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1 – 10 of 63Darin J. Challacombe, Michelle Ackerman and Andjelka Stones
Law enforcement is a stressful career, especially to US-based officers. Officers are typically psychologically screened and declared fit for duty prior to completing training…
Abstract
Purpose
Law enforcement is a stressful career, especially to US-based officers. Officers are typically psychologically screened and declared fit for duty prior to completing training. Current personality research has demonstrated the potential for traits to increase or decrease due to a variety of factors, including time and stress levels. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how officers’ personality traits may differ based upon their levels of stress and lengths of service. This quantitative non-experimental research design recruited potential participants from several online-based, law enforcement officer-centric channels. Participants then completed a five-factor model (FFM) personality measure, the Law Enforcement Officer Stress Scale, and an accompanying demographic questionnaire. The participants’ FFM personality trait levels (dependent variable) were measured and compared to other participants’ trait levels based upon the independent variables of lengths of service and stress levels. The authors found the current sample had a higher mean stress level than any previously reported law enforcement officer sample. The personality trait agreeableness was significantly correlated with extraversion, and extraversion was significantly correlated with openness to new experiences. The authors found significant differences in several FFM traits for both career-related stress and length of service. The findings support previous research, contribute to the job demand-control model, and suggest the continued stress of the job may psychologically impact an officer. It is recommended law enforcement administrators be more aware of this potential and consider findings strategies to mitigate these trait differences.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative non-experimental research design recruited potential participants from several online-based, law enforcement officer-centric channels. Participants then completed a five-factor personality measure, the Law Enforcement Officer Stress Scale, and an accompanying demographic questionnaire. The participants’ FFM personality trait levels (dependent variable) were measured and compared to other participants’ trait levels based upon the independent variables of lengths of service and stress levels.
Findings
The authors found the current sample had a higher mean stress level than any previously report law enforcement officer sample. The personality trait agreeableness was significantly correlated with extraversion, r(159)=0.36, p<0.000; and, extraversion was significantly correlated with openness to new experiences, r(159)=0.28, p<0.000. The authors found significant differences in several FFM traits for both career-related stress and length of service.
Research limitations/implications
These findings support previous research, contribute to the job demand-control model, and suggest the continued stress of the job may psychologically impact an officer.
Practical implications
It is recommended law enforcement administrators be more aware of this potential and consider findings strategies to mitigate these trait differences.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine how personality may differ in law enforcement officers (LEOs) with both high stress and long careers. Logical follow-ups to this study would be longitudinal studies on LEOs.
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Jeff Foster, Thomas Stone, I.M. Jawahar, Brigitte Steinheider and Truit W. Gray
The authors introduce a new construct, reputational self-awareness (RSA). RSA represents the congruence between how individuals think they are viewed by others (i.e…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors introduce a new construct, reputational self-awareness (RSA). RSA represents the congruence between how individuals think they are viewed by others (i.e. metaperceptions) versus how they are actually viewed (i.e. other ratings). The authors sought to demonstrate that RSA is a superior predictor of performance indices.
Design/methodology/approach
Personality self-ratings from 381 business students and their ratings by 966 others were collected via online surveys. Other raters rated self-raters' personalities as well as their task performance, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs).
Findings
Results indicate that RSA predicts variance in performance above and beyond self-report ratings, and performance is highest when metaperceptions and other ratings of performance are aligned. These results support the use of a multi-perspective approach to personality assessment as a useful tool for coaching and career development.
Research limitations/implications
The authors' results support the use of a multi-perspective approach to personality assessment as a useful tool for coaching and career development. A cross-sectional design was used in which personality and performance data were gathered from respondents, and the P 720 is a relatively new personality instrument.
Practical implications
RSA is a valuable tool for employee development, coaching and counseling because, as extant research and the authors' findings demonstrate, awareness of how others view and judge one, one's reputation is essential information to guide work behaviors and career success. Therefore, a key career-development goal for trainers and counselors should be to use a multi-perspective approach to maximize clients' RSA.
Social implications
Use of other ratings as opposed to traditional self-rating of personality provides superior prediction of behavior and is more useful for career development.
Originality/value
This is the first study to demonstrate utility of RSA, i.e. that individuals who more accurately assess their personality are rated as performing better by others. The authors' results offer new insights for personality research and career development and support the use of personality assessment from multiple perspectives, thus enabling the exploration of potentially insightful research questions that cannot be examined by assessing personality from a single perspective.
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The purpose of this study is to quantitatively assess the inter‐relational aspects of personality traits, using the five‐factor model of personality, and Hofstede's five…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to quantitatively assess the inter‐relational aspects of personality traits, using the five‐factor model of personality, and Hofstede's five dimensions of national culture for work‐related values to evaluate the differences between the US and Indian cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
The research method is quantitative and samples include qualified online‐panel respondents, representing educated and experienced business professionals who use the internet. Data analysis includes Pearson correlation and multiple analysis of variance. Sample results show large differences in all five cultural dimensions as compared to Hofstede's 1980 data.
