Psychology News
Researchers at the University of Arkansas led a scientific inquiry into agreeableness, one of the success traits greatly regarded in professional lives. The study is published in the journal, Personality and Social Psychology Review.
The “Big 5” Success Traits
The researchers, in a series of earlier studies, explored how the Big 5 personality traits—conscientiousness, extraversion, openness and neuroticism, agreeableness—affected job performance. They observed that these success traits and performance varied greatly across different occupational groups.
The Study
In order to understand the impact of agreeableness on job performance, the researchers summarized 142 meta-analyses and studied more than 1.9 million participants from roughly 3,900 studies. The study was conducted in phases, considering academic and organizational settings and 275 variables (such as physical and mental health, performance, motivation, and life success).
Promising Findings
The results showed that agreeableness had a desirable effect on 93% of variables and outcomes, making it helpful for both individuals and organizations. Agreeableness is greatly associated with self-transcendence, contentment, teamworking, and work investment; therefore, out of the big 5 personality traits, it can be signaled out as a trait with the most impact on job performance and general success in life.
One of the lead researchers, Michael Wilmot, explained, “We know this is important—-perhaps now more than ever—-because agreeableness [helps] people [build] positive relationships, which is not lost on organizational leaders.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Wilmot, M. P., & Ones, D. S. (2022). Agreeableness and Its Consequences: A Quantitative Review of Meta-Analytic Findings. Personality and Social Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/10888683211073007
