The relationship of personality to counterproductive work behavior (CWB): An integration of perspectives

The workplace literature relating personality to CWB is integrated with complimentary literatures from other disciplines including developmental and social psychology. The literature is reviewed showing how both broad-based personality dimensions reflected in integrity tests and measures of the five factor model, and specific personality traits relate to counterproductive work behavior (CWB). A model is developed showing how different personality variables shown to relate to aggression and/or (CWB) might affect different steps in the process linking behavior to precipitating environmental conditions or events. Specifically Hostile Attribution Bias and Narcissism are most relevant to appraisal and attributions, Negative Affectivity and Trait Anger connect to negative emotions, and Locus of Control and Self-Control are thought to play a CWB inhibiting role. Distinctions among reactive, proactive, and relational aggression are extended to CWB.