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Self‐Engagement Magnifies the Relationship Between Qualitative Overload and Performance in a Training Setting 1
Author(s) -
Britt Thomas W.,
Thomas Jeffrey L.,
Dawson Craig R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00096.x
Subject(s) - psychology , conscientiousness , officer , social psychology , applied psychology , personality , work engagement , qualitative research , medical education , work (physics) , big five personality traits , extraversion and introversion , mechanical engineering , social science , medicine , sociology , political science , law , engineering
The present study examined whether personal engagement in a leadership course would predict rated performance for the course, and whether qualitative overload would moderate the relationship. Participants were Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets participating in a 5‐week long leadership assessment course. Participants completed measures of qualitative overload (the extent to which they felt they lacked the skills and expertise required for effective performance) and the degree to which they were engaged in the course during the 4 th week. Results revealed that course engagement was a significant predictor of rated leadership performance, even after controlling for the personality variable of conscientiousness. Course engagement interacted with qualitative overload to predict rated performance, indicating that qualitative overload was a stronger predictor of rated performance for those cadets engaged in the course. Discussion of the results focuses on engagement as a predictor of performance, and how work‐related impediments matter more for engaged individuals.