Personality and performance: A comparative analysis of workers in transition economies

We use data collected from employees in five transition economies to study whether locus of control and preference for challenge versus affiliation are positively related to worker performance. We find that earnings are positively related to the internal locus of control and preference for challenge among participants of the Armenian and Serbian surveys. In the Russian sample, earnings tend to be higher among workers with a more internal locus of control. Earnings are not systematically related to personality in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. For most countries, self-reported performance tends to be significantly higher among workers with preference for challenge. Generally, the size of the personality effect on performance is at least as great as the effect of experience or education. Although more research needs to be done before final conclusions about the causes of cross-country differences can be made, we argue that variation in personality effects across countries may be influenced by level of economic development, degree of market-orientation, and cultural diversity.     

Effects of Personality on Individual Earnings: Leadership Role Occupancy as a Mediator

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of personality characteristics on individual earnings and to examine a person’s leadership role occupancy as the potential mediator in the personality–earnings relationship. Design/Methodology/Approach  Longitudinal survey data were collected from a sample of 209 individuals. Earnings were measured 6 years after the personality variables. Findings  Two personality traits, i.e., Social Potency and Achievement, predict individual earnings longitudinally. The effects of personality were partially mediated by the person’s occupancy of leadership roles in the workplace. For those occupying similar leadership positions, people higher in social potency still have greater earnings. Implications  These findings lend support for personality assessment in personnel selection and have important implications for leadership development and individual career success. Originality/Value  Previous research suggests that personality influences individual earnings beyond the effects of traditional human capital variables. This study is among the first to distinguish personality’s direct and indirect (through leadership role occupancy) effects on individual earnings. The findings provide direct support for the incentive-enhancing property of personality as well as indirect support for the trait activation theory on the personality–earnings relationship.

Recent data for majority and racial minority differences in intelligence of 5 year olds in the United Kingdom

Data are presented from the UK Millennium Cohort Study for a sample of 14,860 5 year old British children giving the IQs of whites and racial minorities. Africans, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis obtained lower IQs than whites, while the IQ of the Chinese was higher. These group differences in IQ were consistent with the differences in educational attainments and earnings.     

The relationship between pay and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the literature

Whereas the motivational aspects of pay are well-documented, the notion that high pay leads to high levels of satisfaction is not without debate. The current study used meta-analysis to estimate the population correlation between pay level and measures of pay and job satisfaction. Cumulating across 115 correlations from 92 independent samples, results suggested that pay level was correlated .15 with job satisfaction and .23 with pay satisfaction. Various moderators of the relationship were investigated. Despite the popular theorizing, results suggest that pay level is only marginally related to satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.