techniques. Graphology as a tool is introduced in this chapter, pertaining particularly to the test criteria, as well as placing graphology within the psychological context. The advantages and disadvantages are also highlighted. The next chapter introduces the origins of handwriting, going as far back as the primitive cave drawings. The chapter then moves through the ages pursuing the development of handwriting up until its development into the 20th century. The dissertation then delves into the evolution of graphology as a science and how beneficial this science could be within the psychotherapeutic process. This process is called grapho-therapy and can be shortly outlined as changing character traits by manipulating and charging handwriting features. The most important part follows this chapter, namely the methodology. This chapter illustrates the testing procedure and its scientific basis. The chapter describes many different formations of letters, the various connections between letters, the diacritics in writing, etc. The ensuing chapter is the actual comparison of the graphological assessment to the Personal Profile Analysis. The results show great similarity, depicting the graphological test as a viable tool and means of assessment. The graphological analysis however, goes one step further to show that there are subtle differences in the interpretation of the behaviour traits. The PPA is coded and the results are printed by means of a computer programme, whereas the graphological assessment is done manually and thus subtleties are picked up, that can have a very detrimental effect on the final results. In the case study of chapter 5, the individual was said to be gregarious by both the PPA, and the graphological analysis. However, the graphological analysis goes one step further to draw attention to the fact that this character trait is not genuine. The PPA claims it is genuine, but the graphological assessment shows how it is actually a falsity within the character of the individual. This is where the computer is unable to determine a disingenuous trait from a real one. For the computer a trait is a trait. However, the handwriting cannot lie – the same trait lends itself to different interpretations according to other characteristics that would reinforce, confirm or contradict the same. A computer cannot determine these subtle differences, as the human eye is able to. The last section of this dissertation discusses the possible recommendations and the actual conclusion. The recommendations are in the form of suggestions for further studies, to highlight the importance graphology can present to many professionals wanting to utilise it in their respective fields.
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Health behaviour, personality and irritable bowel syndrome

  • Authors: Stanley, Jean
  • Date: 2012-09-06
  • Subjects: Irritable colon - Research - South Africa , Irritable colon - Patients - Research - South Africa , Irritable colon - Psychosomatic aspects , Health behavior , Personality , Irritable colon - Patients - Personality
  • Type: Mini-Dissertation
  • Identifier: uj:9676 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7090
  • Description: M.A. , Although the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common conditions referred to gastroenterologists in the developed world, it remains one of the least understood and hence most enigmatic of the functional gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, which are disorders without identifiable structural and organic abnormalities. The more common names of IBS include "spastic colitis", "spastic colon" and "irritable colon", which highlight the most salient complaints of sufferers ranging from abdominal pain, bloating or distension, through to various symptoms of disordered defecation. The functional gastrointestinal disorders (GI) represent one of the greatest challenges for behavioural medicine for various reasons. Firstly, they are one of the many chronic disorders that accounts for more than half of all health problems in the developed world. Secondly, their causes, development and treatments are poorly understood; and thirdly, there is clearly a need for psychologically informed services. However, IBS can be conceptualized as a disorder that lends itself imminently to reinterpretation away from the biomedical model towards a more biopsychosocial paradigm, which conceptualizes the development of IBS to be a multicausal, complex process where both physiological and psychosocial processes are operative. According to Drossman and other gastroenterologists (Drossman et al., 1994) working within the biopsychosocial model, psychosocial mechanisms like the influence of culture, family, personality, health behaviours, life stressors and coping mechanisms act as modulators of biological states. These modulating or mediating factors shape symptom severity, medication use and healthcare seeking or illness behaviour and ultimately determine the individual's so called Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). Of these mediating factors, this study seeks to investigate the role that personality and health behaviours may play in IBS, given that the personality-gut relationship represents the ideal interface for the study of the mind-body link. Although past research suggests a strong role for personality influencing vulnerability to illness and illness progression, as well as health and health promotion (Booth-Kewley & Friedman, 1987; Marshal et al., 1994; Matthew & Haynes, 1986), the exact nature of this relationship has not yet been determined. However, based on Friedman's (1991) suggestion that personality operates through two routes, an internal route that links to stress and emotional dysfunction, and an external behavioural route, linked to personal lifestyle and habits of living, this study seeks to investigate whether certain personality dimensions and certain health behaviours can be associated with IBS. If any association can be discerned, then understanding the impact of personality through these two routes has enormous practical value for IBS sufferers.
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Holland's SDS classification system and temperament: a comparative study with estate agents

