creator Dimitrov, Roger advisor Mead, Alan When using a personality questionnaire for predicting behavior, criterion-related validity improvements have historically focused on improving scale level construction techniques over examining the global impact of item-level characteristics on criterion-related validity. This article investigates the impact of item-level characteristics on the criterion-related validity of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) (as a personality instrument) as a predictor of job-related behavior. Two self-report FFM measures were correlated with workplace observer ratings to derive mean validity scores for each of the FFM items. A panel of judges then rated these items on the following item characteristics: ambiguity, abstractness, comprehensibility, wording, negation, transparency and social desirability. As hypothesized, social desirability, negation, wording and transparency were correlated with criterion-related validity. Contrary to the study hypothesis, abstractness was found to be positively correlated with criterion-related validity. Submitted by Erma Thomas (thomase@iit.edu) on 2015-09-02T18:11:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis 05.03.15.pdf: 768568 bytes, checksum: 1d3a7321ba82a1cbf7ca3612d683e319 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-02T18:11:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis 05.03.15.pdf: 768568 bytes, checksum: 1d3a7321ba82a1cbf7ca3612d683e319 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05 M.S. in Psychology, May 2015 2015 2015-05 http://hdl.handle.net/10560/3509 en Thesis born digital application/pdf In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/ Restricted Access PSYCH / Institute of Psychology Illinois Institute of Technology Affiliated department