Download Tag: journal articles

Personality assessment for work: Legal, I O, and clinical perspective

Dilchert, S., Ones, D. S., & Krueger, R. F.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 12(2), 143-150.
(2019)

Personality tests are reliable and valid tools that can aid organizations in identifying suitable employees. They provide utility for maximizing organizational productivity and for avoiding claims of negligent hiring. When properly deployed, personality tests (both normal and abnormal/clinical) pose little threat of violating individuals’ rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other Equal Employment Opportunity–related laws and regulations. As evidenced by a dearth of successful legal challenges, even with increasing use of personality tests in recent years, organizations have become educated and sophisticated with regard to the ethical and legal use of such tests in employment settings. We predict this trend will continue, incorporating recent developments relating to contemporary models of psychopathology (Kotov et al., 2017; Markon, Krueger, & Watson, 2005), neurobiologically informed theoretical explanations of psychopathology (DeYoung & Krueger, 2018), and the alternative model of personality disorders (AMPD) included in the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition; DSM-5).

Multicultural experience: Development and validation of a multidimensional scale

Aytug, Z. G., Kern, M. C., & Dilchert, S.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 65, 1-16.
(2018)

In response to the lack of a psychometrically tested instrument that can measure different types and modes of multicultural experience (MCE), we introduce the Multicultural Experience Assessment scale (MExA) that distinguishes between multicultural exposures and multicultural interactions, which are measured based on frequency, duration, and breadth. We evaluated MExA’s factor structure, internal consistency, and construct-related validity in six studies using highly diverse student and U.S. national samples (total N=1373). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor structure. Results provide full support for the convergent and criterion-related validity, and partial support for discriminant validity, and reveal high internal consistency of the subscales. Exploratory results identified frequency (vs. duration and breadth) of MCE as a better predictor of creativity. This research improves our understanding of the MCE construct and presents a psychometrically tested measure to investigate its dimensions and their relationships with other constructs.

Counterproductive sustainability behaviors and their relationship to personality traits

Dilchert, S.
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 26(1), 49-56.
(2018)

This article introduces the concept of ‘counterproductive sustainability behaviors’ (CSB) as a novel expression of counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). It presents a short measure of CSB that applies the construct of counterproductivity to employee behaviors in the environmental sustainability domain. Personality assessments were administered to three independent samples— employed students, experienced employees, and job applicants—to investigate the relationship between personality and CSB (self-reports and other-rated), and to compare results to those obtained in the prediction of traditional CWB.

Family interference with work and its relationship with organizational citizenship and counterproductive work behaviors

Mercado, B. K., & Dilchert, S.
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 25(4), 406-415.
(2017)

Most employed adults must manage both work and family responsibilities. Consequently, many employees also experience conflict between their roles, which often leads to compromised performance in one or both domains. We examined family interference with work (FIW) as a potential drain on resources leading to increased counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and decreased organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) in three samples with a multi-measure, timelagged design. Results demonstrated that employees who experience FIW display higher levels of CWB and lower levels of OCB, especially for organizationally targeted behaviors.

A meta-analytic examination of cyberloafing

Mercado, B.K., Giordano, C., & Dilchert, S.
Career Development International, 22(5), 546-564.
(2017)

Cyberloafing, using technology to idle instead of work, is a particularly concerning issue for many organizations due to its perceived widespread impact on productivity. The purpose of this paper is to meta-analytically examine the growing literature on this construct in order to gain insights into its nomological network and guide future research. After a systematic literature search, the authors conducted psychometric meta-analyses to estimate the relationships of 39 different correlates with cyberloafing. Results indicate that boredom, engagement, and self-control exhibit strong relationships with cyberloafing, but employees’ attitudes surrounding and opportunities to engage in cyberloafing also proved powerful predictors. Contrary to common stereotypes, age and other demographic variables exhibited negligible effects. Employment variables (e.g. tenure, organization level, and income) were also negligibly related to cyberloafing. Emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness exhibited modest negative relationships with cyberloafing, whereas self-control demonstrated a strong negative relationship. Although cyberloafing strongly correlated with overall counterproductive work behaviors, the findings suggest it is unrelated to other components of job performance. As the first quantitative review of the emerging cyberloafing literature, this study synthesizes related studies from disparate disciplines, examines the nomological network of cyberloafing, and highlights future directions for research into this phenomenon.

