Personality and training proficiency: Issues of bandwidth‐fidelity and curvilinearity

This study investigated linear and curvilinear relationships between performance at a US law enforcement training academy and both facet and factor personality scales linking to conscientiousness (i.e. dependability and achievement) and emotional stability (i.e. stress resistance and frustration tolerance). For both conscientiousness and emotional stability, the use of separate facet scales provided the best prediction of training grades when linear and quadratic effects were considered. In all cases, the curvilinear relationships indicated that differences in scores at the low end of the distribution were more predictive of training grades than were differences in scores at the high end of the distribution. Results are discussed in terms of the value of using facet scales to predict performance and the importance of considering curvilinear relationships between personality and specific criteria, such as training grades.

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