The study of man and his personality

The study of man and his personality

Introduction

You cannot talk about work without directly relating it to man, since this is the main subject, actor and beneficiary of any activity. In the historical evolution of business management it has been assigned a certain role within this system, and explicitly or implicitly it has always been the fundamental element in the development of different activities, because despite the technological level achieved by mechanization and automation in production or service processes, behind them there is always man.

Man is the main object and subject due to his active character, which at the same time transforms and is transformed in the development of the activity. When it is said to be the center of human resource management, it is analyzed in the integration of the cognitive, affective, physical and social spheres.

The focus on man must have a holistic character, and the selection contemplates all the spheres that make up man, not as a summation but in its synthesis and inter and inter-inter-sphere interrelations, in its involvement in a given environment and in the interrelation with other people. (Fig. 1)

There are several scientific disciplines that study man in the development of work activity, such as medicine, anthropology, physiology, law, pedagogy and others, but psychology in the development of the personnel selection process has always occupied a privileged position by the scope of its object.

SPHERES IN THE STUDY OF MAN

When reference is made to the existence of different spheres, the interrelation and dependence between all should be considered; that is to say, between the biological, the psychological and the social integrated in man, and it is this integration that reflects the capacity of a specific person or group of them to successfully carry out a certain activity. Talking about a whole has logic when there are parts, just as talking about parts makes sense when there is a whole; reason why it is necessary to value these links in a dialectical sense and to recognize their holistic and synergistic character. This involves analyzing the system and its components whose interactions acquire a different qualitative dimension.

PERSONALITY: INTEGRATION OF COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE SPHERES

A basic category in the study of man and which is vital in the personnel selection process is the personality category, since as Harre, R. and de Waele, J. (1979) point out: “Personality is the basis of competence social of the human being ”.

The study of personality is a central element within the selection of personnel, since it is the most genuine expression of the human being as a social being, due to its active and transforming character, and its self-regulating and regulatory role, considering the personality in its Integrated condition between the cognitive and the affective.

It is obvious that when one speaks of the existence of a cognitive and affective sphere, one is referring to the psychological and specifically to the personality, since this is the main manifestation of man in his involvement in the environment.

In the development of psychic activity, the existence of a set of psychic processes is observed, which can be classified as follows:

4 Cognitive: sensation, perception, attention, memory, imagination, thought and language.

4Affective-volitional: emotions, feelings, will, desires, aspirations.

But the study of man and his personality does not refer to atomizing him into a set of processes that occur in every human being, although some of these may manifest themselves at higher levels of integration, with a significant incidence in the successful development of a given activity. But they would never operate independently but integrated in synthesis, with a different character as part of a qualitatively superior configuration.

In many selection processes man is fragmented into isolated processes and it is sought which processes or combinations of these correlate with success; that is, the study of isolated qualities is made to predict success from these, on the basis of correlational models, trying to relate fragmented elements to the whole. Also, some specialists work mainly on the basis of categories and typologies, referring to the content and structural aspects, but they do not value the functional aspects expressed in the regulatory and self-regulatory functions of the personality.

Traditionally, in the psychology of work, the study of personality has been carried out on the basis of the analysis of the component elements of the so-called classical structure, which is elaborated on the basis of psychological content; thus, to explain the performance of the human being, the existence of components, such as temperament, character, capacities and the self, which do not express the differential elements in the development of the various activities by the subject, was raised; that is, people with the same content of personality achieve different results and others with different personal characteristics achieve the same results in the development of an activity. For example, being more or less cheerful, as an isolated trait, does not determine success in carrying out a position,reason why this approach does not allow to define the aspects of the personality that affect the performance of the man.

It is known that there is no single theory, but an entire mosaic, or perhaps to paraphrase Koontz, H. (1987), a veritable jungle of psychological theories, which in one way or another address the problem of personality. In this regard, Cowling, A. James, P. (1997) state: “Although most people will agree that personality is a very important factor that contributes to success or failure at work, less will agree about the nature of people and how it should be measured. " Here the debates around the biological and the social in the personality emerge, as well as the relationship between what is inherited and what is acquired and the appropriate methods for its evaluation.

There are different positions on personality in the different schools and psychological currents, and even within the same school, which leads to specify from which angle the use of this important category for psychology is projected, Wislack, G. (1988) proposes in its principles of psychodiagnosis, the principle of the conception of personality in which it reflects the need to guide the latter according to the prevailing conception of personality. Among the main approaches in the study of personality can be cited the theory of psychological types, the theory of traits, theories of development and theories of personality dynamics, among others.

There are multiple tendencies in the study of personality and the theoretical conception that is assumed has direct methodological implications in carrying out the selection diagnosis. In this sense, the following classification of different definitions of personality by Allport, G., (1963) is illustrative:

- Additives or buses: they focus on the personality as a sum of all the characteristics that it possesses and that define an individual.

-Integrative or configurational: characterized by the emphasis on structural aspects conceiving the personality as an organized whole.

-Hierarchical: establish a hierarchical order where some structures serve as the basis for others.

-In terms of adjustment: they refer as a central element to the role of personality adaptation.

-Based on distinctiveness: they emphasize individuality, the differentiation of individuals.

