Criterion validity of the 10 personality aspects for performance in South Africa

Recent evidence suggests that personality could play just as important a role in the prediction of important work-related outcomes as cognitive ability. However, it might be meaningful to adjust the level at which personality is measured and reported, depending on the narrowness of the scope of the criteria of interest. This study firstly explored the inter-factor correlations of the 10 personality aspects of the Work Personality Index (WPI) from an archival dataset of 4759 South African employees. An oblique lower-order model was specified to investigate the inter-factor correlations between personality aspects. Secondly, a dominance analysis was performed using a sequentially collected cross-sectional sample of 197 South African employees, to determine the relative weight that each of the 10 aspects carries when predicting five narrower dimensions of performance. The 10 aspects exhibited unique patterns in predicting narrower performance dimensions. Scientists and practitioners might, therefore, benefit from modelling relationships between personality aspects and narrower performance areas. In accordance, more nuanced selection decisions or development recommendations can be made that are specific to the work behaviours of interest. Contribution: The present study is the first to explore the criterion validity of the 10 personality aspects against five performance areas in the South African context. The study underscores the importance of a more nuanced understanding of the work-related implications of narrower personality characteristics, which have practical implications for both selection decisions and developmental recommendations within organisational settings

Can a general factor be derived from employees’ responses to items on the Individual Work Performance Review?

This study aimed to investigate whether permissible inferences can be derived from employees’ standing on a general performance factor from their responses to the Individual Work Performance Review (IWPR) items. The performance of 448 employees was rated (by their managers) using the IWPR. Latent variable modelling was performed through a bifactor exploratory structural equation model with the robust version of the maximum likelihood estimator. The general factor’s score was also used to inspect correlations with two work performance correlates: tenure and job level. In line with international findings, the results suggested that a general factor could explain 65% of the common variance in the 80 items of the IWPR. Job level, but not tenure, correlated with general job performance. The results support calculating an overall score for performance, which might be a suitable criterion to differentiate top performers, conduct criterion validity studies, and calculate the return on investment of selection procedures or training programmes. Contribution: The present study provides initial evidence for a general factor influencing employees’ responses to items on a generic performance measure in South Africa. In addition, the study showcases the application of advanced statistical methods in factor analyses, demonstrating their efficacy in evaluating the psychometric properties of hierarchical factor models derived from data provided on performance measures

The validity of a general factor of emotional intelligence in the South African context

Emotional intelligence (EI) plays an important role in the prediction of important work-related outcomes, such as work performance. Southern African scholars frequently deploy total scores of EI without considering its hierarchical structure. This study investigated the presence of a general factor, as manifested among the subscales of the EQ-i 2.0, using an archival dataset of 16 581 employees in Southern Africa. Orthogonal first-order, single-factor, higher-order, oblique lower-order and bifactor models were specified to investigate the hierarchical structure of EI. The evidence supports the notion that a total score could be calculated for EI based on the EQ-i 2.0. A total EI score also appears to be predictive of employees’ individual work performance, as measured by their managers. It might, therefore, be practically meaningful for practitioners to calculate or use a total score when making selection decisions about employees based on the EQ-i. 2.0. Contribution: The findings of the present study offer insights into the theoretical and empirical structure of EI based on statistical techniques that have not been used on the construct in the Southern African context. Concurrent validity evidence further provides additional support that an overall quantitative score, based on the EQ-i. 2.0, has utility in hiring practices, where the aim is to predict future work performance

The relationship between managers' goal-setting styles and subordinates' goal commitment

CITATOIN: Van Lill, X., Roodt, G. & De Bruin, G. P. 2020. The relationship between managers' goal-setting styles and subordinates' goal commitment. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 23(1):a3601, doi:10.4102/sajems.v23i1.3601.The original publication is available at https://sajems.orgBackground: Convincing employees to set aside their self-interests and commit to collective goals is essential for the effective functioning of organisations. It is critical that the impact of different managerial goal-setting styles, and the associated impressions of fair interpersonal treatment in the workplace, is understood from subordinates’ perspective. This might clarify the psychological mechanisms involved in motivating subordinates to commit to organisational goals. Aim: The primary aim of this article is to determine the relationship between managers’ goal-setting styles and subordinates’ goal commitment. The secondary aim is to determine whether this relationship is mediated by interactional justice. Setting: A total of 451 working adults completed an online or paper-and-pen survey. Methods: A mediator model was conducted in structural equation modelling with maximum likelihood estimation and Bollen-Stine bootstrapping, with 5000 bootstrap resamples, to test the hypotheses. Results: The perception that managers are deliberative had the greatest positive direct relationship with subordinates’ goal commitment, followed by the directive style. Subordinates’ perception of managers as complaisant, in turn, were unrelated to goal commitment (amotivational), whereas the perception of managers as hostile had a negative relationship with goal commitment. Informational justice, not interpersonal justice, emerged as the only mediating variable. Conclusion: Managers should be encouraged to actively seek feedback from subordinates on their goal-setting styles. Managers can accordingly adapt their behaviour to effectively motivate subordinates to commit to organisational goals.https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/3601Publisher's versio

Neuromyths in Industrial and Organisational Psychology in South Africa: Prevalence and impact

