Coping strategies and first year performance in postsecondary education

Coping was hypothesized to explain additional variance in first year grade point averages (GPAs) controlling for cognitive ability and conscientiousness. First year GPAs were assessed as criterion for performance in the first year. Results indicate active coping, denial, behavioral disengagement, and alcohol disengagement are related to first year GPA. Denial and alcohol disengagement coping strategies were significant predictors and negatively related to first year GPA in the final regression equation controlling for cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Latent growth modeling analysis demonstrated cognitive ability predicted both the intercept and slope of first year GPA. Conscientiousness was a predictor of initial GPA but not change. Lastly, coping was a significant predictor of change in GPA. Implications for research and theory are discussed.     

Examining the Incremental Validity and Adverse Impact of Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness on Job Performance

Using archival data from a large home improvement organization, the current study examined the incremental validity of conscientiousness over cognitive ability in predicting different performance criteria. Also, the study examined the effects of conscientiousness and cognitive ability on adverse impact. Results indicated that conscientiousness provided incremental validity over cognitive ability in the prediction of several performance criteria. Specifically, conscientiousness had the highest increases in validity over cognitive ability in the prediction of contextual performance factors (e.g., contextual performance, customer service orientation, dealing with others). However, the addition of conscientiousness failed to ameliorate the adverse impact associated with cognitive ability. In addition, limitations of the study and future directions of research are addressed.     

Conscientiousness and Ability as Predictors of Accounting Learning

Whereas research documents the relation between conscientiousness and performance criteria, little research has studied the temporal stability of that relation. We address the stability of the conscientiousness-performance relations in a learning environment, as well as address the relation of conscientiousness with learning after removing the effects of ability and prior learning. We predicted that the strength of the relation between conscientiousness and performance would increase over time. Data from 274 students enrolled in an accounting course reveal a Time ? Conscientiousness interaction. Although conscientiousness was not related to initial performance, it predicted later performance. Other findings show that conscientiousness added unique performance variance above and beyond the effects of ability and prior learning. These data support theory implying that a single correlation coefficient between a noncognitive predictor and a performance criterion may not capture the nature of the relation between the two variables.     

The Validity of Conscientiousness for Predicting Job Performance: A meta‐analytic test of two hypotheses

This study examined two hypotheses regarding the moderating effects of job characteristics on the validity of personality. Using meta‐analytic techniques, the authors explored the extent to which the structural characteristics and cognitive ability requirements of jobs influence the role of conscientiousness in predicting performance. The results suggest that conscientiousness is a stronger predictor of performance in jobs that are highly routinized, and a weaker predictor of performance in jobs with high levels of cognitive ability requirements. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.     

Determining Predictor Weights in Military Selection: An Application of Dominance Analysis

This article illustrates the use of dominance analysis (DA) to identify the most appropriate set of weights for combining predictor data. We used meta-analytic information on cognitive ability, structured interviews, conscientiousness, and emotional stability to determine relative weights in predicting entry-level job performance and turnover. For job performance, the optimal predictor weights were 51% (cognitive ability), 38% (structured interview), 9% conscientiousness, and 2% (emotional stability). The weights differed considerably for turnover: 48% (structured interview), 27% (emotional stability), 13% (conscientiousness), and 11% (cognitive ability). Using a simulated data set, we showed how the rank-order of applicants can change based on DA and traditional regression analysis. The results suggest that DA has wide applicability for military selection.     

When is ignorance bliss? The effects of inaccurate self-assessments of knowledge on learning and attrition

Two studies were conducted to examine the implications of inaccurate self-appraisals in online training. Self-assessment of knowledge moderated the effects of trainees’ performance on subsequent performance and attrition. Performance was highest after uniformly positive ratings (i.e., high self-assessment and high performance), followed by underestimation, overestimation, and uniformly negative ratings, respectively. Attrition was lowest after uniformly positive ratings, followed by underestimation, uniformly negative ratings, and overestimation, respectively. Effort had a more positive effect on performance following low than high self-assessments and this interaction fully mediated the self-assessment/performance interaction on subsequent performance. Commitment had a more negative effect on subsequent attrition following low than high self-assessments and this interaction fully mediated the self-assessment/performance interaction on subsequent attrition. Finally, trainee conscientiousness affected their behavior when their performance and self-assessments were inconsistent—overestimating and underestimating performance increased attrition more for trainees low in conscientiousness and impaired performance more for trainees high in conscientiousness.     

