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.

This study investigated factors influencing ongoing participation in employee development activities. A multiple-indicator structural equation model building on the theory of planned behavior and prior employee development literature was tested with a survey across 4 organizations on 2 occasions. The model uses reactions to past participation and past supportiveness of the social and organizational environment as indirect antecedents of participation, filtered through their impact on attitudes and behavioral intentions toward future participation. Learning goal orientation also influenced attitudes toward participation. Whereas personal control over participation and higher levels of voluntariness were negatively related to participation, intentions to participate and availability of opportunities arose as strong predictors of higher participation rates. Many significant hypothesized paths were found, and 85% of the variance in participation was explained by the model variables. Increasing employee awareness of opportunities and managing positive attitudes toward those opportunities are recommended as key factors for increasing participation rates.

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The Angoff method for setting cutoff scores on examinations has been researched extensively over the past 30 years, including investigations of several procedural modifications to the method. In the current study, the authors meta-analytically synthesized this research and evaluated the systematic effects of the most common modifications on the level of the resulting cutoff scores and the degree of consensus among judges. The authors found the following: (a) when judges use a common definition of minimally competent test-takers, this tends to increase judgment consensus; (b) when judges discuss their estimates, this tends to result in higher cutoff scores with increased consensus; and (c) when judges view normative data, this tends to systematically lower cutoff scores. In addition, the authors found an interaction effect which revealed that when judges use a common definition and later discuss their estimates, this tends to produce the highest standards on average, with the highest degree of consensus among judges. Theoretical and practical implications of these effects are discussed.