Big Five Personality Traits and Assertiveness do not Affect Mastery of Communication Skills

Jeroen Kuntze, Henk T. van der Molen, Marise Ph. Born

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background Mastering communication skills is often emphasized as an important aspect of job or academic performance. However, research into the relationships between personality factors and these skills is scarce. Purpose This study investigated whether the big-five personality factors and assertiveness predict mastery of communication skills before and after following communication skills training. Method The skills level of 143 psychology students was assessed after two communication skills courses, namely a basic and an advanced communication skills training. Personality factors were assessed with the Five Factor Personality Inventory and the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior. Results Participants showed substantial progress in their mastery of the communication skills after both courses. Surprisingly, none of the personality factors predicted the level of mastery of these skills. Discussion This seems to imply that trainees can become professional communicators, regardless of their scores on these personality factors.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-43
JournalHealth Professions Education
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2016
Externally publishedYes

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