Also interesting is Morales, J. (1995) classification of the different theories in the study of personality in:

-Internalist theories: they emphasize the determination of behavior based on internal factors. Within these, it distinguishes biological theories where it includes those that emphasize genetic, anatomophysiological, neurological functional typology and endocrine function (Krestchmer, Sheldon); the psychological ones which include procedural or state theories, which highlight states or mechanisms of a cognitive or affective nature as intrapsychic forces (Freud), and structural theories that emphasize aspects related to the organization and ordering of factors integrating personality (Trait Theory, Cattell, Allport, Eysenck)

-Situationist theories: they explain human behavior from external situations. A faithful expression of these is the following behaviorism and formulations by Skinner, B. (1971): “We cannot explain the behavior of any system if we are completely situated within it. Finally we have to resort to the forces that influence the organism from the outside. ”

-Interactionist theories: its basis lies in the conception of personality as a function of the interrelation between personal characteristics and situations. They emphasize the active character of the subject, the leading role of cognitive processes and the meanings that the medium acquires for it.

These classifications have a limited character since they do not depart from the essential elements of an ontological, philosophical and epistemological order that define the character of a psychological theory, and they intermingle opposing categories and conceptions of personality, or there are theories that can be classified into several of the established categories. However, they show some common elements in the definitions proposed by the different authors, and serve as an illustration of the existing conceptual panorama.

It is impossible in a work of this type to approach in depth the theoretical conceptions of the different authors; however, it is necessary to highlight among all the students of personality in the West, in relation to the selection of personnel for their theoretical and methodological contributions, from different positions, the works of G. Allport, C. Rogers, and A. Maslow, exponents of humanistic psychology that has made great contributions to the study of personality; those of R. Cattell, who adopts as a theoretical conception of personality the theory of traits which he classifies as aptitude, temperamental and dynamic, taking into account their degree of generality; its origin (constitutional or environmental) and its significance (superficial or causal). The creation of different psychological techniques such as IPAT stands out in this author.the 16 PF Personality Inventory based on factor analysis. We can also mention H. Eysenck, who, taking into account the postulates of W. Wundt, C. Jung, and J. Guilford, establishes that the basis of individual differences can be described based on two main dimensions: neuroticism and extraversion..

Despite differences with respect to some of the formulations, the value of the work carried out by these specialists and their contributions to the development of this category is recognized.

Marxist psychology from its theoretical approaches and developed investigations has made significant contributions to the study of personality, and although there is a common philosophical basis, there are different trends in addressing this important object of study of psychology.

In a study by Shorojova, E. (1985) the main trends of Soviet psychology in the study of personality are analyzed:

• Complex approach of the sciences that study man: evidences the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the study of personality.

• Individual approach: although they start from the social character of the personality, they emphasize the study of the particularities of the concrete human being. • Approach to practical disposition: prioritizes the principle of the practical theory relationship, directing your attention to the study of personality in its actions in practice.

• Socio-psychological orientation in the study of personality: it does not reduce the psyche to a set of common elements. Shorojova, E. (1985) raises among the main tasks object of study of this tendency: the study of the social determination of the psychic character of the personality; the social motivation of the behavior and the activity of the personality in the different socio-historical and socio-psychological conditions; the class, national and professional characteristics of the personality; the regularities of the formation and manifestation of the social activity of the personality; the ways and means to increase this activity; the social status of the personality; position and value orientation systems; the problems of the internal disappointment of the personality and ways for its elimination;the self-education of the process of the formation of the psychic character of the personality of a certain socio-historical formation.

• Study of personality on the basis of the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity: these categories are basic in the study of this object and have a transcendental methodological value in the study of personality when carrying out the analysis of related aspects. with the process and content in the formation of personality. This trend starts from the postulates of L. Vygotsky, A. Leontiev, S. Rubinstein, on the activity proposing the active character of the personality, within which needs and motives are the central axis. A. Leontiev, places the hierarchy of motives as the nucleus of the personality and gives attitudes an essential role. In this direction it raises:"Personality is a new psychological formation that develops in the vital attitudes of the individual as a result of the transformation of his activity." In this approach to personality based on activity, it is emphasized that this is not only formed from the actions that take place in the subject-object relationship, but as Abuljánova, K. points out, the activity that is produces between the subjects, the relationships established between them.

• Structural systemic approach: it is perhaps the current point of contact in which the students of the personality of the most dissimilar philosophical and epistemological positions currently coincide. This approach has as its main representatives of Soviet psychology K. Platonov, B. Ananiev, A. Kovaliov, V. Miasischev, and V. Merlin. Although they have as antecedents the formulations of L. Vigotsky.

Without pretending to exhaust a problem of this dimension, it is necessary to address and assume our position in this regard.

Despite the differences of a philosophical, ontological and epistemological nature in the different approaches to the study of personality, related elements can be distinguished that can guide, on the basis of a common position, the construction of integrated knowledge around this important category for the psychology.

For several years, a critical analysis and reconceptualization of this category has been taking place, derived from the limited nature and insufficiencies of the prevailing reductionist approaches, of a biological and sociological nature in the conception and use of it, in which representatives of the more dissimilar theories.

When the term personality is used, reference is made to the integrated psychological expression of man and its manifestations in the different activities of social life in its involvement in the environment. Among the main current approaches in the study of personality should be understood the integral character seen with a holistic approach, expressed in the systemic-configurational approach; your individuality; reflex character; the social character; the unity of the cognitive and the affective; the search for integrative synthesis by explaining it; the active character of the subject in the construction of the personality and its regulatory and self-regulatory function.

