Psychology at Work Exam Notes PDF

Psychology at Work - Exam Notes Benni Intro & Job Analysis Ceci Psychological Testing Krissy Leadership: Theories & Practice Didi Stress & Wellbeing Astri Legislation & International Standards Helga Performarnce: Motivation & S...

Psychology at Work - Exam Notes Benni Intro & Job Analysis Ceci Psychological Testing Krissy Leadership: Theories & Practice Didi Stress & Wellbeing Astri Legislation & International Standards Helga Performarnce: Motivation & Satisfaction Vibeke Organisational Forensic Psychology Employee Selection, Techniques & Bias Camilla Communication, Training and Coaching Organisational Change & Development Benni: Intro & Job Analysis Introduction Why is it important - We spend 1/3 of our lives at work - ‘Mentally unhealthy’ workplaces cost AU $39 bill/yr - Staff recruitment and training - Obtain better organisational efficiencies - Understand the effects of environmental factors History of Organisational Psychology - What makes I/O Psychologists different? o Employees and Organisations o Scientist-Practitioner Model ▪ Combines research and practical application in organizational psychology ▪ Research informs practice, and practice guides research ▪ Advocates for evidence-based decision-making - Industrial & Organisational o Industrial: competencies, staffing, training o Organisational: structure, culture, performance - Major Fields of I/O Psychology o Personnel Psychology (with HRM) o Organisational Psychology (typically consultant) o Human Factors/Ergonomics Important Events in I/O Psychology 1879 University of Leipzig, Worlds First Laboratory Early 1900s Start of I/O Psychology 1918 Large-scale employee testing and selection – WW1 1933 Hawthorne Studies published 1960s Equal Pay Act, Civil Rights Act  1971 B.F. Skinner publishes Beyond Freedom and Dignity 1980s – 1990s Greater use of complex statistics, employee selection and appraisal 2000s Technological advances, diversty & global economy Taylorism - Frederick Taylor (1856 – 1915) - Mechanical Engineer - Pioneer of Scientific Management - Time and Motion studies o Most efficient way to do work o Standardised these procedures o Enforced them (e.g. assembly lines) Developments during WWI & II - Testing: Selection and assignment - Simulation Training - Human Factors (ergonomics) Hawthorne Studies - Location: Western Electric Company, Hawthorne plant, Illinois - Date: 1920’s and 1930’s - Aim: Investigate how scheduling, environment and structure affect productivity. - Findings: Social factors more important for productivity and work morale. - Hawthorne Effect o When employees change behaviour solely due to receiving attention or being observed. 1940s Onwards - Human Relations Movement - Organisational Theory o Macro & Micro o Closed and Open Systems Models o Rational and Natural Theories o Levels of Analysis ▪ Social psychological ▪ Structural ▪ Ecological - Organisational Behaviour - Rational – Legal Model o Max Weber (1864 – 1920) o Division of labour o Clear specification of roles o Hierarchical authority structure o Explicit rules and regulations  o Assignment of people to positions based on merit - Societal Context o Organisations impacted by multiple external factors o All organisations interact and influence each other o Organisational Psychologists understand: ▪ People ▪ Micro theory and practices ▪ Macro theory and practices Research and Statistics - Key characteristic of I/O Psychology - Answer questions and inform decisions - Topic, location, method, sample, statistics for analysis - Can save companies considerable money - Industrial/Personnel Psychologists emphasise mainly micro - Organisational Psychologists emphasise mainly change - I/O Psychologists can work in many different settings - I/O Psychologists utilise the scientist-practitioner model Job Analysis Job Description: Back Then - Job Title - 9-figure code o First 3: Specific Occupational Group o Second 3: Data, People and Things o Last 3: Specific Job Identification - Job Summary o Nature and purpose Job Description - Eight Sections of a JD 1. Job Title 2. Brief Summary 3. Work Activities  4. Tools and Equipment Used 5. Job Context 6. Work Performance 7. Compensation Information 8. Job Competencies - Always underpinned by Good Job Analyses (JA) JA: Definition and Purpose - Definition: A systematic process of compiling, maintaining, and reviewing objective and verifiable information about actual requirements of a job. - Purpose: Define each job in terms of the behaviours necessary to perform it. - Used For: o Personal requirements (KSATI) ▪ Traits ▪ Interest o Employee Selection o Training & Performance - Important for o Decision Making o Hiring Staff o Performance Reviews o Remuneration (pay) o Risks / Job Safety Implications of Job Analysis - Legal: A critical element in establishing the validity of selection techniques. - Commercial: Know what is involved in the job positions (e.g., tasks, roles etc.) and what attributes might be needed to handle these effectively - Example o Different job tasks in hospitality  ▪ Chefs, waiter, baker etc Validity of JA - JA Improves selection technique validity: o Interviews o Use of tests (based on JA) o Relevance of training and development o