Four indirect processes affecting the relationship between self-reported pe
rsonality attributes and rated job behaviors were examined: through correla
ted personality attributes which are conceptually concordant with a criteri
on, through correlated cognitive ability conceptually concordant with a cri
terion, through correlated concepts in general, and in terms of an emphasis
on motivation. It was shown that all four indirect processes contributed t
o the magnitude of personality-behavior correlations, both singly and in co
mbination, over and above variations in inherent logical overlap, scale rel
iability and the observability of a criterion. The same pattern was present
for conventional validity coefficients (correlations between self-reports
and ratings by a supervisor) and judgments all made by a single individual,
suggesting that the measured validity of personality scales reflects gener
al perceptions about interdependencies among attributes. Copyright (C) 2000
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.