It is evident that the representatives of different theoretical-methodological orientations focus on the need to guide the study of personality, in order to place the psychological subject at the center of the personality construction process. In this sense, Rubinstein, S. (1979) states: "in his condition as a person, man presents himself as a 'unit' in the system of social relations, as a social subject of these relations" and adds "man's aptitudes are accustomed they are not manufactured without your participation. ”

The assumed theoretical approach projects the categories and the dynamics of the personality on the basis of a historical-cultural and configurational approach, where there is an interrelation between the social, structural, content and functional aspects, which allows the systemic approach of the man-work relationship. This approach bases the structure of the personality on the basis of integration in different configurations: the primary psychological units, the psychological formations and the regulatory syntheses as an integrating process ascending to higher levels of complexity. These subsystems are an expression of the unity of the cognitive and the affective. González, F. and Mitjáns, A. (1989) define these categories as follows:

"-Primary psychological units. These constitute a relatively stable cognitive-affective integration, which acts immediately on behavior in situations, linked to its regulatory action. The level of mediatization exerted by the personality on them depends on the level of regulation in which it operates.

-Psychological training. They are basically defined by the category of complex motivational training, used to designate formations that we have empirically investigated, such as professional intentions, moral ideals, and self-worth. The content of the motivational training always appears elaborated by the subject, constituting a personalized information system to consciously operate with said content realizing the motivational potential of the same in highly elaborated strategies, evaluations and objectives. In their motivational basis, psychological formations are supported by motives that occupy a high place in the motivational structure of the personality, which we call guiding tendencies,which unite within the same system of meaning other needs and more unspecific and less hierarchical motivations, which find their way of expression in these psychological formations.

-Regulatory synthesis. The own systemic character of the personality determines that its elements and formations are integrated into different psychological configurations simultaneously, those that have a particular relevance in the regulation of behavior. "

Especially important in the personnel selection process is the conception and formulation of functional indicators, among which González F. and A. Mitjáns (1989) define the following:

"-Stiffness-flexibility. It is the flexibility or not of the subject to reorganize, reconceptualize and reassess the different psychological contents of her personality; their ability to change decisions, projects and adapt them to new demands and situations, as well as to change concrete behavior strategies and alternatives.

-Temporary structuring of a psychological content. Ability to organize and structure the contents in a future dimension so that they are effective in the exercise of the present regulatory functions of the personality. The future organization of a content is an essential element for its current regulatory potentialities.

-Mediatization of cognitive operations in regulatory functions. It is the subject's ability to actively and consciously use cognitive operations to regulate behavior. In this sense, reflection, evaluative processes, the possibilities of complex elaboration of the subject and others are essential, which allow the individualized and conscious approach of the essential directions in which the personality expresses itself.

-Ability to structure the field of action. It is the capacity of the subject to organize diverse alternatives of behavior before new and ambiguous situations. The individual is able to configure situations and get involved in them, optimizing the relevant personalized information available to them.

-Active conscious structuring of the regulatory function of personality. The individual makes a stable volitional effort, aimed at raising awareness of the main issues associated with the expression of their essential tendencies as a personality. In the face of negative or inexplicable experiences, the individual strives to establish an explanatory criterion that allows him to structure his field of action.

These formulations, together with the analysis of the levels of regulation of the personality on the basis of the level of consciousness with which the subject acts, constitute the axis of the conception of the personality used in this projection of systems of personnel selection and vital element in its development.

In the study of personality based on personnel selection, there are a set of particular motivational formations that are of interest when evaluating the main aspects that guide and sustain the performance of subjects in different activities, such as: interests, that they reflect the affective inclination towards knowledge of different spheres of social life; aspirations, which express the orientation of the personality in order to achieve future objectives and within these the ideals, such as the conception of a model of action of the subject that includes its main future actions and the intentions expressed in the plans and projects of action that guide the behavior of the subject;the self-assessment that is motivational training at its highest regulatory level in which the subject values ​​qualities and guides them based on the achievement of certain objectives. All this together with the will, as an expression of perseverance, perseverance, independence, decision, strength and self-control in the subject's orientation to achieve a goal.

There are also syntheses where the integration of cognitive and affective aspects is expressed at the highest level, such as: the convictions that express the orientation of man's activity on the basis of his principles and points of view and are an expression of personal integrity; lifestyle, seen as the systematic way of acting man, in its manifestations in the different spheres of life and the meaning of life, as the complex motivational form, which expresses the higher levels of orientation of the hierarchy of motives, manifests the supreme objective of the subject's life and governs its orientation.

It is necessary in the study of the subject, with a view to carrying out the personnel selection processes, to know what their main needs, motives and other psychological formations are, since they reveal the orientation and strength of the direction of behavior, which has a direct impact on the development of the activity by the subject. And although some authors based on a positivist approach and an empiricist and instrumentalist orientation analyze the influence of personological aspects based on the results of statistical techniques, and point out the existence of low levels of correlation between factors of a personological nature and success in the development of an activity, it is obvious that the incidence of motivational factors does not occur in isolation,because only with motivation is an activity not successfully carried out, but this is the result of the interrelation of aspects of a cognitive and affective nature.

COGNITIVE SPHERE

The success in the development of an activity is the result of the set of interrelated factors, whose final product is not an addition of the component parts; however, it is necessary in the study of man to make abstractions in order to assess the relative influence on the performance achieved in the development of an activity.

Among the factors to which great importance is attributed, and to which greater attention has been paid in psychology, are aspects of the cognitive sphere, as an executing dimension in the regulation and self-regulation of personality. Although it is true that having a certain development of knowledge and skills facilitates the performance of an activity, it can be affirmed that in isolation, without integration with other factors it is not enough, especially when the work activity is not an abstraction that is based only on the level of execution, but it is a social activity that has multiple requirements.

