Edited by Yavor Dragostinov and Lisanne de Moor
This Newsletter edition includes summaries of the published work from EJP’s July-August Special Issue, which was guest-edited by Joanna Sosnowska, Joeri Hofmans, John Rauthmann, and Bart Wille.
The articles published in this issue provide diverse perspectives on personality dynamics and processes in applied settings. By doing so, they advance our understanding of how personality manifests and functions on a fundamental level.
July-August
Personality dynamics at work: The effects of form, time, and context of variability
Nadin Beckmann, Damian Birney, Amirali Minbashian & Jens Beckmann
There is a large body of evidence that shows that personality varies short-term and long-term, while also suggesting that individuals differ in the way they experience such change. Although the variability of these individual differences has been of interest to researchers for decades, comparably little is known about why some people vary more in their personality than others.
Beckmann and colleagues investigated the status of within-person state variability in neuroticism and conscientiousness as individual differences constructs. Data on personality traits, cognitive ability, and motivational mindsets were collected at baseline and after two years from 346 Australian professionals. Using several waves of experience sampling data, within-person state variability indices were derived and their temporal stability, cross-context consistency, empirical links to selected antecedents, and empirical links to longer-term trait change were explored. The findings indicated that both situation contingent and non-contingent state variability indices have elements of individual differences in terms of observed between-person differences, temporal stability, and cross-context consistency. However, relationships of individual differences in state variability with antecedents, correlates, and outcomes, including trait change, appear to be rather complex. Findings that appear most consistent are those relating to neuroticism. This study could serve as an impulse to future research of such complex patterns and processes, to further the conceptual and methodological maturation of the field of personality dynamics.
Relating within-person personality variability to organizational citizenship behaviour and counterproductive work behaviour: A resource-based perspective
Juul Vossen & Joeri Hofmans
People do not only differ in how they behave, feel, and think on average, but also in the extent to which these behaviours, thoughts, and feelings change across time and situations. This is also known as within-person personality variability and has inspired research interest during the last two decades. Despite that interest, our knowledge on the relevance of within-person personality variability for outcomes other than wellbeing remains limited. This is important, as such knowledge is required to determine whether and to what extent within-person personality variability can be assigned at the same level of average trait levels as a predictor of human behaviours, feelings, and outcomes.
Vossen and Hofmans evaluated the relationship between within-person personality differences and organizational citizenship behaviour. The authors used conscientiousness and core self-evaluations (CSE) as two personality dimensions that are predictive for work-performance and a new variability index that is not confounded by the mean. The findings indicated an effect of personality variability on counterproductive work behaviour, but no relation was found with organizational citizenship behaviour. These results were replicated across three separate experience sampling studies, suggesting that within-person personality variability in conscientiousness and CSE can be a liability when it comes to work performance.
Personalities in sync: The covariation of psychological resources in leader-follower dyads
Edina Dóci, Joeri Hofmans & Timothy Judge
Many of our behaviours are interpersonal in nature. Although some work has focused on situational factors that underlie personality dynamics, such as work pressure and interpersonal conflict at work, there is limited research on how relational dynamics may explain personality dynamics. Dóci, Hofmans, and Judge addressed this gap in the literature by examining how within-personality variation in one person might covary with within-individual variation in another person, in the context of leader-follower relationships. The authors conducted a two-week daily diary study with 31 leader-follower dyads. The data were collected from different Belgian organizations, both from the private and the public sector. As a measure of personality, the authors focused on core self-evaluations (CSEs) – self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability. Findings demonstrated that leaders and followers state CSEs fluctuated “in sync,” revealing the existence of a social-relational dimension accompanying within-person variation in core self-evaluations. Moreover, the authors provided tentative evidence that suggests that this crossover effect might be mediated by transformational leadership behaviour. By showing that the personality states of leader and follower fluctuate in sync, this study sheds light on a new way in which leaders and followers can connect.
The joint power of personality and motivation dynamics for occupational success: Bridging two largely separated fields
Naemi Brandt, Anne Israel, Michael Becker, & Jenny Wagner
Achieving success at work is one of the most important developmental tasks of young and middle adulthood. What contributes to occupational success has been addressed by at least two distinct paths of research: personality psychology and motivational psychology. From those two fields we know that, besides the well-known relevance of cognitive abilities, both personality and motivation affect success at work. Brandt and colleagues investigated the role that changes in personality and motivational constructs (i.e., intellectual self-concept, occupational self-efficacy, and occupational demotivation) played in explaining occupational success in 4,121 participants assessed after high school and about 20 years later. The findings demonstrated that besides the nomological net between the two, personality and motivational constructs also illustrated a strong interrelatedness in change across time. The clearest links were between emotional stability, conscientiousness, self-concept, and self-efficacy. Changes in personality and motivational constructs were also associated with objective and subjective occupational success.
