Appl Psychol Research Articles

Exploring a paradox: Psychopathy, Morality and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour

AbstractStudies of the association between psychopathic traits and prosocial behavior are limited, with explanatory mechanisms of such dynamics being similarly scant within the empirical literature. Using a large sample of people in leadership roles, we explore the associations between the three facets of psychopathy (TriPM, Patrick CJ (2010) Operationalizing the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy: preliminary description of brief scales for assessment of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Unpublished test manual, Florida State University, pp. 1110–1131), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB, Smith et al (1983) J Appl Psychol 68:653–663). We examine the mediating role of individualizing and binding moral foundations (MFQ, Graham et al. (2013) Adv Exp Soc Psychol 47:55–130) within these relationships. Correlation analysis revealed that boldness was positively correlated with OCB, while both meanness and disinhibition were negatively correlated with OCB. Mediation analysis demonstrated that only individualizing moral foundations (IMF) mediated the relationship between meanness and OCB, such that meanness led to lower IMF and reduced levels of OCB. Our findings signal that lower IMF enables the nefarious behavior of people with darker psychopathic traits, while moral foundations as a whole play no role in advancing the prosocial behavior of people with so-called adaptive psychopathic traits. The contributions of these findings to the literature are discussed.

Re-exploring the antecedents of proactivity at work

AbstractThis paper reports two studies that utilized full structural equation modeling to explore the antecedents of proactivity at work. It was motivated by observations from a recent replication of a leading proactivity model, Parker et al. (J Appl Psychol 91(3):636–652, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.636) in which the replication model failed to confirm multiple previously reported variable relationships and manifested significant evidence of omitted variable bias (correlation between exogenous predictor variables and the disturbance term of the model’s dependent variable). Study 1 revisited the antecedents of proactivity in light of the unexpected replication model results. Utilizing the same diverse dataset (N = 521), it analyzed the relationships among all of the original model variables, together with a new contextual information availability variable, and constructed a new model (the “Modified Model”) consisting of the path relationships that were observed as statistically significant. The Modified Model differs from the original model in multiple respects: (i) it removes four of eight original variable path relationships, which could not be replicated as statistically significant, (ii) it removes a posited proactivity antecedent, flexible role orientation, whose path relationship with its predictor, co-worker trust, was observed as significant, but negative, (iii) it adds a direct path relationship between proactive personality and proactivity at work, (iv) it respecifies co-worker trust from an exogenous to an endogenous proactivity antecedent of proactivity at work, and (v) it specifies CI availability as new exogenous antecedent of co-worker trust. The Modified Model achieved good model fit and high explained variance (R2 = 0.64). In addition, the Modified Model did not manifest the evidence of omitted variable bias that was observed for the original model utilizing the same dataset. Study 2 was undertaken to cross-verify both of the prior studies using a fresh dataset (N = 479), and both prior studies were confirmed. Re-replication of the Parker et al. (J Appl Psychol 91(3):636–652, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.636) model again manifested evidence of omitted variable bias and provided evidence that corresponded with the results of the initial replication—significant differences from the observations reported by the original study. On the other hand, replication of the Modified Model again manifested no evidence of omitted variable bias, and resulted in observations that confirmed the Study1 observations used to construct the Modified Model. Taken together, Studies 1 and 2 provide evidence of the overall validity of the Modified Model of the antecedents of proactivity at work.

The Dirichlet Dual Response Model: An Item Response Model for Continuous Bounded Interval Responses

Standard response formats such as rating or visual analogue scales require respondents to condense distributions of latent states or behaviors into a single value. Whereas this is suitable to measure central tendency, it neglects the variance of distributions. As a remedy, variability may be measured using interval-response formats, more specifically the dual-range slider (RS2). Given the lack of an appropriate item response model for the RS2, we develop the Dirichlet dual response model (DDRM), an extension of the beta response model (BRM; Noel & Dauvier in Appl Psychol Meas, 31:47–73, 2007). We evaluate the DDRM’s performance by assessing parameter recovery in a simulation study. Results indicate overall good parameter recovery, although parameters concerning interval width (which reflect variability in behavior or states) perform worse than parameters concerning central tendency. We also test the model empirically by jointly fitting the BRM and the DDRM to single-range slider (RS1) and RS2 responses for two Extraversion scales. While the DDRM has an acceptable fit, it shows some misfit regarding the RS2 interval widths. Nonetheless, the model indicates substantial differences between respondents concerning variability in behavior. High correlations between person parameters of the BRM and DDRM suggest convergent validity between the RS1 and the RS2 interval location. Both the simulation and the empirical study demonstrate that the latent parameter space of the DDRM addresses an important issue of the RS2 response format, namely, the scale-inherent interdependence of interval location and interval width (i.e., intervals at the boundaries are necessarily smaller).

