Conceptual and Statistical Interactions: An Illustration with the AB5C and CWBs

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare the criterion validity of conceptual interactions between the Big Five traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability to the statistical interactions between these traits. For illustration purposes we focus on linking these interactions to counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data for Study 1 was obtained from 196 employed students and focuses on the interaction between agreeableness and conscientiousness. Data for Study 2 was obtained from 220 employees and expanded the interaction space examined to include emotional stability.

Findings

All of the circumplex traits representing conceptual interactions were related to CWBs but only the traits most closely associated with conscientiousness showed incremental validity beyond their associated Big Five traits. Dominance analysis highlights increased concurrent validity of the circumplex traits compared to the Big Five statistical interactions in relation to CWBs.

Implications

Understanding the unique circumplex blends of the Big Five traits offers opportunities to enhance the criterion validity of Big Five measures. Results question the similarity between the AB5C circumplex traits and Big Five interactions, with their contributions appearing to be unique but their justification drastically different.

Originality/Value

The validity of the AB5C circumplex traits are relatively unknown. The current results expand this knowledge and directly compare the circumplex traits to interaction terms between agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability.     

Conscientiousness and Agreeableness as Moderators of the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: A constructive replication

Several previous studies examining the predictors of counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) have found positive relationships for neuroticism and negative relationships for conscientiousness and agreeableness. We extend this research by examining whether employee personality traits interact with each other to influence CWBs. Because conscientiousness and agreeableness may suppress one's tendency to engage in CWBs, we hypothesized that the neuroticism–CWB relationship will be weaker among workers who are high in either conscientiousness or agreeableness than among workers who are low in these traits. Data from three independent samples provide support for these hypothesized moderator effects.     

The Role of Personality and Job Stressors in Predicting Counterproductive Work Behavior: A three‐way interaction

The current study examined interactive effects among personality and job stressors in predicting employees' engagement in counterproductive work behavior (CWB) defined as behavior that harms organizations or people in organizations. Survey data were collected from 932 employees and results showed significant negative relationships of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability with CWB directed at organizations (CWB‐O) and people (CWB‐P), and significant positive relationships of interpersonal conflict and organizational constraints with CWB‐O and CWB‐P. Further, it was found that the positive relationships of interpersonal conflict with CWB‐O and CWB‐P were strongest for people of low emotional stability–low agreeableness among all emotional stability–agreeableness combinations, and that the positive relationships of organizational constraints with CWB‐O and CWB‐P were strongest for people of high emotional stability–low conscientiousness among all emotional stability–conscientiousness combinations.     

Predicting job performance using FFM and non‐FFM personality measures

This study compares the criterion validity of the Big Five personality dimensions when assessed using Five‐Factor Model (FFM)‐based inventories and non‐FFM‐based inventories. A large database consisting of American as well as European validity studies was meta‐analysed. The results showed that for conscientiousness and emotional stability, the FFM‐based inventories had greater criterion validity than the non FFM‐based inventories. Conscientiousness showed an operational validity of .28 (N = 19,460, 90% CV = .07) for FFM‐based inventories and .18 (N =5,874, 90% CV = ‐.04) for non‐FFM inventories. Emotional stability showed an operational validity of .16 (N = 10,786, 90% CV = .04) versus .05 (N = 4,541, 90% CV = ‐.05) for FFM and non‐FFM‐based inventories, respectively. No relevant differences emerged for extraversion, openness, and agreeableness. From a practical point of view, these findings suggest that practitioners should use inventories based on the FFM in order to make personnel selection decisions.     

Personality and team performance: a meta‐analysis

Using a meta‐analytical procedure, the relationship between team composition in terms of the Big‐Five personality traits (trait elevation and variability) and team performance were researched. The number of teams upon which analyses were performed ranged from 106 to 527. For the total sample, significant effects were found for elevation in agreeableness (ρ = 0.24) and conscientiousness (ρ = 0.20), and for variability in agreeableness (ρ = ?0.12) and conscientiousness (ρ = ?0.24). Moderation by type of team was tested for professional teams versus student teams. Moderation results for agreeableness and conscientiousness were in line with the total sample results. However, student and professional teams differed in effects for emotional stability and openness to experience. Based on these results, suggestions for future team composition research are presented. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived Social Support and Big Five Personality Traits in Middle Adulthood: a 4-Year Cross-Lagged Path Analysis

Previous studies have shown that the Big Five personality traits are significantly associated with perceived social support and these associations are positively associated with agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability. However, it is not yet clear whether these associations hold longitudinally or how these variables may predict each other over time. To investigate the co-development of personality traits and perceived social support, a cross-lagged path model design was used on a sample of adults (N = 1309) measured on two occasions 4 years apart. The results indicated that while emotional stability predicted perceived social support 4 years later, perceived social support also predicted emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness 4 years later. Our findings suggest that perceived social support may be a resource that has an impact on the development of personality traits known to be associated with social skills as well as the quality and frequency of social interactions in middle adulthood.

