A personality trait-based interactionist model of job performance.
Evidence for situational specificity of personality-job performance relations calls for better understanding of how personality is expressed as valued work behavior. On the basis of an interactionist principle of trait activation (R. P. Tett & H. A. Guterman, 2000), a model is proposed that distinguishes among 5 situational features relevant to trait expression (job demands, distracters, constraints, releasers, and facilitators), operating at task, social, and organizational levels. Trait-expressive work behavior is distinguished from (valued) job performance in clarifying the conditions favoring personality use in selection efforts. The model frames linkages between situational taxonomies (e.g., J. L. Holland's [1985] RIASEC model) and the Big Five and promotes useful discussion of critical issues, including situational specificity, personality-oriented job analysis, team building, and work motivation.
Tett
Robert P
RP
Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104, USA. robert-tett@utulsa.edu
Burnett
Dawn D
DD
D001076:Aptitude; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal; D004651:Employment; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009042:Motivation; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010551:Personality; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires