Predictors of effective formal mentoring: Is the mentor’s commitment all that matters?

The present research explores how the intersection of motivation and ability contributes to mentoring success. Extending the motivation-aptitude model of performance to mentoring effectiveness and building on socioanalytic theory, we examined whether mentor commitment and other mentor attributes impacted supervisors’ evaluation of mentors’ effectiveness. Using self-report and third-party rating data from a sample of 102 mentors and 14 supervisors from a multinational organization, support was found for our hypotheses. Consistent with our theorizing about the importance of supplementing mentor commitment with important aptitudes, the results of the multilevel analyses showed that mentor commitment did not translate to mentoring effectiveness as rated by one’s supervisor when mentors lacked getting along (i.e., self-monitoring and political skill) or getting ahead (learning goal orientation and strategic outlook) attributes.     

The Mediating Processes Linking Applicant Personality Traits and Interviewer Evaluation

This study examines interview preparations (i.e., social preparation and background preparation) and impression management (IM) tactics (i.e., self‐focused IM and other‐focused IM) as the mechanisms between applicant personality characteristics and interviewer evaluation. Data were collected from both actual job applicants and interviewers. Results show that personality characteristics (i.e., extraversion and conscientiousness) have indirect effects on interviewer evaluation in terms of perceived person–job fit (P–J fit) and interpersonal liking through these two types of applicant behaviors. This study accomplishes two goals: (1) it extends the socioanalytic theory of personality ( Hogan, 1996 ) by testing the intervening roles played by applicants' behaviors that correspond to getting along with and getting ahead of others; and (2) it suggests that these applicant behaviors might be important cues for practical interviewers' effective assessment of applicants' performance‐related characteristics.     

Vocational Preference and P–O Fit: Reflections on Holland's Theory of Vocational Choice

It is 40 years since Holland first proposed his theory of vocational choice. In that period it is probably true to say that it has attracted more research than any other vocational guidance measure. This paper looks at the central concept in his theory (congruence) and other areas of vocational guidance, namely "fit". It also looks at current research issues relating to Holland's theory. Particular attention is paid to the research papers that examine the overlap between the six (RAISEC) personality types of Holland and the consensually accepted "Big Five" factor view of personality theorists. Finally a summary of the major theoretical, empirical, and methodological problems in the area is discussed.     

Leader Advancement Motive,Political Skill,Leader Behavior,and Effectiveness: A Moderated Mediation Extension of Socioanalytic Theory

We examine socioanalytic theory from a leadership perspective and extend this research to examine the mediating mechanisms through which leader getting ahead motive and social competence influence leader effectiveness outcomes. A first-stage moderated mediation model was tested and supported, positioning the Leader Motive to Get Ahead × Political Skill interaction as influencing perceived institutional effectiveness and follower satisfaction with one’s leader through leader initiating structure behavior. This research both supports the relevance of socioanalytic theory for predicting leadership outcomes and extends socioanalytic theory to examine a mediating mechanism through which the interaction of the leader getting ahead motive and social competencies affects relevant performance outcomes. Contributions, strengths and limitations, directions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.     

Blurring the Dichotomy of Good and Evil: The Idiosyncratic Helping Strategies Associated with Unmitigated‐Agentic and Unmitigated‐Communal Personalities

We theorized that unmitigated‐agentic personality constructs (UAPs)—prioritizing 'getting ahead’ over 'getting along’—and unmitigated‐communal personality constructs (UCPs)—prioritizing getting along over getting ahead—are associated with distinct affect‐regulatory helping strategies. In Study 1 (N = 179), UAPs, on average, related to greater negative‐affect versus positive‐affect induction helping tactics. In two experiments, UAPs, on average, related to a greater likelihood of selecting anger‐inducing versus love‐inducing or sadness‐inducing songs to help a target overcome a breakup (Study 2; N = 313) and greater selection of anger‐inducing and hubris‐inducing messages versus authentic‐pride‐inducing and love‐inducing messages to help a teammate struggling in a game (Study 3; N = 246). UCPs manifested the opposite patterns. Generally, these associations corresponded with helping‐strategy utility beliefs and were robust to moderators of helping target (self or other; Study 2) or altruistic versus selfish motives (Study 3). Study 4 (N = 205) provided some evidence of ecological validity in contexts of recalled everyday helping. Associations between personality constructs and relative helping strategies were about moderate in size (rs ~ .20) across these four studies. Findings suggest that UAPs are associated with helping strategies believed to promote ‘contemptuous’ self‐enhancement relative to ‘innocuous’ self‐enhancement and self‐transcendence, and vice versa for UCPs. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Self-monitoring personality at work: a meta-analytic investigation of construct validity