In sum, achieving success at work—one of the most important developmental tasks of young and middle adulthood—is shaped by an individual’s adaptive capacities such as personality and motivation. A joint and dynamic consideration of these factors such as in the present study can bring us one step closer to fully understand human behaviour and functioning.
What are agile, flexible, or adaptable employees and students? A typology of dynamic individual differences in applied settings
Jonas Lang, Malte Runge & Filip De Fruyt
Work psychologists, economists, and educational researchers have argued that the rapid development of new technologies is changing the fundamental nature of work and education. Modern work environments require employees and organizations to quickly adapt to changes.
The applied psychology literature has discussed and used 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 organized a typology of dynamic constructs. Furthermore, the authors 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 constructs are typically studied in the applied psychology literature. The typology included six basic conceptualizations of dynamic individual differences: 1) Variability constructs (i.e., inconsistency across situations), 2) skill acquisition constructs (i.e., learning new skills), 3) transition constructs (i.e., avoiding “loss” in behaviour/skill after unforeseen change), 4) reacquisition constructs (i.e., relearning after change), 5) acceleration/deceleration constructs (i.e., losing or gaining energy by displaying the behaviour), and 6) integration/dissolution constructs (i.e., behaviour becomes more or less uniform).
The authors hope that the established typology can be used as a framework for future researchers in the field to quickly evaluate whether a novel or alternative dynamic individual differences concept has value in their data.
Stability and change in vocational interest profiles and interest congruence throughout vocational education and training
Julian Etzel & Gabriel Nagy
Vocational interests are considered dispositional, trait-like preferences for certain work-related activities. As such, they serve as powerful predictors of human behaviour and attitudes in organizational and educational contexts. Longitudinal research suggests that vocational interests demonstrate considerable stability over long periods. However, the long-held belief that trait-like vocational interests, once developed, are essentially inalterable has been challenged recently.
The current study examined the stability of vocational interest profiles, the existence of occupational socialization effects that manifest themselves as increases in person-environment (P-E) congruence, and the question of whether changes in P-E congruence are psychologically relevant because they are related to trainees’ attitudes towards their vocational education training (VET). Data were obtained from a three-wave longitudinal sample of 2,611 trainees from five different VET courses in Germany. The authors used meta-analytical aggregation techniques to evaluate interindividual differences in intraindividual interest stability and P-E congruence and the relation of these differences to trainees’ satisfaction with VET. Findings indicated that on average, interest profiles turned out to be highly stable over the entire VET course. Conversely, substantial interindividual and differences were found in interest stability. Average P-E congruence increased slightly demonstrating little evidence of socialization effects.
Finally, because changes in interest profile shapes were associated with VET satisfaction, the current work’s findings demonstrate that these changes are psychologically important processes rather than random fluctuations or measurement artefacts.
Fit gets better: A longitudinal study of changes in interest fit in educational and work environments
Alexis Hanna, Daniel Briley, Sif Einarsdóttir, Kevin Hoff & James Rounds
When people enter environments that provide a good match to their attributes, favourable outcomes usually follow. Person-environment fit is an important predictor of several outcomes, one of which is vocational choices. The study by Hanna and colleagues examined the patterns and processes of vocational interest fit development across 12 years during the transition from education to the workforce. The authors examined the associations of interest congruence and fit change with different methods. Across methods, three results were typically found: first, interest congruence improved over time in school and at work. Second, participants’ interests often predicted educational and work changes, supporting selection effects in which participants sought out better fitting environments over time. Third, participants’ interests rarely changed in response to their environment, indicating that interest socialization rarely occurred. Altogether, these findings suggest that selection – rather than socialization – is the driving force through which individuals achieve better interest fit during young adulthood.
