Personality assessment and self-other rating agreement : moderators and implications of agreement

Abstract

One essential aspect of personality test validation is to estimate the magnitude of self-other agreement of personality ratings. In this method, external observers form their personality judgements of the target person. The self-other agreement coefficients obtained provide approximations of the validity of the measure used. The magnitude of self-other agreement on personality has also proven to be useful in explaining real-life criteria, such as managerial performance. The main aim in this research was to study self-other agreement of personality ratings in various organizational contexts. First, the overall magnitude of self-other agreement was examined in a personnel selection sample; second, the moderating factors affecting the level of agreement were estimated; third, the relationships between abnormal and normal personality measures via self-other agreement were explored; fourth, a new personality test was validated; and fifth, the consequences of agreement in leadership behavior were examined. The respondents were real-life job applicants (Studies I and II) and technology managers in a research organisation (Study III). Their personality was measured with four different instruments: Personality Research Form (PRF; Jackson, 1999), Stress Reaction Style (SRS; Nederström & Furnham, 2012), PK5 (2007) and Work Personality Inventory (WOPI; Leung & Zedeck, 2016).The main results demonstrated, first, that it is possible to obtain substantial self-other agreement on personality during a job interview. Second, moderating factors, such as demographic factors and the trait being judged, may affect the magnitude of this agreement. Third, self-other agreement can be employed in validating a new personality measure by using expert ratings as an external criterion. Fourth, the implications of managerial self-other agreement may be useful in predicting the occupational well-being of subordinates. From a practical point of view, it seems that self-other agreement on personality can be an important concept in validating new personality measures and examining organizational phenomena related to personality, such as leadership outcomes and personality assessments in a job interview.