Thesis (doctoral)--Tartu Ülikool, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-136) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Mar. 12, 2007). PDF text: x, 108 p. : ill. UMI publication number: AAT 3225890. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

<p>Personality assessments are useful measures for identifying an individual's characteristics and how he/she interacts with the world. The 15 factor Questionnaire Plus (15Q+) is an adapted personality assessment measure used in industry to determine the likely behavioral responses an individual will display in a particular setting. It can be used during the selection process to assess the suitability of candidates for a particular position at a company. As a result of unfair practices when using psychometric instruments, it is now imperative that these instruments meet the scientific principles of validity and reliability before it can be used. This is in line with the legistlation pertaining to discrimination and supported by the Health professions Council of South Africa. They encourage a plethora of research to confirm the utility of these measures. The present study was conducted at a South African financial services company where the 15FQ+ is used to identify suitable candidates for financial adviser positions. Through data mining techniques, predictive and criterion data were extracted for 125 financial advisers. The study explored the validity of the 15FQ+ when correlated with the perforkance Indices of the financial advisers. The study also determined whether there were race differences in the responses of the financial advisers to the 15FQ+ as well as their work performance.</p>

Förr förknippades tatueringar med sjömän och rebeller, nu är det betydligt vanligare och mer accepterat. Idag har det blivit populärare än någonsin och med en yngre kundkrets. Syftet med den här studien är vilka egenskaper som tillskrivs en vanlig kvinna med synliga tatueringar samt en kvinna utan synliga tatueringar. Deltagare i denna studie var 89 studenter på en högskola i åldrarna 19-49 år. Resultatet indikerade att kvinnan utan tatueringar tillskrevs delvis mera positivt än kvinnan med tatueringar, bland annat ansågs hon mer attraktiv och mindre sexuellt erfaren än kvinnan med tatueringar. Dock vad gäller utbildningsnivå och sexorientering/sexläggning så förknippades den tatuerade kvinnan inte med större negativa fördomar. Överlag finns det ingen större skillnad gällande utbildningsnivån för dessa kvinnor, båda ansågs gått ut högskolan.

This research addresses issues of self-concept, social status, and relative age as they relate to moderately (n=146) and highly (n=161) gifted students. Previous research regarding self-concept and giftedness yielded mixed results. The majority of social status research had not been conducted with gifted students, and relative age issues have been addressed only with young children. Therefore, the present research was conducted to carry the previous studies further. Only one self-concept scale, the Behavior scale, showed a significant difference between highly and moderately gifted students with highly gifted students outscoring moderately gifted students. No significant differences between moderately and highly gifted students were found in the proportion of students in the three social status categories of popular, rejected, and neglected. There was not a significant relationship between IQ scores and social status. However, those participants who were in the rejected group tended to be brighter, and those participants in the neglected group tended to be less bright, than the popular group. The participants in the rejected group were also significantly younger than those participants in the popular and neglected groups.

Personality testing can be an adequate instrument for prediction of future job performance. However, the predictive ability of these tests has been only moderate at best. This researcher attempted to determine if feedback would help improve the predictive ability of personality tests. The results indicated that feedback did not moderate the relationship between the personality dimensions and job performance for all of the personality construct s except Openness to Experience. This researcher also attempted to replicate the findings of the Barrick and Mount (1993) study which found that autonomy moderated the relationship between Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and job performance. This researcher found support for Barrick and Mount's findings for Extraversion and Conscientiousness, but not for Agreeableness.

Three correlational studies and 2 experiments examined the influence of agreeable people’s trust on their close relationships. Studies 1-3 employed correlational methods to examine the association between agreeableness and interpersonal trust (felt security; Study 1) and the applicability of the dependence regulation model (Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 2000) to the romantic relationships of agreeable people (Studies 2 & 3). Studies 4 and 5 employed experimental methods that manipulated felt security (trust) to examine how relationship threats differentially affect agreeable versus antagonistic people (those low in agreeableness). Results indicated that not only does felt security consistently mediate the association between agreeableness and important relationship quality variables, but that this is a causal association. That is, these studies provide evidence that agreeable people have better relationships than antagonistic people because they are chronically more trusting, and hence, less prone to seeing signs of rejection where none exists.

The effects of faking on situational judgment test (SJT) scores have only recently been explored. The research reported here tested a model linking an individual difference frequently associated with social desirability, approval motivation, with SJT score through its associations with agreeableness, conscientiousness, and implicit trait policies (ITPs) for those traits. One-hundred fifty-seven undergraduates completed a managerial SJT along with a measure assessing personality. Approval motivation was assessed using the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Results indicated that approval motivation is correlated with SJT score and the ITP for conscientiousness. Path analyses revealed approval motivation is causally related to SJT score through its influence on the ITP for conscientiousness, and is also linked to conscientiousness and agreeableness. Findings extend ITP theory (Motowidlo, Hooper, & Jackson, 2006a) by suggesting that personality traits are associated with SJT scores through their causal influence on their ITPs.

Personlighetsdragen openness och extraversion respektive situationsfaktorerna variation, intensitet, samt frekvens och deras påverkan på emotionsregleringsstrategierna reappraisal samt suppression skiljer sig inom yrkesgrupperna vård respektive handel. Åtta regressions-analyser med data från sammanlagt 178 anställda visade att (1) inom vården har extraversion, openness, samt frekvens betydelse för reappraisal, och intensiteten påverkar suppression, och (2) för handel visade sig openness och situationen som helhet ha betydelse för suppression, medan inga samband kunde påvisas för reappraisal. Skillnaderna tyder på att det finns ett behov av fortsatt forskning inom emotionsreglering, inriktad på skillnader mellan olika yrkesgrupper. / Personality traits openness and extraversion, and situational factors variation, intensity and frequency respectively influence emotion regulation techniques reappraisal and suppression differently within the professions of human service and service/sales. Eight regression analyses with data from a total of 178 employees showed that (1) within human service, extraversion, openness, and frequency are important to reappraisal whereas intensity plays a role for suppression. (2) Within service/sales none of the variables influenced reappraisal, and only openness and the situation “as a whole” played a role for suppression. The results indicate a need for more scientific research regarding differences in predictions of emotion regulation between occupations.

Three correlational studies and 2 experiments examined the influence of agreeable people’s trust on their close relationships. Studies 1-3 employed correlational methods to examine the association between agreeableness and interpersonal trust (felt security; Study 1) and the applicability of the dependence regulation model (Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 2000) to the romantic relationships of agreeable people (Studies 2 & 3). Studies 4 and 5 employed experimental methods that manipulated felt security (trust) to examine how relationship threats differentially affect agreeable versus antagonistic people (those low in agreeableness). Results indicated that not only does felt security consistently mediate the association between agreeableness and important relationship quality variables, but that this is a causal association. That is, these studies provide evidence that agreeable people have better relationships than antagonistic people because they are chronically more trusting, and hence, less prone to seeing signs of rejection where none exists.