Jan Ketil Arnulf

Journal of Vocational Behavior 155(December) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104063

We draw on a resource caravans' perspective to explain pathways to career success among a longitudinal sample, covering the first 15 years of their careers. By applying a latent growth model, we investigate how the role of university grade point average (GPA) on career success changes across time. The results from latent growth curve analysis revealed that GPA was not positively related to initial levels of career success (i.e., salary and leadership level), however, GPA was positively related to increases in career success over time and positively related to subjective career success. These findings indicate that the positive impact of GPA on career success accumulates over time, in line with the resource caravans and gain spirals of conservation of resources theory. Further, we examine the joint role of GPA and affective-identity motivation to lead (MTL) measured at the start of university studies to explain growth in career success over time. As expected, affective identity MTL moderated the relationship between GPA and leadership level, salary level and subjective career success, such that the positive relationship was stronger for individuals higher on affective-identity MTL. Our findings highlight that the pathway to career success is based on gain spirals that may develop slowly over time as individuals accumulate resources in their resource caravan and invest these resources further to achieve their career outcomes. Implications for practice are discussed.

Frontiers in Psychology 15 s. 1-14 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1308098

This is a review of a range of empirical studies that use digital text algorithms to predict and model response patterns from humans to Likert-scale items, using texts only as inputs. The studies show that statistics used in construct validation is predictable on sample and individual levels, that this happens across languages and cultures, and that the relationship between variables are often semantic instead of empirical. That is, the relationships among variables are given a priori and evidently computable as such. We explain this by replacing the idea of “nomological networks” with “semantic networks” to designate computable relationships between abstract concepts. Understanding constructs as nodes in semantic networks makes it clear why psychological research has produced constant average explained variance at 42% since 1956. Together, these findings shed new light on the formidable capability of human minds to operate with fast and intersubjectively similar semantic processing. Our review identifies a categorical error present in much psychological research, measuring representations instead of the purportedly represented. We discuss how this has grave consequences for the empirical truth in research using traditional psychometric methods.

Magma forskning og viten 27(5) s. 63-72 Doi: https://doi.org/10.23865/magma.v27.1458

Formålet med artikkelen er å identifisere hvordan styrer oppfatter sin rolle for å møte bærekrafts-forventninger. Vi gjennomførte digitale tekstanalyser av ESG-rapporteringen til alle selskap ved Oslo børs som ble ESG-rangert av Refinitiv i perioden 2012–2022. Analysen gir en kvantitativ oversikt over hvordan selskapene har respondert på bærekraftsrelaterte forventninger, og hvordan styrer har organisert arbeidet for å møte forventningene i denne tiårsperioden. Vi finner at styrer i børsnoterte selskap responderer på endring i eksterne bærekrafts-forventninger gjennom økt fokus på kontrollrollen, men bare i liten grad ved å ta strategisk ansvar for utviklingen, som opprinnelig forventet. På bakgrunn av dette mener vi at dagens system for eierstyring og selskapsledelse i Norge (referert til som Corporate Governance-system i denne artikkel) ikke er optimalt for å nå politisk bestemte bærekraftsmål.

Magma forskning og viten Doi: https://doi.org/10.23865/magma.v27.1458

Frontiers in Psychology 15 s. 1-13 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1392412

Research on personality in leadership indicates that self-selection to leadership careers and artistic careers correlates with diverging personality profiles. People in leadership careers traditionally display lower neuroticism and higher conscientiousness than artistic individuals. In between, there are individuals entering arts management careers. To study these individuals directly, we collected Norwegian data from 91 musical theater students and 102 arts management students and compared with 109 business management students. As expected, conscientiousness and neuroticism predicted artistic careers against business management careers, aligned with the “arts for arts’ sake” myth of artists. Interestingly, arts management careers were not different from artistic careers. They weren’t more motivated to take on leadership roles than performing artists either. However, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale indicated that narrower traits of sensitivity predicted higher levels of motivation to lead in many artists. Some arts and arts management students seem to bring unique talents into forms of leadership particularly useful for artistic organizations. Our findings are discussed in terms of how leadership characteristics operate in the field of art, and the effect of domain-specific characteristics in this setting.

