Search

Only recently, the question whether within-person personality variability is a blessing or a curse for job performance has reached the agendas of Industrial and Organizational (I-O) psychology researchers. Yet, this limited stream of research resulted in inconsistent findings, and only little understanding exists about the role of rater source and mean-level personality in this relationship. Broadly following socioanalytic theory, the present study examined the extent to which self- and other-rated within-person personality variability predict self- and other-rated job performance, and whether this is moderated by mean-level personality. Within-person personality variability indices and job performance evaluations were obtained from an experience sampling study including N = 166 teachers, N = 95 supervisors, and N = 69 classes (including 1,354 students). Results showed that—above and beyond the effects of mean-level personality—self-rated within-person variability was positively associated with self-rated job performance, while other-rated within-person variability was negatively associated with other-ratings of performance. Many interactions with mean-level personality were found, mainly demonstrating negative effects of variability for those with a less adaptive personality profile (cf. variability as a ‘curse’), while showing positive effects of variability for those with a more adaptive trait profile (cf. variability as a ‘blessing’). Importantly, however, additional analyses provided little evidence for associations across type of rater source. These findings contribute to the field of I-O psychology by highlighting that perceptions of within-person personality variability may impact performance evaluations beyond personality traits, although its desirability seems to depend on individuals’ personality trait level. Implications and limitations are discussed.

The topic of dark side personality at work has received considerable research attention over the past decade, and both qualitative and quantitative reviews of this field have already been published. To show the relevance of dark personality in the work context, existing reviews have typically focused on systematically discussing the different criteria that have been linked to dark traits (e.g., job performance, work attitudes, leadership emergence, etc.). In contrast, and complementing this earlier work, the current review paper summarizes the available literature on this topic by structuring it in terms of the nature of the relationships studied rather than in terms of the types of outcome variables. Doing so, the focus shifts from "What are the outcomes of dark traits?" to "How are dark traits related to work outcomes?" Scrutinizing the nature of these relationships, we specifically focus on four types of effects (i.e., nonlinear, interactive, differential, and reciprocal) that highlight the complexity of how dark side traits operate in the work context. Structured this way, this review first provides a conceptual underpinning of each of these complex effects, followed by a summary of the empirical literature published over the past 10 years. To conclude, we present an integration of this field, provide suggestions for future research, and highlight concrete assessment challenges.

This review offers a theoretical and practical guide to assessing a broad range of personality differences in middle childhood and adolescence. We begin by highlighting normative changes in middle childhood and adolescence that shape the personality differences youth display. We then review the assessment of four broad domains of personality in children and adolescents: temperament and personality traits, social-emotional-behavioral (SEB) skills, motivation and agency (including goals, values, and interests), and narrative identity. We conclude by offering a primer of general principles for assessing personality in childhood and adolescence: pursuing ongoing construct validation, weighing strengths and weaknesses of various informants and data sources, combining measures, addressing heterotypic continuity, obtaining child self-reports, and pursuing promising new directions. It is well worth taking on the challenges inherent in assessing these individual differences because children and adolescents display a rich, complex, and meaningful set of still-changing personality differences that shape the course of their lives.

Little research has been done to examine how different personality traits (both “positive” and less desirable attributes) contribute to various aspects of creativity from a domain-specific point of view. The present study thus aimed to investigate the relationships between two types of personality traits (the Big Five and the Dark Triad traits) and three types of indicators of creativity (divergent thinking, creative activities, and creative achievements) among 559 university-level Chinese students. Results indicated that Openness served as a common core of both creative potential (divergent thinking) and real-life creativity (creative activities and achievements) at almost all levels and domains. Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness were found to be significant predictors of real-life creativity in specific domains and levels (i.e., literature and sports). No significant relationship was found between Neuroticism and any indicator of creativity after controlling for the other Big Five traits. Compared to the Big Five traits, the Dark Triad traits had limited influence on creativity, with only Machiavellianism being a significant and positive predictor of literary and performance activities, and Narcissism being a significant and positive predictor of originality. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Abstract. The current paper presents a detailed examination of a lay theory perspective on the Sensory-Processing-Sensitivity (SPS) personality profile within the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality. The lay SPS personality profile was assessed by asking self-identified highly sensitive people to rate themselves on a Five-Factor Model questionnaire (NEO-PI-3). We applied the NEO-PI-3 norms (domains and facets) and examined the inter-rater agreement of the facets. The sample consisted of 560 (female: 86.43%, Mage = 37.36 years, SDage = 6.64 years, 18.17–47.42 years) self-identified highly sensitive adults. Six facets, in particular, stood out with good and very good inter-rater agreement: participants fell within the highest 23% of the population on facets Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings (Openness to Experience); Anxiety, Depression (Neuroticism); and the lowest 23% of the population on the facet Gregariousness (Extraversion).

