Vocations as a source of identity: reciprocal relations between Big Five personality traits and RIASEC characteristics

Although work is a core part of life, the direction of influence from personality to work has typically been conceived as only unidirectional. The present study aims to contribute to the literature by considering reciprocal relations between personality and occupational characteristics, drawing on current perspectives from personality psychology (i.e., the social investment principle) and using a well-established framework to conceptualize career development (i.e., Holland's RIASEC theory). For this purpose, a longitudinal cohort of college alumni (N = 266) was tracked across a substantial and significant period in their professional career. Big Five personality traits and RIASEC occupational characteristics were assessed at the career start and 15 years later when their careers had unfolded. A combination of observed and latent variable analyses were used to disentangle the longitudinal and reciprocal relations between traits and occupational characteristics. Our results indicate that personality shapes and is shaped by our vocational experiences, suggesting that work can be a source of identity. The implications for theory and research on personality in the industrial and organizational literature are discussed alongside a number of practical implications for organizational and counseling settings

Responses to co-workers receiving recognition at work

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of co-workers receiving recognition on two types of responses, namely emotions (positive and negative) and behavioral intentions (interpersonal counterproductive behavior and interpersonal citizenship behavior). Design/methodology/approach - This study is an experimental scenario study with a 2 x 2 between-subjects design with 246 employees from a local health care organization. Findings - The findings reveal that the relation between the recognition of others and positive or negative emotions was moderated by the quality of the relationship between both actors. Further, as hypothesized, the relation between the recognition of others and interpersonal counterproductive behavior was moderated by relationship quality. Contrary to the authors' expectations, relationship quality did not moderate the relation between employee recognition and interpersonal citizenship behavior. Practical implications - This study provides useful suggestions for managers to diminish undesired (i.e. negative emotions and interpersonal counterproductive behavior) and enhance desired emotions and behaviors (i.e. positive emotions and interpersonal citizenship behavior). Originality/value - This study is the first to show that employee recognition may have negative effects on the emotions of others and interpersonal behavior (i.e. interpersonal counterproductive behavior)

Employability in the 21st Century: complex (interactive) problem solving and other essential skills

Neubert, Mainert, Kretzschmar, and Greiff (2015) plea to integrate the 21st century skills of complex problem solving (CPS) and collaborative problem solving (ColPS) in the assessment and development suite of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists, given the expected increase in nonroutine and interactive tasks in the new workplace. At the same time, they promote new ways of assessing these skills using computer-based microworlds, enabling the systematic variation of problem features in assessment. Neubert and colleagues’ (2015) suggestions are a valuable step in connecting differential psychologists’ models of human differences and functioning with human resources professionals’ interest in understanding and predicting behavior at work. We concur that CPS and ColPS are important transversal skills, useful for I-O psychologists, but these are only two babies of a single family, and the domain of 21st century skills includes other families of a different kind that are also with utility for I-O psychologists. The current contribution is meant to broaden this interesting discussion in two important ways. We clarify that CPS and ColPS need to be considered in the context of a wider set of 21st century skills with an origin in the education domain, and we highlight a number of crucial steps that still need to be taken before “getting started” (Neubert et al., 2015, p. last page of the discussion) with this taxonomic framework. But first, we feel the need to slightly reframe the relevance of considering 21st century skills in I-O psychology by shifting the attention from narrow task-related skills to the broader domain of career management competencies.</jats:p

Review of "An Inquiry into Modes of Existence. An Anthropology of the Moderns" by Bruno Latour

Recenzja książki Bruno Latoura "An Inquiry into Modes of Existence. An Anthropology of the Moderns

The effects of vocational interest on study results : student person : environment fit and program interest diversity

The extent to which a good person-environment (PE) interest fit between student and study program leads to better study results in higher education is an ongoing debate wherein the role of the study program environment has remained inadequately studied. Unanswered questions include: how diverse study programs are in the interests of their student populations, and how this program interest diversity influences study results, in comparison to individual PE fit? The present study addressed these questions in students (N = 4,635) enrolled in open-access university education. In such an open access system, students are allowed to make study choices without prior limitations based on previous achievement or high stakes testing. Starting from the homogeneity assumption applied to this open access setting, we propose several hypotheses regarding program interest diversity, motivation, student-program interest fit, and study results. Furthermore, we applied a method of measuring interest diversity based on an existing measure of correlational person-environment fit. Results indicated that interest diversity in an open access study environment was low across study programs. Results also showed the variance present in program interest diversity was linked to autonomous and controlled motivation in the programs’ student populations. Finally, program interest diversity better explained study results than individual student fit with their program of choice. Indeed, program interest diversity explained up to 44% of the variance in the average program’s study results while individual student-program fit hardly predicted study success at all. Educational policy makers should therefore be aware of the importance of both interest fit and interest diversity during the process of study orientation