Magma forskning og viten Doi: https://doi.org/10.23865/magma.v27.1458

Human Sacrifice and Value: Revisiting the Limits of Sacred Violence from an Anthropological and Archaeological Perspective s. 54-78 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003242475

Universitetsforlaget

Militær leder- og ledelsesutvikling i teori og praksis s. 546-552 Doi: https://doi.org/10.18261/9788215064710-23-25

Militær leder- og ledelsesutvikling i teori og praksis s. 167-191 Doi: https://doi.org/10.18261/9788215064710-23-07

Militær leder- og ledelsesutvikling i teori og praksis s. 15-35 Doi: https://doi.org/10.18261/9788215064710-23-01

Frontiers in Psychology 13 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1089089

We aimed to numerically assess the progress of modern psychological science. Average explained variance in 1565 included articles was 42.8 percent, and this was constant during 1956 to 2022. We explored whether this could be explained by a combination of methodological conventions with the semantic properties of the involved variables. Using latent semantic analysis (LSA) on a random sample of 50 studies from the 1,565, we were able to replicate the possible semantic factor structures of 205 constructs reported in the corresponding articles. We argue that the methodological conventions pertaining to factor structures will lock the possible explained variance within mathematical constraints that will make most statistics cluster around 40 percent explained variance. Hypotheses with close to 100 percent semantic truth value will never be part of any assumed empirical study. Nor will hypotheses approaching zero truth value. Hypotheses with around 40 percent truth value will probably be experienced as empirical and plausible and, consequently, as good candidates for psychological research. Therefore, to the extent that the findings were indeed produced by semantic structures, they could have been known without collecting data. Finally, we try to explain why psychology had to abandon an individual, causal method and switch to studying whether associations among variables at the group level differ from chance. Psychological processes take place in indefinitely complex and irreversibly changing contexts. The prevalent research paradigm seems bound to producing theoretical statements that explain each other to around 40%. Any theoretical progress would need to address and transcend this barrier.

PLOS ONE 17(10) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273763

This study explored how the Big Five personality traits, as well as measures of personality disorders, are related to two different measures of conspiracy theories (CTs)The two measures correlated r = .58 and were applied to examine generalisability of findings. We also measured participants (N = 397) general knowledge levels and ideology in the form of religious and political beliefs. Results show that the Big Five and ideology are related to CTs but these relationships are generally wiped out by the stronger effects of the personality disorder scales. Two personality disorder clusters (A and B) were significant correlates of both CT measures, in both cases accounting for similar amounts of variance (20%). The personality disorders most predictive of conspiracy theories were related to the A cluster, characterized by schizotypal symptoms such as oddities of thinking and loose associations. These findings were corroborated by an additional analysis using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). LSA demonstrated that the items measuring schizotypal and related symptoms are cognitively related to both our measures of CTs. The implications for the studying of CTs is discussed, and limitations are acknowledged.

Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics (JNPE) 15(4) s. 210-221 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/npe0000164

Five hundred participants indicated the extent to which they thought very wealthy people had become rich from four routes: three by personal effort (executive, investor, entrepreneur) and one by inheritance. These ratings were correlated with their demography (sex, age), ideology (religious and political beliefs), self-ratings, intelligence (IQ) as well as their beliefs in a just world (BJW), and their endorsement of conspiracy theories. It appears that most people are aware of the importance that agentic sources of wealth play, favoring entrepreneurship as the main pathway to extreme wealth. However, BJW seems to come in two versions: A “bright side version” indicating a belief that hard work and persistence will prevail, and another pathway linking agentic outcomes to theories of conspiracy. Intelligence appears to play an important role in this, but closer scrutiny suggests that IQ mainly serves to moderate conspiracy beliefs. Consequences for conspiracy beliefs and social unrest are discussed.

