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.     

Integrity Tests and Morality: Associations with Ego Development,Moral Reasoning,and Psychopathic Personality

Although past research has shown links between integrity tests and the Big Five personality traits, little is known about the relationship between integrity and other individual difference constructs used to predict moral behavior. The present study expands this research by examining the relationships between ego development, moral reasoning, psychopathic personality, and three commonly used integrity tests. Both overt and personality‐based integrity tests showed the strongest (negative) correlations with psychopathic personality but only modest correlations with ego development and moral reasoning. On the whole, these findings suggest that integrity tests may be more closely related to overt moral behavior than to moral reasoning.     

Not on My Watch: Facilitating peer reporting through employee job attitudes and personality traits

Because employees often conceal their misbehavior from management, counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) can be difficult to detect. Fortunately, peer reporting – which occurs when employees report their coworkers' misdeeds to organizational authorities – may enhance the detection of CWBs. Little is known, however, about the variables that facilitate peer reporting. Using a sample of working adults (N = 267), we examined job attitudes and personality traits as moderators of the relationship between CWB observations and CWB reporting. Our results suggest that most CWBs employees observe go unreported. Furthermore, we found that organizational commitment strengthened the relationship between CWB observations and CWB reporting. The other hypothesized moderators, however, failed to yield the expected interaction effects.     

Power of the Circumplex: Incremental validity of intersection traits in predicting counterproductive work behaviors

This study examines the role of the circumplex model of personality in predicting counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). Drawing on the fidelity‐bandwidth principle, we investigate the hypotheses that each of the three sets of circumplex traits representing the intersections of conscientiousness–agreeableness, conscientiousness–emotional stability, and agreeableness–emotional stability will account for significant incremental variance over five‐factor model (FFM) traits in predicting CWBs. Results indicated the circumplex traits contribute incremental variance over the FFM traits, are relatively more important than the FFM traits, and account for 1.5–2.0 times more variance in the total R² associated with CWBs. Collectively, these findings show that circumplex traits capture unique information not explained by FFM traits, and this information leads to a better understanding of the dispositional nature of CWBs.     

Personality, job level, job stressors, and their interaction as predictors of coping behavior

Hypotheses concerning the relationships among job stressors, job level, personality, and coping responses were investigated in a sample of 305 electrical contracting employees. Coping behaviors were measured with questionnaire items based on interviews conducted with a sample of the subjects. Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E) were the personality variables most strongly related to coping behavior. Overall, more coping variance was explained by personality than by job stressors; however, when the effects of job level and job stressors were combined, they explained more variance in complaining/quitting and seeking social support than did the personality variables. Both work situation and personality seem to be important variables in the choice of coping behaviors. There was no evidence of interactions among personality, stressors, and job level in explaining coping behavior.     

The Mediating Role of Discrete Emotions in the Relationship Between Injustice and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: A Study in Pakistan

Purpose

Our study explores the mediating role of discrete emotions in the relationships between employee perceptions of distributive and procedural injustice, regarding an annual salary raise, and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Survey data were provided by 508 individuals from telecom and IT companies in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping were used to test our hypothesized model.

Findings

We found a good fit between the data and our tested model. As predicted, anger (and not sadness) was positively related to aggressive CWBs (abuse against others and production deviance) and fully mediated the relationship between perceived distributive injustice and these CWBs. Against predictions, however, neither sadness nor anger was significantly related to employee withdrawal.

Implications

Our findings provide organizations with an insight into the emotional consequences of unfair HR policies, and the potential implications for CWBs. Such knowledge may help employers to develop training and counseling interventions that support the effective management of emotions at work. Our findings are particularly salient for national and multinational organizations in Pakistan.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to provide empirical support for the relationships between in/justice, discrete emotions and CWBs in a non-Western (Pakistani) context. Our study also provides new evidence for the differential effects of outward/inward emotions on aggressive/passive CWBs.     

When Moral Personality and Moral Ideology Meet Ethical Leadership: A Three-Way Interaction Model

We propose a three-way interaction model based on substitutes for leadership theory to explore the relationship among ethical leadership, moral personality, and moral ideology (i.e., idealism and relativism) on two types of employee voluntary behaviors (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviant behavior). Results from a sample of 218 supervisor–subordinate dyads indicate that moral personality attenuates the relationship between ethical leadership and employee voluntary behaviors. Idealism serves as the boundary condition for the moderating effect of moral personality. However, relativism only serves as the boundary condition for the moderating effect of moral personality when predicting workplace deviant behavior.     