Orientation: Industrial Psychologists (IPs) could significantly benefit from integrating neuroscientific evidence into their practices, provided they critically engage with scholarly research rather than rely on unsupported assertions. Research purpose: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of neuroscientific misconceptions among IPs, student psychologists, and intern psychologists in South Africa as well as advocate for enhanced foundational knowledge in applied organisational neuroscience within industrial psychology. Motivation for the study: The emerging field of organisational neuroscience, which applies brain science to workplace behaviour, is particularly vulnerable to misconceptions that could hinder its development. Research approach/design and method: Using a cross-sectional survey, this research evaluated the knowledge of neuro misconceptions at one point in time within a convenience sample of (n = 98), consisting of registered student psychologists (n = 7; 7%), intern psychologists (n = 8; 10%), and IPs (n = 83; 85%). Main findings: Results indicated that this sample endorses many neuromyth conceptions. There was significant disparity in the endorsement of misconceptions between those with and without neuroscientific training, highlighting a knowledge gap. Practical/managerial implications: These findings underscore the necessity for improved education in applied organisational neuroscience among IOPs, suggesting integration into training and education programs. Contribution/value-add: This pioneering study in South Africa emphasises the role of general knowledge, specific training in applied organisational neuroscience, and critical thinking in psychological research as key to combating neuromyths, marking a meaningful contribution to the field

The psychologist-lawyer dynamic in industrial psychologists’ psycho-legal activities

M.Phil. (Industrial Psychology)The objective of this study was to determine the psychologist-lawyer dynamics, prevalent in the psycho-legal activities of industrial psychologists. In order to reach this objective, repertory grid interviews were conducted with 10 participants, all of whom were industrial psychologists experienced in psycho-legal activities. During the interviews, the participants were asked to contrast their experiences in terms of the psychologist-lawyer dynamics, by eliciting similarities and differences between the psycho-legal cases which they identified. From the contrasts obtained in the interviews, the data were analysed in three consecutive stages, namely eyeball analysis, bootstrapping analysis, and the interpretation and sense-making of the themes. In the first stage of analysis, the repertory grids of the participants were scanned holistically to identify personal constructs. In the second stage of analysis, the personal constructs were categorised into themes, based on a process of continual scrutiny for similarities. During the final stage of analysis, the seven themes, categorised from the personal constructs of the participants, were interpreted and made sense of by using relevant literature on forensic psychology. The seven themes categorised from the data were: differing scientific worldviews of industrial psychologists and lawyers, the power differential in the psychologist-lawyer relationship, motives of the instructing lawyer, structure of the psychologist-lawyer relationship, the industrial psychologist's fees, objectivity of the industrial psychologist, and ethical principles in psycho-legal activities. Based on the seven themes, recommendations are made to important stakeholders such as industrial psychologists, the Professional Board for Psychology, lawyers instructing industrial psychologists, and universities. Furthermore, important limitations of this study are noted, from where recommendations for future research are made. Recommendations for stakeholders and future research in terms of the psychologist-lawyer dynamics in industrial psychologists’ psycho-legal activities are aimed at mediating the interdisciplinary and inter-professional dynamics between industrial psychologists and lawyers, in order to aid the sustained practice of industrial psychologists’ psycho-legal activities

Effects of managers’ goal setting styles on subordinates’ degrees of commitment

Abstract: Background: Given the centrality of goal setting to managerial roles, it is surprising that limited attention has been paid to the impact of managers’ goal setting styles on subordinates’ goal reactions. This, in part, could be attributed to the absence of a coherent theoretical account of managers’ goal setting styles. A limited understanding and contradictory views surrounding subordinates’ goal reactions might also have restricted the number of studies on the interpersonal exchanges between managers and subordinates when setting goals. Considering the limited research, it is not surprising that predictive models of hierarchical goal setting are restricted to a few direct effects. Models that uncover the psychological processes underlying the serial formation of subordinates’ goal reactions to managers’ goal setting styles could, however, provide a more eloquent representation of hierarchical goal setting. Other interpersonal factors and individual characteristics, such as supervisor-focussed justice and the dimensions of the Five-factor Model of Personality (also referred to as the Big Five personality traits) could also have bearing on the ways in which subordinates make sense of managers’ goal setting styles, and might have implications for the ways in which subordinates react to goals. Research objectives: In order to address the shortcomings with respect to managers’ goal setting behaviours, Objective 1 was to investigate whether eight styles could be differentiated and arranged around the circumference of a circle (also known as a circumplex model). The eight factors differentiated included the reasonable, deliberative, considerate, complaisant, distorted, hostile, disregardful, and directive styles. Objective 2 was to address the theoretical paucity regarding goal reactions by establishing the extent to which four higher-order factors (each consisting of a cognitive, affective, volitional, and behavioural intentional facet) could be differentiated and presented in a typology. Goal reactions were conceived to consist of goal commitment, compliance, withdrawal, and resistance. Based on the premise that more coherent and differentiated models of styles and reactions could be developed, Objective 3 of the study was to investigate the serial indirect effects of goal setting styles on goal reactions, thereby uncovering the cognitive motivational mechanisms underlying hierarchical goal setting. Supervisor-focussed justice was further included as a variable in the serial mediational models to address Objective 4, which was to investigate the fairness criteria that subordinates employ when making sense of managers’ goal setting styles. Finally, Objective 5 was to determine the moderating effects of personality traits on the...Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology

Exploring the factor structure of the Passion Scale : Are the dualistic types of passion relevant for workers in the South African context?

Abstract: Orientation: It is not clear from research whether the dualistic model holds true across binary ethnic and gender groups in the South African organisational context. Research purpose: The present research aimed to test the validity and reliability of the two-factor Passion Scale and to assess for measurement invariance of the two-factor scale across binary ethnic and gender groups in the South African context. Motivation of the study: The construct of passion helps to better understand some of the psychological attributes that contribute to experiences of either well-being or strain at work and is therefore an important attribute to measure..