Relations between high and low power groups: the importance of legitimacy

Using a social identity perspective, two experiments examined the effects of power and the legitimacy of power differentials on intergroup bias. In Experiment 1, 125 math-science students were led to believe that they had high or low representation in a university decision-making body relative to social-science students and that this power position was either legitimate or illegitimate. Power did not have an independent effect on bias; rather, members of both high and low power groups showed more bias when the power hierarchy was illegitimate than when it was legitimate. This effect was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 105). In addition, Experiment 2 showed that groups located within an unfair power hierarchy expected the superordinate power body to be more discriminatory than did those who had legitimately high or low power. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for group relations.     

The General Factor of Personality (GFP) Relates to Other Ratings of Character and Integrity: Two validity studies in personnel selection and training of the Dutch armed forces

In two studies, we tested whether scores on the general factor of personality (GFP) are associated with other ratings of character and integrity. In Study 1, a total of 3,670 applicants for a military job filled out personality surveys and went through a selection interview. GFPs extracted from two different personality surveys showed meaningful relationships with the job suitability judgments based on the interviews. In Study 2, supervisors rated the integrity of participants (N = 167) who followed a 4‐month military training at the Royal Dutch Military Police. GFPs extracted from three different surveys were correlated with integrity. The findings imply that the GFP is associated with behavioral outcomes, and that the GFP is potentially relevant for personnel selection and appraisal.     

Circular interpretation of regression coefficients

The interpretation of the effect of predictors in projected normal regression models is not straight-forward. The main aim of this paper is to make this interpretation easier such that these models can be employed more readily by social scientific researchers. We introduce three new measures: the slope at the inflection point (b_c), average slope (AS) and slope at mean (SAM) that help us assess the marginal effect of a predictor in a Bayesian projected normal regression model. The SAM or AS are preferably used in situations where the data for a specific predictor do not lie close to the inflection point of a circular regression curve. In this case b_c is an unstable and extrapolated effect. In addition, we outline how the projected normal regression model allows us to distinguish between an effect on the mean and spread of a circular outcome variable. We call these types of effects location and accuracy effects, respectively. The performance of the three new measures and of the methods to distinguish between location and accuracy effects is investigated in a simulation study. We conclude that the new measures and methods to distinguish between accuracy and location effects work well in situations with a clear location effect. In situations where the location effect is not clearly distinguishable from an accuracy effect not all measures work equally well and we recommend the use of the SAM.     

Validity evidence and measurement equivalence for the Dutch translation of the conditional reasoning test for aggression

The Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (CRT-A) indirectly measures the implicit motive to aggress by engaging respondents in inductive reasoning tasks. Most research involving the CRT-A has been based on the original English version of the test with most data being collected in the United States. The purpose of the current paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Dutch translation of this test and to examine if it could be used to predict measures of integrity. In the first of two studies, we evaluated the psychometric properties and measurement equivalence of the CRT-A across US and Dutch samples. In the second study, we examined validity evidence for the Dutch version of the CRT-A. Results from Study 1 indicated that the test was mostly equivalent across cultures (i.e. limited differential item functioning was detected). Results from Study 2 demonstrated that the Dutch version of the CRT-A was correlated with measures of behavioral integrity and provided incremental prediction of integrity over and above traditional self-report measures of explicit personality traits. We discuss the implications for using CRTs across different cultures and languages.     

General Factors of Personality in Six Datasets and a Criterion‐Related Validity Study at the Netherlands Armed Forces

Several papers showed that a general factor occupies the top of the hierarchical structure of personality, the so‐called General Factor of Personality (GFP). The first question is whether the GFP behaves similar to the general factor of mental ability (g), in that GFP scores from different personality questionnaires correlate highly. The second question is whether the GFP is related to real‐life outcomes. In six large datasets (total N=21,754) collected in the Netherlands armed forces, the GFPs extracted from six personality questionnaires generally showed high degrees of correlation suggesting they measure the same construct. Moreover, GFP was related to drop‐out from military training. This evidence strengthens the view that the GFP is a substantive construct with practical relevance.