Personality, Emotional Intelligence, and Skill in Service Encounters: Exploring the Role of Prosocial Knowledge as a Mediator

dc.contributor.advisorMotowidlo, Stephan J.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberOswald, Frederick L.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBeier, Margaret E.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberSmith, D. Brenten_US
dc.creatorMartin, Michelleen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-09-23T21:02:17Zen_US
dc.date.available2014-09-23T21:02:17Zen_US
dc.date.created2013-12en_US
dc.date.issued2013-09-19en_US
dc.date.submittedDecember 2013en_US
dc.date.updated2014-09-23T21:02:19Zen_US
dc.description.abstractEmotional intelligence has become a very popular topic in organizational research (Joseph & Newman, 2010; Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade, 2008), partly as a response to contentions that emotional intelligence predicts job performance as robustly as cognitive ability does (Goleman, 1995). The majority of previous research on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance has examined emotional intelligence as an individual difference construct that acts as a direct determinant of job performance (e.g. Carmeli & Josman, 2006). However, research has suggested job-relevant knowledge and skill are direct determinants of job performance and that individual differences in abilities and traits are antecedents of job knowledge (Campbell, Gasser, & Oswald, 1996; Motowidlo, Borman, & Schmit, 1997). Consequently, according to this rationale, emotional intelligence may only affect job performance through its effect on knowledge. This investigation examined whether prosocial knowledge mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and prosocial skill in role-play simulations of service encounters in medicine using a sample of 199 undergraduate students. Secondary purposes were to replicate results from earlier work demonstrating personality traits affect skill primarily through their effects on knowledge and to explore the construct and predictive validity of job knowledge further. Individual tests of hypotheses were conducted and the overall pattern of relations among study variables is summarized by a path analytic model. Analyses revealed that prosocial knowledge measured by a single-response situational judgment test mediated the effects of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotion management on prosocial skill displayed in role-play simulations. Emotion understanding was causally related to emotion management as theorized by hierarchical models of emotional intelligence (Joseph & Newman, 2010), but unexpectedly, emotional stability was not. Results clarify the role of emotional intelligence as a distal antecedent of job performance rather than a more proximal performance determinant.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationMartin, Michelle. "Personality, Emotional Intelligence, and Skill in Service Encounters: Exploring the Role of Prosocial Knowledge as a Mediator." (2013) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/77234">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/77234</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/77234en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectKnowledgeen_US
dc.subjectSkillen_US
dc.subjectPersonalityen_US
dc.subjectEmotional Intelligenceen_US
dc.subjectProsocial behavioren_US
dc.titlePersonality, Emotional Intelligence, and Skill in Service Encounters: Exploring the Role of Prosocial Knowledge as a Mediatoren_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentPsychologyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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