Identify if policies require change Pre – Job Analysis - Type of Information - Who will Conduct - Who will Participate o And how many Job Analysis - The 5 Steps 1. Identify Tasks Performed o Information gathering 2. Write Task Statement o Action(s) and Object(s) 3. Rate Task Statement 4. Determine Essential KSAO’s 5. Selecting Tests to Tap KSAO’s - KSAO o Knowledge o Skills o Ability o Others Conducting Job Analyses - Methods: o Interviews o Observation o Task Analysis o Job Participation o Questionnaires - The Brief JA Approach (Hicks) o Carry out interviews ▪ What do you do in your work day? ▪ How often do you do these tasks? ▪ How important or significant are these tasks? o Examine responses and compile lists  - Alternative JA Methods o Developed Questionnaires ▪ Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) – 1972, USA ▪ Job Elements Inventory (JEI) - 1978 ▪ Job Structure Profile (JSP) (PAQ Updated) – 1985 ▪ Job Components Inventory (JCI) o Other Approaches ▪ Functional Job Analysis (FJA) ▪ Threshold Trait Analysis (TTA) ▪ Critical Incidents Technique (CIT) ▪ Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS) - JA: KSAO’s - Knowledge: o Necessary Information to Perform Task o Have not done the work - Skills: o Level of Proficiency to Perform Task o Having learned the task - Ability: o Unobservable capability o Psychological or Physical o No prior experience or training - Other: o Temperaments ▪ Behavioural tendencies that influence choice and style o Interests ▪ Vocational interests Evaluating Jobs - Internal Pay Equity  o Compensable Job Factors ▪ Responsibility ▪ Physical Demands ▪ Mental Demands ▪ Education Required ▪ Training/Experience Required ▪ Working Conditions o Levels for each Factor o Factor Weights - External Pay Equity o Salary Surveys o Direct Compensations Psychological testing Reasons for use Scientist-Practitioner Model - Uses empirically validated tools to provide reliable and objective data Efficient and cost-effective - Provide standardized and systematic ways to gather large amounts of information Impartial and accurate information - Designed to minimize bias - Standardized administration to give consistent results Candidate fit/performance - Help match individuals with jobs that align with their abilities, skills and personality - Can use ex: cognitive ability test and personality assessments Cognitive Ability (intelligence) vs. Aptitude Types of tests - Administrative: o Group o Individual - Content o General Cognitive Ability o Job specific abilities/aptitudes o Personality inventories - Interpretation o Norm referenced (normative) o Person referenced (ipsative) o Criterion referenced General cognitive ability and specific aptitude tests - Spearman o 2-factor (G&S) - Burt & Vernon  o Hierarchical Structure Theories - Guilford o Intellect Theory - Horn & Cattel o Fluid & Crystallised intelligence Common Aptitude tests Common Cognitive Ability Tests: - ABLE Series - SHL MGIB (Management & Graduate Item Bank) - Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking - Raven’s Progressive Matrices Common Aptitude tests: - Differential Aptitude Test Battery (DAT) - Bennett Mechanical Comprehension - Bennett Hand Tool Dexterity Test - Crawford Small Parts Dexterity test Personality Inventories Theory: - Stable and enduring aspects o Focus on characteristics that are stable over time and situations - Allow comparison with others o Uses standardized scales Approaches: - Nomothetic VS. Idiographic o Nomothetic: ▪ Identifies general laws or traits that apply across individuals ▪ Emphasized how people are similar o Idiographic: ▪ Unique, subjective experiences ▪ Emphasizes how people differ - Psychometric VS. Non-Psychometric o Psychometric ▪ Standardized tests and statistical methods to measure personality traits quantitively o Non-psychometric ▪ Qualitative methods, e.g. interviews, observation ▪ Measure personality without numerical scores Psychometric Theories: - Type Theory – Eysenck o Personality is composed of distinct types and can be mapped onto a spectrum of three dimensions: 1. Extraversion – Introversion 2. Neuroticism – Emotional Stability 3. Psychoticism  - Trait Theory – Cattel o 16 personality factors that describe personality - The Big Five – Tupes & Christal o OCEAN ▪ Openness ▪ Conscientiousness ▪ Extraversion ▪ Agreeableness ▪ Neuroticism o Inventories include: ▪ NEO PI-R ▪ OPQ NEO Personality Inventory - NEO- PI-R – Costa & McCrae - Form S: o 240 items, responses on 5-point likert scale o Self-administered - Form R: o 240 parallel items, written in third person o Administered to peers, spouse or expert rater Other common personality instruments - Myer-Briggs Indicator - 16PF (16 personality factors) - MMPI-II (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) - PAI (Personality Assessment Inventory) Personality as a predictor of job performance Barrick & Mount - 117 studies examining the relationship between personality traits and job performance - Job performance criteria o Job proficiency – how effectively an individual perform tasks o Training proficiency – the ability to acquire and apply knowledge o Personnel data – objective data; absenteeism, turnover… - Occupation groups – the study