Extreme altruism is defined as prosocial behavior that violates social norms or the law. Little research has been done on this phenomenon, although research into related areas suggests that, ...surprisingly, extreme altruistic activities may be associated with traits traditionally associated with narcissism. This relationship was explored by comparing members of the public, people involved in prosocial activities within socially and legally accepted realms, and members of the Real-Life Superhero (RLSH) movement. The RLSH movement is a subculture whose prosocial-directed activities often exceed social norms and legal constraints. These include patrolling and conducting community and citizen police work in superhero-inspired uniforms, which has on several occasions resulted in altercations with other civilians or with law enforcement. The results suggest that there is a relationship between certain traits within the narcissism spectrum and the proclivity to engage in extreme altruism. These traits include grandiose fantasy, self-sacrificing self-enhancement, and devaluing. Furthermore, these traits are expressed at significantly higher levels in people who engage in extreme altruism more often. Finally, a model based predominantly on narcissism indicated a strong ability to predict group membership among the three groups. The findings suggest that a reconceptualization that reflects the capacity of these traits to be expressed in a prosocial or antisocial behavior is needed to explain this relationship.
This study extends Xu and Reuf (Strateg Organ 2:331-355, 2004) by exploring the strategic and non-strategic risk-taking propensity perceptions of nascent entrepreneurs as it relates to the subsequent ...likelihood of venture formation success. In addition, the moderating influences of perceptions of environmental uncertainty and venture growth aspirations are also examined. Findings from an analysis of data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED) I indicate that an entrepreneur's risk-taking propensity has no relationship to the likelihood of successfully starting a business. Perceptions of environmental uncertainty and venture growth aspirations were positively related to nonstrategic risk-taking propensity, yet none of these variables (strategic and non-strategic risk-taking propensity, environmental uncertainty and growth aspirations) had a significant effect on venture creation success. We suggest that risk-taking propensity, as measured in this study, does not play a significant role in differentiating between nascent entrepreneurs or others, or between those that are successful or unsuccessful at starting businesses.
► Five factors beyond a general factor of personality (GFP) were studied. ► Data were from 8 personality inventories filled out by a large community sample. ► The GFP reflected social dominance, good ...adjustment, and intellectual achievement. ► The supplemental factors included agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. ► Both were related to others’ ratings, specific behaviors, and demographic variables.
The residual structure after removing a general factor of personality (GFP) was studied using 77 scales from 8 personality inventories completed by the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample. The GFP itself loaded scales consistent with social effectiveness, such as confidence, self-directedness, empathy, achievement, and low emotional distress. Five remaining factors were rotated orthogonally. They resembled several of the so-called Big Five dimensions, including Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to experience. Both the GFP and the supplemental factors were related to others’ ratings of the respondents, participation in specific activities, and several demographic variables.
► What lies beyond a general factor of personality (GFP)? ► This was explored in five data sets of 739–2914 individuals. ► Mostly, the general factors in these data sets were similar. ► An additional ...Conscientiousness/conformity factor was often found. ► Other factors varied considerably from sample to sample.
What remains of the covariance of personality traits after a general factor of personality (GFP) is removed? An earlier analysis based on a US adult community sample was extended to five additional samples, ranging from 739 to 2914 late-adolescent or adult individuals who had completed various personality questionnaires in twin and adoption studies. For the most part, the GFPs were similar. Most of the data sets revealed an additional Conscientiousness/conformity factor, but beyond that there was considerable variation across samples in the supplemental factors obtained.
► Examines structures of HPI, 16PF5, OPQ, PAPI, and Profile:Match personality inventories. ► Examines the General Factor of Personality represented in each inventory. ► Factor structures for all five ...inventories were sensible and interpretable. ► Big Five were found to underpin the joint factor structure of the inventories. ► Recommend GFP true variance be understood by sampling traits from multiple domains.
This study examined the internal higher-order structures of five personality inventories (the Hogan Personality Inventory, the Occupational Personality Questionnaire, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, the Personality and Preferences Inventory, Profile Match). A sample of 356 individuals from the UK working population completed various combinations of the five inventories. Overall, the results indicated sensible and interpretable factor structures for the inventories. Cross-inventory factor analyses of the extracted factors revealed a variant of the Big Five model underpinning them, enabling examination of inventory convergence and divergence. Our study also examined and compared representations of the General Factor of Personality in each of the inventories.
In today's networked economy, ideas that challenge existing business models and paradigms are becoming more important. This study investigated how individual differences, groupware-based creativity ...techniques, and ideas from others influenced the type of ideas that individuals generated. While individual differences were important (in that some individuals were inherently more likely to generate ideas that followed the existing problem paradigm while others were more likely to generate paradigm-modifying ideas that attempted to change the problem paradigm), the exposure to paradigm-modifying ideas from others and the use of intuitive groupware-based creativity techniques rather than analytical groupware-based creativity techniques were found to increase the number of paradigm-modifying ideas produced.
This paper presents a discussion of the bandwidth-fidelity dilemma in personality measurement for personnel selection purposes. Should job applicants be assessed on fine-grained personality variables ...or on broader personality variables, such as the Big Five dimensions of personality? Most human resources practitioners and researchers appear to assume that more specific and narrow measures of personality traits result in better and more fine-grained understanding of the person, and therefore ought to be preferred over global measures. We review evidence that when the criterion of interest is job performance, broader personality measures may be preferable over narrowly focused ones. It appears that the alleged advantages of narrowly defined traits and narrowly constructed measures are mainly due to erroneous conventional beliefs predicated upon statistical artifacts. In personnel selection research and practice, we advocate the use of broader personality traits for both better prediction and explanation.
Research has focused heavily on whether individuals can fake on personality inventories. Research is less clear on whether individuals actually do fake on personality inventories. Verbal protocol ...analysis was used to trace the motivational processes for 12 participants as they completed a personality inventory in an applicant context. Exploratory analyses suggested that individuals do fake on personality inventories; that individuals can be classed into one of three faking classes (honest responders, slight fakers, and extreme fakers); and that honest fakers take less time to complete and make less corrections to their personality inventories than faking responders. Study implications, limitations, and future research will be discussed.
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