The Wicked Problem of Physician Well-Being.

The collective threat to physician well-being is a complex issue with no clear solution. Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, physicians suffered from widespread burnout and moral injury, with negative consequences for patient care, physician health, and the health care system. Initial clinician well-being efforts leaned heavily on individual-focused interventions. However, workplace culture and environment are key factors that affect burnout, and therefore clinician well-being efforts require both individual-focused and systems-level interventions. A sustainable culture of support in medicine is necessary to foster physician well-being.

A Bayesian Generalized Explanatory Item Response Model to Account for Learning During the Test

The present paper introduces a new explanatory item response model to account for the learning that takes place during a psychometric test due to the repeated use of the operations involved in the items. The proposed model is an extension of the operation-specific learning model (Fischer and Formann in Appl Psychol Meas 6:397–416, 1982; Scheiblechner in Z für Exp Angew Psychol 19:476–506, 1972; Spada in Spada and Kempf (eds.) Structural models of thinking and learning, Huber, Bern, Germany, pp 227–262, 1977). The paper discusses special cases of the model, which, together with the general formulation, differ in the type of response in which the model states that learning occurs: (1) correct and incorrect responses equally (non-contingent learning); (2) correct responses only (contingent learning); and (3) correct and incorrect responses to a different extent (differential contingent learning). A Bayesian framework is adopted for model estimation and evaluation. A simulation study is conducted to examine the performance of the estimation and evaluation methods in recovering the true parameters and selecting the true model. Finally, an empirical study is presented to illustrate the applicability of the model to detect learning effects using real data.

Advances in CD-CAT: The General Nonparametric Item Selection Method.

Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is characterized by its high estimation efficiency and accuracy, in contrast to the traditional paper-and-pencil format. CAT specifically for cognitive diagnosis (CD-CAT) carries the same advantages and has been seen as a tool for advancing the use of cognitive diagnosis (CD) assessment for educational practice. A powerful item selection method is the key to the success of a CD-CAT program, and to date, various parametric item selection methods have been proposed and well-researched. However, these parametric methods all require large samples, to secure high-precision calibration of the items in the item bank. Thus, at present, implementation of parametric methods in small-scale educational settings, such as classroom, remains challenging. In response to this issue, Chang, Chiu, and Tsai (Appl Psychol Meas 43:543-561, 2019) proposed the nonparametric item selection (NPS) method that does not require parameter calibration and outperforms the parametric methods for settings with only small or no calibration samples. Nevertheless, the NPS method is not without limitations; extra assumptions are required to guarantee a consistent estimator of the attribute profiles when data conform to complex models. To remedy this shortcoming, the general nonparametric item selection (GNPS) method that incorporates the newly developed general NPC (GNPC) method (Chiu et al. in Psychometrika 83:355-375, 2018) as the classification vehicle is proposed in this study. The inclusion of the GNPC method in the GNPS method relaxes the assumptions imposed on the NPS method. As a result, the GNPS method can be used with any model or multiple models without abandoning the advantage of being a small-sample technique. The legitimacy of using the GNPS method in the CD-CAT system is supported by Theorem 1 proposed in the study. The efficiency and effectiveness of the GNPS method are confirmed by the simulation study that shows the outperformance of the GNPS method over the compared parametric methods when the calibration samples are small.