     

Predicting counterproductive work behavior from the interaction of personality traits

Much attention has been given to enhancing the prediction of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), with a particular focus on the relationship between the five factor model of personality and CWB. Several scholars have advocated for a more complex view of this relationship, and rather than focusing simply on main effects, to examine the interaction of personality traits in predicting employee behavior. In consideration of the traits most strongly related to CWB, we examined the interaction between: (1) conscientiousness and emotional stability, (2) agreeableness and emotional stability, and (3) conscientiousness and agreeableness on CWB directed at individuals (CWB-I) and the organization (CWB-O). Results from a multi-national sample illustrate the interaction of traits increases the prediction of CWB over and above a single trait approach. The interactions suggest employees perform the least CWB when they are high on both traits (in the respective trait pairings), but low levels on either trait relate to increased CWB, and at levels comparable to individuals low on both traits. We conclude research on personality and CWB would benefit from an interactive approach as it allows for greater prediction of CWB-O and CWB-I, which is important in light of the organizational and interpersonal consequences of employee misbehavior.     

Predicting counterproductive work behaviors with sub-clinical psychopathy: Beyond the Five Factor Model of personality

Organizational psychologists examining personality’s relation to work behavior have focused largely on the “normal” traits comprising the Five Factor Model (FFM). However, given the aversive nature of sub-clinical psychopathy (e.g., callous affect, impulsivity), we posit that this toxic personality profile will enhance the prediction of negative work outcomes, namely forms of counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB). Study 1 (N = 193) examined the value of sub-clinical psychopathy and the FFM in predicting intentions to engage in CWB; results support prior research indicating that both agreeableness and conscientiousness significantly correlated with CWB. In addition, sub-clinical psychopathy predicted CWB above and beyond the FFM. Study 2 (N = 360) extended the findings of Study 1 by examining interpersonally deviant behavior in a team context. While agreeableness was significantly related to interpersonal deviance in Study 2, conscientiousness was not. Results from Study 2 replicate Study 1, suggesting that sub-clinical psychopathy accounted for the majority of the explained variance in interpersonal deviance. Overall, the results support the value of using sub-clinical psychopathy to predict CWB.     

Personality Predictors of Behavioral Self‐Regulation: Linking behavioral self‐regulation to five‐factor model factors,facets, and a compound trait

This study examined relationships between a composite of several facet‐level traits within the five‐factor model (FFM) of personality and outcomes across 3 phases of behavioral self‐regulation. The goal of this research was to investigate the potential of the compound trait approach as an alternative to predicting self‐regulatory outcomes based on the full FFM, conscientiousness or other FFM factor‐level traits, or any individual facet‐level trait within the FFM. These relationships were investigated using a sample of 312 participants completing both goal‐related questionnaires and a decision task designed to simulate aspects of self‐regulated performance within organizations. Consistent with hypotheses, the collection of traits within the composite – assertiveness, activity, achievement striving, deliberation, dutifulness, self‐discipline, and ideas – performed as well or better than any single factor or facet of the FFM. The future research and practice implications for goal propensity, a compound trait related to all phases of behavioral self‐regulation, are discussed.     

The happy personality: Mediational role of trait emotional intelligence

This study examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits (Gosling et al., 2003), trait emotional intelligence (EI) (Petrides & Furnham, 2001) and happiness (Argyle et al., 1989) in a sample of 112 (61 female) student and non-student participants. Strong dispositional determinants of happiness were identified. In line with previous findings, four of the Big Five, namely stability, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, were positively correlated with both happiness and trait EI, which explained 18% of unique variance (over and above age and the Big Five) in happiness. Furthermore, a significant amount of shared variance between happiness and the Big Five was explained by trait EI, which partly mediated the paths from stability and conscientiousness to happiness, and fully mediated the link between agreeableness and happiness. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