categorized participants into groups o 41% managers o 24% skilled/semi-skilled workers o 17% sales o 13% police o 5% professionals - Findings o Conscientiousness: valid predictor for all occupational groups and all criterion measures. o Extraversion: valid predictor for sales and managers o O. to E: valid predictor of training proficiency across occupational groups Issues Response bias  - Desirable responses o People may present themselves in a favourable light by responding in a way they believe is socially desirable o Wesman Study: ‘salesperson’ vs. ‘librarian’ ▪ Found significant difference in scores on ‘self-confidence’ ▪ People tailor their responses to fit expected stereotypes - Solution: o Lie scale ▪ Include items to detect dishonest or overly favourable responses o Forced-choice items ▪ Respondents must choose between equally desirable/undesirable options - Acquiescence o Responding yes/agree or no/disagree regardless of item content - Extreme responses o The tendency to choose the most extreme options on a scale o Can lead to response deviation Attitudes Can impact the validity and acceptance of results - Privacy o How test results are stored, shared or used - Motivation o Lack of interest or investment - Race o Culturally biased - Belief - Gilliand: Model of applicants’ reactions to selection processes o Propositions include: o Extent to which techniques are perceived to be job related o Extent to which questions are improper or prejudiced o Extent to which use of techniques are rationalised/explained by employer Integrity testing Sackett & Harrison: Covert vs. Overt tests - Covert tests: o Assesses specific personality traits of respondents thought to relate to integrity o Examples include: ▪ Personnel reaction blank ▪ PDI employment inventory ▪ Reliability scale of Hogan Personnel Selection Series - Overt Tests: o Assesses attitudes and past behaviours o Examples: ▪ Reid report ▪ Stanton survey ▪ Personnel selection inventory How to use Tests Test battery: - Test norms  - Selection ratio - Norm Group Determining the ‘cut-off’: - Multiple cut-off method - Composite score method Tests must be: - Functional in value - Unbiased - Used in manner intended - Used in conjunction with other techniques - Used by someone qualified Assessment Centres Assess the full range of skills and personal attributes required for a job: - Group exercises - Individual exercises - Interviewing - Role play/simulation Special techniques: - In basket exercises - Leaderless group exercises - Multiple observations by multiple assessors - Peer assessments The Future: Gamification - Game-based activities or simulations o assess candidates' skills, personality traits, cognitive abilities, and behaviours o feels less formal than traditional methods Legislation and international standards Mental health: prevalence and cost - Worldwide: o Economic cost: US - 2.5 trillion a year o 2% of health budget is on mental health - In Australia: o 220 billion a year o 40% of general practitioner cases a week - In Business: o 12 billion working days lost a year (depression and anxiety alone) o Psychological injury is the costliest & increasing WH&S Act (2011) - Australia - Australian Statistics  o 1 in 5 Australian workers will have a mental health condition o Costs Australian businesses: 11 billion a year o Every 1 dollar invested in a mentally healthy workspace gives a 2.30 win back (still, some organisations are hesitant to do this) ▪ If investing right – we should have less stress - WH&S (2011): Work, Health & safety act o First legislation in Aus to define health in terms of both: ▪ Physical health and psychological o Duty of care: employer (PCBU) ▪ The employer has a responsibility o Everyone has a responsibility in the workplace: ▪ Responsibility for: Complying with health and safety instructions Take reasonably care of their mental health Take care of how actions can affect health and safety for other people - Commonwealth industrial law, Fair Work Act (2009) o A list of duties that the employer has to the employee o No adverse actions by employer against employee ▪ Employer can’t treat you different than other employees because of mental health problems and so on. - Roles and responsibilities o Person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU-owners) has a duty to: ▪ Ensure physical and psychological health and safety of its workers and other people o Senior managers and executives have duties to: ▪ Don’t own or run the business – so different duties ▪ Exercise due diligence to ensure that the (PCBU) has systems and procedures to meet its safety and health obligations o Workers and other people at work: ▪ Co-operate with any reasonable policy or procedure issued by the PCBU Psychosocial hazards - 14 outlined hazards: o 1. Job demand o 2. Low job control o 3. Poor support o 4. Lack of role clarity o 5. Poor organisational change management o 6. Inadequate reward and recognition o 7. Poor organisational justice ▪ A lack of: Procedural justice (Fair decision making) Informational fairness (keeping everyone up to date and in the loop) Interpersonal fairness (dignity and respect) o 8. Traumatic events or material ▪ Witnessing traumatic events or material ▪ Investigating traumatic