In this direction Rubinstein, S. (1976) points out: “This is how the theoretical premises have been created that lead to not worrying about the formation of people, the development of their faculties, and thinking, essentially, about the selection of individuals who, by virtue of certain conditions given spontaneously, they are suitable for certain professions ”and he adds:“ this structure of the aptitudes explains the difficulties with which one collides in life when evaluating the capacity of people. It is generally estimated taking into account its performance. In turn, it depends directly on man having a well-regulated and precisely functioning system, on the corresponding operations or forms of action in the given sphere. ”

Among the main cognitive aspects that are integrated into the assessment of the candidates' requirements are: intelligence, abilities, aptitudes, knowledge, and we incorporate other indicators such as years of experience, level of education and qualification technique, elements that may appear significantly as requirements or generally integrated into certain competencies.

In the historical course of psychology, emphasis has been placed on the study of the cognitive sphere due to its guiding role, together with the personality inducing sphere at the levels of execution reached in the development of the activity and a A reflection of its significance is the emergence of cognitive psychology.

It is obvious that the study of the cognitive sphere cannot be restricted to the so-called movement that has as its central element the conception of the human being as an information processor and the simile of the computer, nevertheless, that this paradigm has monopolized at the end of Cognitive Psychology.

According to de Vega, M. (1984): "Information processing theorists are interested in describing and explaining the nature of mental representations, as well as determining the role they play in the production of human actions and behaviors."

For Gardner, H., (1987) the scientist who studies cognition considers that it "must be described in terms of symbols, schematics, images, ideas and other forms of mental representation."

On the other hand Lachman, R. and Buttfield, E. (1979) formulate that the information processing takes place by means of: “a few relatively basic symbolic operations, such as coding, comparing, locating, storing, etc., can ultimately, to account for human intelligence and the capacity to create knowledge, innovations and perhaps expectations regarding the future ”.

In the study of intelligence today, it is necessary to highlight the role played by the movement called cognitive psychology, which has emphasized the introduction of different models of information processing. An example of these is the Norman model, D. (1987) according to which all cognitive systems, animated or artificial, must have the following elements:

-A way to receive information: receivers

-A way to execute actions in the world: motor system

- Cognitive processes that include:

.A way to interpret and identify information received by recipients

.A way to control the actions that are executed

.A way to guide the distribution of cognitive resources when needs

exceed the possibilities

.A memory of actions and experiences.

These cognitive processes imply that:

-Because the resources are finite, some type of distribution of

resources (care)

-The participation of a working memory is required (short term)

-An interpreter and feedback mechanisms that allow observing the

operations in the world and modify them

-Some way to self-generate plans and control their operation, this requires

levels of knowledge (metaknowledge)

-For intelligent action there must be a model of the environment, of oneself and

of the others

-You have to learn and self-modify your behavior and knowledge

In the panorama of the study of capabilities, the existence of four main trends can be distinguished: factorialist, in which the mathematical statistical analysis of the factors prevails, which reveal sources of individual differences, one of the main orientations in the study of this object and that it still has followers; the behaviorist and neoconductista that emphasizes the results and the observable aspects and modifications, abstracting from the processes and treating man as a black box; Cognitivist, which explains cognitive activity focused on internal mental mechanisms and processes, and the dialectical materialistic approach, which conceives capacities from the development of the activity in which the dialectical relationship of the biological and the social, of the internal and external.

It should be noted that the formulations of the authors who studied intelligence on the basis of factor analysis dominated the approaches in the study of the cognitive sphere until the 1960s, except for formulations of another order such as those of J. Piaget, for the which the "function of intelligence is the construction of cognitive structures that correspond to reality and allow man to know" and whose final expression of the development of intelligence is the acquisition by the individual of a set of logical operations- mathematics that as an intellectual instrument allows knowledge of reality ", and L. Vigotsky, from whom we can highlight his studies on thought and language, and his formulations on the role of activity, mediation, the law of double training,the law of development and the zone of proximal development and the cultural historical approach impact the current landscape of psychology. However, factor analysis was the dominant position in the study of this sphere in the personnel selection process.

Within the cognitive sphere, special attention has been paid to the study of abilities and in particular to the study of intelligence. There are multiple definitions and approaches around intelligence. According to Mayer, R. (1986) the main trends in the study of intelligence define it as: ability to learn, manipulate, process and represent symbols, ability to adapt to new situations and ability to solve problems.

Among contemporary scholars of intelligence is Sternberg, R. (1985) who argues that individual differences depend fundamentally on the efficiency of the coding and comparison of processes and points out that a comprehensive theory of intelligence must contemplate a large number of processes components, and that these must be related not only to academic intelligence, but also to practical intelligence. For this author, the components that explain intelligence can be organized into 4 clusters:

-Ability to learn and benefit from the experience

-Ability to think or abstract reasoning

-Ability to adapt to situations of change and uncertainty.

-Ability to self-motivate and quickly execute the tasks that are necessary.

Stemberg, R. (1985) elaborated a classification model of the components of the operative processes in the solution of problems which is conformed by the following elements:

-Metacomponents: High-level control processes, used for executive planning and decision-making in problem solving

-Metacomponents of realization: Processes that execute the plans and implement the decisions selected by the metacomponents.

-Acquisition of metacomponents: Processes involved in the acquisition of information previously stored in memory. Processes involved in learning new experiences.

-Transfer components: Processes involved in the transfer of the retained information, from one situation to another.