Findings
Changes in work‐related values may reflect the influence of advances in communication and internet technologies, offering insight toward problems associated with global multicultural projects. Correlations between personality traits and cultural dimensions exist for certain occupational‐job categories, and provide insight on leadership characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include self‐reported responses via a web‐based survey, rather than actual observations in the workplace.
Practical implications
Technical and cultural competence is needed for global leaders, especially with increased use of the internet and networked environments. Navigating through cross‐cultural situations requires cultural insight, interpersonal skills, and an ability to build trust.
Originality/value
This study extends Hofstede's 1980 original research by acquiring new, cross‐culturally comparative data. It also extends the original research of Donnellan et al., regarding the Mini NEO assessment. The study provides confirmatory analysis to the exploratory work of Smith and Bond and McCrae, but only for one of the three predicted correlations: extraversion with individualism.
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The prevalence and stability of marriage has declined in the United States as the economic lives of men and women have converged. Family change has not been uniform, however, and…
Abstract
The prevalence and stability of marriage has declined in the United States as the economic lives of men and women have converged. Family change has not been uniform, however, and the widening gaps in marital status, relationship stability, and childbearing between socioeconomic groups raise concerns about child well-being in poor families and future inequality. This paper uses data from a recent cohort of young adults – Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health – to investigate whether disparities in cognitive ability and non-cognitive skills contribute to this gap. Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions of differences in key family outcomes across education groups show that, though individual non-cognitive traits are significantly associated with union status, relationship instability, and single motherhood, they collectively make no significant contribution to the explanation of educational gaps for almost all of these outcomes. Measured skills can explain as much as 25 percent of differences in these outcomes by family background (measured by mother’s education), but this effect disappears when own education is added to the model. Both cognitive and non-cognitive skills are strongly predictive of educational attainment but, conditional on education, explain very little of the socioeconomic gaps in family outcomes for young adults.
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Nathan W. Weidner and Richard N. Landers
While high-stakes mobile assessment is increasing, researchers have done little to adapt traditional assessments to this new medium. The present study developed and tested a new…
Abstract
Purpose
While high-stakes mobile assessment is increasing, researchers have done little to adapt traditional assessments to this new medium. The present study developed and tested a new response method for personality assessment using a mobile-first gamification design paradigm.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants used smartphones to “swipe” right or left to indicate agreement or disagreement with Goldberg's (1992) Big Five adjective indicators. These scores were correlated with responses to a Likert-type measure and participants provided reactions to both measures.
Findings
Each of the swipe-based measures was found to be a reliable and valid predictor of the corresponding dimensions measured using the Likert-type scale. Reactions to the swipe measure were mixed when compared to a traditional Likert-type measure. Response latencies of swipes were used as an indicator of self-schema beliefs. Transformed latency scores contributed incremental variance to the prediction of Likert responses beyond the dichotomous responses alone for some personality dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
Convergent validity between the two measures was likely attenuated due to differences in scales, response methods, devices, connection speeds, and social desirability effects indicating that the present results may constitute a lower-bound estimate of convergent validity between the two measurement styles.
Practical implications
Designing assessments for mobile administration requires balancing trade-offs in speed, ease of use, and number of items relative to the reliability and validity of the measures.
Originality/value
Mobile-first designs such as swipe-based responses show potential to enhance future mobile assessment practices with further development.
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Daniel R. Terry, Blake Peck, Andrew Smith, Tyrin Stevenson and Ed Baker
Identifying and measuring personality traits assists to understanding professional career choices, however, what impact personality traits have on nursing student rural career…
Abstract
Purpose
Identifying and measuring personality traits assists to understanding professional career choices, however, what impact personality traits have on nursing student rural career choice remains absent. The purpose of this paper is to identify personality traits among nursing students that may be predictive of pursuing a rural career.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional design was used to examine the importance Bachelor of Nursing students place on undertaking rural careers. All nursing students (n=1,982) studying a three-year bachelor’s degree were invited to complete a questionnaire examining personality traits and rural practice intentions.
Findings
Students who saw themselves working rurally after graduation had higher levels of conscientiousness than those who wanted metropolitan careers. Students with higher levels of agreeableness or open-mindedness were more likely to consider rural practice when individual community factors were carefully considered. Finally, students with higher levels of neuroticism were less likely to consider rural practice as a future career pathway.
Research limitations/implications
The cohort had high numbers of student from rural and regional settings, which may limit the ability to generalise the findings. In addition, student respondents of the survey may not be representative of the whole student cohort given the low response rate.
Originality/value
Key personality traits are identifying factors that contribute to nursing student decision making regarding rural practice. Students who displayed higher levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness and open-mindedness have traits that are most likely to impact the consideration of rural practice across their nursing career, which gives additional insight into targeted recruitment strategies.