events or material ▪ Being exposed to traumatic events or material  You have to either eliminate or litigate (help the individual) o 9. Remote or isolated work o 10. Poor physical environment o 11. Violence and aggression ▪ Abuse in the workplace or whilst working ▪ Threats in the workplace or whilst working ▪ Assault in the workplace or whilst working o 12. Bullying o 13. Harassment – including sexual harassment o 14. Conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions International legislation - Canada o CSA standards (Canadian standards)- is designed to: ▪ Help employers identify risks to psychological health in the workplace. ▪ Promote a positive and supportive organizational culture. ▪ Foster employee mental well-being. o Key: prevention, promotion and guidance. - Europe o Minimum health and safety requirements for the protection of mental health in the workplace o Differences and inequalities between countries o European parliament resolution - introduce a new directive on psychosocial risks and well-being at work. ▪ Europe has been ahead of countries like the USA and Australia - USA o no mandatory requirements related to employee’s mental health International standards - ISO 45001 (2018) o Specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. o Provides a framework for organizations to manage risks and improve OH&S performance. o The standard establishes criteria for an OH&S policy, objectives, planning, implementation, operation, auditing and review. - ISO 45003 (2021) o Based on 45001 o First international standard for Psychological Health o Enables organizations to prevent work-related injury and ill health of their workers and other interested parties, and to promote well-being at work. The mental health continuum model - from a corporate point of view - Coping o Coping with normal mood fluctuations o Able to focus and be productive - Reacting o Nervous, angry, distracted o Disrupted sleep or unable to focus - Not coping o Anxiety and stress  o Unable to sleep or concentrate How mental health issues can/look like is important to know so the bosses can intervene and prevent – before it becomes a problem. Key areas in mental health in the wok place - Prevent – psychosocial risks - Protect/promote – mental health and wellbeing - Support – people struggling Employee assistance programs (EAP) - Been around since the 1940 to deal with alcoholism in the workplace – has evolved since then. - Definition: o provide preventative and proactive interventions for the early detection, identification and/or resolution of both work and personal problems that may adversely affect performance and wellbeing. - Advantages: o Return on investments o Increased productivity, engagement, wellbeing, tenure, profits 1. EAP: Prevent o Training, education, leadership development, visibility and open discussion 2. EAP: Protect and promote o Support leadership, early intervention: warning signs addressed 3. EAP: Support o Return to work WH&S: Support the mental health first, then deal with performance. Psychological safety - Psychological safety means feeling safe to: o Take interpersonal risks ▪ Speak up ▪ Disagree openly ▪ Raise concerns without fear of negative repercussions or pressure to ‘sugarcoat’ bad news o Belief that: no one would be punished/humiliated for speaking up  - Communication, training and coaching Communication - There is different types of communication: o Organization communication or interpersonal communication Types of organizational communication - Upward o Getting info and communicating it upwards in the organisation ▪ Can be: · Direct or serial communication · Attitude surveys · Focus groups · Suggestion or complaint boxes à anonymous · Third party facilitators o Costs a lot o This upward communication is important for job satisfaction - Downward o Communication from the leaders and down in the communication ▪ Can be: · Bulletin boards, newsletters · Policy manuals · Intranets à webpage within the organisation - Business communication/formal o Often formal communication to communicate regarding business ▪ Telephone and video ▪ Email and voicemail ▪ Business meetings ▪ Office design · A big impact of communication whinin’ the organization  · Open space or not - Informal o Grapevine ▪ Four types: · Single strand · Gossip → not everyone receives the message direct · Probability · Clusters → indirect communication, via via o Issues: ▫ Dead enders: people tell someone that does not tell other ▫ Rumors → most based on any solid information, often involves all of us Interpersonal communication process - Interpersonal communication → process of communication from one person to another - Process: o Sender/encoder ▪ Encodes messages ▪ Transmits message o Receiver/decoder → I think this is what this means ▪ Receives messages ▪ Decodes messages o Issues: ▪ Intended message vs. message sent · Be clear about what you are gonna say ▪ Message sent vs. message received ▪ Message received vs. message interpreted · Listing, biases and personal factors play a big part · Our biases will affect how you decode a message Communication: role of listening - The most important communication skill is: how we listen o Active listning → being fully present - Factors affecting message received vs. message interpreted Channels of communication - The different channels of communication: o Verbal ▪ Face to face · For ex: Interviews · Effective face to face communication: o Body language o Open and closed questions o Paraphrasing o Reflecting of feeling o Feedback ▪ Indirect · Eks: surveys ▪ Written · Target audience · Objective · Vocabulary · Length/complexity · Readability · Grammar and spelling o Non-verbal - Choice of communication channel o The audience o Content of message – complexity o Content of message – confidentiality o Response required - Other influences on communication o Personality – both yours and the other person  o Ability o Knowledge o Emotional state o Environmental/ situational factors o The non-verbal communication - Consequences of poor communication o Overload/underload ▪ Work processes ▪ Employee wellbeing ▪ Organisational success o Other ▪ Conflict ▪ Boredom ▪ Capital loss ▪ Hostility/anger ▪ Lack of productivity ▪ Inner doubt ▪ Psychological factors · Ex: personality change, depression, fatique and stress Groups dynamics, group performance and teams - Conflict; dysfunctional vs. functional - Types of conflict - Causes of conflict: o Resourses o Task interdependence o Jurisdiction o Communication o Beliefs o Personality Factors Affecting Group performans - Cohesiveness o Homogeneity o Stability of membership o Isolation o Outside pressure o Group size o Group status - Ability and confidence - Personalities - Communication - Roles - Presence of other - Individual dominance - Groupthink Teams - Teams = any group that is three or more members - Different teams:  o Work teams o Parallel teams o Project teams o Management teams - Developing a team: o Forming o Storming o Norming o Performing - Issues o Not a team o Meeting requirements o Empowerment o Skill(s) o Distrust of process o Unclear objectives Training, development and coaching - Training = The ability to learn new roles - Training important for: o Knowing our role Determining training needs - Conduct a needs analysis - Training need assessment - Three types: o Organizational analysis ▪ Ascertain organizational environment: goals, resources, employee willingness · Establish goals and objectives · Economic analysis · Person-power analysis and planning · Climate and attitude surveys · Resource analysis o Task analysis ▪ Identify employee performance on each task and how they learn the skills · Task interviews · Observation · Job description o Person analysis ▪ Who needs training? In what? · Performance appraisals · Surveys · Interviews · Skill and knowledge testing · Critical incidents Establishing goals and objectives - Determines  o Resources o Methods to deliver o Methods to evaluate - Concretely state: o Expectations of learners o Conditions o Level Training and techniques development - Lecture method o Plus handout - Participant method, includes: o Case studies o Simulation o Role-play o Behaviour-modeling Delivering training and development - Classroom training - Distance learning o Asynchronous o Synchronous - On-the-job training o Modelling (social learning) o Job rotation/ cross training o Apprentice o Coaching and mentoring Motivating participation - Incentives for learning o Skill-based pay o Interest o Feedback Transfer of training - Realistic training programs - Practice work-related behaviour - Opportunity for application - Work environment/ management support - Employee goals Program development - Key steps: o Identiy training needs o Estabilisng training objectives o Develop instruction meterials o Test and refine materials o Implement training program o Evaluate training program - Constraints:  o Funding o Candidates o Changes in senior leadership o Reduce program(s) or parts of it Effectiveness and issues - Employee skills and abilities - Minimal distractions - Motivation level - Training method - Transfer of training Issues: training and development - Culture and diversity - On the job training - 360-degree feedback  Leadership Fundamental shifts in role of managers 1. A power shift: From “me” to “we” 2. A skills shift: From “overseer” to “coach” 3. A structural shift: From “static” to “fluid/digital” Servant leader = Leads people in a manner that helps them grow and increases their capacity to contribute - Not about the leader, but the followers – helping them become all they can be - Robert Greenleaf: Pioneer of the servant leadership concept WEAPS Wisdom - Combination of awareness of surroundings and anticipation of consequences → picking up ques from the environment and understanding implications - Leaders high in wisdom are observant and anticipatory - Wisdom the ideal of perfect and practical – combining knowledge and utility Empathy (Emotional Healing) - Commitment to and skill in fostering spiritual recovery from hardship or trauma - Leaders using emotional healing = highly epathetic and great listeners - Safe for employees to voice personal and professional issues Altruism (Altruistic calling) - Leader’s deep-rooted desire to make a positive difference in other’s life - Generosity of the spirit consistent with purpose in life - Other’s interest ahead of their own and works to meet followers’ needs