In this paper, we demonstrate how an integrative approach to personality—one that combines within–person and between–person differences—can be achieved by drawing on the principles of dynamic systems theory. The dynamic systems perspective has the potential to reconcile both the stable and dynamic aspect of personality, it allows including different levels of analysis (i.e. traits and states), and it can account for regulatory mechanisms, as well as dynamic interactions between the elements of the system, and changes over time. While all of these features are obviously appealing, implementing a dynamic systems approach to personality is challenging. It requires new conceptual models, specific longitudinal research designs, and complex data analytical methods. In response to these issues, the first part of our paper discusses the Personality Dynamics model, a model that integrates the dynamic systems principles in a relatively straightforward way. Second, we review associated methodological and statistical tools that allow empirically testing the PersDyn model. Finally, the model and associated methodological and statistical tools are illustrated using an experience sampling methodology data set measuring Big Five personality states in 59 participants ( N = 1916 repeated measurements). © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology

Author(s): Hopwood, Christopher J; Krueger, Robert F; Watson, David; Widiger, Thomas A; Althoff, Robert R; Ansell, Emily B; Bach, Bo; Bagby, R Michael; Blais, Mark A; Bornovalova, Marina A; Chmielewski, Michael; Cicero, David C; Conway, Christopher; De Clerq, Barbara; De Fruyt, Filip; Docherty, Anna R; Eaton, Nicholas R; Edens, John F; Forbes, Miriam K; Forbush, Kelsie T; Hengartner, Michael P; Ivanova, Masha Y; Leising, Daniel; Lukowitsky, Mark R; Lynam, Donald R; Markon, Kristian E; Miller, Joshua D; Morey, Leslie C; Mullins-Sweatt, Stephanie N; Ormel, Johan; Patrick, Christopher J; Pincus, Aaron L; Ruggero, Camilo; Samuel, Douglas B; Sellbom, Martin; Tackett, Jennifer L; Thomas, Katherine M; Trull, Timothy J; Vachon, David D; Waldman, Irwin D; Waszczuk, Monika A; Waugh, Mark H; Wright, Aidan GC; Yalch, Mathew M; Zald, David H; Zimmermann, Johannes

The current paper presents an examination of the associations between Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality facets and Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) to understand which personality facets are especially relevant for SPS. Associations between SPS and the FFM personality domains and facets were examined in older adolescents and young adults (Study 1) as well as older children and young adolescents (Study 2). The most relevant facets were within the Neuroticism and Openness domains, although not all facets were equally important. Especially facets regarding internalizing tendencies and – in older adolescents and young adults – openness to aesthetics showed highest association with SPS. Facets of Extraversion were less associated to SPS. Facets of domains Agreeableness and Conscientiousness showed almost no relevance to SPS.

It has been argued that passion can take both harmonious and obsessive forms (Vallerand et al., 2003). This paper examines this dualistic model of passion specifically for passion in relation to work and contributes to this literature in two ways. First, an extensive set of both general (Big Five) and maladaptive (PID-5) personality traits are related to harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) for work. Second, HP and OP are linked to three relevant work-related outcomes, namely job satisfaction, burnout and job performance. In Study 1 (N = 213), a distinctive pattern of relationships with general and maladaptive traits was found for HP and OP for work, although the relative importance of maladaptive traits to understand work passion was not higher for OP, as compared to HP. Further, both HP and OP were positively related to job satisfaction even after controlling for Big Five traits. Only HP was related (negatively) to burnout. In Study 2 (N = 208), only HP remained significantly related to job satisfaction after controlling for OP. Moreover, HP was positively related to job performance as rated by supervisors (more specifically contextual and adaptive performance). Implications of these findings for the dualistic model of passion are discussed.

