DERIVATION AND IMPLICATIONS OF A META-ANALYTIC MATRIX INCORPORATING COGNITIVE ABILITY, ALTERNATIVE PREDICTORS, AND JOB PERFORMANCE

A variety of recent articles in the personnel selection literature have used analyses of meta-analytically derived matrices to draw general conclusions for the field. The purpose of this article is to construct a matrix that incorporates as complete information as possible on the relationships among cognitive ability measures, three sets of alternative predictors, and job performance, We build upon a starting matrix used by Schmitt, Rodgers, Chan, Sheppard, and Jennings (1997). Mean differences, by race, for each of the measures and the potential for adverse impact of predictor composites are also considered. We demonstrate that the use of alternative predictors alone to predict job performance (in the absence of cognitive ability) lowers the potential for adverse impact. However, in contrast to recent claims, adverse impact continues to occur at many commonly used selection ratios. Future researchers are encouraged to use our matrix and to expand upon it as new primary research becomes available. We also report and reaffirm many methodological lessons along the way, including the many judgment calls that appear in an effort of this magnitude and a reminder that the field could benefit from even greater conceptual care regarding what is labeled an "alternative predictor." Directions for future meta-analyses and for future primary research activities are also derived.     

PERSONALITY AND JOB PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE OF INCREMENTAL VALIDITY

It is suggested that personality variables are significant predictors of job performance when carefully matched with the appropriate occupation and organization. The present study investigates the relationship between specific personality variables and job performance in a sample ( N = 43) of accountants. The results indicate that even with the effects of cognitive ability taken into account, three personality scales (orientation towards work; degree of ascendancy; and degree and quality of interpersonal orientation) are significantly related to important aspects of job performance. It is suggested that the overall validity of selection strategies might be improved with the addition of measures of relevant personality dimensions when appropriately matched to an occupation and organization.     

THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A META-ANALYSIS

This study investigated the relation of the "Big Five" personality dimensions (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) to three job performance criteria (job proficiency, training proficiency, and personnel data) for five occupational groups (professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled/semi-skilled). Results indicated that one dimension of personality, Conscientiousness, showed consistent relations with all job performance criteria for all occupational groups. For the remaining personality dimensions, the estimated true score correlations varied by occupational group and criterion type. Extraversion was a valid predictor for two occupations involving social interaction, managers and sales (across criterion types). Also, both Openness to Experience and Extraversion were valid predictors of the training proficiency criterion (across occupations). Other personality dimensions were also found to be valid predictors for some occupations and some criterion types, but the magnitude of the estimated true score correlations was small (ρ < .10). Overall, the results illustrate the benefits of using the 5-factor model of personality to accumulate and communicate empirical findings. The findings have numerous implications for research and practice in personnel psychology , especially in the subfields of personnel selection, training and development, and performance appraisal.     

TESTING THE DURABILITY OF JOB CHARACTERISTICS AS PREDICTORS OF ABSENTEEISM OVER A SIX-YEAR PERIOD

The purpose of this study was to test the relationships between job characteristics and absence over a 6-year period. Civilian employees from a large military organization participated. The results indicated that job characteristics continued to correlate significantly with a measure of absence frequency up to 6 years after the job characteristics had been assessed. The job characteristics measures also correlated significantly with a measure of time-lost absenteeism. Regression analyses revealed that job characteristics predicted absence frequency significantly over a 6-year period and time-lost absence for up to 4 years after job characteristics were assessed. The magnitudes of these relationships remained fairly constant across time. Results from regression analyses controlling for demographic variables indicated that job characteristics predicted time-lost and absence frequency for most years. Competence and need for achievement failed to moderate the job characteristics-absence relationships.     

A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF INTEREST CONGRUENCE AND GENDER CONCENTRATION AS PREDICTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION

Based on a rationale derived from discrepancy theories of job satisfaction, person-environment congruence was examined for its prediction of job satisfaction among college graduates over a 7-year period. Data were from university records and a survey of 253 graduates who were employed full time. Congruence of the students'college majors and their jobs predicted their subsequent job satisfaction regardless of whether this congruence was a perceptual or a more objective measure, while congruence between the interests the participants expressed on an interest inventory (the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory) during their freshman orientation did not. A three-way interaction of gender, gender concentration of Occupation, and interest congruence predicting job satisfaction was hypothesized. Although a three-way interaction was significant, it was not as predicted. Potential explanations involving the nature of decisions involving college majors and jobs and the stage of career development of participants are discussed.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

JOB SATISFACTION, BEHAVIORAL INTENTION, AND ABSENTEEISM AS PREDICTORS OF TURNOVER

Measures of overall job satisfaction, intention about remaining with the company, and frequency of absences were correlated with termination over two one-year periods for a sample of female clerical employees. A step-wise multiple regression indicated that both intent to remain with the company and frequency of absences added to the prediction of turnover during both one-year periods. Job satisfaction did not add to the prediction for either year.     