Persuasiveness  - Describes the extent that laders use sound reasoning and mental frameworks - Leaders high in persuasive mapping are skilled at mapping issues and conceptualizing greater possibilities and are compelling when articulating these opportunities - Not coercive or manipulative Stewardship - Describes the extent that leaders prepare an organization to make a positive contribution to society through community development, programs and outreach - Organizational stewardship involves an ethic/value for taking responsibility for the well-being of the community and making sure that the strategies and decisions undertaken reflect the commitment to give back and leave things better than found - Work to develop a community spirit in the workplace, one that is preparing to leave a positive legacy 1. Motive: Servant leadership puts others first 2. Mode: 1 on 1, prioritizing other’s needs, taking the time to get to know the team 3. Mindset: Believes that followers have a responsibility to support them to grow, not to achieve my ambitions as a leader Does it matter? - Builds o Trust o Engagement empowerment o Improves performance outcomes - Do servant leadership improve employee psychological and subjective wellbeing? o Improved subjective wellbeing o Improved psychological wellbeing o Improved self-reported physical wellbeing o Less sick leave Trust Stewardship Theory Agency Theory:  Stress and wellbeing (Didi) Ch 14 What is stress Stress refers to how our body and mind respond when we face e.g. challenges, demands, or pressures = stressors - Strain = consequences of stress - Challanges you to function Pattern of responses to stressors: - Stress involves a predictable set of reactions when we meet and deal with stressors. - Can include emotional reactions (like feeling anxious), physical changes (like a faster heartbeat), and behavioural changes (like avoiding certain tasks). - The responses are normal and common – are predictable because most people go through similar feelings and physical changes when dealing with stress. Non-specific response to demands: - Stress is the body’s general reaction to any demand or challenge - Can be positive and negative a. positive (like preparing for an exciting event) or negative (like dealing with a conflict). - It doesn’t matter what the situation is—your body reacts in similar ways. Mismatch between skills and demands: - Stress often happens when there’s a gap between: 1. What you are capable of doing (your skills and abilities). 2. What’s being asked of you (the demands of a job or situation). 3. What you need or expect for yourself (your personal needs). - Example: if your job requires a skill you’re not trained in, or if it demands more time and energy than you can give, stress is likely to occur. Fight, flight or freeze - A response to stress that makes your body try to protect you from perceived threats. - In a work setting it can make it harder to handle challenges effectively 1. Fight: You may react to stress aggressively, such as arguing with coworkers, resisting feedback, or becoming overly defensive. 2. Flight: You might try to escape the stressful situation, such as avoiding tasks, procrastinating, or withdrawing from meetings and teamwork. 3. Freeze: Stress can make you feel stuck or unable to act, like feeling overwhelmed, unable to make decisions, or struggling to focus on work Performance level and stress Different stress level results in different functioning. - A bit stress can make you perform better – enhances your senses - Too much stress can make you perform worse A bit stress which increases your performance is good short term, but can be harmful in the long run - Short term: more energy, personal growth at work, increased focus, more motivation, improved problem-solving, better management, better sense of accomplishment - Long term: higher risk of burnout, sleep problems (insomnia), weakened immune system, irritability, memory issues, higher blood pressure, declined productivity Interactive model of sources of stress in organisations Explains how stress arises and interacts within an organizational context - focus on the relationships between personal characteristics, stressors, and the stress response Personal characteristics: - An individual's traits, skills, mindset, personality, coping mechanisms, or experience. - These characteristics influence how someone perceives and responds to a stressor. o For example, someone with high resilience may handle stress better, while someone who is more anxious may be more affected by the same situation. Stressors: - Stressors are the external or internal pressures that cause stress. In the workplace, these might include: - Workload (too much or too little). - Conflict with coworkers or managers. - Unclear expectations or lack of resources. - The model shows that personal characteristics can affect how these stressors are perceived and how much stress they cause. Stress: personality - Types of personality and reaction to stress Sources of stress: personal, occupational and other Consequences of stress Managing stress Stress interventions Forensic psychology and the workplace: the dark triad at work The dark triad: 1. Psychopathy -> fearless dominance and