The validity of self-monitoring personality in organizational settings was examined. Meta-analyses were conducted (136 samples; total N = 23,191) investigating the relationship between self-monitoring personality and work-related variables, as well as the reliability of various self-monitoring measures. Results suggest that self-monitoring has relevance for understanding many organizational concerns, including job performance and leadership emergence. Sample-weighted mean differences favoring male respondents were also noted, suggesting that the sex-related effects for self-monitoring may partially explain noted disparities between men and women at higher organizational levels (i.e., the glass ceiling). Theory building and additional research are needed to better understand the construct-related inferences about self-monitoring personality, especially in terms of the performance, leadership, and attitudes of those at top organizational levels.     

Values and personality

Personality and differential psychology have paid little attention to values research. Consequently, the constructs used in these subdisciplines have developed independently, and evidence regarding the relations of personality to values is minimal. This study seeks to advance our understanding of these relations and to arrive at a theoretical integration of constructs. Starting from recent developments in values theory (Schwartz, 1992; Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987, 1990) and drawing on Maslow's (1955) distinction between ‘deficiency’ and ‘growth’ needs, we elaborate theoretical links between personality and values with special emphasis on structural relations. A set of hypotheses regarding these relations is generated and tested next, using data from a study with 331 German students. These students completed both the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) and the Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI), measuring ten primary and two secondary personality variables, namely extraversion and emotionality. Joint Similarity Structure Analyses (SSAs) of values and personality variables were conducted. The findings reveal both meaningful and systematic associations of value priorities with personality variables, confirming the hypothesized structural relationships. The compatibility of our hypotheses with the complex findings of George (1954) using totally different indexes of both values (Allport–Vernon Study of Values) and personality (drawn from Eysenck and Guilford) further supports the theoretical connections proposed in this study.     

Dispositional Affect and Job Satisfaction: A Review and Theoretical Extension

Over the past 15 years, researchers have paid increasing attention to the dispositional source of job satisfaction. This research, though not without its controversies, has provided strong evidence that job satisfaction is, in part, dispositionally based. In this article we review past research on dispositional influences on job satisfaction. The two areas most in need of future research attention are (a) which trait(s) should be included in investigations of the dispositional source of job satisfaction and (b) elucidating the theoretical processes underlying the effect of dispositions on job satisfaction. In attempting to facilitate future research in these two areas, we first provide an integrative review of the personality and affective traits relevant to the dispositional source of job satisfaction. Second, we discuss a number of theoretical processes and mechanisms, drawn largely from personality psychology, which may further illuminate the dispositional source of job satisfaction. We pay particular attention to a model that seeks to unify the literature on affect and personality and discuss how applications of this model may lead to greater understanding of the personological basis of job satisfaction.     

Toward a further understanding of the intuitive personologists: Some critical evidence on the diabolical quality of subjective psychometrics

Despite significant advances over the past three decades in our understanding of the implicit dangers in ad hoc psychometric procedures, some important questions remain, particularly as regards the nature of the underlying reasoning process by which subjectively meaningful theoretical impressions are formulated and expressed. The present article seeks to address this issue, with particular attention being given to the distinction between demonstrative and dialectical reasoning. Evidence is offered to show that, at least under certain conditions, intuitive psychometricians formulate and express theoretical impressions on the basis of a reasoning process that is essentially dialectical in nature. Some major implications of this point of view for the study of personality theory are discussed. The limitations of the evidence presented, and the need for further research, are forgone.     

Complexity in the relationships among the subdimensions of extraversion and job performance in managerial occupations

The present study investigated differential relationships, nonlinear relationships, and multiplicative relationships among the subdimensions of extraversion (agency and affiliation) and job performance (getting ahead and getting along) for a sample of 179 managers. We found that: (i) agency was positively related to getting ahead performance, whereas affiliation was unrelated to getting ahead; (ii) agency had an inverted‐U relationship with getting along performance; and (iii) there was a multiplicative effect of agency and affiliation on getting along. The findings provide insight into the nature of the relationship between extraversion and managerial performance, the level of breadth at which to represent these variables for optimal prediction and explanation, and the use of extraversion measures for selection purposes.     

自我监控研究的新进展

自我监控理论是在元认知研究的基础上发展起来的。近年来,自我监控研究成为心理学研究领域中的热点课题之一。该文回顾了自我监控的理论研究以及自我监控学习的应用研究,并提出了对自我监控研究的展望。     

Personality and Health in the 1980s: Psychosomatic Medicine Revisited?