Disentangling the Relationship Between Implicit Aggressiveness and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: The Role of Job Attitudes

Implicit aggressiveness, measured by the Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (CRT-A), has been shown to be important for understanding counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). However, it is not clear how employees justify CWBs that stem from their unconscious tendencies. We tested the idea that implicitly aggressive individuals develop negative job attitudes (JAs) to justify their CWBs. In Study 1, 333 employees completed the CRT-A, a battery of JAs, and a CWBs scale. In Study 2, another sample (n = 341) completed the CRT-A and different measures of JAs and CWBs. In both studies, implicit aggressiveness explained JAs and self-reported CWBs. Although the design did not allow establishment of exact causal sequence, both studies were more consistent with the model where CWBs mediated the CRT-A and JA relationship.     

Self-Evaluation Bias of Social Comparisons in Ethical Decision Making: The Impact of Accountability

The purpose of this paper is to examine how accountability and judgment biases that occur in social comparisons may be related to ethical decision making. Using Jones' (1991 ) model as the theoretical framework to investigate this phenomenon, we found that self-enhancing individuals (i.e., those who thought they were more ethical in comparison to their peers) demonstrated higher responsiveness to increases in accountability than did self-effacing individuals (i.e., those who thought they were less ethical in comparison to their peers). We discuss these findings and outline the implications for future ethics research. Further, we provide practical guidance to those who administer ethics compliance programs on effective ways of facilitating ethical behavior in organizations.     

Applicant Faking,Social Desirability,and the Prediction of Counterproductive Work Behaviors

Recent studies have pointed to within-subjects designs as an especially effective tool for gauging the occurrence of faking behavior in applicant samples. The current study utilized a within-subjects design and data from a sample of job applicants to compare estimates of faking via within-subjects score change to estimates based on a social desirability scale. In addition, we examined the impact of faking on the relationship between Conscientiousness and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), as well as the direct linkage between faking and CWBs. Our results suggest that social desirability scales are poor indicators of within-subjects score change, and applicant faking is both related to CWBs and has a negative impact on the criterion-related validity of Conscientiousness as a predictor of CWBs.     

问责能否抑制个体非伦理行为？——调节定向和自我损耗的作用机制

根据以往研究,问责对于非伦理行为的影响可能产生混淆的结论,它既可能降低,也可能促进非伦理行为的产生,即出现“问责失灵”的情况。鉴于此,本文通过实验研究来探究问责失灵的理论边界和内在机制。结果发现：（1）促进定向启动下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有促进作用;预防定向下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有抑制作用;（2）促进定向启动下,问责通过增加个体的自我损耗增强了其非伦理行为,即促进定向下个体的自我损耗中介了问责与非伦理行为的关系。     

问责能否抑制个体非伦理行为？——调节定向和自我损耗的作用机制

根据以往研究,问责对于非伦理行为的影响可能产生混淆的结论,它既可能降低,也可能促进非伦理行为的产生,即出现“问责失灵”的情况。鉴于此,本文通过实验研究来探究问责失灵的理论边界和内在机制。结果发现：（1）促进定向启动下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有促进作用;预防定向下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有抑制作用;（2）促进定向启动下,问责通过增加个体的自我损耗增强了其非伦理行为,即促进定向下个体的自我损耗中介了问责与非伦理行为的关系。     

Revisiting Reciprocity: How Accountability,Proactivity, and Interpersonal Skills Shape Obligations to Reciprocate Citizenship Behavior

Across two studies, we directly test the widely held tenet in the scholarship of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) that individuals choose to engage in OCB as a result of felt obligations to reciprocate. We further examine how obligations to reciprocate operate against a backdrop of relevant contextual factors (accountability) and individual differences (proactive personality and interpersonal skill). Using an experimental method, we find evidence supporting the proposition that reciprocity obligations increase OCB engagement and that these effects are amplified by contexts high in accountability and when individuals possess high levels of proactive personality. In a subsequent field study, we find further corroborating evidence for the effects of reciprocity obligations on OCB and reaffirm the moderating influences of proactive personality and accountability. Overall, the convergent evidence supports the causal relationship between reciprocity obligations and OCB, as well as explicates the conditions under which this foundational effect operates across individuals and varying contexts.

     

组织公民行为与反生产行为的互动关系：一个基于情绪与认知整合框架的阐释

传统观点认为, 组织公民行为和反生产行为是同一连续体的对立两级或者负相关的独立二维结构。但近期研究表明, 这二者关系并非那样简单, 在特定情境下它们也许存在一种适度的正相关性。首先, 回顾组织公民行为与反生产行为的影响因素, 以及这二者关系的认知演变; 然后, 基于情绪与认知整合框架, 采用资源守恒理论和道德平衡理论探讨组织公民行为与反生产行为的互动关系; 最后, 对未来研究方向进行了展望, 如通过实证研究探索二者互动关系的边界机制、采用多种研究方法验证这二者之间互动关系、基于潜增长模型探讨这二者关系的动态变化、以及深入探讨这二者互动关系的管理实践策略。     

Personality and risk-taking: common biosocial factors

The first part of this article describes a study of the relationships between personality and risk-taking in six areas: smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, driving, and gambling. The participants, 260 college students, were given self-report measures of risky behaviors in each of the six areas and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman five-factor personality questionnaire. Generalized risk-taking (across all six areas) was related to scales for impulsive sensation seeking, aggression, and sociability, but not to scales for neuroticism or activity. Gender differences on risk-taking were mediated by differences on impulsive sensation seeking. The second part discusses biological traits associated with both risk-taking and personality, particularly sensation seeking, such as the D4 dopamine receptor gene. the enzyme monoamine oxidase, and augmenting or reducing of the cortical evoked potential. Comparative studies show relationships between biological markers shared with other species and correlated behaviors similar to sensation seeking in humans. A biosocial model of the traits underlying risk-taking is presented.     