Research suggests that people tend to like others more if they are similar rather than dissimilar to themselves. Likewise, students may tend to prefer teachers with whom they share similar personality characteristics. To test this hypothesis, we examined the role of personality similarity between students and teachers in predicting how much students liked their teachers. Secondary school students ( N = 634) provided self-reports and reported on their teachers’ personality using a Big Five personality scale. Their teachers ( N = 31) also provided self-reports. These reports were then used to compute three indices of similarity; i.e. perceptual similarity, actual similarity, and perceptual accuracy which were used to explain teacher liking. Multilevel linear models showed that perceptual similarity (computed as the profile agreement across student self- and teacher-ascribed Big Five traits) had the largest effect on teacher liking. Teachers described as more agreeable and conscientious were liked by their students more. Findings highlight the importance of considering students’ perceptions of personality similarity with their teachers for understanding how students feel “connected” to their teachers and positively interact with them.

Research on the relationship between psychopathy and leadership effectiveness has adopted very different perspectives on psychopathy. To advance this field of research, the current paper introduces an overarching framework of “successful psychopathy” ( Lilienfeld, Watts, & Smith, 2015 ) to the leadership domain, comprising three conceptual models (the differential-severity model, the moderated-expression model, and the differential-configuration model) and their “hybrid” forms, which are combinations of two or three models. We test the three alternative conceptual models and four hybrid models in two independent samples of leader-subordinate dyads (N1 = 178 and N2 = 668) whereby leaders’ self-reported psychopathy is related to a range of subordinate-rated effectiveness criteria, including three performance dimensions and charismatic leadership. A recurrent pattern of findings across both studies provides evidence for differential effects for the various psychopathy subdimensions, whereas little support was found for the models assuming curvilinear and/or moderated effects. Implications for research on leader psychopathy are discussed.

This chapter reviews the background and conceptualisation of social‑emotional skills and how these are related to consequential outcomes in education and the labour market. It discusses taxonomies on how to structure and operationalise these skills, converging on an overarching model representing five broad groups. In addition, it explores how these skills are connected to various types of work performance. Multiple common methods to assess social-emotional skills are reviewed. These comprise Likert-based and ipsative self- and observer reports, more objective tests and situational judgement tests, as well as behavioural residue indicators.

Responding to the need for school-based, broadly applicable, low-cost, and brief assessments of socio-emotional skills, we describe the conceptual background and empirical development of the SENNA inventory and provide psychometric information on validity, reliability and norms.

Adolescents differ in their degree of Environmental Sensitivity, that is, the ability to perceive and process information about their environment. The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Highly Sensitive Child scale (HSC), a self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity, in two Belgian and UK samples with a total of 3056 adolescents. First, the factor structure, internal consistency, dimensionality, and construct validity of the HSC scale were examined. Second, measurement invariance of the HSC scale across developmental stage, gender, and country was tested. Results supported a bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and three group factors: Ease of Excitation (EOE), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES). Cronbach’s alpha and McDonalds’s (hierarchical) omega indicated that the HSC scale is a reliable measure of Environmental Sensitivity, except for AES. Furthermore, AES was associated with different personality traits than EOE and LST. Second, the HSC scale was partially measurement invariant across developmental stage, gender, and country. The results provide important insights in the psychometrics of a first measurement of Environmental Sensitivity in early to late adolescents. Implications for further research are discussed. ispartof: Current Psychology vol:40 issue:7 pages:3309-3325 status: published

In the present paper, the relationship between neuroticism and supervisory ratings of performance is examined using a dynamic approach to personality. This approach integrates both within- and between-person differences by looking at individual differences in baseline neuroticism, neuroticism variability and neuroticism attractor strength. Our findings showed that baseline neuroticism related to lower supervisory ratings of performance, and that a high level of baseline neuroticism is particularly detrimental for people who fail to return to their baseline swiftly. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that adopting a more integrative, dynamic approach to personality has the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the personality–performance relationship. Practitioner points: How employees’ performance is perceived by their supervisors not only depends on between-person differences in employees’ average level of neuroticism, but also on the extent to which their state neuroticism levels vary Assessing personality dynamics has the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the candidate’s personality Managers should take into account that the impact of baseline personality on performance depends on how deviations from the baseline are regulated.

