Glossary of Terms

The Big Five Personality Constructs and Core Self-Evaluations

During the 1980s, after some four to five decades of research, development and elaboration, the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality – also called the "Big Five" model – was recognized as representing the five most basic dimensions underlying the traits identified in both natural languages and in psychological questionnaires (Digman, 1990). Essentially five synonym clusters appear to account for the majority of differences between individual personalities. These five personality traits reflect the physiological activities of different underlying arousal systems, and represent predispositions to behave in certain ways when in the presence of particular stimuli (Howard & Howard, 2001). The five traits of this model are explained briefly in the following paragraphs. These descriptions are paraphrased largely from Howard & Howard (2001) because their descriptions use less psychological terminology and are more accessible to the broader spectrum of working professionals.

Results for the Big Five Personality constructs are expressed in standardized score (T-score) format where the norm group mean = 50 and the norm group standard deviation = 10.

Factor N or Neuroticism, refers to one’s need for stability. A person high in N is very reactive and prefers a stress-free work environment. A person low in N is typically very calm and relatively unaffected by stress that might result in ineffective behavior in others. In general, women score higher than men on measures of N.

Factor E or Extraversion, refers to one’s positive emotionality or sociability. A person high in E likes to be in the thick of the action, typically interacting with other people, while a person low in E likes to be away from the noise and hubbub, crowds, etc. In general, there are no systematic differences between women and men on measures of E.

Factor O or Openness to Experience, refers to one’s originality or imagination. A person scoring high in O has a voracious appetite for new ideas and activities, and is easily bored routine or highly familiar situations. A person low in O prefers familiar territory and tends to be more practical, conventional, and conservative. In general, there are no systematic differences between women and men on measures of O.

Factor A or Agreeableness, refers to one’s accommodation or adaptability. A person high in A tends to accommodate or adapt to the wishes and needs of others, and is often viewed as cooperative. A person low in A tends to focus on his or her own personal needs and priorities, and is often described as competitive or critical. In general, women score higher than men on measures of A.

Factor C or Conscientiousness, refers to one’s will to achieve, or consolidation. A person high in C tends to focus or consolidate his or her energy and resources on accomplishing one or more goals, and typically appears to be well-organized, ambitious, and strong-willed. A person low in C prefers a more spontaneous work style, is more comfortable switching from one task to another, is typically lackadaisical in working toward his/her goals, and often appears to be less organized, less punctual, etc. In general, there are no systematic differences between women and men on measures of C.

Core Self-Evaluations (CSE) is a broad personality trait that has been shown to be a significant predictor of job satisfaction and job performance (Judge, Erez, Bono, & Thoresen, 2003). It is a combination of four primary personality traits that have been featured prominently in psychological research for decades. These include self-esteem, the overall value one places on oneself as a person; generalized self-efficacy, an evaluation of how well one can perform across a variety of situations; neuroticism (Factor N of the Big Five), the tendency to have a negativistic cognitive/explanatory style and to focus on negative aspects of the self; and locus of control, beliefs about the causes of events in one’s life – locus is internal when individuals see events as being contingent upon their own behavior, and external when they see events as caused largely by forces and events outside themselves and not under their control. CSE is a basic, fundamental appraisal of one’s worthiness, effectiveness, and capability as a person. Individuals high in CSE are generally more satisfied with their jobs, their work, and their lives than are individuals low in CSE. Individuals high in CSE also tend to perform their work and their jobs better than those low in CSE. Judge and his colleagues (2003) have suggested that existing measures of Neuroticism are too narrow to capture self-evaluations, perhaps due to the origin of Neuroticism measures in psychopathology, and hence appear to be less valid predictors of work-related outcomes as compared to CSE. Judge and his colleagues have developed and convincingly demonstrated both the reliability and multi-faceted construct validity of a 12-item direct measure of CSE – the Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES). There are no systematic differences between women and men on this measure.

Core Self-Evaluation results are expressed in standardized score (T-score) format where the norm group mean = 50 and the norm group standard deviation = 10.


