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Linking personality to helping behaviors at work: an interactional perspective
Eden B King1, Jennifer M George, Michelle R Hebl
1Department of Psychology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA. edenking@aol.com
Journal of Personality
|April 28, 2005
Summary
Conscientiousness influences helping behaviors at work, but only when combined with positive interpersonal traits like agreeableness and extraversion. This clarifies how personality impacts workplace conduct.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Organizational Behavior
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Dispositional antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are not fully understood.
- Previous research on personality traits predicting OCBs has produced inconsistent findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that conscientiousness interacts with interpersonal personality dimensions in predicting helping behaviors.
- To clarify the relationship between personality traits and helping behaviors in an organizational context.
Main Methods:
- Survey responses from 374 women and their supervisors were analyzed.
- Statistical methods were used to examine interactions between personality traits.
Main Results:
- Significant interactions were found between conscientiousness and agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability in predicting helping behaviors.
- The impact of conscientiousness on helping behaviors was moderated by interpersonal traits.
Conclusions:
- A positive interpersonal orientation is crucial for conscientiousness to effectively predict helping behaviors.
- Findings have implications for understanding personality's role in workplace conduct and for personnel selection practices.