Empirical benchmarks for interpreting effect size variability in meta-analysis

Wiernik, B. M., Kostal, J. W., Wilmot, M. P., Dilchert, S., & Ones, D. S.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 10(3), 472–479
(2017)

Generalization in meta-analyses is not a dichotomous decision (typically encountered in papers using the Q test for homogeneity, the 75% rule, or null hypothesis tests). Inattention to effect size variability in meta-analyses may stem from a lack of guidelines for interpreting credibility intervals. In this commentary, we describe two methods for making practical interpretations and determining whether a particular SDρ represents a meaningful level of variability.

Age and employee green behaviors: A meta-analysis

Wiernik, B. M., Dilchert, S., & Ones, D. S.
Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1-15.
(2016)

Recent economic and societal developments have led to an increasing emphasis on organizational environmental performance. At the same time, demographic trends are resulting in increasingly aging labor forces in many industrialized nations. Commonly held stereotypes suggest that older workers are less likely to be environmentally responsible than younger workers. To evaluate the degree to which such age differences are present, we meta-analyzed 132 independent correlations and 336 d-values based on 4676 professional workers from 22 samples in 11 countries. Contrary to popular stereotypes, age showed small positive relationships with pro-environmental behaviors, suggesting that older adults engaged in these workplace behaviors slightly more frequently. Relationships with age appeared to be linear for overall, Conserving, Avoiding Harm, and Taking Initiative pro-environmental behaviors, but non-linear trends were observed for Transforming and Influencing Others behaviors.

Creative interests and personality: Scientific versus artistic creativity

Wiernik, B. M., Dilchert, S., & Ones, D. S.
Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie.
(in press)

The present study used intraindividual criterion profile analysis to investigate the relationship between creative artistic and investigative interests and the Big Five personality traits. In 19 samples, we found that artistic and investigative interests showed distinct intraindividual personality profile patterns. Investigative interests were associated with elevated openness to intellect, conscientiousness, and emotional stability and low extraversion and agreeableness, relative to individuals’ other traits. Artistic interests were associated with personal strengths for openness to experiences and personal weaknesses for conscientiousness, assertiveness, and emotional stability. Across creative interests, profile pattern, not absolute trait level, drove the relationship between personality traits and interests. These findings replicated across numerous personality inventories and levels of interest specificity (RIASEC, basic interests, occupation-specific interests). We discuss the implications of these results for the complementary use of personality and interest scales in vocational counseling and personnel selection.

Cognitive predictors and age-based adverse impact among business executives

Klein, R. M., Dilchert, S. Ones, D. S., & Dages, K. D.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 100, 1497-1510.
(2015)

Age differences on measures of general mental ability and specific cognitive abilities were examined in 2 samples of job applicants to executive positions as well as a mix of executive/nonexecutive positions to determine which predictors might lead to age-based adverse impact in making selection and advancement decisions. Generalizability of the pattern of findings was also investigated in 2 samples from the general adult population. Age was negatively related to general mental ability, with older executives scoring lower than younger executives. For specific ability components, the direction and magnitude of age differences depended on the specific ability in question. Older executives scored higher on verbal ability, a measure most often associated with crystallized intelligence. This finding generalized across samples examined in this study. Also, consistent with findings that fluid abilities decline with age, older executives scored somewhat lower on figural reasoning than younger executives, and much lower on a letter series test of inductive reasoning. Other measures of inductive reasoning, such as Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices, also showed similar age group mean differences across settings. Implications for employee selection and adverse impact on older job candidates are discussed.

Maladaptive personality constructs, measures, and work behaviors: Scientific background and employment practice recommendations

Dilchert, S., Ones, D. S., & Krueger, R. F.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 7, 98-110.
(2014)

Important changes have been occurring in the clinical psychology literature that are relevant to how maladaptive personality characteristics are conceptualized, measured, and used in workplace applications. We aim to clarify distinctions among maladaptive personality traits, measures of maladaptive personality constructs, and their behavioral consequences at work. In pursuing a connection between the industrial–organizational (I–O) and clinical psychology literatures on maladaptive personality, we distinguish maladaptive constructs, maladaptive measures, and maladaptive work behaviors. Conceptual clarification and linguistic precision are essential, as their distinctions are not merely academic but have important consequences for workplace research and practice.