Incremental Validity of Locus of Control After Controlling for Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness

This research examined the criterion-related validity of work-specific locus of control in predicting job performance, including incremental validity after controlling for cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Data from a student sample and from a large employee sample were used to evaluate the scale properties of measures of locus of control, conscientiousness, and cognitive ability. Two concurrent criterion-related validation studies were then conducted to evaluate the incremental validity of locus of control. In both validation studies, locus of control demonstrated overall and incremental relationships with performance after controlling for ability and conscientiousness, such that employees with higher internal locus of control performed more effectively than externals.     

Childhood cognitive ability,education, and personality traits predict attainment in adult occupational prestige over 17 years

This study explored a longitudinal data set of nearly 5000 adults examining the effects of childhood cognitive ability (measured at age 11), parental social class (measured at birth), and personality on current occupational prestige (all measured at age 50), taking account the effects of education and the previous occupational levels (both measured at age 33). Participants' levels of occupational attainment significantly went up from age 33 to age 50. Correlational analysis showed childhood cognitive ability, parental social class, education and occupation, and personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability) were all significantly associated with current occupational prestige. The strongest correlates of current occupational levels were educational qualifications, followed by childhood cognitive ability, parental social class, and personality traits. Structural equation modelling showed that for the change of occupation over 17 years, the strongest predictor was education, followed by childhood intelligence. Personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness) had modest but significant influence in the upgrading of occupational attainment over the period of time, and parental social status predicted occupational change mediated through education and initial occupational levels. Education and childhood intelligence are more powerful predictors of current occupational prestige than personality factors or family social background. The implications for policy making and equal opportunities for education are discussed.     

The Roles of Self-Efficacy and Task Complexity in the Relationships Among Cognitive Ability,Conscientiousness, and Work-Related Performance: A Meta-Analytic Examination

Although cognitive ability and conscientiousness have been found to predict work-related performance, less is known about whether and when certain mediating variables help explain these relationships. This study examined meta-analytically whether self-efficacy mediates the cognitive ability-performance and conscientiousness-performance relationships, and whether task complexity moderates the extent to which self-efficacy mediates these relationships. Results indicated that cognitive ability and conscientiousness positively relate to self-efficacy, but that the magnitude of these relationships varies with task complexity. Furthermore, results showed that self-efficacy mediates the relationships of cognitive ability and conscientiousness with performance on simple tasks, but not on complex tasks. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Effects of Personality Characteristics on Knowledge,Skill, and Performance in Servicing Retail Customers

This study tested the idea that some personality variables are related to interpersonal aspects of job performance primarily through interpersonal knowledge and skill, just as cognitive ability has been shown to be related to technical aspects of job performance primarily through technical knowledge and skill. We measured personality factors, cognitive ability, customer service knowledge (through a structured interview), customer service skill (through role‐play simulations), and customer service performance (through supervisory ratings) in a sample of 140 retail store associates. As expected, results showed that interpersonally oriented personality characteristics are related to customer service knowledge even when effects of ability, conscientiousness, and experience are taken into account, and that customer service knowledge and skill together carry the indirect effects of personality characteristics, ability, and experience to customer service performance. We also found that conscientiousness moderates the relation between knowledge and performance such that knowledge predicts performance best for people who are highly conscientious.     

Personality Configurations in Self‐Managed Teams: A Natural Experiment on the Effects of Maximizing and Minimizing Variance in Traits

In this study, we examined the impact of seeding teams to create maximal and minimal levels of extroversion and conscientiousness variance. Using the theories of complementary and supplementary fit, we make predictions regarding the main and interactive effects of extroversion and conscientiousness variance on performance. Testing our hypotheses in a longitudinal study of MBA teams, our results demonstrate that the combination of minimizing conscientiousness variance (consistent with complementary fit) and maximizing extroversion variance (consistent with supplementary fit) produced the highest levels of short‐term and long‐term performance.     