Journal of Vocational Behavior 140 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103809

We draw on the conservation of resources theory to examine how upward and horizontal career transitions contribute to both objective and subjective career success among a longitudinal sample, covering the first 10 to 15 years of their career. Further, we adopt socioemotional-selective theory to investigate how upward and horizontal career transitions contribute differently to career success from a lifespan perspective. Latent growth curve analysis revealed that increases in upward and horizontal career transitions over time were positively related to increases in objective career success and positively related to subjective career success. As expected, the positive effect of horizontal transitions on objective career success was stronger for younger individuals. Contrary to our expectations, upward transitions had a stronger effect on the objective career success of older individuals. We found no age effects on subjective career success. This study helps to further our understanding of how different types of career movements contribute to career success, and the types of transitions that are important for individuals of different ages.

Nankai Business Review International (NBRI) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/NBRI-04-2020-0015

Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop a measurement instrument for organizational learning capability (OLC) in a Chinese management context. Previous research has indicated a need for measurement instruments with proven ecological validity in China, because the learning capability of organizations is influenced by the organization’s external environment. Design/methodology/approach The authors followed a consequent inductive procedure from item sampling through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and nomological validation. The initial part sampled relevant descriptors from a diverse sample of 159 employees from heterogeneous backgrounds in China. After sorting by an expert panel, EFA of data from a sample of 161 executive students yielded a three-dimensional construct comprising knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. These three constructs were again tested in CFA using a sample of 357 employees from five companies. Findings The findings across the three samples resulted in a three-dimensional measurement scale that is called as the organizational learning capability questionnaire (OLCQ). The OLCQ displayed high internal consistency, reliability and nomological validity. Research limitations/implications This focus of this study has only been to establish a measurement instrument that allows indigenous research on organizational learning in China. The approach was statistically driven grounded approach, not a theoretical assumption of learning mechanisms special to the Chinese culture. Further research is needed to estimate how this approach yields results that are different from other cultures or the extent to which our findings can be explained by features of the Chinese culture or business environment. Practical implications This study offers a practical measurement instrument to assess practical and scientific problems of organizational learning in China. Social implications The work here emphasizes the necessity of a knowledge sharing community for organizational learning to appear. It addresses a call for more indigenous Chinese management research. Originality/value The authors provide a measurement instrument for OLC with proven ecological validity and with promising consequences for research and practice in China. The instrument is empirically grounded in the practices and behaviors of Chinese managers, avoiding biases that stem from previously identified shortcomings in cross-cultural management research. To the knowledge, it is the first of its kind and a contribution to a call for indigenous management theories with contextual validity.

Measuring and modeling persons and situations s. 69-102 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819200-9.00013-2

This chapter reviews the person-situation dimension in behavior prediction through the semantic theory of survey responses (STSR). This theory proposes that the most likely source of variation in correlations between scores on Likert-scale items is overlap in meaning. We review and explain a growing number of empirical studies that support this: Up to 86% of the variation in correlation matrices may be explained using text algorithms. Also, semantics seem to predetermine the relationships between different scales, including those cast as “predictors” and “outcomes” of one another. The studies seek to establish semantic properties on population, group, and individual levels, showing that comparisons of score levels across groups are affected by predictable differences in their interpretation of items. The findings relativize the importance of data collected by semantically influenced surveys. On the bright side, they open new ways of matching individual and group level characteristics to the general population.