This special issue is a sign of a resurgence of interest in the role of personality in health not seen since the 1940s and early 1950s when the promises of the psychosomatic approach to health and illness appeared to be the greatest. This new look at personality and health represented by contributions to this special issue attempts to address the limitations of earlier work in psychosomatic medicine by making more explicit efforts to define personality variables precisely, to distinguish these variables from conceptually related psychological constructs, and to embed them in a body of theory and empirical research. This new work also attempts to remedy methodological limitations of earlier work by placing greater emphasis on prospective research and highlighting distinctions between symptom reports, illness behavior, and actual illness. However, the new work and earlier work in psychosomatic medicine share certain working assumptions, for example, a primary emphasis on the relatively direct impact of personality on disease onset, an assumption that personality variables operate in interaction with stressful events, and a frequent emphasis on general susceptibility to disease. Moreover, this new work frequently risks the same methodological pitfalls that limited scientific progress in psychosomatic medicine. We argue that the rapid rise and decline of psychosomatic medicine is most likely to be repeated in research on personality and health in the 1980s if reasonable criteria for considering personality variables a risk factor for disease are not precisely defined, disease endpoints (the dependent variable) are not assessed precisely, personality variables of interest (the independent variable) are not empirically distinguished from other related psychological variables, and complex relationships among risk factors are not taken into account. It is emphasized that models drawn from personality research cannot be transferred unchanged to the health arena without risking false inferences about the role of personality in health.     

Achievement,affiliation, and group incentives: A test of the overmotivation hypothesis

The theory of achievement motivation (Atkinson & Raynor, 1974) is seen as an important starting point for making theoretical predictions regarding the interaction of personality and situational determinants on group processes. However, progress in this direction has been slow, possibly because group situations may lead to overmotivation. Here, persons who might be expected to excel in such situations (e.g., success-oriented persons also high in affiliation motivation) may actually perform poorly as a function of being too positively motivated. The present study is an attempt to find a priori evidence for the overmotivation hypothesis in order to facilitate progress toward a motivational theory of group activity. Male and female subjects were run in either an individual or a cooperative performance situation. The achievement, affiliative, and extrinsic incentives in these situations were examined in conjunction with relevant personality dimensions. The results lend support to the overmotivation hypothesis. Implications for group activity are discussed.     

Commentary on Paper by Michael Parsons

A range of clinical psychoanalytic approaches in the United States is considered as they may parallel Parsons's presentation of an “independent” orientation in Britain.

Attention is paid in particular to the analyst's sense of outsiderness and concern for otherness, along with their moral implications for clinical work. In addition, the limitations of theory and defensive misuse of theory are also addressed.     

Regulatory focus and work-related outcomes: A review and meta-analysis

Regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997) has received growing attention in organizational psychology, necessitating a quantitative review that synthesizes its effects on important criteria. In addition, there is need for theoretical integration of regulatory focus theory with personality research. Theoretical integration is particularly relevant, since personality traits and dispositions are distal factors that are unlikely to have direct effects on work behaviors, yet they may have indirect effects via regulatory focus. The current meta-analysis introduces an integrative framework in which the effects of personality on work behaviors are best understood when considered in conjunction with more proximal motivational processes such as regulatory focus. Using a distal-proximal approach, we identify personality antecedents and work-related consequences of regulatory foci in a framework that considers both general and work-specific regulatory foci as proximal motivational processes. We present meta-analytic results for relations of regulatory focus with its antecedents (approach and avoid temperaments, conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, self-esteem, and self-efficacy) and its consequences (work behaviors and attitudes). In addition to estimates of bivariate relationships, we support a meta-analytic path model in which distal personality traits relate to work behaviors via the mediating effects of general and work-specific regulatory focus. Results from tests of incremental and relative validity indicated that regulatory foci predict unique variance in work behaviors after controlling for established personality, motivation, and attitudinal predictors. Consistent with regulatory focus theory and our integrative theoretical framework, regulatory focus has meaningful relations with work outcomes and is not redundant with other individual difference variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The interactive effect of vehicle signals and sensation-seeking on driver hazard perception

