Eastern Kentucky University
The Effect of Personality on Academic Organizational Citizenship Behaviors
Institution
Eastern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Jonathan Gore
Abstract
Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are behaviors that are helpful for an organization, are performed through the altruistic good will of an individual, and that are carried out without suggestion by a job description or coercion from an authority figure (DiPaola, 2005). In the present study, an OCB evaluation test for the workplace was modified into an academic OCB test by altering the context and wording of the questions. It was hypothesized that The Big Five personality traits, especially agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, would predict academic OCBs. Participants in this study included 270 undergraduate college students who completed online assessments of their personality and their levels of OCBs. Agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism were all found to be significant influences on academic OCBs. Students possessing higher levels of agreeableness demonstrated higher levels of organizational citizenship behavior. The same was also shown for students with higher levels of conscientiousness. Neuroticism was also found to have been a significant predictor of academic OCBs as people with higher levels of neuroticism displayed lower levels of OCBs. Just as workplace and general OCBs are used frequently to assess employees’ capabilities and potential, academic OCBs could be used to assess the potential of students as tutors or other employees in the academic field. Implications for future work, as well as limitations of the current study, are discussed.
The Effect of Personality on Academic Organizational Citizenship Behaviors
Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are behaviors that are helpful for an organization, are performed through the altruistic good will of an individual, and that are carried out without suggestion by a job description or coercion from an authority figure (DiPaola, 2005). In the present study, an OCB evaluation test for the workplace was modified into an academic OCB test by altering the context and wording of the questions. It was hypothesized that The Big Five personality traits, especially agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, would predict academic OCBs. Participants in this study included 270 undergraduate college students who completed online assessments of their personality and their levels of OCBs. Agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism were all found to be significant influences on academic OCBs. Students possessing higher levels of agreeableness demonstrated higher levels of organizational citizenship behavior. The same was also shown for students with higher levels of conscientiousness. Neuroticism was also found to have been a significant predictor of academic OCBs as people with higher levels of neuroticism displayed lower levels of OCBs. Just as workplace and general OCBs are used frequently to assess employees’ capabilities and potential, academic OCBs could be used to assess the potential of students as tutors or other employees in the academic field. Implications for future work, as well as limitations of the current study, are discussed.