PSY/250 v11

Career Dispositions Self-Inventory Worksheet

PSY/250 v11

Page 3 of 3

Career Dispositions Self-Inventory Worksheet

Introduction

Refer to Ch. 13 in your textbook, Theories of Personality.

McCrae and Costa (Feist et al., 2021) theorized that personality traits can be categorized by five major factors:

· Openness

· Conscientiousness

· Extraversion

· Agreeableness

· Neuroticism

Like Allport, they claim that individuals will score at a specific point along a continuum for each of the five factors. For example, a high score in extraversion may reflect that someone is outgoing, or a low score may reflect that a person is reserved. Most people will score somewhere in the middle, with only a few who score at either of the extremes.

Combined, these factors can give us insight into recognizing and accepting our own dispositional traits, as well as those of others. Such an understanding of personality can help us self-reflect, predict behaviors, and demonstrate empathy in ways that can improve our relationships with colleagues in diverse workplace environments.

Part I: Trait Theories

In 125-175 words, explain how dispositional trait theories (Allport, McCrae and Costa) are different from biological trait theories (Eysenck and Buss). Why is it important to understand the difference?

Part II: Big Five Personality Test

Take the Big Five Personality Test to obtain a free basic report of your personality traits. Be honest with your answers so you can improve on your personal and work relationships. The report will display a graph that looks like this:

Provide your results below using one of the following methods:

· Type your results as a percentage for each trait.

· Create a chart or graph of your percentages.

· Take a screenshot of the graph of your results and paste it into this document.

Part III: Personality Trait Scores

Discuss each dimension of your personality based on the Big Five Personality Test report of your trait scores in 175–225 total words.

1. Summarize each dimension of your personality in 2-4 sentences; include examples of your behavior reflected in each dimension.

a) Openness:

b) Conscientiousness:

c) Extraversion:

d) Agreeableness:

e) Neuroticism:

2. How accurate do you believe the Big Five Personality Test is in its description of your personality? Explain your answer.

Part IV: Career Trait Dispositions

Every career requires a different set of skills and aptitudes. While it is important to know the skills required to succeed at a job, it is equally important to know the types of personalities that would best match that career.

Use your test results and apply your knowledge of dispositional and biological personality trait theories to respond to the following examples in 200-300 total words:

1. You have been invited to interview for a position as a salesperson in a retail store. Explain how well you would fit this role by describing your personality to the hiring manager.

2. You are considering a position as a bookkeeper for a small accounting firm. How well would your personality fare in this environment? Include at least one biological factor in your explanation.

3. National Geographic magazine is looking for a photographer. Which personality dimensions would require high scores to be successful in this position?

4. Based on the results of the Big Five Personality Test, what might be the ideal career for your personality? Why?

References

Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T. (2021). Theories of personality (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Example Graph of Test Results

Series 1 N A E C O 0.31 0.71 0.65 0.85 0.875 

Copyright 2021 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2021 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.