Individual Differences in Judgment and Decision-Making: Novel Predictors of Counterproductive Work Behavior

Abstract

The current paper proposed individual differences in judgment and decision-making (JDM)—namely, the skill associated with recognizing social norms, decision-making styles, and risk–benefit perceptions—as a novel set of predictors of counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We hypothesized that the skill associated with recognizing social norms, rational decision-making style, and perceived riskiness of unethical behavior would be related negatively to CWB, whereas the avoidant decision-making style, spontaneous decision-making style, and perceived benefits of unethical behavior would be related positively to CWB. Moreover, we hypothesized that JDM-focused individual differences would exhibit incremental validity above and beyond the traditional individual difference predictors of CWB (personality, trait affect, and cognitive ability). Results from three independent samples provided strong support for the hypotheses. The strongest predictor of CWB was individual differences in perceived benefits of unethical behavior (meta-analytic correlation across the three samples =.487). This result suggests a simple insight, yet one almost completely missing from the existing CWB literature: People who believe unethical behavior is likely to benefit them will tend to enact more CWB than those who do not. Additionally, across the three samples, the novel JDM-focused individual difference predictors performed well in comparison to the traditional individual difference predictors, suggesting their usefulness to research and practice. We therefore suggest several avenues for future research on JDM-focused individual differences as predictors of CWB. Additionally, vis-à-vis practical implications, we discuss the possibility of using JDM-focused individual differences in employee selection and organizational intervention contexts with the aim of reducing CWB.