Personality and Individual Differences 181(October) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111016

The aim of this paper was to study how individual differences in personality shape reactions to authorities' health advice during the COVID-19 pandemic and how such reactions can be modified. Three studies, with between 249 and 407 participants, investigated this. Study 1 used a longitudinal design, and included measures of personality (NEO-FFI3, SCATI), political orientation, age and gender as predictors of reactions toward COVID-19 advice and regulations. Studies 2 and 3 were randomised experiments testing effects of principles for behaviour modification on such reactions. In study 1, we found that being female, older, or having liberal political views, as well as neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness in the higher ranges, were associated with constructive reactions. Externalising personality disorders were related to opposite reactions. In study 2, we found that the experimental instructions had a significant positive impact on such reactions. These results were replicated in study 3. Implications and limitations are discussed.

PLOS ONE 16(12) s. 1-12 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260042

This study was concerned with how accurate people are in their knowledge of population norms and statistics concerning such things as the economic, health and religious status of a nation and how those estimates are related to their own demography (e.g age, sex), ideology (political and religious beliefs) and intelligence. Just over 600 adults were asked to make 25 population estimates for Great Britain, including religious (church/mosque attendance) and economic (income, state benefits, car/house ownership) factors as well as estimates like the number of gay people, immigrants, smokers etc. They were reasonably accurate for things like car ownership, criminal record, vegetarianism and voting but seriously overestimated numbers related to minorities such as the prevalence of gay people, muslims and people not born in the UK. Conversely there was a significant underestimation of people receiving state benefits, having a criminal record or a private health insurance. Correlations between select variables and magnitude and absolute accuracy showed religiousness and IQ most significant correlates. Religious people were less, and intelligent people more, accurate in their estimates. A factor analysis of the estimates revealed five interpretable factors. Regressions were calculated onto these factors and showed how these individual differences accounted for as much as 14% of the variance. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Frontiers in Psychology 12(3046) Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720559

The methodological tools available for psychological and organizational assessment are rapidly advancing through natural language processing (NLP). Computerized analyses of texts are increasingly available as extensions of traditional psychometric approaches. The present Research Topic is recognizing the contributions but also the challenges in publishing such inter-disciplinary research. We therefore sought to provide an open-access avenue for cutting-edge research to introduce and illustrate the various applications of semantics in the assessment of attitudes and personality. The result is a collection of empirical contributions spanning from assessment of psychological states through methodological biases to construct identity detection.

Frontiers in Psychology 12 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.580946

Cultural differences in speech acts are common challenges in management involving Chinese and Western managers. Comparing four groups – Native-speaking Chinese, English-speaking Chinese, Chinese-speaking Westerners, and non-Chinese- speaking Westerners, we assessed the effects of language and ethnicity on the ability to predict communication obstacles in a management team scenario. Bilingual subjects were less likely to be influenced by ethnic biases. Still, bilinguals were not more likely to adjust their metacognitions about communication toward those of the native speakers. The study creates a link between management, cognition and linguistics, as well as having consequences for the study of metacognition in cross-cultural management.

Frontiers in Psychology 11 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01758

Our study analyzes a gap in research on Chinese and Western management teams, based on a broad literature review. We claim that prevalent theoretical perspectives in the management team literature might be biased toward a Western-centric view of team dynamics. This obscures alternative ways of understanding top teams encompassing Chinese cultural traditions. We outline how an essentialist team conceptualization leads to a paradox consisting of three mutually contradicting myths. Myth 1 implies that Western groups of managers comply with theoretically “ideal” team processes and characteristics. Myth 2 derives from research literature on Chinese teams claiming that team features are assumed absent or weak in China due to cultural particularities. Paradoxically, the same research tradition constructs another third myth by reporting that Chinese teams successfully comply with the Western ideal team model. The three coexisting myths point to a theoretical confounding of contextual mediators in team processes. We discuss how indigenous Chinese leadership theory and Chinese systems of philosophy give Chinese teams access to distinct and effective team processes to reach high-performance outcomes. This paper aims to open the rich possibilities of Chinese management and team practices to the cross-cultural context, and on return to novel understanding of Western teams beyond traditional essentialist theory anchors.