SELF-MONITORING AS A MODERATOR OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERSONALITY TRAITS AND PERFORMANCE

This study examined the hypothesis that self-monitoring moderates the relationship between Big Five personality traits and interpersonal performance. The findings from a sample of 102 employed Executive MBA students reveal that when self-monitoring was high the relationships between 3 of the Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Openness to Experience) and supervisory ratings of interpersonal performance were attenuated. These effects were replicated using peer ratings of interpersonal performance for Extraversion and Emotional Stability but not for Openness to Experience. Further, as expected, self-monitoring did not moderate the relationships between personality traits and supervisory or peer ratings of task performance. Implications for future research in the area of personality and other motivational theories are discussed.     

THE "BIG FIVE" PERSONALITY FACTORS IN THE IPI AND MMPI: PREDICTORS OF POLICE PERFORMANCE

Rational and empirical linkages were formed between the "Big Five" personality factors and two personality inventories: the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI), which is a personality inventory designed especially for use in the selection of corrections officers, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). A criterion-related validation of the study was then conducted to assess the validity of these two measures of the Big Five in predicting various measures of police performance. Results indicated that while both inventories provided adequate measures of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, neither inventory consistently contributed incremental validity over the Civil Service exam.     

USING A META-ANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE TO ENHANCE JOB COMPONENT VALIDATION

This paper develops synthetic validity estimates based on a meta-analytic-weighted least squares (WLS) approach to job component validity (JCV), using position analysis questionnaire (PAQ) estimates of job characteristics, and the Data, People, & Things ratings from the  Dictionary of Occupational Titles  as indices of job complexity. For the general aptitude test battery database of 40,487 employees, nine validity coefficients were estimated for 192 positions. The predicted validities from the WLS approach had lower estimated variability than would be obtained from either the classic JCV approach or local criterion-related validity studies. Data, People, & Things summary ratings did not consistently moderate validity coefficients, whereas the PAQ data did moderate validity coefficients. In sum, these results suggest that synthetic validity procedures should incorporate a WLS regression approach. Moreover, researchers should consider a comprehensive set of job characteristics when considering job complexity rather than a single aggregated index.     

PERSONALITY AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A CRITIQUE OF THE TETT, JACKSON, AND ROTHSTEIN (1991) META-ANALYSIS

Tett, Jackson, and Rothstein (1991) recently presented a meta-analysis of the relationship between personality and job performance. Many of their findings, particularly those pertaining to the Big Five personality dimensions, are at odds with one other large scale meta-analytic study (Barrick & Mount, 1991) investigating the relation between personality and performance. In order to reconcile these new results with previous findings, we examined differences in the sample sizes used, the process for assigning pre-existing scales to personality dimensions, and the nature of the jobs investigated. In addition, we found four technical errors in the Tett et al. moderator meta-analyses in computing sampling error, the bias correction, sampling error for bias corrected correlations, and computing sampling error variance across studies. These errors raise serious questions about the interpretation of their results for various moderators of the personality-job performance relationship.     

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON INDIVIDUALS' TURNOVER DECISIONS: A META-ANALYTIC PATH MODEL

Historically, researchers have sought to identify environmental causes of employee turnover. This paradigm has led to the underemphasis of individual differences as being an important cause of individuals' turnover decisions. The results of the meta-analysis show that personality traits do have an impact on individuals' turnover intentions and behaviors. The trait of Emotional Stability best predicted (negatively) employees' intentions to quit, whereas the traits of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness best predicted (negatively) actual turnover decisions. A theoretically developed path model showed important direct effects from personality to intentions to quit and turnover behaviors that were not captured through job satisfaction or job performance. These direct effects indicate that employees who are low on Emotional Stability may intend to quit for reasons other than dissatisfaction with their jobs or not being able to perform their jobs well. The direct effects on turnover suggest that individuals who are low on Agreeableness or high on Openness may engage in unplanned quitting. Personality traits had stronger relationships with outcomes than did non-self-report measures of job complexity/job characteristics.