Autonomy as a moderator of the relationships between the Big Five personality dimensions and job performance.

Investigated the moderating role of autonomy on the relationships between the Big Five personality dimensions and supervisor ratings of job performance. On the basis of data from 146 managers, results indicate that 2 dimensions of personality, Conscientiousness (r?=?.25) and Extraversion (r?=?.14), were significantly related to job performance. Consistent with expectations, the validity of Conscientiousness and Extraversion was greater for managers in jobs high in autonomy compared with those in jobs low in autonomy. The validity of Agreeableness was also higher in high-autonomy jobs compared with low-autonomy ones, but the correlation was negative. These findings suggest that degree of autonomy in the job moderates the validity of at least some personality predictors. Implications for future research are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer judgments of parole success in institutionalized heroin addicts: Personality correlates and validity.

Studied the validity and personality correlates of peer judgments of parole success in 89 incarcerated heroin addicts (mean age = 22.1 yrs). Ss completed a battery of personality measures, including Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale, the Death Concern Scale, the Adjective Check List, and the Sensation-Seeking Scale. Ss judged as successes by their peers, in contrast to peer-judged failures, had significantly higher rates of parole success at 6 and 15 mo following release and differed significantly from the failures on 17 of 33 personality dimensions. Results are discussed within the context of previous studies of peer ratings in other settings, and implications for research are noted. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of rehabilitation counselors: Locus of control and attitudes toward the poor.

Studied the interrelationships among locus of control, attitudes toward the poor, attitudes toward the supervisor, job satisfaction, and the performance ratings of 90 practicing rehabilitation counselors (mean age 36 yrs). Ss were surveyed with a battery of attitude questionnaires, including Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale and the MacDonald Poverty Scale. Results indicate that Ss with an internal orientation had more positive attitudes toward the poor than Ss with an external orientation. It was further observed that internally oriented Ss received higher performance ratings than the externally oriented. Internal orientation was associated with higher job morale, greater job satisfaction, and more positive attitudes toward supervisors. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of client-counselor relationships and of the consequence that these data may have in counselor preservice and inservice training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological performance and positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Examined cognitive functions in 11 positive-symptom (mean age 36 yrs), 10 negative-symptom (mean age 33.8 yrs), and 23 mixed-symptom (mean age 31.4 yrs) schizophrenics; 15 bipolar patients (mean age 34.7 yrs); and 12 normal controls (mean age 34.8 yrs) to explore the relation between symptoms and performance. Ss were administered a neuropsychological test battery including the Purdue Pegboard, the Revised Visual Retention Test, and the Block Design subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R). Group comparisons revealed generalized deficits in schizophrenics. Positive-symptom schizophrenics scored below normal Ss and negative-symptom Ss on 2 measures tapping verbal memory. Multiple regression analyses revealed that negative symptom ratings were inversely associated with performance on visual-motor tasks, whereas positive symptoms were inversely associated with verbal memory performance. Findings are not consistent with the notion that cognitive deficits are uniquely associated with negative symptoms. Instead, results suggest that there may be specific cognitive correlates of both the positive and negative symptom dimensions. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and social resources in stress resistance.

Examined personality, social assets, and perceived social support as moderators of the effects of stressful life events on illness onset. In a group of 170 middle- and upper-level male executives (aged 32–65 yrs), personality hardiness (assessed by 3 scales of the Alienation Test, the Security scale of the California Life Goals Evaluation Schedule, and Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale) and stressful life events (an adaptation of the Schedule of Recent Events) consistently influenced illness scores, the former serving to lower symptomatology (Seriousness of Illness Survey), the latter to increase it. Perceived supervisor support had its predicted positive effect. Executives under high stress who perceived support from their supervisors had lower illness scores than those without support. Perceived family support, on the other hand, showed a negative effect on health when reported by those low in hardiness. Social assets made no significant impact on health status. Results underscore the value of differentiating between types of social resources and of monitoring the effects of 2 or more stress-resistance resources in a single study. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships of cessation of smoking with job stress, personality, and social support.

Studied the relationships between job stress, social support, personality, and cigarette smoking quit rate by multivariate analyses of responses of 200 male administrators, engineers, and scientists (mean age = 40 yrs) to a battery of tests, including the Jenkins Activity Scale. Results indicate that quitters had the lowest levels of quantitative work load, responsibility, and social support, and that they scored low on Type A personality characteristics (i.e., they were not hard driving, persistent, competitive, overloaded with work, or involved in the work). While quitters tended to be administrators rather than engineers or scientists, these occupational differences in quit rates were accounted for by occupational differences in Type A personality, work load, social support, and responsibility. A Social Support * Job Stress interaction showed that decreases in stress were associated with decreases in the quit rate only for persons with low social support. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and job performance: Test of the mediating effects of motivation among sales representatives.