Frontiers in Psychology s. 1-22 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01321

This study uses latent semantic analysis (LSA) to explore how prevalent measures of motivation are interpreted across very diverse job types. Building on the Semantic Theory of Survey Response (STSR), we calculate “semantic compliance” as the degree to which an individual’s responses follow a emantically predictable pattern. This allows us to examine how context, in the form of job type, influences respondent interpretations of items. In total, 399 respondents from 18 widely different job types (from CEOs through lawyers, priests and artists to sex workers and professional soldiers) self-rated their work motivation on eight commonly applied scales from research on motivation. A second sample served as an external evaluation panel (n = 30) and rated the 18 job types across eight job characteristics. Independent measures of the job types’ salary levels were obtained from national statistics. The findings indicate that while job type predicts motivational score levels significantly, semantic compliance as moderated by job type job also predicts motivational score levels usually at a lesser but significant magnitude. Combined, semantic compliance and job type explained up to 41% of the differences in motional score levels. The variation in semantic compliance was also significantly related to job characteristics as rated by an external panel, and to national income levels. Our findings indicate that people in different contexts interpret items differently to a degree that substantially affects their score levels. We discuss how future measurements of motivation may improve by taking semantic compliance and the STSR perspective into consideration.

Frontiers in Psychology 11 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00176

Likert scale surveys are frequently used in cross-cultural studies on leadership. Recent publications using digital text algorithms raise doubt about the source of variation in statistics from such studies to the extent that they are semantically driven. The Semantic Theory of Survey Response (STSR) predicts that in the case of semantically determined answers, the response patterns may also be predictable across languages. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was applied to 11 different ethnic samples in English, Norwegian, German, Urdu and Chinese. Semantic algorithms predicted responses significantly across all conditions, although to varying degree. Comparisons of Norwegian, German, Urdu and Chinese samples in native versus English language versions suggest that observed differences are not culturally dependent but caused by different translations and understanding. The maximum variance attributable to culture was a 5% unique overlap of variation in the two Chinese samples. These findings question the capability of traditional surveys to detect cultural differences. It also indicates that cross-cultural leadership research may risk lack of practical relevance.

Respect for Thought: Jan Smedslund’s Legacy for Psychology s. 285-310 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43066-5

Empirical research has shown how semantic algorithms can often predict the statistics of survey data a priori, particularly in topics like “leadership” and “motivation.” In those cases, the survey data reflect the language usages of respondents, not the attitudes toward the topics in question. While this fact seems to bewilder researchers, it opens a computational tool for exploring our semantic construction of psychological reality. Using Dennett’s concept “competence without comprehension,” this article discusses how humans are trapped in a semantic network that we ourselves struggle to understand. Since Smedslund’s work and the language algorithms have common roots in formal logics, the computational algorithms may help us explore the cognitively challenging area of a priori assumptions in psychological research. There may be a computational way to test and explore Smedslund’s ideas of “pseudo-empiricality,” helping science explore the complex area among empirical, logical, and psychological phenomena.

Psychology & Marketing 36 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21183

While previous studies indicate that female consumers display less trust for online shopping than males do, there is little research to addresses the reasons behind this difference. Our study applies a combination of both self‐report and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to compare the cognitive and affective components of attitudes in men and women toward online shopping in China. Although female participants showed no significant difference from male participants in affective attitudes toward online shopping in the self‐report condition, females associated online shopping more frequently with unpleasant adjectives and off‐line shopping with pleasant adjectives in the indirect IAT condition. The opposite pattern was found for the male group. This finding indicates a wanting but disliking attitude toward online shopping among the female consumers in China, which provides a unique theoretical contribution to consumer behavior theory and helps to enhance emarketers’ market targeting and segmentation effectiveness in China.

