Chapter 5: Green is the Color of This Chameleon: A Study of Pay Rate and Applicant Response Behavior

In the last 2 decades, personality measures have gained prominence as a selection method capable of screening out undesirable job candidates, and as top down selection tools that are often used in multitest batteries. The emergence of a refined five factor model of personality (McCrae & Costa, 1985) has allowed for more focused research on the utility of personality measures in a selection setting. The factors associated with this model (as outlined and defined by Barrick & Mount, 1991) are: neuroticism, extra-version, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Neuroticism refers to the tendency to exhibit traits such as anxiousness, anger, worry, and insecurity. The dimension of extraversion is a collection of traits including talkativeness, sociability, and assertiveness. Openness to experience may be one of the least clearly defined factors, and is composed of predispositions toward being imaginative, curious, and cultured. Agree-ableness is a tendency to exhibit cooperativeness, courtesy, and tolerance. The final factor, conscientiousness, is reflective of behaviors such as carefulness, dependability, and attention to detail.