Bayesian Analysis of Individual Level Personality Dynamics

A Bayesian technique with analyses of within-person processes at the level of the individual is presented. The approach is used to examine if the patterns of within-person responses on a 12 trial simulation task are consistent with the predictions of ITA theory (Dweck, 1999). ITA theory states that the performance of an individual with an entity theory of ability is more likely to spiral down following a failure experience than the performance of an individual with an incremental theory of ability. This is because entity theorists interpret failure experiences as evidence of a lack of ability, which they believe is largely innate and therefore relatively fixed; whilst incremental theorists believe in the malleability of abilities and interpret failure experiences as evidence of more controllable factors such as poor strategy or lack of effort. The results of our analyses support ITA theory at both the within- and between-person levels of analyses and demonstrate the benefits of Bayesian techniques for the analysis of within-person processes. These include more formal specification of the theory and the ability to draw inferences about each individual, which allows for more nuanced interpretations of individuals within a personality category, such as differences in the individual probabilities of spiralling. While Bayesian techniques have many potential advantages for the analyses of within-person processes at the individual level, ease of use is not one of them for psychologists trained in traditional frequentist statistical techniques

The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool.

The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate2-4. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans-including 278 individuals from England-alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France5,6

Author Correction: The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool.

See original record

The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool

The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate2,3,4. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans—including 278 individuals from England—alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France5,6

Dynamic Personality Science. Integrating Between-Person Stability and Within-Person Change

Personality can be understood from at least two perspectives. One focuses on stable, between-person differences, or traits. The other perspective focuses on within-person differences and dynamics, i.e., fluctuations in personality in response to situations and across time. This Research Topic reflects recent developments in personality research to integrate both trait and dynamic perspectives. An integrated view on personality recognizes both stability in between-person differences and within-person change. Contributors are drawn from research teams across Europe, North America and Australasia, and from basic and applied fields, including organizational, educational, and clinical. The studies reported provide new evidence in support of an integrative approach, highlight currently active areas of research and propose new directions of research. Current streams of research include the study of contingent units of personality and within-person processes underlying traits, the comparisons of findings based on within- vs. between-person data, the conceptualisation and operationalization of perceived and objective change in situation variables, the malleability of personality and the potential for personality interventions. Integrative approaches using within-person designs provide new, bottom-up insights into general principles of personality that explain differences between people while reflecting the complexities of within-person personality dynamics at the level of the individual

Organizational behavior science or scientism?

The belief that OB is more than a set of applied techniques and claims to it being a science rest primarily on the validity of the explanatory mechanisms used to explain how personal and situational factors influence outcomes of interest in organizations, such as job performance and citizenship. Within OB, explanatory mechanisms are typically referred to as mediators and are tested using mediation analysis. A review of mediation analyses over the past 25 years revealed the state of knowledge does not support claims to scientific status by OB. We argue that if OB is to achieve the scientific goal of understanding it needs to improve the validity of inferences about its explanatory mechanisms. We provide recommendations for achieving this aim