PLOS ONE 13(2) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207643

Research on sensemaking in organisations and on linguistic relativity suggests that speakers of the same language mayusethis language in different ways to construct social realities at work. We apply a semantic theory of survey response (STSR) to explore such differences in quantitative survey research. Using text analysis algorithms, we have studied howlanguage from three media domains–the business press, PR Newswire andgeneral newspapers–has differential explanatory value for analysing survey responses in leadership research. We projected well-known surveys measuring leadership, motivation and outcomesinto large text samples from these three media domains significantly different impacts on survey responses. Business press language was best in explaining leadershiprelated items, PR language best at explaining organizational results and “ordinary” newspaper language seemed to explain the relationship among motivation items. These findings shed light on how different public arenas construct organizational realities in different ways, andhowthesedifferences have consequences on methodology in research on leadership.

Human Resource Development Quarterly Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21324

This is a methodological presentation of the relationship between semantics and survey statistics in human resource development (HRD) research. This study starts with an introduction to the semantic theory of survey response (STSR) and proceeds by offering a guided approach to conducting such analyses. The reader is presented with two types of semantic algorithms and a brief overview of how they are calculated and how they can be accessed by interested researchers. Subsequently, we use semantic data to reanalyze a previously published study on the relationships between perceptions of a trainee program, intrinsic motivation, and work outcomes. The semantic algorithms can explain between 31 and 55% of the variation in the observed correlations. This article shows how the statistical models originally used to explore the survey data can be replicated using semantics either alone or as an identifiable source of variation in the data. All the steps are presented in detail, and the datasets as well as the statistical syntax necessary to perform the analyses are made available to the readers. Implications for methodology and the improvement of predictive validity in HRD research are discussed.

Sage Open 8(1) s. 1-18 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018764803

The semantic theory of survey responses (STSR) proposes that the prime source of statistical covariance in survey data is the degree of semantic similarity (overlap of meaning) among the items of the survey. Because semantic structures are possible to estimate using digital text algorithms, it is possible to predict the response structures of Likert-type scales a priori. The present study applies STSR in an experimental way by computing real survey responses using such semantic information. A sample of 153 randomly chosen respondents to the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was used as target. We developed an algorithm based on unfolding theory, where data from digital text analysis of the survey items served as input. Upon deleting progressive numbers (from 20%-95%) of the real responses, we let the algorithm replace these with simulated ones, and then compared the simulated datasets with the real ones. The simulated scores displayed sum score levels, alphas, and factor structures highly resembling their real origins even if up to 86% were simulated. In contrast, this was not the case when the same algorithm was operating without access to semantic information. The procedure was briefly repeated on a different measurement instrument and a different sample. This not only yielded similar results but also pointed to need for further theoretical and practical developments. Our study opens for experimental research on the effect of semantics on survey responses using computational procedures.

Behavior Research Methods s. 1-21 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-017-0999-y

The traditional understanding of data from Likert scales is that the quantifications involved result from measures of attitude strength. Applying a recently proposed semantic theory of survey response (STSR), we claim that survey responses tap two different sources: a mixture of attitudes plus the semantic structure of the survey. Exploring the degree to which individual responses are influenced by semantics, we hypothesize that in many cases, information about attitude strength is actually filtered out as noise in the commonly used correlation matrix. We developed a procedure to separate the semantic influence from attitude strength in individual response patterns and compared these to the observed sample correlation matrices and the semantic similarity structures arising from text analysis algorithms, respectively. This was done with four datasets comprising a total of 7,787 subjects and 27,461,502 observed item pair responses. As argued, attitude strength seemed to account for much information about the individual respondents. However, this information did not seem to carry over into the observed sample correlation matrices. These seem to converge around the semantic structures offered by the survey items. This is potentially disturbing for the traditional understanding of what survey data represent. We argue that an enhanced understanding of how cognitive processes are necessary in responses to surveys is now within reach and could offer a valuable path for improvements in the use of survey data.