  • Authors: Graf, Nicolette
  • Date: 2008-11-06T07:23:33Z
  • Subjects: Personality , Temperament , Real estate agents , Vocational guidance
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:14588 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1511
  • Description: M.A. , Since personality plays a very important role in the choice of career, it was decided to undertake a study whereby the personality traits of individuals of a particular career, namely that of estate agent was explored. The purpose of the study therefore, is to determine whether there are statistically significant differences in certain personality dimensions between estate agents who according to Holland (1997) fit the estate agents category and estate agents who according to Holland (1997) do not fit the estate agents category. Career counselling is discussed on the basis of the current literature on the topic. Career counselling entails matching an individual’s interests and abilities to a suitable career. The viewpoints regarding career counselling that are discussed in this study are the Trait and Factor theory, the career developmental approach of Super (1953) and Holland’s (1997) occupational interest theory. Holland’s (1997) theory is conceptualised in depth as his theory plays a large role in the current study. Furthermore, because personality plays a large role in an individual’s decision of career, various temperament and personality theories are discussed. The factors differentiating temperament from personality have also been included. Finally the relationship between personality and work is explained. The sample group consisted of 44 estate agents who work at one of three branches of the same real estate agency in Johannesburg. Holland’s (1994b) Self Directed Search (SDS) was used to establish the specific occupational three letter code of each of the participating estate agents. This code was compared to the code found in the Occupations Finder (1994a) which specifies the code established by Holland (1994a) as the suitable code for estate agents, (namely ESI). Based on their SDS codes, the participants were divided into two groups. Group one consisted of estate agents who have either ‘ES’ or ‘SE’ as the first two letters of their occupational code, in other words the estate agents closely resembling Holland’s (1994a) code and therefore those that fit the estate agents category according to Holland (1994a). Group two consisted of estate agents whose first two letters of their occupational code were neither ‘ES’ or ‘SE’, in other words the estate agents who do not closely resemble Holland’s (1994a) code and therefore those who do not fit the estate agents category according to Holland (1994a).
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Investigating the factor structure of the South African Personality Inventory – English version

Job characteristics and burnout : the confounding and moderating effect of neuroticism

  • Authors: Thomas, Natasha F.
  • Date: 2012-06-05
  • Subjects: Job characteristics , Burn out (Psychology) , Neuroticism , Job demands , Job stress , Personality , Industrial psychology , Job Demands-Control-Support model , Job Content Questionnaire , Maslach Burnout Inventory , NEO Five-Factor Inventory
  • Type: Mini-Dissertation
  • Identifier: uj:2435 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4894
  • Description: M.Comm. , The main aims of this study were explored using the Job Demands-Control-Support (JDCS) model. The first aim was to test the isostrain and buffer hypothesis of the JDCS model. The second aim was to investigate the role that neuroticism played in the relationship referred to above. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample (N=644) represented a diverse range of working participants within the Gauteng region of South Africa. The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS), and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory Revised (NEO-FFI-R) were administered. In terms of the latter, only the items relating to neuroticism were analysed. The results indicated that job characteristics combined additively to predict burnout. Control moderated the relationship between demands and exhaustion. Neuroticism had a main effect on all three dimensions of burnout, and acted as a confounding variable in the relationship between demands and exhaustion. Neuroticism also acted as a buffer between demands and exhaustion, demands and cynicism, demands and professional efficacy, support and exhaustion and support and professional efficacy. The implications, limitations and recommendations relating to these results are discussed.
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Patrone van aggressie by Engelssprekende hoërskooldogters

Personality and Cognitive Ability as Predictors of the Job Performance of Insurance Sale People

  • Authors: La Grange, L , Roodt, Gert
  • Date: 2001
  • Subjects: Job performance , Cognitive ability , Customer contact styles quesstionaire , Personality , Customer Contact Competency Inventory , Verbal evaluation test
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:6416 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/122
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether personality and a measure of cognitive ability (’verbal reasoning ability’) would significantly predict the job performance (’managerial ratings’) of sales people in a large South African insurance company. The Customer Contact Styles Questionnaire (CCSQ 5.2) and the Verbal Evaluation Test (VCC 3) were administered to 170 broker consultants, and their managers rated their job performance on the Customer Contact Competency Inventory (CCCI). By making use of multiple regression analysis it was found that certain personality dimensions significantly predict job performance, and that ’verbal reasoning ability’ did not have any significant predictive power. These findings, the implications thereof and suggestions for possible further research are discussed.
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Personality and cognitive aspects of art students

Personality and job satisfaction : the moderating effect of psychological wellbeing