The role of the Five Factor Model of personality in the perceptions of negative and positive forms of work–nonwork spillover: A meta-analytic review

The present meta-analysis examines the relationships between the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality and negative and positive forms of work–nonwork spillover (e.g., work-family conflict and facilitation). Results, based on aggregated correlations drawn from 66 studies and 72 independent samples (Total N = 28,127), reveal that the FFM is predictive of work–nonwork spillover. More specifically, meta-analytic structural equation modeling indicated that extraversion (β = −.08), agreeableness (β = −.06), conscientiousness (β = −.13), and neuroticism (β = .29) are related to negative work–nonwork spillover, while extraversion (β = .27), agreeableness (β = .11), conscientiousness (β = .12), and openness to experience (β = .20) are related to positive work–nonwork spillover. FFM personality variables were equally predictive of both directions of spillover (i.e., work-to-nonwork and nonwork-to-work). Collectively these results suggest a moderate amount of variance in negative (R² = .15) and positive (R² = .18) work–nonwork spillover is accounted for by personality.     

The validity of FFM personality dimensions and maladaptive traits to predict negative affects at work: a six month prospective study in a military sample

The present work explores what the domain of maladaptive traits has to offer to the industrial and organizational (I/O) field investigating the incremental validity of maladaptive traits from DSM Axis II to predict negative emotions experienced at work, beyond Five‐Factor Model dimensions. This study was designed to examine the validity of adaptive and maladaptive traits to predict four negative affects (Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Shame) experienced at work in military personnel. The design was longitudinal, including two measurement moments, i.e. prior to and immediately after returning from a peace mission in a foreign country. The four negative affects were largely stable across a six month interval. FFM dimensions substantially explained negative affects experienced six months later, although the variance accounted for varied strongly across affects. In line with previous research, emotional stability was a consistent negative predictor of negative affects at both measurement moments. Two maladaptive traits derived from DSM Axis II (i.e. Borderline and Avoidant) were consistently related to specific negative affects experienced at work. Finally, maladaptive traits did not predict negative affect variance beyond FFM traits. These results are in line with robust findings suggesting that maladaptive trait patterns could be integrated in the five‐factor space, and as a consequence have little or no incremental utility over FFM dimensions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Longitudinal associations of cognitive ability,personality traits and school grades with antisocial behaviour

This study investigated the role of adolescents' cognitive ability, personality traits and school success in predicting later criminal behaviour. Cognitive ability, the five‐factor model personality traits and the school grades of a large sample of Estonian schoolboys (N = 1919) were measured between 2001 and 2005. In 2009, judicial databases were searched to identify participants who had been convicted of misdemeanours or criminal offences. Consistent with previous findings, having a judicial record was associated with lower cognitive ability, grade point average, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and higher neuroticism. In multivariate path models, however, the contributions of cognitive ability and conscientiousness were accounted for by school grades and the effect of neuroticism was also accounted for by other variables, leaving grade point average and agreeableness the only independent predictors of judicial record status. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“大五”个性因素模型在工作情景中的效度分析

“大五”个性因素模型是目前一种个性分类理论模型 ,它以外向、情绪稳定性、责任意识、随和、开明性等五个因素来描述正常人群的个性特征。本文探讨了在工作情境中运用“大五”模型预测工作绩效 (个体 /团队 )的效度问题。大量的研究表明 ,责任意识能在不同的职业中用来预测个体工作绩效 ;“大五”因素能有效地预测周边绩效 ,但并不是所有的个性因素都能预测任务绩效 ;团队成员的个性组成对团队绩效有显著影响 ;个性与绩效间的关系受到缓冲变量的影响。     

Self- and other-reports of traits from the five-factor model: relations to personality disorder

The current study used a psychiatric sample (N = 69) to examine: (1) the correspondence between self- and other-reports of general personality, as measured by the Five-Factor Model (FFM; Costa & McCrae, 1990), and personality disorder (PD) traits, as measured by a structured interview, (2) the relations between these two sets of ratings (FFM and PD traits) and consensus ratings of PD and impairment, and (3) the incremental validity of other-rated personality scores. Agreement between raters for the five domains of the FFM ranged from .23 (agreeableness) to .71 (openness); for the PD traits agreement ranged from .37 (avoidant) to .69 (antisocial). At both the domain and facet level, the personality profiles reflected in the correlations between the FFM scores and PD criteria were consistent across raters with the exception of narcissistic PD. Substantial evidence was found for the incremental validity of other-rated personality scores, with these ratings accounting for an additional 8 to 20% of the overall variance in PD features. The other-rated FFM scores also accounted for more variance in consensus ratings of impairment in the domains of romance, work, and social relations.     