Lord\u2013Wingersky Algorithm Version 2.5 with Applications

Item response theory scoring based on summed scores is employed frequently in the practice of educational and psychological measurement. Lord and Wingersky (Appl Psychol Meas 8(4):453–461, 1984) proposed a recursive algorithm to compute the summed score likelihood. Cai (Psychometrika 80(2):535–559, 2015) extended the original Lord–Wingersky algorithm to the case of two-tier multidimensional item factor models and called it Lord–Wingersky algorithm Version 2.0. The 2.0 algorithm utilizes dimension reduction to efficiently compute summed score likelihoods associated with the general dimensions in the model. The output of the algorithm is useful for various purposes, for example, scoring, scale alignment, and model fit checking. In the research reported here, a further extension to the Lord–Wingersky algorithm 2.0 is proposed. The new algorithm, which we call Lord–Wingersky algorithm Version 2.5, yields the summed score likelihoods for all latent variables in the model conditional on observed score combinations. The proposed algorithm is illustrated with empirical data for three potential application areas: (a) describing achievement growth using score combinations across adjacent grades, (b) identification of noteworthy subscores for reporting, and (c) detection of aberrant responses.

The link between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and entrepreneurial orientation in Japanese business owners

Several studies have observed a relationship between (subclinical levels of) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and entrepreneurship. Recently, Yu et al. (Entrep Theory Pract https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258719892987, 2019) and Wismans et al. (Appl Psychol 69:1093–1112 https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12247, 2020) observed a positive association between hyperactivity and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). The present study seeks to replicate these findings in an entirely different culture, that of Japan. Moreover, because of the low internal consistency of the hyperactivity measure across studies, we study the individual contributions of the hyperactivity items. Using a sample of 255 Japanese business owners, we conducted OLS regressions and PLS-structural equation modelling. The results of our study on the ADHD-EO relationship in Japan are partly in line with previous findings: the positive link between hyperactivity and EO is again confirmed. In contrast with the results of previous studies, we find a positive link between overall ADHD symptoms and EO using both methods and a positive link between attention-deficit and EO using one of the methods (PLS-SEM). Cultural differences may explain these different findings. When the two hyperactivity items are separated, they appear to have different associations with EO. One item, measuring mental hyperactivity, is strongly positively associated with EO, whereas the other item, measuring physical hyperactivity, is not associated with EO. This result is a new and interesting finding that is replicated in the current study using the French dataset of Wismans et al. (Appl Psychol 69:1093–1112 https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12247, 2020) but which warrants further research.

The Double-Edged Sword Effects of Career Calling on Occupational Embeddedness: Mediating Roles of Work–Family Conflict and Career Adaptability

Based on the conservation of resource theory, we proposed a two-path model to examine the double-edged sword effects of career calling on occupational embeddedness via work-family conflict (WFC) and career adaptability. The proposed theoretical model and hypotheses were tested by structural equation modeling technology with a sample of nurses from five hospitals in China (total N=368). Career calling has a double-edged sword effect on occupational embeddedness via WFC and career adaptability. Career calling has positive effects on WFCand career adaptability. WFC and career adaptability, in turn, negatively and positively influence occupational embeddedness, respectively. In addition to the well-established positive effects, career calling may also have adverse effects on occupational outcomes. Given the worldwide shortage of nursing staff, how career calling affects nurses' occupational embeddedness needs to be more understood. This study highlights the importance of career calling and occupational embeddedness. Nurse managers need to improve the level of nurses' career adaptability and reduce their level of WFC and hence increase their occupational embeddedness.

“One more time”: why replicating some syntheses of evidence relevant to COVID-19 makes sense

• Given the urgent need for credible answers to high-priority questions about the health and social impacts of COVID-19, many systematic reviewers seek to contribute their skills and expertise. • Rather than embarking on unnecessary, duplicate reviews, we encourage the evidence synthesis community to prioritise purposeful replication of systematic reviews of evidence relevant to COVID-19. • We explain why replication of systematic reviews is important, how to carry out a replication, and when to consider replication of reviews.

Unemployed Individuals Reporting Hindrance Work Stress at Previous Job Have Increased Likelihood of Insomnia Disorder.