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Florian Haumer, Laura Schlicker, Paul Clemens Murschetz and Castulus Kolo
This study strives to improve one’s understanding of tailored messaging as an organizational communication strategy that amplifies processes of organizational change at an…
Abstract
Purpose
This study strives to improve one’s understanding of tailored messaging as an organizational communication strategy that amplifies processes of organizational change at an individual level of personality traits.
Design/methodology/approach
A scientific experiment was conducted to test the effects of tailored messages on self-reported employee engagement during an organizational change process.
Findings
The results show that tailored messaging improves employee engagement for change when messages fit the specific needs of different personality types. Conversely, message tailoring can lower employee engagement when messages do not match personality types. Further, message tailoring has different impacts at different stages of a change project.
Research limitations/implications
An employee's ability to change as a function of his professional skill set as well as the project type (e.g. digital transformation project, post-merger integration project, leadership change project) should not be neglected in an overall model that aims to explain the success factors of change management.
Practical implications
Obviously, proper targeting, timing, as well as the implementation of a valid, legal and feasible method for identifying an employee's personality as well as other individual characteristics are equally important and challenging to improve change management outcomes.
Originality/value
This study adds value to the discussion on the efficacy of message tailoring as a communication strategy for organizational change.
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Priyanko Guchait, Katherine Hamilton and Nan Hua
The aim of this paper is to examine how personality composition in teams related to team taskwork understanding (TTU) and transactive memory systems (TMS) over time. Additionally…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine how personality composition in teams related to team taskwork understanding (TTU) and transactive memory systems (TMS) over time. Additionally, the study examined the relationship between TTU and TMS, and three team criteria variables: performance, satisfaction, and cohesion.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal study was conducted with 27 service management teams involving 178 undergraduate students in a restaurant setting. The restaurant was open to the public so the team outcomes had real world consequences. Each team served between 90-140 customers.
Findings
Results showed that team mean-level conscientiousness was significantly positively related to TTU and TMS in the initial stage of team formation. On the other hand, team mean-level agreeableness had a significant positive relationship with TTU and TMS later on in the team's lifecycle. Furthermore, significant positive relationships were found between TMS and team performance, TMS and team satisfaction, and TTU and team cohesion.
Originality/value
The current work looked at how various team cognitions develop in teams over time as a result of personality composition in teams which has not been tested before. Unlike prior research, this study was conducted in a field setting instead of an experimental study in the laboratory. Finally, no research exists studying these relationships in a hospitality context. Therefore, the current work extends the generalizability of the team composition and team cognition theories.
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Richard M. Wielkiewicz, Donald V. Fischer, Stephen P. Stelzner, Maribeth Overland and Alyssa M. Sinner
Incoming first-year college students (N = 4,292) were surveyed regarding attitudes and beliefs about leadership. Students’ opinions about their leadership ability were high and…
Abstract
Incoming first-year college students (N = 4,292) were surveyed regarding attitudes and beliefs about leadership. Students’ opinions about their leadership ability were high and were related to having an outgoing personality, as well as the number of high school activities in which they had been involved. In addition, students’ understanding of leadership was largely hierarchical and unsophisticated. Gender was strongly related to beliefs about leadership, with males indicating a stronger belief in hierarchical leadership, and females indicating a stronger belief in systemic leadership. The results indicated men and women are most likely to be anchored in Komives et al.’s (2009) Stages 2 and 3 whereas women also show some characteristics of Stage 4. It was argued these results support a modular approach to leadership development in which students acquire credits toward a certificate in leadership and where some components of the training activities involve separating the genders.
Zia Ul Islam, Qingxiong (Derek) Weng, Zulqurnain Ali, Usman Ghani, Ataullah Kiani and Rana Muhammad Naeem
This study examines the associations among specific personality traits, job search strategies (JSSs) and job search outcomes.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the associations among specific personality traits, job search strategies (JSSs) and job search outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Time-lagged data (three-waves) were collected from 528 Chinese graduating students. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results revealed a positive association between conscientiousness and both a focused job search strategy (FJSS) and an exploratory job search strategy (EJSS). Neuroticism was positively related to a haphazard job search strategy (HJSS), but negatively associated with both a FJSS and an EJSS. Moreover, FJSS and EJSS were positively related to both the number of job offers (NJOs) and the number of satisfied job offers (NSJOs). However, compared with FJSS, EJSS explained more variance in NJOs but less in NSJOs. Additional analysis showed a significant positive association between conscientiousness and job search intensity (JSI), but no significant relationship between neuroticism and JSI. JSI had significant associations with both NJOs and NSJOs. Further, FJSS and EJSS mediated the association between focal personality traits and both NJOs and NSJOs. Additionally, JSI also mediated the association between conscientiousness and both NJOs and NSJOs.
Originality/value
Previous research has confirmed that JSSs (Stevens and Turban, 2001) are consequential for important job search outcomes. However, whether fresh job seekers are predisposed to the use of JSSs is yet to be explored. This study adds to the job search literature by filling this void.
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