Each student faces the challenge of choosing a study program that matches his or her vocational interest. A good person-environment fit (PE fit) between student and study program influences study s...

espanolEl uso de mas evidencia, de mejor calidad y relevante, resultara en una identificacion mas precisa del problema y mejores resultados en la toma de decisiones al disenar politicas y estrategias de recursos humanos. El objetivo de este documento es abogar por un proceso de reclutamiento y seleccion basado en la evidencia mediante la revision de la investigacion mas avanzada sobre cuatro desafios principales para los profesionales de seleccion y seleccion de personal: definir, atraer, evaluar y desarrollar talento, ya que la seleccion y el desarrollo deben ir de la mano. Ademas, enfatiza la importancia de considerar la validez de constructos y metodos para predecir el desempeno laboral al disenar una politica de desarrollo y seleccion basada en la evidencia dentro de las organizaciones. Finalmente, se proporcionan directrices sobre como implementar recomendaciones basadas en evidencia en la estrategia de la organizacion y las actividades operativas. EnglishUsing more, better quality, and relevant evidence is likely to result in more accurate problem identification and better decisionmaking outcomes when designing HR policies and strategies. The aim of this paper is to advocate for an evidence-based recruitment and selection process by reviewing the state-of-the-art research on four major challenges for staffing and selection professionals: defining, attracting, assessing, and developing talent, as selection and development should go hand-in-hand. Furthermore, it stresses the importance of considering the validity of constructs and methods to predict job performance when designing an evidence-based selection and development policy within the organizations. Finally, guidelines on how to implement evidence-based recommendations into the organization’s strategy and operational activities are provided. euskaraEbidentzia gehiago erabiltzen bada, kalitate hobekoa eta garrantzitsua, arazoa zehaztasun handiagoz identifikatuko da eta emaitza hobeak lortuko dira giza baliabideen politikak eta estrategiak diseinatzerakoan erabakiak hartzean. Dokumentu honek helburu du ebidentzian oinarritutako erreklutamendu- eta hautaketa-prozesu baten alde egitea, ikerketa aurreratu baten berrikuspenaren bidez. Hautaketako eta langile-hautaketako profesionalentzako lau erronka nagusi hauei buruzko ikerketa berrikusiko da: talentua definitzea, erakartzea, ebaluatzea eta garatzea. Izan ere, hautaketak eta garapenak batera joan behar dute. Gainera, azpimarratzen du zeinen garrantzitsua den konstruktu eta metodoak aintzat hartzea lan-jarduera aurreikusteko, erakundeek ebidentzian oinarritutako garapen- eta hautaketa-politika bat diseinatu behar dutenean. Azkenik, jarraibide batzuk ematen dira, ebidentzian oinarritutako gomendioak ezartzeari buruz, erakundearen estrategian eta jarduera operatiboetan.

We examined the emotional basis of work engagement by focusing on the relationship between arousal and work vigour. Drawing on the DynAff model of Kuppens, Oravecz, and Tuerlinckx (2010), we looked at three elements underlying the temporal dynamics of arousal: (1) the level of baseline arousal (i.e., the attractor state around which arousal fluctuates), (2) the amount of variability in arousal around this baseline, and (3) the swiftness with which people return to their arousal baseline once they deviated from it. We conducted a five-day experience sampling study, in which 88 employees reported on their momentary core affect (i.e., their momentary level of valence and arousal), while vigour was measured at the end of the study. Results showed that higher levels of baseline arousal were related to increased levels of vigour. Furthermore, we found that baseline arousal interacted with arousal variability in the sense that only people with low levels of baseline arousal and low levels of arousal variability experienced lower levels of vigour. Together, our findings suggest that, if we want to advance our understanding of the emotional basis of work engagement, we need to look into the temporal dynamics underlying it.