Workplace stress and unemployment are each associated with disturbances in sleep. However, a substantial gap exists in what we know about the type of workplace stress preceding job loss and the lasting effect workplace stressors may have on long-term health outcomes. We hypothesized that a specific type of workplace stress, hindrance stress, would be a stronger predictor of current insomnia disorder, compared to challenge stress. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from 191 recently unemployed individuals participating in the ongoing Assessing Daily Patterns through occupational Transitions (ADAPT) study. Participants were administered the Cavanaugh et al. (J Appl Psychol. 85(1):65, 2000) self-reported work stress scale regarding their previous job and the Duke Sleep Interview (DSI-SD), a semi-structured interview assessing ICSD-3 insomnia disorder (chronic and acute). Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that hindrance work stress was associated with an increased likelihood of current overall, chronic, and acute insomnia disorder, when controlling for challenge stress and significant demographic factors. Challenge stress was associated with an increased likelihood of chronic insomnia disorder when controlling for hindrance stress and covariates. The association between challenge stress and acute insomnia differed as a function of sex. Hindrance work stressors were associated with increased odds of current insomnia disorder, even after employment ended. Across each of the tested models, hindrance stress had stronger effects on insomnia than challenge stress. These findings support and extend both the challenge-hindrance framework of work-related stress and the 3 P model of insomnia.

Promoting Leadership by Women in Gastroenterology—Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Promoting Leadership by Women in Gastroenterology—Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Higher-Order Asymptotics and Its Application to Testing the Equality of the Examinee Ability Over Two Sets of Items.

In educational and psychological measurement, researchers and/or practitioners are often interested in examining whether the ability of an examinee is the same over two sets of items. Such problems can arise in measurement of change, detection of cheating on unproctored tests, erasure analysis, detection of item preknowledge, etc. Traditional frequentist approaches that are used in such problems include the Wald test, the likelihood ratio test, and the score test (e.g., Fischer, Appl Psychol Meas 27:3-26, 2003; Finkelman, Weiss, & Kim-Kang, Appl Psychol Meas 34:238-254, 2010; Glas & Dagohoy, Psychometrika 72:159-180, 2007; Guo & Drasgow, Int J Sel Assess 18:351-364, 2010; Klauer & Rettig, Br J Math Stat Psychol 43:193-206, 1990; Sinharay, J Educ Behav Stat 42:46-68, 2017). This paper shows that approaches based on higher-order asymptotics (e.g., Barndorff-Nielsen & Cox, Inference and asymptotics. Springer, London, 1994; Ghosh, Higher order asymptotics. Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Hayward, 1994) can also be used to test for the equality of the examinee ability over two sets of items. The modified signed likelihood ratio test (e.g., Barndorff-Nielsen, Biometrika 73:307-322, 1986) and the Lugannani-Rice approximation (Lugannani & Rice, Adv Appl Prob 12:475-490, 1980), both of which are based on higher-order asymptotics, are shown to provide some improvement over the traditional frequentist approaches in three simulations. Two real data examples are also provided.

Happiness and Longevity: Unhappy People Die Young, Otherwise Happiness Probably Makes No Difference

Based on analysis of long-running panel surveys in Germany and Australia, we offer a revised assessment of the relationship between subjective well-being (happiness, life satisfaction) and longevity. Most previous research has reported a linear positive relationship; the happier people are, the longer they live (Diener and Chan in Appl Psychol Health Well-Being 3:1–43, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01045.x ). Results from these two panels indicate that, if a linear model is assumed, the standard positive relationship between life satisfaction and longevity is found. However, an alternative viewpoint merits consideration. It appears that the relationship between happiness and longevity may be non-linear. The evidence is strong that unhappy people die young. Otherwise, across the rest of the distribution, happiness appears to make no difference to longevity. Our findings are consistent using alternative methods of estimation, and are robust with or without controlling for a range of variables known to affect longevity, including socio-economic variables, behavioral choices (e.g. exercise, smoking) and health status.

Coping with career development: a field study measuring the influence of work characteristics and employee personality

This study tested a model of the relationship between work performance, employee personality, and perceived career development. The model hypothesized that employee personality (extraversion) modifies the relationship between work characteristics (task, diversity, work feedback) and perceived career development. Results revealed that work characteristics (task diversity, work feedback) was positively related to perceived career opportunities and that extraversion positively moderated the relation between work characteristics (task diversity, work feedback) and perceived career opportunities. Issues related to the common method bias are discussed (see e.g. Podsakoff et al. in J Appl Psychol 88(5):879–903, 2003).

