Outline for My Testing Class Paper on Measuring Conscientiousness

By a Conscientious Student

What is conscientiousness?

It has variously been defined as:

impulse control,

goal-directedness,

planfulness,

the ability to delay gratification,

the propensity to follow norms and rules [note to self - give citations for each item in this list]

Measures of conscientiousness have reflected the theorists' definition. Some measure achievement, whereas others focus on order, impulse control, or responsibility.

Theorist/test Definition

Buss & Plomin EASI	Low Impulsivity
Cattell 16PF	Super Ego Strength
Comrey CPS	Orderliness and Social Conformity
Costa & McCrae NEO-PI	'Conscientiousness'
Gough CPI Factors	Control
Hogan HPI	Prudence
Jackson PRF	Work Orientation
Tellegen MPQ	Constraint
Zuckerman	Low Sensation Seeking

Describe each test and how it was constructed w/ reliability estimates.

All of these measures correlate highly with each other (Goldberg, 1990). None have been shown to be better than current five-factor model tests such as the NEO-PI.

Validity: Conscientiousness as measured by NEO-PI has been shown to predict

1. fewer car accidents (note to self - look this up)

2. job performance (Hogan, Rybicki, Motowidlo, & Borman, 1998; Ones, Viswesvaran, & Schmidt, 1993)

3. long-term career success (Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999)

4. college retention (Tross, Harper, Osher, & Kneidinger, 2000)

5. marital stability (Kelly & Conley, 1987; Tucker, Kressin, Spiro, & Ruscio, 1998)

6. healthy life-style behaviors (Booth-Kewley & Vickers, 1994; Clark & Watson, 1999)

7. longevity (Friedman et al., 1993)

8. eating habits (Goldberg & Stycker, 2002)

It appears that conscientiousness is a measurable stable trait although it seems to increase with age.

There may be other measures that are actual conscientiousness measures but not labeled as such (e.g. Lay's Procastination Scale or "positive perfectionism")

Conclude by recommending the NEO-PI as the most up-to-date and generally applicable measure.