Relationship between Teachers Personality Traits and their Decision-Making Styles: Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Decision-making is an important part of everyday life and is greatly influenced by personality traits. Current study was conducted to explore relationship between university teachers’ personality traits and decision-making styles and moderating role of emotional intelligence in relationship between the two said variables in KP province of Pakistan. To address six research hypotheses that are linked to some eminent gaps identified in the literature, a quantitative research design was followed. Population of this study comprised of 3,345 university teachers of all 20 universities in Peshawar and Mardan Division. The sample group in the current study was 429 university teachers using a stratified random sampling technique. Three adapted survey questionnaires containing 90 items, and 7 demographic variables were administered to collect data. Collected data were analyzed through multiple regression analysis. Current study discovered a relationship between rational and intuitive decision-making styles and openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, and agreeableness except for neuroticism personality traits. Furthermore, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness had a significant relationship with dependent decision-making style, but extroversion and neuroticism had an insignificant relationship. In terms of avoidant decision-making, openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism had significant relationship with avoidant decision style and agreeableness had insignificant relationship. Openness to experience does not significantly predicts spontaneous decision-making style, while conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism did. Finally, emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between personality traits and decision-making styles.

      Keywords: decision making styles, personality traits, emotional intelligence.