Discussion: View Thread

Expand all | Collapse all

Reminder: APIR call for papers on Dark Personality in the Workplace

  • 1.  Reminder: APIR call for papers on Dark Personality in the Workplace

    Posted 02-24-2012 13:38
    *****************Call for Papers********************


    Applied Psychology: An International Review

    Special Issue: Beyond the Bright Side: Dark Personality in Workplace

    Background and Rationale for the Special Issue

    Although there has been a recent surge of interest in topics related to the "dark side" of organizational behavior (e.g. abusive/destructive supervision, workplace deviance, counterproductive work behaviors, etc.) there has been comparatively little consideration of the individual differences that underlie such behaviors (Wu & LeBreton, in press). Recent reviews of the role of personality in organizational behavior have established the relationship between basic phenotypic traits, as represented by the Five Factor Model, and work outcomes (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Hogan & Holland, 2003). However, the contribution of "dark" personality characteristics has received comparatively little investigation in the organizational literature. Dark personality refers to personality traits that fall between normal (e.g. Big Five) and abnormal (e.g. borderline personality disorder) personality characteristics. Examples include the Dark Triad (Paulhus & Williams, 2002) of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy and dimensional models based on DSM-IV Axis 2 disorders (Hogan & Hogan, 2001). Although these characteristics may not hinder day-to-day functioning, they may cause severely negative outcomes in particular circumstances, such as during periods of great stress. Several studies have established the importance of these "subclinical" characteristics for leadership outcomes (e.g. Benson & Campbell, 2007; Harms, Spain, & Hannah, 2011), but with the exception of a few traits (e.g. narcissism) little research has demonstrated the importance of dark personality in the broader OB/HR literature (Judge, Piccolo, & Kosalka, 2009).
    In this special issue, we seek to establish or expand what is known about the role of dark personality characteristics in the workplace. In particular, we are looking for empirical papers establishing the relative importance of dark personality characteristics beyond those typically studied by organizational researchers or that establish potential contextual conditions that may moderate the effects of such traits. We also welcome strong theoretical papers that can provide a framework for future research and practice. Paper topics might include, but are not limited to:

    - Incremental validity of dark traits beyond the Five Factor Model for outcomes such as task and contextual performance, workplace deviance, learning and training outcomes, trust, leader-follower dynamics, leadership styles, negotiations, interviewing behaviors, etc.
    - Potential moderators of dark personality traits such as culture, context, task, cognitive load, gender, autonomy, etc. For example, under what conditions do dark characteristics have less negative outcomes?
    - Idiographic or intraindividual approaches to dark personality in the workplace
    - Developmental interventions targeted at dark personality traits
    - Innovative methods for assessing or detecting dark personality traits in the workplace
    - Situations where dark personality characteristics can result in positive organization outcomes
    - Studies investigating the role of dark personality characteristics at the organizational or national level
    - Investigating the nomological network of dark characteristics (e.g. the motivational or perceptual underpinnings of such behavior); for instance, how do people with high scores on dark characteristics differ in their perceptual or decision-making processes?
    - Investigations of dark personality characteristics that are not based on clinical constructs, such as sense of entitlement and insecure attachment style

    The deadline for submission is April 1, 2012. Manuscripts will be subjected to the usual double-blind review process and authors are encouraged to use APA style formatting and to follow APIR submission guidelines. Peter Harms (pharms2@unl.edu) and Seth Spain (smspain@gmail.com) are guest co-editors for this special issue and will be happy to address questions from authors who are interested in submitting articles.




    ___________________________
    Peter Harms
    Assistant Professor of Management
    University of Nebraska
    Tel: 402-472-9171
    Email: pharms2@unl.edu