Overconfidence in Initial Self-Efficacy Judgments: Effects on Decision Processes and Performance

Judgments of task-specific, expected performance (i.e., self-efficacy) can affect the activities one chooses to pursue and the extent of effort devoted to these activities. However, relatively little is known about the accuracy of self-efficacy judgments or their effects on behavior, performance, and perceptions of performance in complex cognitive tasks. The results of a pilot study and experiment indicate that initial, "first-impression" self-efficacy judgments made in cognitively complex tasks are biased toward overestimates of personal ability (i.e., "overconfidence"). The experiment manipulated performance expectations to illuminate how overestimates of initial self-efficacy affect decision making. Inducing positive expectations produced overconfidence in choice accuracy, but did not increase effort, attention to strategy, or performance relative to mildly negative and strongly negative expectations. In contrast, inducing mildly negative expectations increased effort, attention to strategy, and performance relative to strongly negative expectations. The results suggest that the demotivational effects of initial negative expectations are more robust than the motivational effects of initial positive expectations. ln addition, inducing mildly negative expectations may improve performance more than positive expectations in at least some tasks and settings.     

The impact of error training and individual differences on training outcomes: an attribute-treatment interaction perspective

The authors examined the effectiveness of error training for trainees with different levels of cognitive ability, openness to experience, or conscientiousness. Participants (N = 181) were randomly assigned to control, error-encouragement, or error-avoidance conditions and trained to perform a decision-making simulation. Declarative knowledge, task performance, and self-efficacy were measured posttraining. Findings suggest the effectiveness of error training is dependent on the cognitive ability or dispositional traits of trainees. High cognitive ability or more open individuals benefit more from error-encouragement training than low cognitive ability or less open individuals. Conscientiousness has a negative effect on self-efficacy when trainees are encouraged to make errors.     

Response time analysis in cognitive tasks with increasing difficulty

In the present study, speeded tasks with differing assumed difficulties of the trials are regarded as a special class of simple cognitive tasks. Exploratory latent growth modeling with data-driven shape of a growth curve and nonlinear structured latent curve modeling with predetermined monotonically increasing functions were used to analyze individual response-time change with an increase in task difficulty and to investigate latent response-time growth variables in relation to cognitive ability. A task that required participants to state the number of dots in a set was used as an example of a simple cognitive task with increasing difficulty; the response latencies obtained in this task and the magnitude of RT-IQ correlations changed depending on the complexity of the trial.Consistent with theoretical predictions, the individual speed of baseline performance was only weakly negatively correlated with each of the three measures of cognitive ability used in the study. The rate of change in response times with increasing task difficulty, estimated as a generalized growth parameter in the exploratory latent growth model, was significantly negatively related to cognitive ability. Response times of less intelligent individuals increased more rapidly in the task with increasing difficulty than the response times of highly intelligent individuals. Within the nonlinear structured latent curve modeling, the growth of response times with an increase in task difficulty was best described by a function that approached an oblique asymptote after an initial interval of convexity. A slope of this oblique asymptote was significantly negatively related to cognitive ability; for less intelligent individuals, the asymptote of response-time change was steeper than that for more intelligent individuals. In addition, a parameter that determined the shape of response-time growth trajectories on the interval of convexity was related to one of the three measures of cognitive ability.     

Incremental validation of situational judgment tests.

Using 3 different samples, the authors assessed the incremental validity of situational judgment inventories (SJIs), relative to job knowledge, cognitive ability, job experience, and conscientiousness, in the prediction of job performance. The SJI was a valid predictor in all 3 samples and incrementally so in 2 samples. Relative to the other predictors, SJI's partial correlation with performance, controlling for the other 4 predictors, was superior in most comparisons. Subgroup differences on the SJI also appear to be less than those for cognitive ability and job knowledge, but greater than differences in conscientiousness. The SJI should prove to be a valuable additional measure in the prediction of job performance, but several additional areas of research are suggested.     

