Investigating intellect from a trait activation perspective: Identification of situational moderators for the correlation with work-related criteria

• Investigated the correlation between intellect and work-related behavior.
• Applied trait activation theory to identify potential situational moderators.
• Relatively large sample from the (non-student) working population.
• Significant moderation for task performance on the task level.
• Significant moderation for organizational commitment on task and organizational level.

We applied trait activation theory to investigate the situational properties that moderate the correlation of intellect, a sub-dimension of the Big Five factor openness to experience, with work-related criteria. We collected data from a sample of 185 employees from diverse organizations and positions. Results from moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceived situational properties at the task level moderated the correlation between intellect and job performance. Additionally, correlations between intellect and organizational commitment were moderated at task and organizational levels. This study shows how trait activation theory can be utilized to investigate the situational properties moderating the correlation of personality variables with external criteria. Implications for applied purposes are discussed.