Relationship of Personality to Performance Motivation A Meta-Analytic Review

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology Vol. 87; no. 4; pp. 797 - 807
• Main Authors: Judge, Timothy A, Ilies, Remus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-08-2002
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Correlation analysis; Employee Performance Appraisal; Expectations; Female; Five Factor Personality Model; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Goal Setting; Human; Humans; Job performance; Male; Meta-analysis; Models, Psychological; Motivation; Neurotic Disorders - psychology; Occupations; Personality; Personality Traits; Personality. Affectivity; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Self-Efficacy; Studies; Systematic review; Task Performance and Analysis; Validity; Human; Motivation; Goal setting; Personality; Review; Performance; Metaanalysis
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.797

This article provides a meta-analysis of the relationship between the five-factor model of personality and 3 central theories of performance motivation (goal-setting, expectancy, and self-efficacy motivation). The quantitative review includes 150 correlations from 65 studies. Traits were organized according to the five-factor model of personality. Results indicated that Neuroticism (average validity = −.31) and Conscientiousness (average validity =.24) were the strongest and most consistent correlates of performance motivation across the 3 theoretical perspectives. Results further indicated that the validity of 3 of the Big Five traits-Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness-generalized across studies. As a set, the Big Five traits had an average multiple correlation of.49 with the motivational criteria, suggesting that the Big Five traits are an important source of performance motivation.