impulsive antisociality 2. Narcissism -> social influence and entitlement, exploitation of others 3. Machiacellianism-> careful planning, goal directed, manipulative and calculating Moral dilemmas - The railway dilemma 1. A railway trolley is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who are trapped on the line and cannot escape. Fortunately you can flip a switch that will divert the trolley down a fork in the track away from the five people – but at a price. There is another person trapped down that fork, and the trolley will kill them instead. Should you hit the switch? Scenario one: flip the switch, killing one and saving five. 2. As before, a railway trolley is speeding out of control down a track towards five people. But this time, you are standing behind a very large man on a footbridge above the tracks. The only way to save the five people is to push the man over. He will fall to certain death. But he will block the trolley, saving the five lives. Should you push him? Scenario two: push the man, saving five people The psychopath test - Enemy soldiers have taken over your village. They have orders to kill everyone they find. You and some others are hiding in a basement. You hear the soldiers enter the house above you. Your baby begins to cry loudly. You cover his mouth to block the sound. If you remove your hand from his mouth, he will cry loudly and the soldiers will hear. If they hear the baby, they will find you and kill everyone, including you and your baby. To save yourself and the others you must smother your baby to death. Is it morally acceptable for you to smother your child in order to save yourself and the other people? Scenario 3: kill the baby to save everyone else from enemy soldiers Psychopathy and moral decision making - In high conflict scenarios (killing babies) psychopaths rate a higher number of utilitarian judgments compared to the “morally acceptable” answers that are greater with non- psychopaths - Psychopaths are calm under pressure, when psychopaths respond to tasks that are highly interesting or highly motivating, they show greater activation of the left prefrontal cortex: reduction in anxiety, enhanced positive mood, increased focusing of attention an orientation to reward. Life history theory: - Evolutionary theory that describes energy allocated towards different tasks, including relationship and parenting - “fast” vs “slow” strategies depend on environmental conditions - In most modern environments, humans have a slow life history strategy, where reproduction occurs later, and fewer offspring are produced – linked to ability to obtain resources, status and long-term mates - Fast strategies occur in environments where risk or mortality is high and resource availability is unpredictable – sexual promiscuity, aggressive or antisocial behaviour is potentially adaptive in these environments Life history and the dark triad: - In contrast to traditional views of these traits as social pathologies, recent research has adopted en evolutionary lens, focusing on potential sexual survival benefits, however results have been mixed - Dark triad traits consist of both positive and negative aspects  - Impulsivity, manipulation, exploitative interpersonal styles, aggression and unrestricted sexuality = fast life history strategy - Social dominance, leadership, reduced fear and anxiety = slow life history strategy Successful psychopaths - Narcissicm o I am willing to take risks and embark on difficult courses of action o I would be good in a high stake or pressured situation as I make fast decisions o can handle being the centre of attention o A fast paced workplace environment excites me o (-) I find it difficult to talk others into seeing my side or point of view o I am able to remain calm in the face of danger - Psychopathy o People can treat the workplace like a battlefield at times o I am careful to select my inner circle of supporters at work o Conflict amongst colleagues is inevitable o it is not uncommon for others to try to show each other up at work o People fail to accept when they have made a mistake o It is difficult for people to hear the truth - Machiavellanism o It is acceptable to gain from other people’s weaknesses/ mistakes o I believe I am more important than other people in the workplace o Success at a cost to others can be justifiable o Lying and deceit are integral to successful business o (-) Keeping appointments, even in busy times is important o It makes me uncomfortable when colleagues are humiliated and intimidated by others Psychopaths at work - Positive: o surface charm and immunity to stress o Creativity, strategic thinking and communication skills o Strong leadership o Highly competitive academic achievement orientation and resilience to depression and anxiety o Pay rises, promotions and power, rapidly ascending the corporate ladder o leadership and management positions in law enforcement and fire-fighting - Negative o Negative Acts Questionnaire (Einarsen, Hoel, & Notelaers, 2009) o “someone withholding information which affects your performance”; “being humiliated or ridiculed in connection with your work” o Counterproductive work behaviour checklist (Spector et al, 2006) “daydreamed rather than