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

TL;DR: Nederström et al. as discussed by the authors studied self-other agreement of personality ratings in various organizational contexts, and found that selfother agreement on personality can be an important concept in validating new personality measures and examining organizational phenomena related to personality.

Abstract: Nederström, Mikael Personality assessment and self-other rating agreement: moderators and implications of agreement Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2017, 59 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research ISSN 0075-4625; 577) ISBN 978-951-39-6960-8 ISBN 978-951-39-6961-5 (PDF) 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.