The development of a shortened measure of conscientiousness and neuroticism as a predictor of behavioural performance among young adults

This study sought to develop a personality inventory (NC Tool) that measures two broad domains, namely neuroticism and conscientiousness, as these personality domains have been found to be the most predictive of general workplace performances according to past research. It is hypothesised that the personality of an individual is reflected in his or her daily and workplace behaviours, as measured by the Behavioural Item List and the indicators of work experiences. The personality subscales of the NC Tool are also expected to share significant relationships with the scores on the Impression Management scale, which is used to measure an individual’s tendency to engage in positive response distortion. A total of 319 participants, mainly Singaporeans and Permanent Residents aged 18 to 40 years, participated in an online questionnaire. Results revealed that the personality subscales of the NC Tool significantly correlated with the subscales of the Behavioural Item List (r = .65 - .85, p < .001). However, both personality subscales of the NC Tool failed to show significant correlations with the number of work experiences (p = .344 - .816), and the average work duration (p = .125 - .518). It was also revealed the scores on the Impression Management scale correlated positively with the NC Tool’s conscientiousness subscale (r = .30, p < .01), and negatively with the NC Tool’s neuroticism subscale (r = -.22, p < .01). The findings suggest the potential of using the NC Tool as a pre-employment selection tool, especially in among young adults in Singapore.Bachelor of Arts in Psycholog