Paula B. Schneider

Political skill construct and criterion‐related validation: a two‐study investigation

Purpose – Political skill is measured with the political skill inventory (PSI), and the construct is composed of four distinct dimensions. Previous validation studies of the PSI found evidence in support of the four‐factor structure, but only using self‐reports. Furthermore, no efforts have been made to also identify a single, higher‐order factor solution through second‐order factor analysis. The present research aims to expand on prior work and report on a two‐study investigation of both the construct validity and antecedents and consequences of the political skill construct.Design/methodology/approach – To test construct validity, Study 1 combined self‐ and other reports of political skill from 467 employees in a confirmatory factor analysis. Study 2 used longitudinal data from 202 employees to constructively replicate Study 1 results and to test hypotheses regarding the antecedents and consequences of political skill.Findings – The results of Study 1 confirmed both a four‐factor and a single higher‐ord...

The roles of self‐disclosure, modesty, and self‐monitoring in the mentoring relationship: A longitudinal multi‐source investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of protege self‐presentation by self‐disclosure, modesty, and self‐monitoring in mentoring.Design/methodology/approach – This study used three data sources (i.e. employees, peers, and mentors) and a longitudinal design over a period of two years.Findings – Employee self‐disclosure and modesty at time 1 predicted an increase in mentoring received and mentoring given at time 2. Further, self‐monitoring moderated the modesty‐mentoring given relationship such that employees high in self‐monitoring had the strongest positive relationship between modesty at time 1 and mentoring given two years later. Also, modesty interacted with self‐monitoring at time 1 to influence the number of mentors involved with employees. That is, the modesty – number of mentors relationship was positive for those high in self‐monitoring, and negative for those low in self‐monitoring.Research limitations/implications – Employees can exercise influence over the amount and t...

Does Acquisitive Self-Presentation in Personality Self-Ratings Enhance Validity? Evidence from Two Experimental Field Studies

The aim of the present research was to demonstrate that acquisitive self-presentation in personality scales is not a barrier to their criterion-related validities in human resource contexts, but rather a means to improve them. A pilot study (Study 1) with 96 job incumbents provided preliminary positive evidence. In Study 2, in the experimental group (n=99), the instructions asked job incumbents to work on a Big-Five personality inventory (BFI-K) as if they took part in a personnel selection procedure for a personally very attractive position. In the control group (n=93) of Study 2, job incumbents were asked to answer the inventory items honestly. As expected, the correlation between the self-ratings of the motive to get along (i.e., which comprises emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) and contextual performance assessments was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in Study 2. Additionally, the correlation between the self-ratings of the motive to get ahead (i.e., which comprises extraversion and openness to experience) and task performance and leadership assessments was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in Study 2. It is proposed that responding to a personality inventory in a human resource decision situation should be conceptualized as a workplace simulation.