Does sensation seeking—as a personality trait that is closely related to risky driving—affect a driver's hazard perception, and if so, under what circumstances? Using hazard locations and vehicle signals as cues, this study classifies traffic situations into four types: danger ahead with cues, danger ahead without cues, danger behind with cues, and danger behind without cues. Based on these classifications, we examine the characteristics of hazard perception, decision-making criteria, sensitivity, and visual attention patterns of drivers with different sensation-seeking tendencies. Fifty-two experienced drivers were recruited for experiments in Dalian, China. Using computer, participants were shown videos taken from the driver's perspective and were asked to respond to hazards by pressing keys on the left mouse button. Their eye movements were recorded, and a multi-dimensional driving-style scale was used to divide participants into higher and lower sensation-seeking groups. The results showed that the higher sensation-seeking drivers had a lower hazard detection rate, fewer fixation counts, and shorter glances when there were cues, and they responded more slowly when there was danger ahead. For dangers ahead with cues and dangers behind without cues, the more attention the higher sensation-seeking drivers paid to the danger, the slower their response and the lower their hazard detection rate. The results indicated that higher sensation-seeking drivers have poor hazard perception in situations when there are vehicle signals as prompting clues and dangers ahead. In particular, for a danger with clues, the visual agility of the higher sensation-seeking drivers was worse than that of the lower sensation-seeking drivers. The more attention they paid to the danger the worse their hazard perception. The results of this study can provide guidance to teach drivers hazard-perception skills.     

The Team Personality–Team Performance Relationship Revisited: The Impact of Criterion Choice,Pattern of Workflow,and Method of Aggregation

Using meta-analytic evidence, this study tested trait- and task-based theoretical approaches to team personality management, using both team behaviors and team outcomes as criteria. Trait theories state that maximization of the team trait is harmful for Extroversion (complementary team fit) but beneficial for Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability (supplementary fit). Task-based theories state that tasks with few work exchanges are best reflected by mean trait scores, whereas tasks with frequent work exchanges are best represented by other types of scores (e.g., minimum score). Correlations between different aggregations of team personality and team performance were coded, as well as the study criterion choice and the pattern of workflow (as moderators). Partial support for both trait and task theories were found. Team Conscientiousness and Agreeableness provided supplementary fit primarily with team behaviors, but there was mixed evidence that Extroversion provided complementary fit. Furthermore, minimum and variance measures of the team trait related to team performance in tasks with frequent work exchanges, but not in tasks with few work exchanges. Results suggest several limitations with existing measurement methods, which are discussed.     

Clinical utility of dimensional models for personality pathology

Clinical utility is defined as the extent to which the DSM assists clinical decision makers in fulfilling the various clinical functions of a psychiatric classification system. Distinction is made between elements of diagnostic validity that are more or less conditional to utility (i.e., coverage, and consistency with etiology and prognosis) and components of clinical utility in the narrow sense of the term (i.e., user acceptability and accuracy, communication, reliability, subtlety, and clinical decision making). Clinical utility is often considered the driving force behind the respective revisions of the DSM system, yet it has been difficult if not impossible to obtain reasonable levels of clinical utility within categorical classifications of personality disorders. This paper presents evidence that a dimensional diagnostic system will substantially improve clinical utility, especially with respect to coverage, reliability, subtlety, and clinical decision making. In addition, some evidence suggests that the purely dimensional models outperform the so-called hybrid models (i.e., dimensional profiling of categories) with respect to coverage, consistency with etiology, subtlety, and clinical decision making. Several research options that might inform future revisions, including the choice or development of a dimensional classification, are suggested.     

Exploring the personality trait of self-monitoring on technology usage of Web portals.

This study explores the personality trait of self-monitoring in Web portal usage by employing the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model of Pavlou and Fygenson. A survey of 254 Internet Web portal users was conducted to test the hypothesized model. The results show that our data supported all five individual causal paths postulated in this study. Further, the construct of self-monitoring plays a moderating role in Web portal usage; three of the five moderating hypotheses are supported. Based on the research findings, conclusions and implications are discussed.     

The Shedler and Westen Assessment Procedure from the perspective of general personality structure

The Shedler and Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200; J. Shedler & D. Westen, 2004) has received increasing support as a dimensional model of personality pathology. However, only 1 prior study has related empirically the SWAP-200 with any other measure of personality or personality disorder. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the SWAP-200 personality disorder and personality dimension scales relate meaningfully to the domains and facets of the five-factor model (FFM; J. M. Digman, 1990) of general personality structure. Individuals (n = 94) with significant personality pathology were described on instruments of general personality and personality pathology. The results of the current study suggest that most of the SWAP-200 personality and personality disorder scales relate to the domains and facets of the FFM in a manner consistent with FFM theory and previous FFM personality disorder research. Inconsistent findings and limitations are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.