Growth all along the road? Personality development and international contacts of (in)experienced sojourners
Julia Zimmermann, Henriette Greischel, Kathrin Jonkmann & Franz Neyer
Moving abroad during studies for a limited period, or international student mobility (ISM), is an educational opportunity to promote the international job market potential of university students. At the same time, psychological research on person-environment transactions has recognised ISM as an important life event in young adulthood that has substantial effects on the development of the Big Five traits. In order to assess (anticipatory) effects of ISM experiences on Big Five development, Zimmermann and colleagues followed 3,070 students from German higher education institutions over a semester. The participants represented three different groups: control students who had no mobility plans, present sojourners who engaged in ISM during the semester that defined the period of data collection, and future sojourners who had arranged for an ISM experience for the semester sequencing the period of data collection. Furthermore, the authors assessed the roles of international and host relationships regarding the personality development of present sojourners. Overall, the results on ISM development effects corroborated the consideration of ISM as an important life event that promotes personality maturation. No ISM anticipation effects occurred and effects of current ISM engagement were largely unaffected by previous international mobility experiences. Beyond that, higher relationship quality in international contacts was associated with stronger increases in openness and extraversion as well as an accentuated decline in neuroticism. These findings might be of particular interest to institutions that are involved in the organization and funding of ISM programs as it suggests that the (repeated) investment in ISM is worthwhile—at least concerning the adaptive development in most personality traits.
Person-situation dynamics in educational contexts: A self- and other-rated experience sampling study of teachers’ states, traits, and situations
Loes Abrahams, John Rauthmann & Filip De Fruyt
Recent studies have suggested that both person and situation variables shape human experience and behaviour. However, due to mainly relying on self-reported perceptions of situations, a major and recurring challenge for research on person-situation dynamics has been to separate individuals’ unique perception or construal of a situation from more objective or consensual evaluations. For this reason, Abrahams and colleagues examined the dynamics between self-and other-rated situation characteristics, personality traits, and personality states in an educational setting. 173 teachers and 94 supervisors participated in a 13- or 14-day experience sampling study during student teachers’ internships and rated situations and teachers’ personality states twice daily. Three main findings emerged following the analyses. First, self-rated traits were mostly not associated with self- or supervisor-rated situation characteristics. Second, self-and supervisor-rated situation characteristics predicted self- and supervisor-rated personality state expressions, although effects were largest for same-rater associations. And third, there were no interaction effects of traits and situation characteristics on personality state expressions.
The authors hope this work innovates multi-rater experience sampling designs, which would incite further research on person-situation dynamics. Such research is particularly important, as person-situation dynamics in applied settings are likely to have important implications for the performance, selection, and coaching of employees.
Personality-informed intervention design: Examining how trait regulation can inform efforts to change behaviour
Robert Rebele, Peter Koval & Luke Smillie
The countless choices we make about how to behave noticeably influence our health, wellbeing, and other important life outcomes. However, even when we know what actions we should take to achieve long-term goals, it can be challenging to prioritize these over our short-term desires. As a result, this can be highly costly to individuals and societies.
In this non-empirical paper, Rebele and his colleagues propose a personality-informed approach that classifies behaviour-change problems and designs interventions to address them. In particular, the authors argue that interventions will be most effective when they target the appropriate psychological process given the disposition of the participant and the desired duration of change. Key concepts and findings from the personality literature were evaluated in the pursuit of the best explanation of both short-term variation in behaviour and long-term development of personality. As a result, the paper concludes that the degree of fit between a person and behaviour is not static – a person’s trait expressions vary considerably during their daily lives as a function of various situational factors and intra-personal processes and sometimes change in a more enduring way over time.
In other words, personality should be used not only to understand for whom an intervention is appropriate, but also to guide how we design interventions in the first place.
Personality states mediate the effect of a mindfulness intervention on employees’ work outcomes: A randomized controlled trial
Annika Nübold & Ute Hülsheger
Research on personality states, or the enactment of one’s personality in a specific moment, has largely evidenced that personality is malleable and may strongly fluctuate due to situational influences. As has been stated in the study by Lang and colleagues – organizational researchers have emphasised the importance of personality states on work outcomes.
In this study, Nübold and Hülsheger drew on social cognitive theory of self-regulation and the social investment principle to test if a structured intervention can bring about changes in employees’ personality states at work. The authors investigated the effect of a four-week low-dose mindfulness intervention which was delivered via a mobile application on participants’ personality states. 162 employees were divided into three groups: practising mindfulness, doing brain training exercises, or not receiving any treatment were tracked in a diary study. Results showed that compared to the control groups, the mindfulness intervention led to significant increases in employees’ daily mindfulness, emotional stability, and agreeableness across the four-week period. Furthermore, daily agreeableness and emotional stability mediated the effect of the intervention on daily job satisfaction and performance. No intervention effects were found for daily openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion.
This study indicates that a systematic intervention on personality state change at work could help employees and organizations to impact their workers’ daily attitudes and behaviours at work in a positive way.
Do you have any questions or comments regarding this newsletter or its contents? Please contact:
Lisanne de Moor (Research Communications Editor; e.l.demoor@gmail.com) or Yavor Dragostinov (Research Communications Assistant; y.dragostinov@sms.ed.ac.uk)