  • Authors: Jones, Natalie Laura Kingsley
  • Date: 2015-04-28
  • Subjects: Personality , Job satisfaction
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:13579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13723
  • Description: M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) , The main objective of the study was to investigate the moderating effect of psychological wellbeing on the relationship between personality and job satisfaction. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used. A survey was created using the shortened version of the Basic Traits Inventory, Ryff‟s Scale of Psychological Wellbeing and the shortened version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. The survey was distributed online and in hard copy to various organisations in South Africa (N=207). Results showed that the psychological wellbeing traits of self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life moderate the relationship between neuroticism and job satisfaction; personal growth moderates the relationship between extraversion and job satisfaction; and the relationship between conscientiousness and job satisfaction is moderated by self-acceptance, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. It was concluded that certain facets of psychological wellbeing serve to strengthen the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of personality traits on job satisfaction. It is thus advised that management consider the impact of employees‟ psychological wellbeing on their level of satisfaction at work, and create a working environment that is conducive to the personal growth and development of employees.
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Personality and work-home interaction among dual-earner couples in South Africa : testing an actor-partner interdependence model

  • Authors: Hill, Carin , Blunn, Lynne
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Work-home interaction , Personality , Actor-partner interdependence model
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/289900 , uj:31463 , Citation: Hill, C. & Blunn, L. 2018. Personality and work-home interaction among dual-earner couples in South Africa : testing an actor-partner interdependence model.
  • Description: Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effect of personality on work-home interaction crossover effects among dual-earner couples in South Africa. Dual-earner couples (n = 264; 132 couples) with young children were the participants. They completed measures on work-home interaction and personality respectively. Multilevel modelling was used to analyze predictions for six personality variables and four work-home interaction outcome variables. We also examined interaction effects between husbands’ and wives’ actor effects, as well as between their partner effects. Results suggest only wives’ Extraversion, Emotional Stability and Openness positively influenced husbands’ experience of work-home interaction. Workhome personality crossover actor effects were more pronounced for wives in that an increase in Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Extraversion would lead to a possible increase in the experience of positive work-home and home-work interaction and decrease in negative and work-home home-work interaction, depending on the personality factor. Partner effects were stronger for husbands in that an increase in Extraversion in wives will increase husbands’ experience of positive home-work interaction. A gendered effect appears to influence work-home interaction among South Africans working couple and important for interventions for balanced work and home lives.
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Personality as a predictor of risk-taking behaviour

  • Authors: Van Zyl, Casper J. J.
  • Date: 2014-02-05
  • Subjects: Risk-taking (Psychology) , Personality
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:3652 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9037
  • Description: M.A. (Psychology) , The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between personality and risk taking behaviour in the South African context. Personality was measured with the Basic Traits Inventory (BTl), an assessment specifically developed to measure the broad dimensions of the five factor model of personality (John & Srivastava, 1999) in South Africa. The five dimensions on the BTl have the same names as the well-known five factor model, namely: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the underlying personality structure across ten different forms of risk-related behaviour. The risk behaviours included smoking, alcohol consumption,.illegal drug use, sexual promiscuity, thrill-seeking activities, gambling, physical violence, romantic infidelity and other behaviours that may have led to a respondent being arrested. Given South Africa's unique population, a further objective ofthis study was to examine the degree to which the results from the study would be in line with those reported in so-called Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. The sample consisted of 683 respondents, all second-year students from a bilingual (Afrikaans and English) university in Johannesburg. There were 142 men and 538 women in the sample. Three of the respondents' gender was unknown. There were 425 White respondents, 120 Black respondents, 83 Indian respondents, 46 Coloured respondents and nine respondents who did not specify any population group. Respondents' mean age was 20.99 years with a standard deviation of5.10 years. The sample was not representative ofthe South African population, with men being underrepresented and White respondents overrepresented in comparison to other population groups. A multivariate technique, Descriptive Discriminant Analysis, was used to analyse personality differences across groups. The groups were formed based on the frequency with which individuals engaged in the different risk-behaviours. Post-hocanalyses allowed for a close rexamination of group differences. The results revealed that a single, statistically significant discriminant functionemergedfor all ten of the risk variables with the exceptionof one, for whichtwo possible discriminant functions were identified. This showed that different combinations of the five personality factors were, to some extent, able to account for group separation on each of the risk variables. Considering the results as a whole, some interesting findings were revealed: It became evident that no single personality structureexists across the different risk-variables of this study. It was clear that some personality factors were more important, whereas others were less important, depending on the type of risk-behaviour being considered. Despite these seeming differences, important patterns of personality emergedacross the risk-variables. Conscientiousness, and in particular, Extraversion were identified as the most salient predictors of the risk-behaviours in this study, although important contributions were also made by the remaining personality factors: Conscientiousness was further found to be the most important predictor of health-risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and druguse. In general, Opennessto Experience, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism appeared to be more selectively associated with specific risk-behaviours when compared to Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Overall, the findings reported in this study were largely in line with those reported in so called WEIRD countries. The results of this study further supported the generalisability of prior research regarding the relationship between personality and risk-taking. It also demonstrated the utility of the five factor model as a promising predictor of risky behaviour. For future research it is recommended that the facet-scale level of the BTl be used to further investigate the personality-risk relationship.
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