Lucy W. Gibson

Intelligence, “Big Five” personality traits, and work drive as predictors of course grade

Abstract General intelligence, Big Five personality constructs, and a measure of work drive were studied in relation to course grade in an undergraduate psychology course taught by the same professor for 175 students over a 5-year period. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, general intelligence accounted significantly for 16% of the variance in course grade; Big Five personality measures accounted significantly for an additional 7% of the variance; and work drive accounted significantly for an additional 4% of the variance. However, when work drive was entered before the Big Five variables, the Big Five variables did not add significantly (either as a set or individually) to the prediction of course grade. Results were discussed in terms of the importance of personality constructs in uniquely predicting academic performance and the need for additional study using more diverse predictors and aggregated criterion measures.

An Investigation of Personality Traits in Relation to Career Satisfaction

We examined personality traits in relation to career satisfaction and job satisfaction for 5,932 individuals in career transition. Personality traits were related to career satisfaction and job satisfaction in the total sample and 14 separate occupational groups. Regression analyses revealed three personality traits consistently related to career satisfaction: emotional resilience, optimism, and work drive in initial and holdout samples as well as in all 14 occupational groups, accounting for an average of 17% of career satisfaction variance. Personality traits correlated with career satisfaction included the Big Five traits of conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness and other, narrower traits, such as assertiveness, customer service orientation, and human managerial relations orientation. Results were discussed in terms of Hollands general personal competence factor, Golemans emotional intelligence, career adaptation, and the nomothetic span of personality constructs. Also discussed were study limitations, suggestions for future research, and practical implications for career counseling.

An Investigation of Personality Traits in Relation to Adolescent School Absenteeism

We examined the Big Five personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness, as well as four narrower traits of Aggression, Optimism, Tough-Mindedness, and Work Drive in relation to absences from school for middle- and high-school students. Participants were 248 seventh grade students, 321 tenth grade students, and 282 twelfth grade students. Most of the Big Five absence correlations were significant in the expected direction at all 3 grade levels. While Aggression, Optimism, Work Drive were significantly related to absences, only Work Drive added incremental variance to the prediction of absences beyond the Big Five traits. Study results were generally similar across grade levels. Findings were discussed in terms of dispositional absenteeism, the generalizability of the Big Five trait model, and the utility of more narrowband traits. Implications were drawn for early identification of absence-prone students and the precedent role of personality variables in school absence research on the effects of other variables, programs, and interventions.

Sense of Identity and Collegiate Academic Achievement.

In a sample of 434 university freshmen, Sense of Identity was found to be positively related to GPA, even controlling for the Big Five personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness. Similar correlations were found for racial and gender subgroups. When all study variables entered a stepwise multiple regression analysis to predict GPA variance, Sense of Identity accounted for 9%; Emotional Stability, 1%. Results were discussed vis-a-vis Chickering and Reissers (1993) and Hamrick, Evans, and Schuhs (2002) emphasis on identity as a key outcome of college student development. Directions for future research and study limitations were described.

Personality Characteristics of Business Majors as Defined by the Big Five and Narrow Personality Traits

Using data from 347 undergraduate business majors and 2,252 nonbusiness majors at a large Southeastern university, the authors drew on J. L. Hollands (1985) vocational theory and investigated whether the 2 groups differed on the Big Five model of personality (B. De Raad, 2000; agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, openness) and 4 narrow personality traits. For business majors, the authors also examined the relations between personality traits and life satisfaction. Business majors scored higher for conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, assertiveness, and tough-mindedness, but they scored lower on agreeableness and openness. All of the traits except for agreeableness and tough-mindedness correlated significantly and positively with life satisfaction. The authors discuss results in terms of similar relations in business occupations and support of vocational theory.