The situations people find themselves in and how they experience them is fundamental to a host of life and work outcomes. However, most research has so far only relied on self-reports and is thus not able to disentangle different situation components. The present study therefore examined the dynamics between self- and other-rated situation characteristics, personality traits, and personality states in an educational setting. One hundred and seventy-three student teachers ( n = 2244–2261 observations) and 94 supervisors ( n = 1110–1122 observations) participated in a 13- or 14-day experience sampling study during student teachers’ internships and rated situations and teachers’ personality states twice daily. Answering three research questions yielded that (1) self-rated traits were mostly not associated with self- or supervisor-rated situation characteristics; (2) self- and supervisor-rated situation characteristics predicted self- and supervisor-rated personality state expressions (although effects were largest for same-rater associations); and (3) there were no interaction effects of traits and situation characteristics on personality state expressions. These results have important theoretical and applied implications as they advance our understanding of person-situation dynamics in an applied setting and suggest that associations between situations and personality states are not solely attributable to common rater effects.

The applied psychology literature has discussed and used a variety of different definitions of dynamic individual differences. Descriptions like dynamic, agile, adaptive, or flexible can refer to a variety of different types of constructs. The present article contributes to the literature by presenting an organizing typology of dynamic constructs. We also conducted a literature review of four major applied journals over the last 15 years to validate the taxonomy and to use it to map what type of dynamic individual differences constructs are typically studied in the applied psychology literature. The typology includes six basic conceptualizations of dynamic individual differences: Variability constructs (inconsistency across situations), skill acquisition constructs (learning new skills), transition constructs (avoiding “loss” in behavior/skill after unforeseen change), reacquisition constructs (relearning after change), acceleration/deceleration constructs (losing or gaining energy by displaying the behavior), and integration/dissolution constructs (behavior becomes more or less uniform). We provide both verbal and statistical definitions for each of these constructs, and demonstrate how these conceptualizations can be operationalized in assessment and criterion measurement using R code and simulated data. We also show how researchers can test different dynamic explanations using likelihood-based R2 statistics.

Research has shown that vocational interests are important predictors of a number of life outcomes. Therefore, understanding individuals' vocational interests can also help to explain and predict their attitudes, behavior, and motives. The goal of the present study was to examine changes in vocational interests over time and explore whether these changes could be partially explained by employees' interactions with their work environments. We started by developing a theoretical framework that links interest development to the broader notion of person-environment (P-E) fit. Using a sample of 933 individuals entering the workforce, vocational interests, ratings of the work environment, and job satisfaction were assessed at 3 time points over the course of a 22-year longitudinal study. Results showed both stability (correlations ranging from .26 to .80) and change (d's ranging from .03 to .34 in absolute value) in vocational interests over time. In addition, individual differences in vocational interest change were also associated with corresponding changes in the work environment, suggesting that employees gravitate toward work environments that fit with their interests and their vocational interests are then predicted by their experiences in these environments. Similarly, we found that job satisfaction was positively associated with changes in interest fit such that individuals who were more satisfied with their jobs also experienced greater changes in interest fit. These results suggest that interactions between individuals and their work environments can play an important role in shaping vocational interests and understanding employee behavior over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Conscientiousness is typically seen as a positive or desired personality trait in the workplace, with the overall assumption being “the more, the better”. Drawing on the behavioral concordance model, we challenge this assumption, expecting that the highest level of positive affect and the lowest level of negative affect will correspond at the point where state and trait conscientiousness converge. Using an experience sampling study and an event reconstruction study, we show that deviations from one’s level of trait conscientiousness relate to variations in positive and negative affect, but not in a straightforward way. While wellbeing was lower when people behaved less conscientiously than they normally do, increases beyond one’s typical conscientiousness level were largely unrelated to wellbeing. Moreover, people high in trait conscientiousness suffered more from negative deviations from their trait level than people low in trait conscientiousness. As a whole, our findings suggest that the interplay of personality states and personality traits is complicated, with both the state level and deviations from the trait level being relevant to wellbeing—calling for an integrative approach to personality. peerReviewed

