Motivation, cognitions and traits: predicting occupational health, well-being and performance

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Code, Sharon | Langan-Fox, Janice

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Motivation, cognitions and traits: predicting occupational health, well-being and performance

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/34439

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Title: Motivation, cognitions and traits: predicting occupational health, well-being and performance
Author(s): Code, Sharon; Langan-Fox, Janice
Abstract: Past research on vulnerability/resistance to occupational stress and strain has focused predominantly on personality defined at the trait or dispositional level (e.g. Type A Behaviour Pattern, Locus of Control, Dispositional Optimism and Negative Affectivity). This is problematic for two reasons. First, within the current, prevailing integrative view of personality there are three main elements: motivation, cognitions, and traits (Winter, 1996; McAdams, 2000). The second problem is that there are two branches that together define personality psychology as a discipline: (a) the nomothetic or 'individual difference' approach; and (b) the 'ideographic' approach, that is the structure and organization of personality at the individual level (Epstein, 1994), yet trait theory-and especially the 'Big Five' model-have paid little attention to the latter, a trend that is also evident in the occupational stress literature. The central thesis of the current paper is that motivation, cognitions and traits should contribute more variance to the stress-strain relationship than trait personality alone. A preliminary model is presented and recommendations for future research provided.
Publication type: Journal article
Source: Stress and Health, Vol. 17, no. 3 (Apr 2001), p. 159-174
Publication year: 2001
Keyword(s): Behaviour pattern; Health; Immune function; Job satisfaction; Negative affectivity; Occupational stress; Power motivation; Personality; Stress; Well-being
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISSN: 1532-3005
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smi.897
Copyright: Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Publisher does not officially support author/institution self-archiving of either the postprint (final, revised accepted draft) or published version of full text.
Peer reviewed