Relationships Among Personality,Expectations About Counseling,and Help‐Seeking Attitudes

This study investigated the relationships among personality variables, counseling expectations, and help‐seeking attitudes. Participants (N = 411) completed the Revised NEO (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to New Experiences) Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992), the Expectations About Counseling Questionnaire‐Brief Form (Tinsley, 1982), and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help scale (Fischer & Turner, 1970). Results indicate that personality factors are related to help‐seeking attitudes and these relationships are moderated by expectations about counseling.     

Predictors and outcomes of proactivity in the socialization process

This 3-wave longitudinal study aimed to extend current understanding of the predictors and outcomes of employee proactivity (involving information seeking, feedback seeking, relationship building, and positive framing) in the socialization process. Two personality variables, extraversion and openness to experience, were associated with higher levels of proactive socialization behavior. Of the proactive behaviors studied, feedback seeking and relationship building were highlighted in their importance because of their various relationships with the work-related outcomes assessed in this study (e.g., social integration, role clarity, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and actual turnover). The results also highlighted the importance of 2 control variables (opportunity to interact with others on the job and skill level of the new job) in the experience of socialization into a new job.     

Measuring moral disengagement with a situational judgment test: Advancing the assessment of an important workplace construct

Moral disengagement (MD) has been characterized as a uniquely important predictor of counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). This study describes the development and validation of a situational judgment test (SJT) for measuring MD in the workplace, which offers potential advantages over existing Likert‐type scales. The development/validation efforts involved two independent rounds of subject‐matter expert (SME) review and data collected from three independent samples. The resulting test, labeled the MD‐SJT, displayed high reliability, was related to an established measure of MD as well as hypothesized personality variables, and was incrementally predictive of CWBs above the established measure of MD. This study advances knowledge pertaining to the assessment of MD, which is a critically important construct in the workplace.     

Correlates of aggressive and delinquent conduct problems in adolescence

The primary purpose of the study was to test a hypothetical model for aggressive and delinquent conduct problems in adolescence. A total of 168 adolescents from 121 families were studied using several questionnaires and a semi‐structured interview. The following factors were considered: obstetric complications, temperament (novelty‐seeking), self‐esteem, family influences (perceived parenting, alcohol abuse/dependence of parents, antisocial personality disorder of the father) and peer‐group characteristics (peer rejection and membership in a deviant peer group). The evaluation methods applied included correlation analyses and testing of two hypothetical models using structural equation modeling. The correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between adolescent aggressive and delinquent behavioral problems and parental antisocial behavior; perceived parental rejection and low emotional warmth; adolescent novelty‐seeking, self‐esteem, peer rejection and peer deviance. The two empirical models, separately for aggressive and delinquent behavior problems, revealed direct relationships between paternal antisocial behavior, parental rejection, adolescent novelty seeking, peer deviance, peer rejection, and offspring aggression and delinquency. There were, however, two differences with respect to the relationships between peer rejection, peer deviance, aggression and delinquency. First, peer rejection was more strongly associated with aggressive behavior and only moderately linked to delinquency. Second, deviance in the peer‐group was found to be closely related with delinquency but only moderately with aggression. Our findings suggest that several pathways for aggressive and delinquent conduct problems are comparable while others were not. Regarding the findings of the empirical models, we conclude that only intervention measures that include parents, peers and individual adolescents may help decrease the incidence of aggressive and delinquent conduct problems. Aggr. Behav. 31:24–39, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Platelet MAO-B, personality, and psychopathology

The article investigates the relationships between platelet monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) activity, personality, and psychopathology (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994] diagnoses. These relationships were assessed in 178 incarcerated male juvenile delinquents. Even after controlling for smoking, the authors found that both Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology were negatively related to MAO-B activity. In the final reduced model, novelty seeking fully mediated the relationships between MAO-B and Externalizing Psychopathology but not between MAO-B and Internalizing Psychopathology. It was hypothesized that low platelet MAO-B activity does not directly predispose individuals to psychopathology but is related to specific personality traits, which in turn represent a vulnerability factor for psychopathology. Future studies should help clarify the nature of the relationships between personality, biological markers, and psychopathology.