Spanish adaptation of the multidimensional workplace curiosity scale

Background

Workplace curiosity is receiving greater attention as scientfic research continues to illustrate how this personality characteristic is valuable in predicting healthy organizational outcomes - from performance to innovation. The benefits (and costs) of curiosity can be better understood by the use of precise, multi-dimensional assessment approaches.

Method

Using a cross-sectional survey with a heterogeneous sample of 722 workers from Spain (57.8% women, 42.2% men; 61.9% highly educated), we explored the psychometrics of the Multidimensional Workplace Curiosity Scale (Kashdan et al., 2020).

Results

Factor analytic results confirmed a hierarchical model (CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.04) consisting of a general first-order workplace curiosity factor and four second-order dimensions (i.e., Joyous Exploration, Deprivation Sensitivity, Stress Tolerance, Openness to People's Ideas). Internal consistency coefficients were acceptable (from 0.72 to 0.89) with evidence of convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity.

Conclusion

The Spanish adaptation of the Multidimensional Workplace Curiosity Scale maintains good psychometric properties for exploring this personality dimension in Spanish adults. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of having this scale in the Spanish labor context.