An Investigation of Personality Traits in Relation to Intention to Withdraw From College

We examined the Big Five(De Raad, 2000) personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness, plus the narrow personality traits of Aggression, Career-Decidedness, Optimism, Self-Directed Learning, Sense of Identity, Tough-Mindedness, and Work Drive in relation to intention to withdraw from college. Among 233 university freshmen, all of the traits except Tough-Mindedness and Openness were significantly related to withdrawal intention, with three traits—Sense of Identity, Emotional Stability, and Work Drive—accounting for 22% of the variance in intention to withdraw. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

The Development of a Big Five Adolescent Personality Inventory

Using data from 3,752 middle and high school students, a series of eight studies developed and validated a measure of the Big Five personality traits tailored to adolescents, the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory (APSI). Study 1 tested the internal consistency reliability of the first version of the APSI. Study 2 validated the APSI against teacher ratings of Big Five traits. Study 3 confirmed the five-factor structure of the APSI. Study 4 developed evidence for the criterion-related validity of the APSI in two high schools using GPA, absences, and behavior problems. Study 5 demonstrated convergence of traits measured in the APSI and the NEO-FFI. Study 6 investigated the construct validity of the APSI in relation to the 16 PF, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and Otis-Lennon intelligence test. Study 7 examined known-group validation with two groups-an at-risk group of high school students and a high school leadership group. Study 8 provided descriptive statistics, coefficient alphas ranging from .80 to .85, and intercorrelation coefficients for subscales in the revised version of the APSI. Together the eight studies demonstrate the psychometric adequacy of the new Adolescent Personal Style Inventory.

Personality traits and career satisfaction of human resource professionals

Occupational choice frameworks suggest that personality factors influence person-job fit. This paper focuses on personality factors and career satisfactions of human resources (HR) managers. ‘Big Five’ and narrow personality traits as well as managerial style variables were drawn from an archive of 1846 HR managers and 1375 non-managers. Results indicated that HR managers differed from 51,297 individuals in other occupations and from non-managerial HR specialists on many of the study variables, most of which were also related to career satisfaction. Implications for differentiation selection and development of HR managers were discussed.

Identity and Personality: The Big Five and Narrow Personality Traits in Relation to Sense of Identity

Based on a sample of 2,092 college students, Sense of Identity was found to be significantly related to the Big Five traits (Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness) as well as four narrow personality traits (Aggression, Optimism, Tough-Mindedness, and Work Drive). Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that after controlling for age, year in school, and sex, the Big Five traits accounted for 34% of the variance in Sense of Identity, with the narrow traits accounting for an additional 16% of the variance. A combination of six Big Five and narrow traits account for over 50% of the variance in Sense of Identity for the total sample as well as for demographic subgroups referenced by age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, family characteristics, transfer, and commuter status. It was suggested that personality traits may be influencing sense of identity. Results were discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological implications.

Personality correlates of self-employed small business owners' success.

OBJECTIVE Drawing on prior occupational choice research on entrepreneurs and self-employed business owners, we examined personality predictors of their occupational business success and work satisfaction. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURES: A sample of 147 small business owners completed a web-based assessment of 14 work-related personality traits--adaptability, autonomy, competitiveness, dependability, emotional resilience, goal-setting, optimism, persistence, risk tolerance, self-promotion, networking, and tolerance for financial insecurity, work-based locus of control, and work drive--and three self-reported indices of business success--revenue growth, profit growth, and income growth--as well as multiple facets of individual satisfaction. Criterion variables included composite business success and overall satisfaction. RESULTS Ten traits correlated with business success. The top four personality predictors of success--goal-setting, social networking, emotional resilience, and work drive--together accounted for 16% of the variance. Similarly, 12 of 14 personality traits were positively related to overall satisfaction. The top three personality predictors of satisfaction--optimism, work-based locus of control, and work drive--accounted for 29% of the variability in satisfaction. An expectancy analysis revealed that the percent of participants who reported at least a 20% increase in sales and profits the preceding year was 26% versus 54% for individual scoring in the lower and upper third of a personality composite measure. CONCLUSIONS Results carry implications for future research, and have direct, practical applications for prospective and current entrepreneurs and self-employed owners of small businesses.