역량평가(Assessment Center) 상황에서 불안, 대처기대, 평가의 중요성 인식 및 수행의 관계: 조절된 매개 모형 = Relationships between Anxiety, Coping Expectancies, Perceived Importance, and Performance in Assessment Centers: A Moderated Mediation Model

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Research on assessment centers (ACs) has primarily emphasized their practical utility in evaluating competencies. The present study extends the literature by exploring the psychological mechanisms of anxiety, coping expectancy, perceived importance of assessment, and performance in high-stakes AC contexts. Using data from 130 public-sector employees in South Korea, this study examined the relationships between anxiety and performance focusing on coping expectancy as a mediator and perceived importance of assessment as a moderator. Unlike prior studies that relied solely on self-reported measures, this study incorporated actual performance scores based on professional assessors’ evaluations of two simulated tasks. Although the linear effect of anxiety on performance was not statistically significant, the further analysis revealed a significant curvilinear effect, suggesting that performance declines more steeply when anxiety exceeds a certain level. Furthermore, the indirect effect of anxiety on performance through coping expectancy was significant when the perceived importance of the assessment was at or above the mean, but not significant at lower levels. These findings suggest that the perceived importance of the assessment may moderate the indirect relationship between anxiety and performance via coping expectancy.
Our findings contribute to the understanding of psychological dynamics in ACs and suggest the need to manage anxiety, increase coping expectancy, and adjust perceived importance of assessments to improve performance outcomes.