The relationships between personality traits and performance are
often assumed to be linear. This assumption has been challenged
conceptually and empirically, but results to date have been
inconclusive. In the current study, we took a theory-driven
approach in systematically addressing this issue. Results based on
two different samples generally supported our expectations of the
curvilinear relationships between personality traits, including
Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability, and job performance
dimensions, including task performance, organizational citizenship
behavior, and counterproductive work behaviors. We also
hypothesized and found that job complexity moderated the
curvilinear personality–performance relationships such that the
inflection points after which the relationships disappear were
lower for low-complexity jobs than they were for high-complexity
jobs. This finding suggests that high levels of the two personality
traits examined are more beneficial for performance in high- than
low-complexity jobs. We conclude by discussing the implications of
these findings for the use of personality in personnel selection.
Too Much of a Good Thing: Curvilinear Relationships Between
Personality Traits and Job Performance - ResearchGate. Available
from:
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/47403017_Too_Much_of_a_Good_Thing_Curvilinear_Relationships_Between_Personality_Traits_and_Job_Performance
[accessed Oct 18, 2015].
