Comparing Job Applicants to Non–Applicants Using An Item–Level Bifactor Model on the Hexaco Personality Inventory

Bozic

Little³

et al. 2017

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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Abstract. The current study examined the degree to which applicants applying for medical internships distort their responses to personality tests and assessed whether this response distortion led to reduced predictive validity. The applicant sample (n = 530) completed the NEO Personality Inventory whilst applying for one of 60 positions as first-year post-graduate medical interns. Predictive validity was assessed using university grades, averaged over the entire medical degree. Applicant responses for the Big Five (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) and 30 facets of personality were compared to a range of normative samples where personality was measured in standard research settings including medical students, role model physicians, current interns, and standard young-adult test norms. Applicants had substantially higher scores on conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, and extraversion and lower scores on neuroticism with an average absolute standardized difference of 1.03, when averaged over the normative samples. While current interns, medical students, and especially role model physicians do show a more socially desirable personality profile than standard test norms, applicants provided responses that were substantially more socially desirable. Of the Big Five, conscientiousness was the strongest predictor of academic performance in both applicants (r = .11) and medical students (r = .21). Findings suggest that applicants engage in substantial response distortion, and that the predictive validity of personality is modest and may be reduced in an applicant setting.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Data Analytic Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response distortion on personality tests in applicants: comparing high-stakes to low-stakes medical settings

Bozic

Little³

et al. 2017

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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“…Thus, the inclusion of honesty‐humility aligns with recent interest in dark personality (Smith, Hill, Wallace, Recendes, & Judge, ). The HEXACO model may also be particularly useful in employee selection settings (Anglim, Morse, De Vries, MacCann, & Marty, ; Hough & Connelly, ) where organisations seek to identify job applicants who are more likely to engage in bullying, theft, and other counterproductive work behaviours.…”

Section: An Alternative Taxonomy: the Hexacomentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement and research using the Big Five, HEXACO, and narrow traits: A primer for researchers and practitioners

Australian Journal of Psychology

O’Connor

2019

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Objective: Personality traits influence human behaviour across a broad range of situations and are consequently relevant to many theoretical and applied disciplines. In this perspective piece, we provide an overview of the logic underpinning personality measurement and review major personality taxonomies. We provide an extensive set of recommendations for researchers and practitioners on when and how to use measures of personality traits. Method: We overview a range of taxonomic representations of personality structure focusing particularly on hierarchical representations and five and six factor models such as the Big Five and HEXACO models. We review the various strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Results: The review outlines the major reasons for the dominance of the Big Five model, and suggests it is a good descriptive framework for studying personality in general. However we suggest that researchers and practitioners also consider alternative taxonomic personality representations such as the HEXACO. We provide a range of scenarios whereby alternative frameworks will be more appropriate than the Big Five and offer recommendations both for choosing measures in general and for implementing studies examining personality facets. Conclusion: Whilst the Big Five represents an excellent general personality framework that is appropriate across multiple situations, researchers and practitioners should be aware of alternative measures and utilise them where appropriate.

“…Finally, we calculated a Social Desirability GFP, which is derived from the 200 HEXACO-PI-R items and social desirability estimates for each of the items reported by Anglim et al (2017) (see https ://osf.io/9e3a9/ ). Specifically, we operationalized the social desirability of each item as the Cohen's d of the difference between the applicant and non-applicant samples.…”

Section: Gfpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting trait emotional intelligence from HEXACO personality: Domains, facets, and the general factor of personality

Morse

Dunlop

et al. 2019

Journal of Personality

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Objective The current study provides a comprehensive analysis of the overlap between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and personality. This overlap was examined using the HEXACO personality framework at both the domain and the facet levels, and through varying methods of deriving a general factor of personality (GFP). Method A sample of 1,370 Australian adults (51% male, age in years M = 45.5, SD = 11.7, range: 21–71) completed the 200‐item HEXACO Personality Inventory‐Revised and the Modified Assessing Emotions Scale measure of self‐reported Trait EI. Results The strongest domain correlations with Total EI emerged for Extraversion (r = .67) followed by Openness (r = .39), Conscientiousness (r = .35), and Agreeableness (r = .26). Large adjusted multiple correlations were obtained when predicting Total EI from HEXACO domains (.74) and facets (.81). The correlations of the GFP and Total EI ranged from .53 to .64 depending on how the GFP was operationalized. Conclusion Trait EI is largely captured by the HEXACO personality framework, whereby Extraversion or the GFP provides a rough initial approximation, but composites of domains and facets provide progressively better representations.