DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY OF THE ‘BIG FIVE’ PERSONALITY TRAITS IN EMPLOYMENT SETTINGS

Abstract

The ability of the ‘big five’ personality traits to predict supervisors' ratings of performance is investigated using the Orpheus personality questionnaire. Orpheus is a broad spectrum work-based personality questionnaire containing 190 items. It generates scores on sixteen scales – five major scales, seven minor scales, and four audit scales. The major scales are Fellowship, Authority, Conformity, Emotion and Detail and are based on the ‘big five’ model of personality. The minor scales are Proficiency, Work-orientation, Patience, Fair-mindedness, Loyalty, Disclosure and Initiative, and are based on the Prudentius model of integrity. The four response audits are Dissimulation, Ambivalence, Despondency and Inattention, and are designed to screen for inappropriate responding. Supervisors' ratings on 245 subjects in a variety of occupations and employment settings are obtained on the Orpheus respondents. All of the ‘big five’ traits were found to have significant correlations with appropriate supervisors' ratings.