Another representative of the so-called cognitive psychology, whose theories have reached great diffusion is Gardner, H. (1993); On the basis of the cognitive operations involved, the appearance of wonders, cases of psychophysiological damage, the manifestations in different types of culture and the possible course of development evolution proposes the existence of seven types of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, intrapersonal and interpersonal.

Of interest for the selection of personnel is the classification made by Maker, J. (1982) of skills based on the theory of J. Guilford, and describes the main manifestations that characterize the existence of each of the talents by him. raised, including: creative talent, decision-making talent, planning talent, predictive talent and communication talent.

In the study of cognitive abilities and processes in general, the role played by Soviet psychology is highlighted, in the definition of the theoretical bases that guide the study of this important sphere in the performance of the human being. Its main representatives include L. Vigotsky, D. Elkonin, V. Davidov, P. Galperin, B. Ananiev, S. Rubinstein, A. Leontiev, A., and B. Tieplov, among others.

The principles of Marxist psychology acquire special methodological value, by evaluating the epistemological aspects that impact the current panorama of psychology, related to the selection of personnel, where the theory of activity and the definition of the main qualities of psychological processes in formulating their objective, ideal, subjective and reflex character.

It is important in the study of capacities, to know its structure in order to determine the incidence levels, either relatively directly, of independent processes, or integrated into configurations at a higher operational level. We consider that it is necessary to approach the study of capabilities from a functional and systemic configurational perspective from a structural point of view.

We start from the analysis of the structure of capacities, from the distinction made by Rubinstein, S. (1986) that distinguishes a nuclear or procedural subsystem, made up of the different psychological processes of a cognitive order, such as: perception, attention, memory, thought and language, and which serve as the basis for the operational subsystem in which different processes are integrated in skills and habits, which express the actions of the subject in the development of different activities.

In relation to the cognitive processes and the study of their participation in the construction of the subject's knowledge, with a view to the selection of personnel, it is important to specify the indicators from which they are expressed, as is the case of thought, which has generalizing qualities by impacting the projection of the human being, and logical processes become general skills that integrate intelligence, which also participate in the development and manifestation of different specific capabilities such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction and generalization; likewise the existence of qualities that characterize it, such as: independence, fluidity, flexibility, originality, level of elaboration, depth, consecutiveness, productivity and economy of resources,speed.

Despite the evident interrelation between the terms abilities, intelligence, abilities and aptitudes, we consider that there are differential elements that advise their distinction.

Capacities are elements of the executing sphere in which the integrity of the cognitive and the affective in the personality are expressed at a high level. They are the system of integrated processes, psychological units, formations and synthesis that express the faculties of man to successfully carry out a certain activity. We can distinguish within capacities the existence of a general capacity which is generally called intelligence, and specific capacities linked to the development of certain activities.

There are multiple definitions of intelligence. We consider this as the general intellectual capacity, which not only reflects the potential of performance in the academic sphere, but also permeates the actions of the human being in the diversity of activities that he develops in the course of his life and which is characterized by the ability of solution of problems expressed in the possibility of identifying problems, analyzing, evaluating and interpreting their causes, generating potential solutions and choosing the most suitable ones, planning, organizing and implementing their solution as well as controlling and adapting their actions based on the feedback received; all with the appropriate use of resources of different kinds.

There is a close relationship between abilities, skills, knowledge and habits. Petrovsky, A. (1985) defines skills as: "mastering a complex system of psychic and practical actions necessary for a rational regulation of activity with the help of the knowledge and habits that the person possesses".

There are many classifications of skills, but the subdivision made by Fitts, P, and Posner, M. (1968) when they value the experiences developed by W. Bryan, and M. Harter, in 1899, on the development of skills in the learning of telegraphic transmission and reception, in which there is a need to use perceptual-motor and linguistic skills, making the following classification:

Skills can be classified according to their nature: intellectual, theoretical or mental and physical or motor, and we consider it necessary to include the existence of interpersonal skills in a differentiated way; according to the content: sports, work, teachers, professionals and according to its scope: general and specific.

Also of interest in the evaluation of the subject are the habits and knowledge they possess and their potential to develop them. We conceive habits as the manifestations that express the automation of certain operations in the development of the activity, while the knowledge expresses the acquisition by man of the theoretical and methodological aspects of the culture socially elaborated in the different spheres of social life.

On the other hand, skills are preconditions for the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills, which allow the development of certain skills based on an activity. The aptitudes exist as potentialities and include the anatomical-physiological dispositions in their involvement and development in the environment, linked to personal experience; This combination presumes that a certain person has the powers to successfully train and carry out an activity.

It is important not only to assess the current state, but also the aspects related to the development of capacities, and the learning potentials together with the fact of having received the guiding basis of the activity, in order to really determine whether or not the subject possesses the possibilities that guarantee the successful performance of the activity, in which L. Vigotsky's formulations on dual training and the zone of proximal development acquire particular relevance.

The regulating and self-regulating aspect of the cognitive sphere should be highlighted as the executing dimension of the personality, which is an expression of the integration of the cognitive and the affective.

AFFECTIVE SPHERE

An essential characteristic of personality is its integrity; However, two dimensions can be identified in its structure: executor and inducer. Today it is generally recognized that success in carrying out an activity does not only depend on possessing certain knowledge and skills, but it is also necessary to have the disposition, guidance and deployment of the energy necessary to achieve the proposed objectives. In this regard, the words of Rubinstein, S. (1986) are very eloquent when he states: “However, when observing people in life, one cannot avoid the impression that performance and skills do not coincide directly and mechanical, so that apparently exceedingly gifted people do not deliver what they promise, while other individuals apparently not very well endowed,they are extremely productive. ” This reflects the influence of other integrated factors that are not just cognition.