Vocational Personality and the General Occupational Theme (GOT) Scales

In 1927, E.K. Strong introduced the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB). This measure was used to determine the degree of similarity between a person’s interests and those of workers in an occupation. Strong realized in the late 1930s that a , systematic clustering of the scales was necessary but was unable to find a system that had reliable psychometric qualities. In 1959, Holland introduced six basic categories of occupational interest categories that closely resembled the dimensions found in research on vocational interests using the SVIB. Holland’s classification system was an extension of the trait and factor theory from the 1920s and implied that the main goal of vocational counseling is to match people and jobs. In 1974, Strong’s empiricism and Holland’s theory were combined to develop the General Occupational Themes. (Harmon, 1994). The six vocational types of the General Occupational Theme model are described below. The descriptions are paraphrased from Harmon, et al (1994) and Holland (1997).

General Occupational Theme results are expressed in standardized score (T-score) format where the norm group mean = 50 and the norm group standard deviation = 10.

The Realistic Theme or R, refers to a person’s preference for activities that entail the explicit, ordered, or systematic manipulation of objects, tools, and machines. Realistic types enjoy jobs and activities that involve mechanical manipulations or repairs and construction. They are interested in action rather than thought and prefer concrete problems to ambiguous, abstract problems. Sample Realistic occupations include auto mechanic, gardener, plumber, and engineer.

The Investigative Theme or I, refers to a person’s preference for activities that entail the systematic or creative investigation of physical, biological, and cultural phenomena. Investigative types enjoy gathering information, uncovering new facts or theories, and analyzing and interpreting data. They prefer to rely on themselves rather than on others in a group project. Sample Investigative occupations include college professor, physician, psychologist, and chemist.

The Artistic Theme or A, refers to a person’s preference for activities that are ambiguous, free, non-systematic and that entail the manipulation of materials to create art forms or products. Artistic types have a great need for self-expression. They are also comfortable in academic or intellectual environment. Sample Artistic occupations include artist, lawyer, librarian, musician, architect, reporter and English teacher.

The Social Theme or S, refers to a person’s preference to lead others or for activities that entail the manipulation of others to inform, train, develop, cure, or enlighten. The Social type enjoys working with people, sharing responsibilities, and being the center of attention. They also like to solve problems through discussions of feelings and interactions with others. Sample Social occupations include elementary school teacher, nurse, social worker, and occupational therapist.

The Enterprising Theme or E, refers to a person’s preference for activities that entail the manipulation of others to attain organizational goals or economic gain. The Enterprising type seeks positions of power, leadership, and status. They like to take financial risks and participate in competitive activities. Sample Enterprising occupations include traveling salesperson, buyer, realtor, sales manager, and marketing executive.

The Conventional Theme or C refers to a person’s preference for activities that entail the explicit, ordered, systematic manipulation of data. The Conventional Type often enjoys mathematics and data management activities. They work well in large organizations but do not show a distinct preference for or against leadership positions. Sample Conventional occupations include bookkeeper, accountant, banker, actuary, and proofreader.


Vocational Personality and the Personal Style Scales

The Personal Styles Scales (PSS) were added to the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) in 1994. The PSS measure a person’s broad styles of living, learning, playing, and working. They complement the traditional vocational interest scales (i.e. RIASEC) that measure preferences for more specific aspects of the work itself. A distinguishing characteristic of the Personal Style Scales is that they are constructed as bipolar scales, with a distinctive style (or preference) associated with both the right and left pole of each scale. (Harmon, et. al, 1994) There are five Personal Style Scales attached to the SII. The PSS are work style , learning environment, leadership style, risk-taking/adventure, and team orientation. Descriptions for the first four were taken from Harmon, et. al (1994).

Results for the Personal Style Scales are expressed in standardized score (T-score) format where the norm group mean = 50 and the norm group standard deviation = 10.

The Work Style Scale distinguishes individuals who prefer to work with ideas, data, or things (left pole or low scores) from those who prefer to work with people (right pole or high scores). The "works with people" pole links strongly to the Enterprising and Social Types. The "works with ideas/data/things" pole ties strongly to the Realistic and Investigative types.

