Personality and job performance: the Big Five revisited

J Appl Psychol. 2000 Dec;85(6):869-79. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.85.6.869.

Abstract

Prior meta-analyses investigating the relation between the Big 5 personality dimensions and job performance have all contained a threat to construct validity, in that much of the data included within these analyses was not derived from actual Big 5 measures. In addition, these reviews did not address the relations between the Big 5 and contextual performance. Therefore, the present study sought to provide a meta-analytic estimate of the criterion-related validity of explicit Big 5 measures for predicting job performance and contextual performance. The results for job performance closely paralleled 2 of the previous meta-analyses, whereas analyses with contextual performance showed more complex relations among the Big 5 and performance. A more critical interpretation of the Big 5-performance relationship is presented, and suggestions for future research aimed at enhancing the validity of personality predictors are provided.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Models, Psychological
  • Personality Tests*
  • Personnel Selection*
  • Psychometrics / methods
  • Reproducibility of Results