Objectives Contemporary research on the impact of dental rehabilitation scarcely focuses on the role of personality and social relationships in QoL related to dental implant treatment. To overcome biases related to evaluation with self-reports, descriptions provided by informed external observers are recommended. Aims To investigate the impact of implant-supported rehabilitation on quality of life and social participation taking into account patient’s personality. Materials and methods Fifty-four patients were included in this study and assigned to either a single unit group (n = 15) or a complete jaw restoration group (n = 39). Of the 54 participants, 49 nominated an external observer who can evaluate the daily behavior of the patient. Before and after treatment patients and their external observer completed the OHIP-14, the NEO-FFI and the MSPP questionnaires respectively focusing on Oral Health related Quality of Life, Personality and Social participation. Results and conclusion The correlations between self- and observer ratings on pre and post treatment outcomes on were insignificant (QoL pre: p = 0.086, post: p = 0.115, freq. soc. part pre: p = 0.944, post: p = 0.876, div. soc. part pre: p = 0.798, post: p = 0.167), suggesting considerable differences in observer perspectives. The traits Neuroticism, Extraversion and Agreeableness were associated with QoL. Openness, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were associated with social participation. Patients in the complete jaw restoration group reported more impact of the implant treatment on quality of life as compared to the single unit group (p = 0.007). The complete jaw restoration group reported an improved quality of life after treatment and significant increases of both frequency (p = 0.001) and diversity of social participation (p = 0.036). In conclusion there was a minor impact of treatment with single crowns on quality of life and social participation compared to the full denture group. The role of personality and the use of multi-informants in evaluating dental treatment was found important.

What type of items, keyed positively or negatively, makes social-emotional skill or personality scales more valid? The present study examines the different criterion validities of true- and false-k...

Despite the increasing attention to social-emotional skills' development, few attempts have been made to develop rubrics to formatively assess these skills in classrooms and evaluate their psychometric properties. This research aimed to develop rubrics for the social-emotional skill domains of Self-management and Open-mindedness and assess their psychometric properties using Item Response Theory modeling. Two samples of students (Pilot study: N = 947 middle-school students; 54 % female; mean age = 13.8 years; Main study: N = 7404 middle-school students; 48 % female; mean age = 13.0 years) provided self-descriptions on social-emotional rubrics. Results showed that changes in rubrics' instructions, rating scale characteristics, and descriptors' content improved validity and reliability properties from the pilot to the main study, though there is still room for improvement. Overall, our research supports the use of rubrics for the assessment of Self-management and Open-mindedness skills and provides recommendations for designing social-emotional rubrics in the school context.

In the last decade, there has been increased recognition that traits refer not only to between-person differences but also to meaningful within-person variability across situations (i.e., whole trait theory). So far, this broader more contemporary trait conceptualization has made few inroads into assessment practices. Therefore, this study focuses on the assessment and predictive power of people's intraindividual variability across situations. In three studies (either in student or employee samples), both test-takers' mean trait scores and the variability of their responses across multiple written job-related situations of a situational judgment test (SJT) were assessed. Results revealed that people's intraindividual variability (a) was related to their self-rated functional flexibility, (b) predicted performance above their mean scores, and (c) predicted their actual personality state variability over 10 days. These results open opportunities for complementing traditional selection procedures with more dynamic indices in assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) enrolments in higher education are declining while the STEM gender gap of female underrepresentation seems to widen. The present study addresses both issues by exploring how the fit between a student's vocational interests and the STEM field contributes to a (non-) STEM study choice. Data was collected in the unique setting of an open access and low cost higher education system, which allowed for study of vocational interests without unwanted influence of admission conditions. Specifically, we assessed the interest fit of N = 9162 first-year Belgian university students with (1) the STEM field (i.e., STEM fit) and (2) their specific program of choice (i.e., program fit). Results indicated STEM fit indeed predicted STEM study choice, with a stronger effect in female students. Results also indicated that female students showed a better specific program fit. In order to promote student STEM enrolment and address the gender gap, the present study therefore advocates a gender-specific approach to attract more students with appropriate interest profiles.

Author(s): Hopwood, Christopher J; Kotov, Roman; Krueger, Robert F; Watson, David; Widiger, Thomas A; Althoff, Robert R; Ansell, Emily B; Bach, Bo; Michael Bagby, R; Blais, Mark A; Bornovalova, Marina A; Chmielewski, Michael; Cicero, David C; Conway, Christopher; De Clercq, Barbara; De Fruyt, Filip; Docherty, Anna R; Eaton, Nicholas R; Edens, John F; Forbes, Miriam K; Forbush, Kelsie T; Hengartner, Michael P; Ivanova, Masha Y; Leising, Daniel; John Livesley, W; Lukowitsky, Mark R; Lynam, Donald R; Markon, Kristian E; Miller, Joshua D; Morey, Leslie C; Mullins-Sweatt, Stephanie N; Hans Ormel, J; Patrick, Christopher J; Pincus, Aaron L; Ruggero, Camilo; Samuel, Douglas B; Sellbom, Martin; Slade, Tim; Tackett, Jennifer L; Thomas, Katherine M; Trull, Timothy J; Vachon, David D; Waldman, Irwin D; Waszczuk, Monika A; Waugh, Mark H; Wright, Aidan GC; Yalch, Mathew M; Zald, David H; Zimmermann, Johannes