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.032

In this study, we investigated the relationship between narcissism, creative personality traits, ideational fluency, and accomplishments in various creative activities. We measured narcissism with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Emmons, 1987), creative personality with the Creative Person Profile (Martinsen, 2011), creative potential with a figural measure of divergent thinking, and a biographical inventory was used to measure accomplishments in creative activities. The sample consisted of 1375 young adults, mainly men. The results showed that narcissism was associated with fluency, seven creative personality dispositions, and five measures of creative activities. The latter associations were in general significant even when controlling for traits and creative potential. The strongest relationship displayed with narcissism was with the creative personality traits, in particular ambition, agreeableness, and motivation. Implications and limitations are noted.

Management and Organization Review 13(3) s. 675-685 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2017.17

Scandinavian Psychologist 3(e18) s. 1-28 Doi: https://doi.org/10.15714/scandpsychol.3.e18

In principle, leadership development may have positive effects, negative effects, or no effects at all. The present study aims to explore the potential negative effects of leadership development. We approach this issue with three studies. The first study develops theoretical reasons to expect negative effects and provides a qualitative description of such instances based on 14 semi-structured interviews with people witnessing negative effects. The second study is a quantitative assessment of the prevalence of negative effects. While 97.4% of 189 managers responding to an anonymous survey have experienced positive effects from developmental activities, 63% of them have also experienced instances they deemed wasted or ineffective, and 37% have witnessed actual negative effects. A small but distinct group (13% of the entire sample and 36% of those witnessing negative effects) reported detrimental effects on mental health and private life. The third study explores the evaluation practices of 143 companies to examine why negative leadership development interventions may persist. The data indicates that negative effects co-exist with a lack of systematic evaluation practices. Our findings suggest that a combination of insufficient evaluation with outsourcing of leadership development activities may render organizations susceptible to fads. In turn, the chance of exposing participants to ineffective and even harmful experiences increases.

Scandinavian Psychologist 2(e4) Doi: https://doi.org/10.15714/scandpsychol.2.e4

Is survey data a source of new information, or could surveys just be begging their questions? The authors of this opinion piece suspect that survey data in leadership research do not reflect attitudes to workplace phenomena. Instead, they may just be assessments of the similarity of the language in the applied items. In a recent article in the journal PLOS ONE, this possibility was tested in a new theory called the semantic theory of survey responses (STSR). In a follow-up study, language links leadership to other phenomena such as heroism, in ways that are difficult to entangle by traditional survey research.

Scandinavian Psychologist 2(e3) Doi: https://doi.org/10.15714/scandpsychol.2.e3

People may confuse leadership with heroism due to the semantic overlap between their descriptions. This may explain some facets of fascination with leadership and obstructions to differentiated viewpoints of leadership as a group phenomenon. Building on the semantic theory of survey response (STSR), we are able to show how prevalent measures of charisma and transformational leadership are semantically tied to concepts of heroic behaviours and qualities. Due to the semantic overlap between heroism and leadership (outlined in the classic works of Carlyle, Weber and Burns), we hypothesized, and found, that many people have unrealistic expectations of leaders. Heroic expectations seem to be linked to representations and ideals of the self, which may create notable derogatory attitudes towards actual managers. Correlations with age suggest that experience will reduce this tendency. An STSR analysis shows how leadership research is vulnerable to semantic overlaps in central concepts. Possible explanations and consequences are discussed.