Man in the development of different activities in his involvement in the environment, not only knows, but in that interaction manifests certain attitudes towards other people, objects and phenomena, which in turn influence the orientation of the activity.

In this direction Schein, E. (1993), states: “A large number of researchers have shown that a high level of motivation, the tendency to want to do things for the benefit of the organization and the need to influence others through a 'interpersonal competence' is relevant to managerial success. ”

Personal characteristics and traits as isolated psychological units do not determine per se, the success in the development of an activity. Personality is undivided; it is a conjugation of cognitive and affective elements; That is why it has been reiterated that certain qualities acquire influence on behavior, from their functional integration. Only from the point of view of research is it possible to abstract certain factors and use specific techniques to know their state. In the affective sphere it is important to determine the facilitating qualities for the performance of an activity, and the possible presence of significant personality alterations that hinder the development of the work process.

These elements of a cognitive or affective nature are valued based on certain integrative syntheses based on performance, but it is not idle to know the level at which these units manifest themselves because they can acquire a significant character within a synthesis.

Among the main elements that make up the affective sphere, we can point out: needs, motives, interests, aspirations, personal characteristics and emotional balance.

Activity theory is especially relevant in the analysis of this sphere, considering man as an active being, starting from the need-motive relationship as an activating element of behavior. It is in this link with other people, objects and phenomena that are they form certain attitudes, from which a whole series of motivational formations are configured.

Motivation can be defined as complex psychological training, which expresses the inducing dimension of the personality, which has an evident regulatory and self-regulating function, and manifests its guiding tendency through needs and the hierarchy of motives.

Needs are the state of lack of the individual, which induces him to satisfy them depending on the conditions of his existence, and the reasons are the objects, people or processes that respond to one or another need, and that reflected in one form or another by the subject, it conducts its activity.

Motivation for work has been the subject of study of occupational psychology since its inception; thus since the emergence of administration as a science, it has been conditioned by the following question: what is it that moves man in the development of work activity?

Different specialists address the aspects related to human motivation, Maslow, A. (1954) raised the existence of a pyramid of needs, establishing a hierarchy in which he placed physiological needs at the base, followed by safety needs, membership, esteem needs and fulfillment needs. There is consensus among specialists that there is a hierarchy of needs, but Maslow is criticized for prescribing an order when the hierarchy of needs really varies in people. Alderfer, C. (1972) groups Maslow's needs into three basic categories: needs for existence, to which he links physiological and security needs; needs to relate to other people,in which it includes the need for belonging and esteem and the needs for personal growth, in which it incorporates the needs for fulfillment.

On the other hand Mc Clelland, D. (1961,1976) classifies the needs in: achievement, power and affiliation, as the main forms of manifestation of the motivation of people at work, meaning in the case of achievement the tendency to achieve high results in the development of the different activities; in the one of power as the search for positions of authority and leadership and in that of affiliation it refers to those people who guide their activity from interpersonal relationships.

The works of Herzberg, F. (1966) in the study of the factors that determine work motivation are also well known, where he makes a distinction between hygiene and motivating factors. Herzberg argues that working conditions, wages, job security and existing human relations are a manifestation of occupational hygiene, the absence of which can cause dissatisfaction, but are not motivating elements. For him, the recognition and achievement achieved, the promotion and personal development, the responsibility and the work itself represent satisfactory work.

The importance of the role of human motivation in the development of work activity, is highlighted in the classification made by D. Mc Gregor of the different management systems based on the conception of human nature and the factors that move man In the development of work activity, he thus distinguished the so-called X and Y theories and later W. Ouchi, would include the so-called Z theory based on the experiences of Japanese management. These classifications of needs have been investigated and introduced into practice, despite their limited nature.

From the theoretical and methodological point of view of selection, the following classification of needs is useful:

-Physiological: hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, movement, breathing.

-Security: physical and socio-occupational.

-Of articles produced socially.

-Socials themselves: recognition, affection, belonging, esteem, achievement.

When studying human motivation, the classification of motives is important. González, V. and others (1995) propose the following:

-By its manifestation: interests, convictions, aspirations, ideals, intentions, self-evaluations

-By its content: cognitive, labor, artistic

-By your level of consciousness: conscious, unconscious

-By its polarity: positive and negative

-According to its stability: stable, unstable

-Because of its generality: general or broad and particular or narrow

-By its hierarchical influence: rectors or dominant and secondary or subordinate.

It is vital to know the personality and motivations of a person to determine what are the main needs and motives, that is, the configuration of the hierarchy of these, in order to assess the main dynamic elements of their behavior.

Among the affective type, character stands out, which has traditionally been considered the generalizing expression of the affective sphere, which integrates, from the hierarchy of motives, the main needs, attitudes and personal characteristics that express the relationship of man. with other men, objects and phenomena.

SOCIAL SPHERE

It may seem redundant to speak of a social sphere when alluding to man, since it starts from the principle that he is a social being par excellence; but it is not about the internal factors refracted through the involvement of man in the environment and that nuance the essence of his personality, but in the manifestation and the external image that he projects in accordance with the prevailing norms and values, oriented fundamentally, in this case, those who characterize the culture of the organization to which the candidate aspires to join and that of the environment, their social and family status, the prestige they possess, the exemplary nature that they manifest and their social behavior seen in terms of the selection requirements.

