An Integrative Typology of Personality Assessment for Aggression: Implications for Predicting Counterproductive Workplace Behavior

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology 2007-05, Vol.92 (3), p.722-744
• Main Authors: Bing, Mark N, Stewart, Susan M, Davison, H. Kristl, Green, Philip D, McIntyre, Michael D, James, Lawrence R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aggression; Aggression - psychology; Aggressive Behavior; Aggressiveness; Antisocial Behavior; Behaviourism; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; Conditional reasoning; Decision Making; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Job Performance; Male; Occupational psychology; Organizational behavior; Orientation. Selection. Evaluation; Personality; Personality Assessment; Personality Measures; Personality tests; Personnel Selection; Psychological tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reasoning; Self-Report; Social Behavior; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Typology; Work place; Workplace - psychology; Workplaces
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.722

This study presents an integrative typology of personality assessment for aggression. In this typology, self-report and conditional reasoning ( L. R. James, 1998 ) methodologies are used to assess 2 separate, yet often congruent, components of aggressive personalities. Specifically, self-report is used to assess explicit components of aggressive tendencies, such as self-perceived aggression, whereas conditional reasoning is used to assess implicit components, in particular, the unconscious biases in reasoning that are used to justify aggressive acts. These 2 separate components are then integrated to form a new theoretical typology of personality assessment for aggression. Empirical tests of the typology were subsequently conducted using data gathered across 3 samples in laboratory and field settings and reveal that explicit and implicit components of aggression can interact in the prediction of counterproductive, deviant, and prosocial behaviors. These empirical tests also reveal that when either the self-report or conditional reasoning methodology is used in isolation, the resulting assessment of aggression may be incomplete. Implications for personnel selection, team composition, and executive coaching are discussed.