Hakuto-Shobo Publisher

Tidsskrift for Norsk psykologforening (Psykologtidsskriftet) 52(5) s. 448-448

PLOS ONE 9(9:106361) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106361

Some disciplines in social science rely heavily on collecting survey responses to detect empirical relationships among variables. We explored whether these relationships were predictable a priori from the semantic properties of the survey items, using language processing algorithms are now available as new research methods. Language processing algorithms were used to calculate the semantic similarity among all items in state-of-the-art surveys from organizational behavior research. These surveys covered areas such as transformational leadership, work motivation and work outcomes. This information was used to explain and predict the response patterns from real subjects. Semantic algorithms explained 60-86% of the variance in the response patterns and allowed remarkably precise prediction of survey responses from humans, except in a personality test. Even the relationships between independent and their purported dependent variables were accurately predicted. This raises concern about the empirical nature of data collected through some surveys if results are already given a priori through the way subjects are being asked. Survey response patterns seem heavily determined by semantics. Language algorithms may suggest these prior to administering the survey. This study suggests that semantic algorithms are becoming new tools for social science, and opens perspectives on survey responses that prevalent psychometric theory cannot explain.

Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics 11(1) s. 111-130

International Journal of Management and Business 5(1) s. 81-97 Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2012.13739abstract

Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal 42(10) s. 1613-1628 Doi: https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.10.1613

Baltic Journal of Management 9(1) s. 22-46 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-04-2013-0076

NITO-refleks s. 43-43

NITO-refleks s. 43-43

NITO-refleks

Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 10(1) s. 96-113 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1370

The International Journal of Management Education Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2013.03.003

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Dagsavisen

Journal of Strategic Management Education 8(3)

Leadership 8(2) s. 169-185 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715011420315

Team Performance Management 18(7/8) s. 433-454 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/13527591211281156

This study explores ten management teams over 33 monthly financial reporting terms and a critical incident requiring readjustment of business. Using financial data, market information and personality data, it is shown that scale content and previously used measures such as intra-team means and variance are of little value in explaining performance. Instead, the presence of all strong traits in the form of maximum values has a tendency to push the teams toward stereotypical business behaviors, restricting adaptation in times of crisis. The exceptions are emotional stability and cognitive ability which support adaptation in a way corresponding to Belbin’s original model. This study argues that the content of the actual traits may be less important to adaptation than a rigidity stemming from the tendency of personality traits to stay constant across contexts, possibly influencing situational adaptability. An alternative to the process loss mechanism traditionally attributed to heterogeneity is suggested. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Scandinavian Journal of Management 27(1) s. 55-65 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2010.11.007

This paper explores if, and how, Chinese managers perceive Western theories of leadership and leadership development as useful in their business environment. Based on a text analysis approach analyzing term papers of 171 MBA students, this study finds that virtuous leadership is valued the most, whereas authoritarian leadership is valued the least. The respondents are oriented both towards traditional Chinese philosophy and Western leadership theories, and predominantly view leadership development as a necessary contribution to the improvement of Chinese organizations. Concerning the identification and assessment of leadership potential, Western techniques are predominant; sometimes with controversial effects. The study concludes that leadership development techniques need to be adapted to the national context and recommends the role of espoused leadership in cross-cultural MBA classes for future research.

European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 19(2) s. 221-230 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320902903613

Psykologiens yttergrenser s. 131-158

B. Kuvaas (ed.), Lønnsomhet gjennom menneskelige ressurser: Evidensbasert HR s. 200-215

Tidsskrift for Norsk psykologforening (Psykologtidsskriftet) 45(3) s. 287-294

A. Faleide (Ed.) Personlighet og helse: Et psykofysiologisk og psykosomatisk perspektiv

International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications 8(3) s. 225-236

International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications 8(3) s. 225-236 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13675560500224233

Selvregulering, personlighet og helse: et psykofysiologisk perspektiv s. 161-172

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 46 s. 59-68

Psychological profiles in drug addicts and policlinic psychiatric patients : a controlled study employing the Exner Comprehensive Rorschach System s. 161-172

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 46

Journal of Change Management 5 s. 267-280

International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications 8(3) s. 225-236

Dale, B., Karlsdottir, R. & Strandhagen, O. (red.): Bedrifter i nettverk

Tidsskrift for Norsk psykologforening (Psykologtidsskriftet)

Fokus på familien/ Nordisk tidsskrift for familie- og relasjonsarbeid s. 157-168