Research shows consistent relations between personality and job performance. In this study the authors develop and test a model of job performance that examines the mediating effects of cognitive-motivational work orientations on the relationships between personality traits and performance in a sales job (N=164). Covariance structural analyses revealed proximal motivational variables to be influential mechanisms through which distal personality traits affect job performance. Specifically, striving for status and accomplishment mediate the effects of Extraversion and Conscientiousness on ratings of sales performance. Although Agreeableness was related to striving for communion, neither Agreeableness nor communion striving was related to success in this sales job. The importance of the proposed motivational orientations model is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A field study of job applicants' reactions to personality and cognitive ability testing.

Eighty job applicants were screened through 1 of 3 job-selection conditions depending on the job for which they were applying: interviews only; interviews plus a personality inventory (the NEO Personality Inventory); or interviews, personality inventory, and cognitive ability testing. Applicants' reactions were generally favorable in all conditions but were significantly less positive in the interview plus personality test condition. The condition of a battery of both personality and ability tests (in addition to the interview) was perceived as positively as the no-test control condition. These results suggest that personality inventories can be included in employee-selection procedures without creating adverse reactions among job applicants as long as they are used in conjunction with ability tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrimination of schizophrenic and brain-injured patients by a standardized version of Luria's Neuropsychological Tests.

Examines the ability of a standardized battery of tests, the Luria-South Dakota Neuropsychological Test Battery, to discriminate between brain-injured and schizophrenic patients. An earlier study by the present authors (see record 1979-25087-001) reported 93% effectiveness for the standardized battery in discriminating brain-injured patients and normal controls. In the present study, the battery was administered to 50 schizophrenic, mean age 41.3 yrs, and 50 brain-injured patients, mean age 44.4 yrs. Chronicity was 121 mo for the schizophrenic group and 56 mo for the neurological patients. Of the 282 items in the battery, schizophrenics showed significantly better performance on 72 items. A discriminant analysis using 60 items demonstrated 100% diagnostic accuracy. Schizophrenics performed significantly better on 10 of 14 summary measures. A discriminant analysis using the 14 summary measures achieved 88% diagnostic accuracy. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-validation of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery.

30 brain-damaged males with evidence of unilateral left-hemisphere (mean age 58 yrs), unilateral right-hemisphere (mean age 57 yrs), or bilateral-diffuse brain lesions (mean age 41 yrs), as well as 10 normal control Ss (mean age 54 yrs), were administered the standardized Luria-Nebraska test battery. Data demonstrate that the battery was effective in discriminating brain-damaged from normal control Ss. However, it was relatively ineffective in distinguishing the laterality of brain damage. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental perspective on personality in emerging adulthood: Childhood antecedents and concurrent adaptation.

Personality and competence were examined in a community sample of 205 children ages 8-12 yrs old who were followed up 10 yrs later in emerging adulthood (ages 17-23 yrs old). Adult Positive Emotionality (PEM), Negative Emotionality (NEM), and Constraint (CON) were presaged by childhood personality. PEM was associated with current success in social and romantic relationships. Low CON was associated with childhood and current antisocial conduct. NEM was broadly linked to childhood and current maladaptation, consistent with the possibility that failure in major developmental tasks increases NEM. Findings highlight the pervasive linkage of NEM to maladaptation and suggest that adult personality may develop from processes embedded in childhood adaptation as well as childhood personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diagnostic validity of a standardized neuropsychological battery derived from Luria's Neuropsychological Tests.

A. R. Luria has devised an extensive set of procedures used for neuropsychological evaluation. His tests permit the full identification of the specific deficits underlying a disorder and can be completed in about 2 hrs. The most significant flaw in the battery is a lack of standard administration and scoring that has precluded an assessment of its validity. The present study attempted to overcome these deficiencies by developing an objective form, combining Luria's procedures with the advantages of a standard test battery. The resultant test, the Luria-South Dakota Neuro-psychological Test Battery, was evaluated using 50 medical patient controls, average age 42.0 yrs, and 50 neurological patients, average age 44.3 yrs. Of the 285 measures in the battery, 253 significantly discriminated at the .05 level, and only 16 failed to discriminate at the .2 level. A discriminant analysis, using the 30 most effective items, yielded a hit rate of 100%. The battery's potential and the future research necessary are discussed. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The personality of societal groups.

