The usefulness of personality measures in predicting performance across and within Canadian Forces job families

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between personality measures and job performance within the Canadian Forces (CF). It addressed whether personality measures can predict performance both within and across job families, and attempted to predict membership in job families using personality measures.

Canadian Forces (CF) members (n = 757) and Saint Mary's University (SMU) students (n = 330) completed the Measures of Personal Attributes (MPA); a version of the US Army's occupational personality instrument 'Assessment of Background and Life Experiences'. CF members completed the MPA as part of a 1996 CF Omnibus survey. In December 1997, SMU students completed the MPA and rated 20 CF occupations in order of preference. Students were used to generalize the findings from the military sample to potential CF applicants.

While preliminary, the results of this study suggest that personality measures can meaningfully predict performance across and within CF job families and also can be used to predict membership in ability-based job families. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)