Lecture 5 - Personality (Consequential Outcomes) Flashcards
Direct effects
predicting from the general to the particular. E.g. does
conscientiousness predict specific expressions of conscientious behaviour?
Indirect effects
‘mediation’ – where some intervening variable or process forms a
link in the chain between personality & outcome. E.g. via situation selection (for
instance, because John is higher in openness, he is more likely to put himself in a
certain situation or pursue certain goals that lead to a particular outcome)
Interactive / conditional effects
refers to person x environment interactions. E.g. via
differential reactivity to events/situations. For instance, someone low in neuroticism
may respond more strongly/in a more adaptive way to a certain event associated
with a certain life outcome.
When are personality characteristics considered important?
if they enable us to make
predictions about what other individuals are going to do.
§ For example, who might help us, who might hurt us, who will offer
leadership, who is reliable.
Strongest individual differences predictors in job performance?
The strongest individual differences predictor was found to be cognitive ability (or
‘intelligence’), r = 0.51. But, personality adds to the predictive validity of cognitive
ability (e.g. combining cognitive ability with an integrity test leads to the highest
predictive association, r = 0.65).
Conscientiousness predicts performance across. . .
ALL occupations
extraversion predicted performance in 2 specific job areas (management + sales)
Agreeableness, openness/intellect & low neuroticism predicts performance in
customer service roles.
Conscientiousness predicts job performance moderately in the region of
r = 0.2
(moderate predictive effect).
Duncan socioeconomic index – typical top scorers include
doctors, dentists,
lawyers.
A combination of ____ and _____ predicts achievement
across programs (Kuncel et al., 2001).
cognitive ability
conscientiousness
Extraversion only predicts performance in salespeople when performance is linked
with _____
rewards
conscientiousness predicts longevity/probability of death
– those low in
conscientiousness die earlier.
Found that for the odds of returning for a 2nd health check within 7 years:
- Conscientiousness was a positive predictor.
- Extraversion & openness were negative predictors.
- Neuroticism was a curvilinear predictor – at lower levels of neuroticism there was a lower chance of participants returning for a 2nd check-up, at moderate
levels of neuroticism that likelihood increased, and at high levels of
neuroticism the likelihood decreased again.
Type A personality (y (competitive, ambitious, restless, impatient & hostile)
. . .
increases one’s risk of heart disease
Hostility appears
to be the ‘active ingredient’ in this – captured by low agreeableness.
Agreeableness may protect against. . .
biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease
(e.g. reduced sympathetic nervous system response to stress & frustration).