Social investment and personality: a meta-analysis of the relationship of personality traits to investment in work, family, religion, and volunteerism.

Investing in normative, age-graded social roles has broad implications for both the individual and society. The current meta-analysis examines the way in which personality traits relate to four such investments -- work, family, religion, and volunteerism. The present study uses meta-analytic techniques (K = 94) to identify the cross-sectional patterns of relationships between social investment in these four roles and the personality trait domains of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. Results show that the extent of investment in social roles across these domains is positively related to agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and low psychoticism. These findings are more robust when individuals are psychologically committed to rather than simply demographically associated with the investment role.     

Perceived risk of female infidelity moderates the relationship between men’s personality and partner-directed violence

We hypothesized that men’s personality traits interact with men’s perceived risk of partner’s infidelity to predict men’s partner-directed violence. Moderation analyses of data provided by 467 men in a committed relationship indicated that: (1) men with lower emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and men who perceived greater risk of partner infidelity perpetrated more partner-directed violence, and (2) the relationship between men’s personality traits and partner-directed violence depends on their perceptions of the risk of partner infidelity. Simple slope analyses indicated that: (a) men’s emotional stability and agreeableness predict partner-directed violence only when perceived risk of partner infidelity is low, and (b) men’s conscientiousness predicts partner-directed violence only when perceived risk of partner infidelity is high.     

Five‐Factor Model of Personality and Job Satisfaction: The Importance of Agreeableness in a Tight and Collectivistic Asian Society

Results from predominantly US‐based research have shown that personality can partly explain job satisfaction. As the issue of globalisation grows in importance for organisations, I researched in this study whether meta‐analytic findings on the relationships between job satisfaction and the Big Five personality traits extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism would hold in a tight and collectivistic Asian society. Additionally, I expected that in a tight and collectivistic society the personality trait agreeableness would have a strong positive relationship with job satisfaction. Study participants were 354 employees from organisations in Singapore. Results confirmed that extraversion, conscientiousness, non‐neuroticism (emotional stability), and also agreeableness were related to job satisfaction. The study advises scholars and practitioners that even in a tight and collectivistic Asian society—despite situations that demand abiding by norms and fulfilling obligations—job satisfaction is related to stable personality traits.     

Understanding Psychopathy Using the Basic Elements of Personality

Psychopathy is a form of personality disorder characterized by arrogance, self‐absorption, callousness, exploitation, and impulsivity that is also strongly associated with antisocial behavior. The present paper argues that psychopathy can and should be understood as a configuration of personality traits from a general model of personality functioning – the five‐factor model (FFM). In this paper, we demonstrate that previous theoretical conceptualizations of psychopathy and current empirical ones converge on a general FFM profile characterized by very low scores on agreeableness and conscientiousness and mixed relations to aspects of neuroticism and extraversion. Further, we articulate the advantages to understanding psychopathy in this way. The FFM provides an assay of extant inventories, explains the factor structure of various inventories, accounts for the epidemiology of psychopathy, and makes sense of the litany of putative psychopathic deficits. Perhaps most importantly, the FFM provides a connection to basic research in personality.     

Beyond Total Effects: Exploring the Interplay of Personality and Attitudes in Affecting Turnout in the 2009 German Federal Election

This article addresses the role of personality traits in shaping electoral participation. Utilizing data from a survey conducted after the 2009 German federal election, we demonstrate that agreeableness and emotional stability increase electoral participation. Yet, the main contribution of this article is to link personality traits to attitudinal predictors of turnout. First, we demonstrate that attitudinal variables, including party identification, civic duty, political interest, and internal and external efficacy, serve as intervening variables that mediate the impact of personality on turnout. Second, we show that personality traits exhibit conditioning effects by increasing or decreasing the impact of attitudinal factors on electoral participation. By and large, the evidence suggests that openness, agreeableness, and extraversion render attitudes (somewhat) less powerful in affecting turnout while conscientiousness and emotional stability increase the impact of certain attitudes. Third, we put indirect and conditioning effects together and find that emotional stability and conscientiousness exhibit particularly interesting patterns of effects: They shape attitudes in a way conducive to higher turnout and make these attitudes more powerful in affecting voter participation.