Life is the main criterion of truth and the reflection of man's activity, his lifestyle, his position in life; That is why we must pay special attention to the assessment of the candidate's social behavior, his degree of incorporation and participation in the different spheres of social life. In this sense, in the case of some specific positions, it is necessary to carry out an in-depth verification process on the conduct maintained by the candidate during the course of his life.

PHYSICAL SPHERE

When referring to the physical sphere in man, the great controversies appear around the role of biological aspects in the personality of the human being.

Man is born with a physical configuration, whose further development is conditioned by his involvement in the social environment. That is why a physical sphere with certain characteristics can be identified, which are carriers of individual differences, many of which can be erected in demands or conditions for the development of a certain activity.

Among the main physical characteristics that may be requirements for the development of work activity are physical constitution, height, complexion, skills, body weight, physical vigor, strength, age, sex, and physical appearance. Likewise, motor skills may be a specific requirement for certain occupations and there are different methods and techniques for their study, ranging from carrying out work samples, pencil and paper tests and devices. It has been shown that having a high development in these skills is a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one, to successfully carry out an activity that has this requirement, but is conjugated with other complex qualities that intervene in its development.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS.

In the case of the valuation of man according to the development of an activity, given its complexity, there are the most dissimilar theoretical approaches, which conditions the methodological orientation in its study.

Personality can be identified, a predominant, systemic trend. The study of man with a holistic approach in which the elements of the cognitive, affective, physical and social spheres are integrated into a whole. This convergence towards a systemic approach with a holistic configurational character in the study of man extends to the man-work interrelation, whose clearest expression is competencies, as an expression of the integration of the objectives and the expected results in the execution of a activity, with the human demands that determine the success in its execution.

There are, in turn, a whole set of complex psychological formations, which express from different angles the orientation of people's behavior

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alderfer, C. (1972): Existence, relatedness, and growth: Human needs in organizational setting, Ed. Free Press, New York.

Allport, W. (1963): Pattern and Grouth in Personality, Ed. Holt, New York.

________. (1969): Personality. Its configuration and development, Ed. Herder, Barcelona.

Alonso, A. (1989): “Some applications of LS Vigotsky's theory in Clinical Psychology”, Cuban Journal of Psychology, Havana, 15 no.2.

Ananiev, B. (1978): "On the correlation of abilities and intelligence", in Selection of psychology of abilities readings, Ed. University of Havana.

Anastasi, A. (1977): Psychological tests, Ed. Pueblo and Education, Havana, 644 pp.

Araoz, D. and W. Sutton (1994): Reengineering yourself, Ed. Bob Adams, Inc., USA

Arias, G. (1991): "Measurement in Psychology: An urgent reflection, Cuban Journal of Psychology", vol. VIII, no. 2-3

Atkinson, R. et al. (1993): Introduction to Psychology, Ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., USA

Beltrán, M. (1994): The analysis of social reality. Research methods and techniques, Ed. Alianza Universidad Textos, Madrid, 604pp.

Bermúdez, J (1994): Psychology of Personality, Ed. UNED, Spain.

Bridges, W. (1996): How to Create New Opportunities, Ed. Prentice Hall, California.

Bruner, J. (1987): The importance of education, Ed. Paidós, Spain.

Calero, M. (1995): Modification of intelligence, Ed. Pirámide, Madrid.

Calviño, M. Compiler (1983): Motivation and affective processes. Selection of readings. Faculty of Psychology, University of Havana.

Carroll, J. (1982): The measurement of intelligence, in: Stern¬berg, R., Human Intelligence, Ed. Paidós, Madrid.

Casales, J. (1989): Social Psychology. Contribution to her study, Ed. Social Sciences, Havana.

Castellanos, D. and M. Córdova (1982): Towards a conception of intelligence, Ed. Light impressions, ISPEJV, La Habana,.

Castellanos, D. (1990): The conception of intellectual capacities in the focus of information processing, III Colloquium on Intelligence, Havana.

Cattell, R. (1972): The scientific analysis of personality, Ed. Fontanela, Barcelona.

Cerny, V. And T. Kollarik, (1990): “Compendium of psychodiagnostic methods”, Psichodiagnostika, Czechoslovakia.

Champy, J. (1996): Reengineering in management, Ed. Norma, Colombia, 244 pp.

Coll, C. et al (1985): Jean Piaget: the development of intelligence and the construction of rational thought, Ed. Paidós, Madrid.

Córdova, M. (1992): Intelligence and capacity in the cultural-historical approach, Ed. Light impressions, ISPEJV, Havana.

Cronbach, L. (1968): Foundations of psychological exploration, Ed. Revolutionary, Havana. 606 p.

D Angelo, O. (1990): “Life project and self-realization in professional activity”, Cuban Journal of Higher Education, vol 11, no. 3, Havana.

De la Torre, C. (1991): Current issues in the history of psychology, Ed. ENPES, Havana

De Vega, M. (1984): Introduction to cognitive psychology, Ed. Alianza, Madrid.

De Waele, J. and R. Harre (1976): The personality of individuals, Ed. Basil Blackwell

Dussel, E. (1985): The theoretical projection of Marx, Ed. Siglo XXI, Mexico.

Engels, F. (1979): Dialectic of nature, Political Ed., Havana.

Eysenck, H. (1947): Dimensions of personality, Ed. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.

Fernández, R (1980): Psychodiagnosis: Concept and methodology, Ed. Cincel, Madrid.

Flavell, J. (1984): Cognitive development, Ed. Visor, Madrid, 1984.