Examined the personality of social situations and evidence for the construct validity of the Multivariate Personality Inventory (MPI). The instrument was administered to 20 car salespersons (mean age 39.75 yrs), 25 fundamentalist church members (mean age 27.8 yrs), 40 campus nondenominational church members (mean age 21.28 yrs), 15 patrons of singles bars (mean age 27 yrs), 50 members of women's social organizations (mean age 32.39 yrs), 131 sorority members (mean age 20.25 yrs), 32 women's softball team members (mean age 27.38 yrs), 31 medical technologists (mean age 31.13 yrs), and 44 computer programmers (mean age 31.58 yrs). ANOVA yielded a significant scale effect and a significant interaction between the social-occupational groups and their scores on the personality scales. Five of the 7 groups about which predictions were made endorsed the predicted personality scale. Church members endorsed more depressive items, computer programmers endorsed more compulsive items, car salespersons endorsed more manic items, and sorority members endorsed more hysteric items. Findings support the hypothesis of the existence of a personality of situations and provide construct validity evidence for the MPI. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proactive personality and the successful job search: A field investigation with college graduates.

The current article tests a model of proactive personality and job search success with a sample of 180 graduating college students. Using structural equation modeling, the authors tested a theoretical model that specified the relations among proactive personality, job search self-efficacy, job search behaviors, job search effort, and job search outcomes. Job seekers were surveyed at 2 separate points in time, once 3-4 months prior to graduation and once 2-3 months following graduation. The results suggest that proactive personality (a) significantly influenced the success of college graduates' job search, (b) was partially mediated through job search self-efficacy and job search behavior, and (c) was independent of self-esteem and conscientiousness. The findings are discussed in terms of their general implications for understanding the nature of the process through which distal personality factors, such as proactive personality, affect the nature and success of an individual's job search. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of college performance in older students.

Asked 543 middle-aged undergraduates (over 35 yrs old), entering or returning to a university, to take a precollege aptitude test battery (Washington Pre-College Test). Of these students, 100 women and 53 men volunteered to take the test but did not differ on any of 9 comparisons from middle-aged nonvolunteers. Compared to university freshmen, median scores for older students were above the 75th percentile for freshmen on vocabulary and spelling and below the 25th freshman percentile on quantitative tests. On the other tests, they were not significantly different from younger students of the same sex. Predicting grades in humanities, social science, natural science, and business, as well as cumulative grades and rate of progress, was best accomplished through multiple prediction using background factors in addition to test scores. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting executive performance with multirater surveys: Whom you ask makes a difference.

Multirater surveys are seen as a valuable tool for building self-awareness in business leaders. The typical process is for an executive to perform a self-evaluation of his or her leadership behaviors and then to receive feedback from his or her supervisor peers, and direct reports on those same behaviors. The present study investigated how information from different raters (e.g., peers) was related to actual job performance, that is, how the observations of others were connected to how well the executives performed. Results demonstrated that supervisor and direct report feedback were most strongly related to job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A nontransformational test of intellectual competence.

Scores on the Perceptual Acuity Test (PAT), assessing accuracy in the perception of geometric forms and optical illusions, have previously revealed an age–developmental gradient among grade school children. However, information on test and nontest criteria of validity for adult samples has not been available. Evidence from 52 males and 38 females of mean ages 36.2 and 34.4 yrs, respectively, is reported, showing PTA scores to correlate significantly with performance on the Hidden Figures Test, the WAIS, and a personality scale for intellectual efficiency and with education and observers' ratings of variables such as range of interests, level of aspiration, intellectual competence, and the valuation placed on intellectual and cognitive matters. Factor analysis of 10 of these variables identified 3 major dimensions: Perceptual Ability, Rated Intelligence, and Academic Intelligence. As anticipated, the PTA had its highest loading on the nontransformational perceptual facet. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership opinions as forecasts of supervisory success.

"The Leadership Opinion Questionnaire was administered to supervisors of a firm noted for its emphasis on progressive personnel relations and interest in the welfare of the individual employee. A correlation of .29 was found between the extent to which a supervisor believed he ought to be considerate of his subordinates and the extent to which he was rated a successful supervisor by his superiors two years later. No consistent relation was found between favoring Initiation of Structure and rated success." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The identification of traits related to managerial success.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a test battery in discriminating between successful and unsuccessful managers, a comprehensive battery was administered to 76 supervisors of an autonomous, medium-sized operating division. Results from the Guilford-Zimmerman Aptitude Survery, California Test of Mental Maturity, and Structured-Objective (S-O) Rorschach Test were related to ratings of overall performance, promotability, and versatility by peers and superiors. The test battery showed significant correlations with peer ratings in all three of these areas (.46-.68), but showed a significant correlation (.44) only with the supervisors' evaluation of versatility. The S-O Rorschach Test proved to be the most effective test in the battery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)