The roles of self-efficacy and task complexity in the relationships among cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and work-related performance: A meta-analytic examination

Although cognitive ability and conscientiousness have been found to predict work-related performance, less is known about whether and when certain med iating variables help explain these relationships. This study examined meta -analytically whether self-efficacy mediates the cognitive ability-performa nce and conscientiousness-performance relationships, and whether task compl exity moderates the extent to which self-efficacy mediates these relationsh ips. Results indicated that cognitive ability and conscientiousness positiv ely relate to self-efficacy, but that the magnitude of these relationships varies with task complexity. Furthermore, results showed that self-efficacy mediates the relationships of cognitive ability and conscientiousness with performance on simple tasks, but not on complex tasks. Implications and di rections for future research are discussed.