Organisational Behaviour for RBI Grade B: Personality, the Big Five and Perception

Last updated: 2026-11-10 · MockMentor

"Organizational behaviour: meaning and concept; Personality (factors, Big Five model); reinforcement; Perception and perceptual errors" is one line of the RBI Grade B Phase 2 Management syllabus, and it is where the Management paper draws most of its objective questions.

In the exam: personality produced 10 Management objective questions from 2023 to 2026, more than any other Management topic, including 5 in 2024. The Big Five model has also been asked as a 15-mark descriptive question.

What organisational behaviour studies

Organisational behaviour (OB) is the study of how people behave in organisations, at three levels: the individual (personality, perception, attitudes, motivation), the group (teams, communication, conflict, leadership) and the organisation (structure, culture, change). It draws on psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology and political science.

The Big Five personality model (OCEAN)

The Big Five or Five-Factor Model, developed by many researchers and notably Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, is the most widely accepted model of personality. It treats each trait as a range from low to high, not a type you either are or are not.

Trait High Low
Openness to experience Curious, imaginative, open to change Conventional, prefers the familiar
Conscientiousness Organised, dependable, self-disciplined Careless, easily distracted
Extraversion Sociable, assertive, energetic Reserved, quiet, independent
Agreeableness Cooperative, warm, trusting Critical, competitive, sceptical
Neuroticism Anxious, moody, easily upset Calm, secure, emotionally stable

Of the five, conscientiousness is the most consistent predictor of job performance across occupations, which is why examiners like asking about it.

Perception and attribution

Perception is how we select, organise and interpret what we see to give it meaning. Two people can look at the same event and see it very differently.

Attribution theory, developed by Fritz Heider and extended by Harold Kelley (1967), explains how we decide whether someone's behaviour is caused by the person (internal) or by the situation (external). Kelley said we look at three clues:

  1. Distinctiveness: does the person behave this way in other situations too?
  2. Consensus: do other people behave the same way in the same situation?
  3. Consistency: does the person behave this way regularly over time?

If an officer is late with only one file, every other officer was late with files from the same slow valuer, and she is rarely late, the delay is probably the situation, not her.

Common perceptual errors

  • Fundamental attribution error: blaming people's character for their failures and ignoring the situation.
  • Self-serving bias: taking credit for our successes and blaming circumstances for our failures.
  • Halo effect: judging everything about a person from one good (or bad) trait.
  • Stereotyping: judging someone by the group they belong to.

What the full chapter covers

Our complete chapter has 28 sections. Beyond this page, it covers the nature, scope and importance of OB, the OB model and models of organisational behaviour, contemporary issues and organisational culture, the determinants and theories of personality, personality development and types, other traits relevant to organisations and how personality is measured, the factors influencing perception, the perceptual process and principles of perceptual organisation, all perceptual errors and how to reduce them, learning and the types and schedules of reinforcement, organisational behaviour modification, and values, attitudes and job satisfaction.

The full chapter, with chapter-wise MCQs and evaluated descriptive practice, is part of our RBI Grade A/B courses.

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