Freud, S. (1973): "The instincts and their destinies". Complete works, Ed. New Library, Madrid.

Gardner, H. (1987): The new science of the mind: history of cognitive psychology, Ed. Paidós, Barcelona.

_________ (1993): The unschooled mind, Ed. Paidós, Spain. 292 pp.

Goleman, D. (1997): Emotional intelligence. A revolutionary theory that redefines or that is to be intelligent, Ed. Objetiva, Rio de Janeiro

González, D. (1995): Theory of motivation and professional practice, Ed. Pueblo and Education, Havana.

González, F. (1982): Some theoretical and methodological questions on the study of personality, Ed. Pueblo y Educación, La Habana, 104 p.

___________ (1989): Psychology. Principles and categories, Ed. Pueblo and Education, Havana.

__________ (1993): Epistemological problems of psychology, Ed. South Campus of the College of Sciences and Humanities, UNAM. Mexico, 164 pp.

__________ (1995): Personality communication and development, Ed. Pueblo and education, Havana.

González, F. and A. Mitjáns. (1989): Personality: its education and development, Ed. Pueblo y Educación, Havana. 264 pp.

González, F. and Valdés, H. (1994): Humanistic psychology, current affairs and development, Ed. Of Social Sciences, Havana.

González, V. (1994): Motivation and personality, Ed. Universitaria Sucre, Bolivia.

Grossi, E. (1993): Post-Piagetian constructivism. A new paradigm on learning, Ed. Vozes, Brazil.

Guilford, J. (1959): Personality, Ed. Mc Graw Hill, New York.

_________ (1989): "Intelligence from the point of view of information processing", Interciencia Magazine, vol.5, no. 5. September.

Harre, R. and J. de Waele (1979): “Autobiography as a psychological method”, in: Emergency strategies in social psychological research

Heidbreder, E. (1971): Psychology of the 20th century, Ed Revolutionary, ICL, Havana. 550 pp

Kelley, G. (1966): Theory of Personality, Ed Troquel, _______ (1955): The theory of personal constructs, Ed. Norton, USA.

Kimble, G. et al. (1992). Foundations of general psychology, Ed. Limusa, México. 553 pp

Klix, F. (1987): "The Psychology of cognition: methodological, theoretical and practical consequences", in: Psychology in socialism, Ed of Social Sciences, Havana.

Lachman, R. and E. Buttefield (1979): Cognitive psychology and information proccessing and introduction, Ed. Erlbaum, New Jersey.

Lamiel, J. (1981): "Toward an idiothetic psychology of personality", American Psychologist, no. 36, 3, 276-289 pp.

Latham, G. et al. (1980): "The situational interview", Journal of Applied Psychology, No. 65, 422-427 pp.

Leontiev, A. (1986): On the formation of capacities ”, in: Anthology of pedagogical psychology and of the ages, Ed. Pueblo and Education, Havana

Linton, R. (1845): The cultural background of personality, Ed. Appleton Century, Co, USA

López, V. (1994): "The essential dimensions of motivation", UPIICSA Magazine, Mexico.

Luria, A. (1975): "Importance of a correct diagnosis", in: Overcoming for psychology teachers, Ed. Pueblo and Education, Havana

Marx, K. and F. Engels (1971): Selected Works, Ed. Progreso, Moscow.

Maslow, A. (1990): The creative personality, Ed. Kairós, Barcelona, ​​480 pp.

Mayer, R. (1986): Thought, problem solving and cognition, Ed. Paidós.

Mischel, W. (1979): Introduction to Personality, Ed. Interamericana, México

Morales, J. (1995): Methodology and theory of psychology, Ed. UNED, Spain.

Morenza, L. et al (1990): Contemporary cognitive psychology and the development of intellectual capacities, Palacio de Convenciones, Pedagogía 90.

Norman, D. (1987): Sciences of cognition, Ed. Paidós, Barcelona.

Pervin, L. (1978): Current controversies and issues in personality, Ed. Wiley and Sons, New York.

Piaget, J. (1971): Psychology and epistemology, Ed., Ariel, Barcelona.

Pinillos, J. (1975) Principles of psychology. Ed Alliance, Madrid.

Pozo, J. (1991): Cognitive theories of learning, Ed. Morata. Madrid.

Riviere, A (1987): The subject of cognitive psychology, Ed. Alianza, Madrid.

Rotter, J. and D. Hochreich (1975): Personality, Ed. Scott Foresman and Company, Illinois.

Rubinstein, S. (1976): The development of psychology, principles and methods. Ed. Pueblo and Education, Havana.

Rush, J. (1984): Psychology. The personal science, Ed Wodsworth Publishing Company, USA

Shorojova, A. et al. (1974): Theoretical problems of personality psychology, Ed. Orbe, Havana.

Smirnov, P. (1990): Motivation of the brain, Ed. Mir, Moscow.

Sternberg, R. (1982): Human intelligence, Ed. Paidós, Barcelona.

__________ (1986):. Human capacities. An approach from information processing. Ed. Paidós, Barcelona.

Valdéz, H. (1994): Introduction to scientific research applied to physical education and sport, Ed. Pueblo y Educación, La Habana, 256 pp.

Vigostky, L. (1978): Thought and language, Ed. Revolutionary, Havana.

________ (1987): History of the development of higher psychic functions, Ed. Científico Técnica, Havana.

________ (1980): Development of Higher Psychic Functions, Moscow.

Zayas, P. (2001): How to select personnel by competencies ?, Ed. Academia, Havana City., 392 pp.

Download the original file