Perceived influence in groups over time: How associations with personality and cognitive ability can change over time

The ability of personality and cognitive ability to predict perceptions of group influence in small work groups are assessed both in initial and advanced stages of group formation. Extraversion is found important to initial perceptions of intra-group influence, which is partially mediated by peer-perceived social-emotional usefulness. After a few months, reputations are established and everyone has met; now work needs to get done efficiently and accurately and cognitive ability predicts increases in perceived group influence, which is partially mediated by perceived intelligence. After even more time, other Big Five personality traits become important to changes in perceived group influence, with positive associations with openness to experience, and negative associations with neuroticism and conscientiousness. The study findings and implications are discussed.     

Social cognitive career theory, conscientiousness, and work performance: A meta-analytic path analysis

We performed a meta-analytic path analysis of an abbreviated version of social cognitive career theory's (SCCT) model of work performance (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). The model we tested included the central cognitive predictors of performance (ability, self-efficacy, performance goals), with the exception of outcome expectations. Results suggested that a slightly modified version of the model, incorporating a path between ability and goals, provided adequate fit to the data. In addition, we examined alternative pathways through which conscientiousness, a Big 5 personality variable, might operate in concert with the social cognitive variables in predicting work performance. Good fit was found for a model in which conscientiousness is linked to performance both directly and indirectly via self-efficacy and goals. The implications of these results for SCCT, future research, and practical efforts to facilitate work performance are discussed.     

Perceptions of organizational politics as a moderator of the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance

Meta-analytic studies of the relationships between the five-factor model of personality constructs and job performance indicate that conscientiousness has been the most consistent predictor. Recent research has sought to identify situational factors that may explain additional variance beyond what has been reported by simple bivariate relationships. The authors hypothesized that perceptions of organizational politics would moderate the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance. Data collected from 234 male and 579 female workers in 4 organizations indicated that conscientiousness was related to job performance among workers perceiving average to high levels of organizational politics but unrelated to performance among workers perceiving low levels of organizational politics. Moreover, perceptions of organizational politics were negatively related to job performance only among workers of average to low levels of conscientiousness.     

Genetic architecture of context processing in late middle age: more than one underlying mechanism

Studies comparing young and older adults suggest a deficit in processing context information as a key mechanism underlying cognitive aging. However, the genetic architecture of context processing has not been examined. Consistent with previous results, we found evidence of functionally dissociable components of context processing accuracy in 1127 late middle-aged twins ages 51-60. One component emphasizes use of context cues to prepare responses (proactive cognitive control), and the other emphasizes adjustment of responses after probes are presented (reactive control). Approximately one-quarter of the variance in each component was accounted for by genes. Multivariate twin analysis indicated that genetic factors underlying two important components of context processing were independent of one another, thus implicating more than one underlying mechanism. Slower reaction time (RT) on noncontext processing trials was positively correlated with errors on the strongly proactive control component on which young adults outperform older adults, but RT was negatively correlated with errors on the strongly reactive control component on which older adults perform better. Although this RT measure was uncorrelated with chronological age in our age-homogeneous sample, slower RT was associated with performance patterns that were more like older adults. However, this did not generalize to other processing speed measures. Genetic correlations, which reflect shared genetic variance, paralleled the phenotypic correlations. There was also a positive genetic correlation between general cognitive ability and accuracy on the proactive control component, but there were still mostly distinct genetic influences underlying these measures. In contrast, the reactive control component was unrelated to general cognitive ability.     

The moderation of conscientiousness by cognitive ability when predicting workplace safety behavior

Research and industry practice emphasize the usefulness of personality-based assessment, particularly measures of conscientiousness, for predicting workplace rule compliance and safety behavior. However, recent research suggests that it may also be valuable to consider potential moderators of the personality – safety relationship. Accordingly, this study uses a field sample (N = 219) to examine the degree to which cognitive ability moderates conscientiousness when predicting workplace safety behavior. As hypothesized, we found that those individuals with higher levels of cognitive ability were more likely to demonstrate higher safety behavior regardless of level of conscientiousness. In contrast, conscientiousness was a stronger predictor of safety behavior for individuals with lower levels of cognitive ability. Implications for understanding the way cognitive ability and conscientiousness interact are discussed.