Cross-context Examinations of the Big Five Aspect Scales Predicting Counterproductive Behavior

Abstract

This dissertation explored two under-examined areas regarding relationships between personality and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): 1) relations between counterproductive behavior and personality at the meso-level using the Big Five Aspects (DeYoung, Quilty, & Peterson, 2007) rather than at the level of the Big Five or their individual facets, and 2) the relations between personality and counterproductive behavior in a sample of United States legislators. Three studies are presented. The first study examined the Big Five Aspect Scales as predictors of CWB. The second study investigated relations between CWB and a measure of counterproductive college behavior (CCB) as well as relations between the Big Five Aspect Scales and CCB. The third study explored the relations of other ratings of Big Five personality aspects as well as automated text inferred Big Five personality variables and their facets with politician misbehavior for a sample of US legislators. Each of these three studies shed new light on personality – counterproductive behavior relations. Study 1 and 2 provided evidence that the well-established Big Five antecedents of counterproductive behavior, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, derive the majority of predictive power for counterproductive behavior, in work and college, from Conscientiousness’ Industriousness aspect and Agreeableness’ Politeness aspect. Study 1 and 2 also demonstrated convergence between counterproductive behavior targeted toward the individual or toward the organization in the work context and in the school context. Study 3 provided novel examinations of personality of U.S. legislators as a predictor of politician misconduct, additionally showing gender and party differences in legislator personality. Both context (i.e., interview, floor speech) and personality assessment approach (others’ ratings of personality, automatic text inferred personality scores) showed low convergent validity, and displayed differential relations with external variables (e.g., gender, age, political affiliation), and politician misbehavior. Overall, a unique contribution of this dissertation was its synthesis of variables and ideas from divergent literatures in industrial and organizational psychology and political psychology and reporting of previously unexamined relations that provide insights into personality correlates of counterproductive behaviors, and personality assessment in general.