This study addresses the effects of negative attainability feedback on the shift from engagement to disengagement from a career goal. It was hypothesized that negative attainability feedback regarding study choice may lead to both goal engagement and goal disengagement and that this relation is mediated by self-efficacy, motivational beliefs, and by the perceived accuracy of feedback. Results confirmed that negative feedback led to goal disengagement and, to a lesser extent, to continued engagement. Perceived accuracy of feedback was an important mediator, as was motivation. Self-efficacy did not predict either goal management strategies.

The dark triad of personality has traditionally been defined by 3 interrelated constructs, defined as Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy. Although the content of each of these constructs is clearly represented in childhood maladaptive trait measures, no studies have jointly addressed the prospective developmental course of this core set of maladaptive characteristics throughout childhood and adolescence. The current study uses latent growth modeling to explore how early dark traits develop over time, relying on a selected set of 6 childhood maladaptive traits that conceptually cover the adult dark triad. Across a 5-wave multi-informant design spanning 10 years of childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood (Nwave 1 = 717, 54.4% girls, age range T1 = 8-14.7 years, mean age = 10.73), results indicate that childhood dark traits show to some extent shared growth across time, although notable unique growth variance was also observed. Early dark traits further demonstrate significant association patterns with an adult dark triad measure across informants and are increasingly able to discriminate among more and less prototypical profiles of adult dark triad scores. Findings are discussed from a developmental psychopathology framework, underscoring that the proposed set of childhood dark traits represents a meaningful developmental precursor of the adult dark triad. (PsycINFO Database Record

This study reports the psychometric properties of the Estonian short version of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC), a measure for assessing children's personality traits according to the five-factor model. Personality traits of 2009 Estonian kindergarten and elementary school children (982 boys and 1027 girls) ranging from 2 to 11 years were rated by their primary caregivers. 1087 children were assessed twice, with about a 2-year interval. At the second time, parents additionally completed the Estonian Brief Big Five Inventory (EBBFI). The domain scales of the Estonian HiPIC demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with alphas ranging from 0.73 to 0.84. Test-retest correlations over two years were moderate to high, ranging from 0.57 to 0.69 for domain scales. Factor congruence between the Estonian and the original Flemish version increased as children grew older. Convergent correlations of HiPIC and EBFFI ranged from 0.63 to 0.79 demonstrating a high level of correspondence between the two measures. Analyses of longitudinal changes and cross-sectional differences in mean levels revealed an increase in Benevolence and decreases in Extraversion and Emotional Stability with age. Thus, the Estonian version provided further support for the validity and reliability of the HiPIC.

Choosing a suitable study program is one of the factors that facilitates academic achievement and thus prevents drop-out in the first year of tertiary education. This requires adequate information on both the individual abilities and the environment during the study choice process. The SIMON (Study Skills and Interest MONitor) project of Ghent University, Belgium, provides this information to prospective students through an online tool that informs them a) on the match between their interests and study programs and b) about their personal chances of success in specific study programs. The current study intends to validate the prediction of program-specific chances of success by examining a) the (incremental) predictive validity of cognitive and non-cognitive variables of conscientiousness, motivation, self-efficacy, metacognition and test anxiety and b) the differential predictive power of variables within and across study programs. In addition, a path model with structural relations between variables was tested. The sample consisted of 2391 new incoming students. Results supported the incremental validity of non-cognitive factors. Achievement could be predicted by cognitive and background factors and by conscientiousness, self-efficacy and test anxiety. Moreover, the predictive power of variables varied across study programs, which suggests that research findings about the prediction of academic achievement might benefit from taking into account the specific program context. Practical implications for research and (educational program choice) counselling of students are discussed.