The Impact of Acculturation on Immigrants’ Business Ethics Attitudes

This study explores to what extent immigrants adopt the business ethical attitudes of their host country and/or maintain those of their country of origin. For countries that have significant immigration, acculturation is an important social issue. An immigrant’s acculturation is influenced through the ability to adapt his/her “ethical culture of origin” by integrating it with the host country’s ethical culture. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the role of acculturation on immigrant’s ethical attitudes. What happens to individuals, who have developed in one cultural context, when they attempt to live in a new cultural context? Three groups were the object of this study: (1) native students of business administration in Israel, (2) students of business administration in the Ukraine and (3) business students in Israel who had emigrated from the Ukraine. Samples of these student populations allowed the study of acculturation effects on the immigrants as they acclimated to Israeli society. Results showed that students living in the Ukraine had the lowest ethical attitudes, followed by Ukraine immigrants in Israel. Israeli-born students had significantly higher ethical attitudes than either of the two Ukrainian groups. Accordingly, the ethical perceptions of immigrant students showed that they were influenced by both their home and host cultures. According to Berry’s (Appl Psychol Int Rev 46(1): 5–68, 1997) model of acculturation strategies, integration was their preferred strategy. The implications of these results and guidelines for further research are suggested.

Bias in cross-cultural neuropsychological testing: problems and possible solutions

Cultural variables exert a powerful effect on test performance. This effect is now largely recognized in the field of neuropsychology, although rather underestimated. This paper has three parts. First, different sources of cross-cultural bias in neuropsychological testing are identified, using the taxonomy proposed by van de Vijver and Tanzer (Eur Rev Appl Psychol 54: 119–135, 2004), specifically, an examination of construct, method and item biases. Second, strategies proposed in the literature to address these biases are reviewed. Finally, a three-level approach to addressing these problems related to bias is proposed. These approaches are hierarchically organized from bottom-to-top: (1) a behavioral approach in the testing situation, (2) test adaptation and, (3) the development of a new generation of neuropsychological tests. Simultaneous test development across multiple cultures is emphasized. Guidelines for the development of these tests are proposed in order to obtain culturally fair and psychometrically robust tests.

How does burnout impact the three components of nursing professional commitment?

While the impact of burnout on organisational commitment has been widely observed, its impact on nursing professional commitment has not previously been investigated. The literature has clarified that professional commitment has three distinct components: affective, continuance and normative. This study aims to investigate the relationships between burnout and the three components of nursing professional commitment. This was a cross-sectional study using questionnaires to collect data in one large medical centre. Responses from 571 nurses were used for regression analysis. Among the sampled nurses, 90.9% had <15 years of nursing experience. MBI-HSS was used for measuring burnout. Three components of nursing professional commitment came from Meyer et al. (J Appl Psychol, 78, 1993 and 538) a formally validated instrument. Analytical results indicated that burnout is negatively related to affective and normative professional commitment (B ≤ -0.09, p < 0.01), but not related to continuance professional commitment (B = 0.05, p > 0.05). Nurse managers aiming to improve nurses' professional commitment should consider reducing nurses' burnout, for example improving nursing optimism and reducing administrative tasks, as suggested by the literature.

The Relationship Between Students’ Perceptions of “Good Practices for Undergraduate Education” and the Paradigmatic Development of Disciplines in Course-Taking Behavior

Our study uses data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education to interrogate the affinity disciplines hypothesis through students’ perceptions of faculty use of six of Chickering and Gamson’s (AAHE Bull 39(7):3–7, 1987) principles of good practice for undergraduate education. We created a proportional scale based on Biglan’s (J Appl Psychol 57(3):195–203, 1973) classification of paradigmatic development (with higher scores on the scale corresponding to students taking a higher proportion of courses in ‘hard’ fields compared to ‘soft’ fields), our study tests differences by the paradigmatic development of the disciplines or fields in which students take their courses within the first year of college. Our findings suggest that as paradigmatic development increases (toward a higher proportion of courses taken in hard disciplines), student perceptions of both faculty use of prompt feedback and faculty use of high expectations/academic challenge decrease, while student perceptions of cooperative learning increase. Further, no statistically significant differences were found between the paradigmatic development of fields in which students’ take their courses and students’ perceptions of faculty use of student-faculty contact, active and collaborative learning, or teaching clarity and organization. This study replicates the findings from Braxton et al. (Res High Educ 39(3):299–318, 1998) using student-level rather than faculty-level reports of faculty use of good teaching practices.

Utilizing Feedback: Helping Learners Make Sense of the Feedback They Get

Abstract Introduction Many learners continue to report not getting adequate feedback in both quality and quantity. Although many workshops have been developed to train faculty and other educators i...