did work” (O) “made fun of someone’s personal life” (P) o Health and Safety Management Standards Indicator Tool (Cousins et al, 2004) o Demands (“I have unachievable deadlines”), control (“I can decide when to take a break”), managerial support (“I can talk to my line manager about something that has upset me at work”, peer support (“If work gets difficult, colleagues will support me”, relationships (“I am subject to bullying at work”), role (“I am clear what is expexted of me at work”), and change (“staff are always consulted about change at work”) o Interpersonal conflict at work scale (Spector and Jex, 1998) “how often do other people yell at you at work?” Mad, bad and dangerous to know Study  - Study 1, n=855 participants recruited via Prolific; 57.3% M, 42.7% F, mean age 32.6 All were business management graduates o Q1 investigated relationship of psychopathy on counter-productive work behaviours (cheating, stealing, bullying) and the moderating effect of organisational culture. o Q2 participants were asked if they were complying with state/federal government directives, and if they believed government messaging re COVID-19 When being asocial is pro-social - Covid – 19 response - Adaptive (handwashing, social distancing) - Maladaptive (hoarding) - Beliefs about susceptibility to covid - Beliefs about the benefits of preventative measures Asosial vs antisocial - Triberti, Durosini, & Prvettoni (2021) investigated whether people high in DT traits were more likely to comply with government directions during quarantine. - Healthy behaviours o “I paid attention to cover my mouth and nose when sneezing”, “I reduced social interactions”, “I avoided contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections” - Bad behaviours o “I propagated alarming news even if I wasn’t sure they were true”, “I purposely avoided ordering parcels from China or products made in China” - Dark triad traits were negatively associated with positive behaviours o Machiavellianism – washing hands, touching eyes, nose, mouth, covering mouth when sneezing o Psychopathy – living life normally without taking precautions, cleaning their houses o Narcissism –cleaning, washing hands, living life normally o The only “bad” behaviour associated with DT was spreading alarming news Summary and predictions - Individuals high in psychopathy are often more likely to hold irrational beliefs (Samar et al., 2013) and more likely to underestimate the risks associated with tasks or events (Jones, 2014) - The dark triad has been consistently linked to the proliferation of Coronavirus conspiracy theory (Egorova et al., 2020; Hughes & Machan, 2021; Kay, 2020), especially to national or collective narcissism - Individuals high in the dark triad are likely to be noncompliant with governmental restrictions such as mandatory lockdowns or tracking (Espinosa & Clemente, 2021; Carvalho & Machado, 2020; Nowak et al., 2020; Zajenkowski et al., 2020), as it threatens their sense of agentic independence. - In particular, Machiavellianism is most highly associated with agency and antagonism and therefore most likely to be non-cooperative - Study 2 n=225 participants recruited via Amazon MTurk; 63.1% M, 36.9% F, mean age 34.2 Anxiety - I am concerned about COVID-19 - Do you believe you will become very unwell if you catch COVID-19 - The apparent need to stock up on dry goods increased my fear of COVID-19 - Did you stop frequenting Chinatown/ Chinese restaurants in your area? - I always carry one or more disposable masks… - I regularly sanitise surface Conforming - I want to get vaccinated against COVID-19 - if I wear a mask, I am likely to avoid contracting COVID-19 - If I socially distance from others, I am likely to avoid contracting COVID-19 - If I conform to public hygiene guidelines, I will not contract COVID-19 - I feel anger when I witness people not following public hygiene guidelines - I believe a COVID –19 vaccine would improve Non-compliance - i expect some kind of adverse side-effects from a COVID-19 vaccine - Wearing a mask is bothersome - Anyone who contracts COVID-19 is fundamentally weaker than myself - should not have to wear a mask if it is not mandatory - I do not believe in wearing masks, or socially distancing Behaviour change - Are you someone who has stocked up on dry goods? - Have you been stopped from entering or leaving a country due to COVID-19 - Have you changed travel plans as a result of COVID-19 - Has the development of COVID-19 changed your hygiene habits? Personal impact - Have you or anyone close to you contracted COVID-19 - It is likely that I will catch COVID-19 - May chances of getting COVID-19 at some point are high - The rates of COVID-19 are likely to rise Conclusion - Fast life history strategy associated with impulsivity, aggression, lack of empathy, competitiveness - Mixed results for psychopathy – they were anxious, compliant and non-compliant - Machiavellianism associated with “conspiracy”/ non-compliance - Narcissism associated with compliance - DT core traits appear to be somewhat resistant to short-term or contextual cues (Organisational culture in Study 1) - Psychopathy and compliance fully mediated by aggression (as a corollary of fast life history strategy)