The Learning Environment Scale differentiates people who prefer more practically oriented, hands-on learning situations (left pole or low scores) from those who prefer academic learning environments (right pole or high scores). Occupations whose members prefer an academic learning environment include college professor, lawyer, psychologist, and physicist. Occupations whose members prefer a practical learning environment include auto mechanic, dental assistant, and nurse.

The Leadership Scale contrasts those who lead by example and prefer to work alone (left pole or low score) from those who enjoy meeting, directing, persuading, and leading other people (right pole or high score). Occupations whose members prefer a "leads by example" leadership style include auto mechanic, chemist, farmer, and mathematician. Occupations whose members prefer a "directs others" leadership style include elected public official, minister, broadcaster, and realtor.

The Risk Taking/Adventure Scale differentiates between those who like to "play it safe" (left pole or low scores) from those who like to take a chance or be spontaneous (right pole or high scores). Occupations whose members prefer a "play it safe" approach include librarian, mathematician, and dental hygienist. Occupations whose members prefer the "take a chance" approach include an athletic trainer, police officer, and electrician.

In 2004, a new PSS, Team Orientation, was added to the SII. This construct distinguishes between those who prefer to accomplish tasks independently (low scores or left pole) from those who prefer to accomplish tasks as part of a team a team (high score or right pole). Occupations whose members prefer to accomplish tasks independently include artist, graphic designer, medical illustrator, and musician. Occupations whose members prefer to accomplish tasks as part of a team include operations manager, school administrator, sales manager, and rehabilitation counselor. (Donnay, Thompson, Morris, & Schaubhut, 2004)

Other Work-Related Characteristics

Work-Family Conflict
Conflict between family and work is something that many individuals experience. Work-family conflict has been defined as "a form of inter-role conflict in which the pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect" (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Work-family conflict was measured using Carlson, Kacmar, and Williams’ (2000) 18-item Work-Family Conflict Scale (WFCS). The WFCS measures conflict using three item scales for each of the six factors that make up the overall construct. The six factors of work-family conflict include time-based work interference with family, time-based family interference with work, strain-based work interference with family, strain-based family interference with work, behavior-based work interference with family, and behavior-based family interference with work. Factor scores were calculated using the mean of two or more of the three items for each factor. Factor scores ranged from 1 – 6. Higher scores indicate more work-family conflict. The six factor scores were then summed to calculate an overall score.

Job Satisfaction
Most people spend a lot of time at work, making it a very important part of their lives. Because of the amount of time spent at work, satisfaction with their job is important to millions of workers. Job satisfaction is defined as "a person’s general attitude toward the job and toward the specific aspects of the job such as the nature of work or relations with co-workers" (Knoop, 1995). Job satisfaction has been shown to positively correlate with an employee’s commitment to an organization (Elangovan, 2001), job performance (Iaffaldano & Mulchinsky, 1985), and organizational citizenship behavior (Becker & Billings, 1985). Job satisfaction was measured using 18 items from Spector’s (1985) Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). The JSS measures 9 facets of job satisfaction including satisfaction with supervision, salary, benefits, co-workers, contingent rewards, operating procedures, communication, promotion, and work itself. Scores were calculated using the mean of 1 or more of the items from each facet. The nine facet scores were then added together and divided by nine for an overall job satisfaction score. Scores range from 1 – 6. Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction.

Life Satisfaction
Life satisfaction refers to a judgmental process in which individuals assess the quality of their lives on the basis of their own set of criteria (Shin & Johnson, 1978). A comparison is made between one’s perceived life circumstances and a self-imposed standard. The degree to which one’s life circumstances match up to the standard determines one’s life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was measured using Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin’s (1985) 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale. Scores were computed using the mean of 3 or more items. Scores range from 1 – 6. Higher scores indicate higher life satisfaction.

Work Stress
Work stress occurs when the values, goals, and expectations of the professional worker are incompatible with those of the employing organizations (Lait and Wallace, 2002). Work Stress was measured using Lait and Wallace’s (2002) 6-item scale. An overall work stress score was calculated using the mean of 4 or more of these items. Scores range from 1 – 6. Higher scores indicate higher work stress.