The purpose of this research is to test whether measures of personality traits, widely recognized as poor predictors of job performance, might indeed serve as useful screening devices under certain circumstances. In particular, the possibility that personality variables have utility when used in conjunction with aptitude tests was empirically tested in two field settings. The results indicated that self-esteem interacted with aptitude to predictfuture performance of a sample of life insurance salespersons and that locus of control interacted with aptitude to predict performance for a sample of college students. The implications of these results for the study of personality traits in personnel selection are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Campbell, J.P., Dunnette, M.D., Lawler, E.E., & Weick, K.E. (1970). Managerial behavior, performance, and effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.
2.
Carver, C.S., & Scheier, M.R. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer-Verlag.
3.
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysisfor the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
Eagly, A. H. (1957). Involvement as a determinant of responses to favorable and unfavorable information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71-15.
5.
French, E.G. (1958). The interaction of achievement motivation and ability in problem-solving success. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 57, 306-309.
6.
Ghiselli, E.E. (1973). The validity of aptitude tests in personnel selection. Personnel Psychology, 20, 461-477.
7.
Guion, R.M., & Gottier, R.F. (1965). Validity of personality measures in personnel selection. Personnel Psychology, 18, 135-164.
8.
Hobart, R., & Dunnette, M.D. (1967). Development of moderator variables to enhance the prediction of managerial effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 51, 50-64.
9.
Hollenbeck, J.R. (in press). Control theory and the perception of work environments: The effects of focus of attention on affective and behavioral reactions to work. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance.
10.
Hollenbeck, J.R., & Whitener, E.M. (in press). Reclaiming personality traits for personnel selection: Self-esteem as an illustrative case. Journal of Management.
11.
Hollenbeck, J.R., & Williams, C.R. (1987). Goal importance, self-focus and the goal-setting process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 204-211.
12.
Hunter, J.E., & Hunter, R.F. (1984). Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 73-98.
13.
Jenson, A.R. (1980). Bias in mental testing. New York: Free Press.
14.
Kipnis, D. (1962). A noncognitive correlate of performance among lower aptitude men. Journal of Applied Psychology, 46, 76-80.
15.
Korman, A. (1970). Toward a hypothesis of work behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 54, 31-41.
16.
Landy, FJ. (1985). The psychology of work behavior. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.
17.
Lawler, E.F (1973). Motivation in work organizations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
20.
Robinson, J.P., & Shaver, PRZ. (1973). Measures of social psychological attitudes. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.
21.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80.
22.
Saunders, D.R. (1956). Moderator variables in prediction. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 16, 209-222.
23.
Schmitt, N., Gooding, R.Z., Noe, R.A., & Kirsch, M. (1984). Metanalyses of validity studies published between 1964 and 1982 and the investigation of study characteristics. Personnel Psychology, 37, 407-422.
24.
Schneider, B. (1976). Staffing organizations. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.
25.
Schneider, B. (1983). Interactional psychology and organizational behavior. In L.L. Cummings & B.M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 5, pp. 1-31). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
26.
Spector, P. E. (1982). Behavior in organizations as a function of employee's locus of control. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 482-497.
27.
Stone, E.F, & Hollenbeck, J.R. (1984). Some issues associated with moderated regression. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 34, 195-213.
28.
Vroom, V.H. (1960). Some personality determinants of the effects of participation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
29.
Weiss, H.M. & Adler, S. (1984). Personality and organizational behavior. In L.L. Cummings & B.M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 6, pp. 1-50). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
30.
Zedeck, S. (1971). Problems with the use of moderator variables. Psychological Bulletin, 76, 295-310.
