An Exploration of the Dishonest Side of Self–Monitoring: Links to Moral Disengagement and Unethical Business Decision Making

Do Chameleons Lead Better? A Meta-Analysis of the Self-Monitoring and Leadership Relationship

The relationship between self-monitoring and leadership has been debated. We attempt to resolve this debate through a meta-analysis (N = 9,029 across 55 samples). Since this is the first meta-analysis that focuses on this relationship, we were able to study both focal constructs at a granular level. As hypothesized, self-monitoring is positively associated with leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness. Whereas self-monitoring is positively related to managerial leadership, its relationship with transactional leadership is non-significant. Contrary to our prediction that self-monitoring is negatively related to authentic leadership and to transformational leadership, we found positive relationships. Importantly, the relationship between self-monitoring and leadership variables is typically non-significant when the latter is measured by subordinate ratings. This casts doubt on the general finding that self-monitoring is positively related to leadership. Also, the relationships significantly differ when self-monitoring was measured by different scales. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Contagious charisma: the flow of charisma from leader to followers and the role of followers' self-monitoring

Charisma, the captivating attribute that endows an individual with the power to inspire and influence others, is frequently associated with possessing an attractive personality, effective communication skills, and the capacity to draw people in and lead them. The concept of the trickle-down effect in leadership theory suggests that the characteristics of a leader's style including perceptions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors, have the potential to be "contagious" and spread to their followers. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether and when a leader's charisma may be transferred to followers, as charisma is predominantly a trait associated with the leader. Integrating insights from the social learning, emotional contagion, and self-concept theories, we propose that charisma can cascade downward from the leader to followers and that this effect is contingent on the individual follower's level of self-monitoring. Measuring a sample of 127 followers and 15 leaders in a large organization at two time points, we found that throughout time the leader's charisma indeed cascaded down to followers, i.e., followers of a charismatic leader were perceived as more charismatic throughout time. However, this effect was prominent only for low-monitoring followers. Novel insights into the flow-down effect of charisma, avenues for future research, and practical implications are discussed.

Self-, other-, and meta-perceptions of personality: Relations with burnout symptoms and eudaimonic workplace well-being

The present study examined whether disagreement between self-, other-, and meta-perceptions of personality was related to burnout symptoms and eudaimonic workplace well-being. We expected disagreement in personality perceptions to explain incremental variance in burnout symptoms and eudaimonic workplace well-being beyond the main effects of the different personality ratings. Participants were 459 Dutch employees and their 906 colleagues (who provided other ratings of personality). The results, based on polynomial regression with response surface analyses, highlighted strong main effects of self-rated personality traits in relation to burnout symptoms and eudaimonic workplace well-being. This study provides, as far as we know, the first empirical evidence that self-rated Honesty-Humility negatively predicts burnout symptoms. Results showed little evidence on incremental effects of disagreement between personality perceptions, with one clear exception: when respondents misjudged how their colleagues would rate them on Honesty-Humility (i.e., discrepancy between meta- and other-perceptions), respondents experienced more feelings of burnout and less eudaimonic workplace well-being. Our study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that discrepancies between meta- and other-perceptions of Honesty-Humility affect employee well-being (i.e., burnout symptoms and eudaimonic workplace well-being).

Social media skepticism and belief in conspiracy theories about COVID-19: the moderating role of the dark triad

The prevalence of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 in the wide-open social media environment has raised considerable concerns about the adverse effects of believing such theories. The previous work showed that skepticism is negatively associated with acceptance of media content. However, this association has yet to be investigated between skepticism towards content on social media and conviction of COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Furthermore, this association can be a function of social media users' dark triad traits comprising Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. A convenient sample of 439 Malaysian young adult social media users was recruited to complete the survey. Results showed that skepticism has a negative relationship with belief in conspiracy theories about COVID-19. However, the strength of the relationship is varied depending on respondents' Machiavellianism and narcissism levels. The negative association between skepticism and belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories is weaker for individuals with high scores on Machiavellianism. High and moderate scores on narcissism were also found to diminish the negative relationship of skepticism with COVID-19 conspiracy ideation. The results yield implications for enhancing healthy skepticism to mitigate belief in conspiracy theories promulgated on social media. Nonetheless, Machiavellianism and narcissism appeared to weaken the power of skepticism on conspiracy theories.

Empathy and authenticity online: The roles of moral identity, moral disengagement, and parenting style

OBJECTIVES

Research suggests that the Internet could be considered an arena for both virtuous and vicious behaviors, with observations of enhanced perspective-taking and honest self-reflections occurring alongside evidence of cyberbullying and deceptive communications. In the current study, we explore the role of three widely recognized sources of moral behavior-moral identity, moral disengagement, and authoritative parenting-in predicting adolescents' online empathy and online authenticity.

METHOD

In total, 788 UK adolescents aged 11-18 years (66% male) completed measures of these key constructs.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling results suggest that parental responsiveness and autonomy granting are positively related to adolescents' moral identity. In turn, moral identity was positively related to both online empathy and online authenticity. Having a stronger moral identity also meant that adolescents were less likely to morally disengage, and moral disengagement was negatively related to online authenticity in adolescent females. Partial invariance across gender and age was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that moral identity encourages moral thoughts, feelings, and actions in the online environment, including being authentic and empathic. As the formation and accessibility of one's moral identity can be promoted, we discuss the implications of these findings for cultivating prosocial behavior in the online environment as well as future research avenues.

Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior in adolescents: The mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of system justification

INTRODUCTION

Honesty-Humility represents the tendency to be fair, genuine, and cooperative in social interactions. Although previous evidence has demonstrated that Honesty-Humility is related to decreased unethical behavior, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship, especially among adolescents. Based on social cognitive theory and system justification theory, the present study aims to examine the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of system justification in the relationship between Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A large sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 2,576, 47% boys; M_age = 17.00 years, SD = 1.07) was recruited from four senior high schools. The participants completed questionnaires regarding Honesty-Humility, moral disengagement, system justification, and unethical behavior.

RESULTS

The findings suggested that Honesty-Humility was negatively associated with adolescents' unethical behavior, and moral disengagement partially mediated this negative association. Furthermore, system justification moderated the mediation model. Specifically, the negative relationships between Honesty-Humility and moral disengagement/unethical behavior were stronger among adolescents who perceive the society as fair.

CONCLUSION

These findings advance the understanding of when and how Honesty-Humility prevents adolescents from unethical behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of the current study as well as future research directions are discussed.

Honesty-Humility Interacts With Context Perception in Predicting Task Performance and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract. In this study, we investigated the interaction effects between honesty-humility and two contextual perception variables (perceptions of organizational politics and perceptions of interactional justice) on two dimensions of job performance (task performance and organizational citizenship behavior). In a multiple rater design, we dissociated the assessments of the contextual perception variables (rated by target employees), personality traits (rated by colleagues), and job performance (rated by supervisors) from each other. We expected employees lower in honesty-humility to adapt their behavior according to the perceived context, whereas employees higher in honesty-humility were expected to perform equally well irrespective of the perceived environment. Results supported the hypothesized interactions in general.

The Jackson Career Explorer: Correlates With Self-Monitoring and Social Desirability

The Jackson Career Explorer (JCE) is a short form and continuous version of the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey measuring 34 vocational interest dimensions which can be reduced to seven factors (six vocational interest factors and one work style factor). Both the scales and factors were examined for possible significant correlations with social desirability and self-monitoring. Volunteer participants (N = 779) aged 14 to 92 years completed the JCE, a social desirability scale, and a self-monitoring scale. Social desirability did not correlate significantly with the JCE scales and factors. Self-monitoring was found to correlate significantly with only a few of the JCE dimensions, including the performing arts, dominant leadership, and law scales as well as the business factor. Interestingly, the accountability JCE work style scale, which assesses a preference to work in an environment requiring high levels of honesty, had a significant negative correlation with self-monitoring. These results add to the validity of the JCE and add information to the area of vocational interest assessment.

Three Nightmare Traits in Leaders

This review offers an integration of dark leadership styles with dark personality traits. The core of dark leadership consists of Three Nightmare Traits (TNT)—leader dishonesty, leader disagreeableness, and leader carelessness—that are conceptualized as contextualized personality traits aligned with respectively (low) honesty-humility, (low) agreeableness, and (low) conscientiousness. It is argued that the TNT, when combined with high extraversion and low emotionality, can have serious (“explosive”) negative consequences for employees and their organizations. A Situation-Trait-Outcome Activation (STOA) model is presented in which a description is offered of situations that are attractive to TNT leaders (situation activation), situations that activate TNT traits (trait activation), and the kinds of outcomes that may result from TNT behaviors (outcome activation). Subsequently, the TNT and STOA models are combined to offer a description of the organizational actions that may strengthen or weaken the TNT during six career stages: attraction, selection, socialization, production, promotion, and attrition. Except for mainly negative consequences of the TNT, possible positive consequences of TNT leadership are also explored, and an outline of a research program is offered that may provide answers to the most pressing questions in dark leadership research.

To Fake or Not to Fake: Antecedents to Interview Faking, Warning Instructions, and Its Impact on Applicant Reactions

In the present study, we examined the antecedents and processes that impact job interviewees' decisions to engage in deceptive impression management (i.e., interview faking). Willingness and capacity to engage in faking were found to be the processes underlying the decision to use deceptive impression management in the interview. We also examined a personality antecedent to this behavior, Honesty-Humility, which was negatively related to the use of deceptive impression management through increased willingness to engage in these behaviors. We also tested a possible intervention to reduce IM. In particular, we found that warnings against faking - specifically, an identification warning - reduced both the perceived capacity to engage in interview faking, and subsequent use of several faking behaviors. Moreover, this warning reduced faking without adversely impacting applicant reactions.

The role of leadership perception as a mediator between managers' self-monitoring and subordinate attitudes

Although the role of social cognition in leadership perception has been emphasized frequently in recent years, research using this approach in an organizational context is rare. This study investigated subordinates' perceptions of their managers as leaders (that is, to what extent they perceive their manager as a leader) as a potential mediating factor explaining the relationship between managers' self-monitoring and their subordinates' attitudes toward their organizations. The study was carried out with middle-level managers (N = 64) and their subordinates (N = 210) from various business organizations in Turkey. Results indicate that subordinates' leadership perceptions of their managers mediate the relationship between managers' self-monitoring and their subordinates' affective and normative organizational commitment. These results provide insight into some of the antecedents and outcomes of leadership perception.

Examining Equity Sensitivity: An Investigation Using the Big Five and HEXACO Models of Personality

The construct of equity sensitivity describes an individual's preference about his/her desired input to outcome ratio. Individuals high on equity sensitivity tend to be more input oriented, and are often called “Benevolents.” Individuals low on equity sensitivity are more outcome oriented, and are described as “Entitleds.” Given that equity sensitivity has often been described as a trait, the purpose of the present study was to examine major personality correlates of equity sensitivity, so as to inform both the nature of equity sensitivity, and the potential processes through which certain broad personality traits may relate to outcomes. We examined the personality correlates of equity sensitivity across three studies (total N = 1170), two personality models (i.e., the Big Five and HEXACO), the two most common measures of equity sensitivity (i.e., the Equity Preference Questionnaire and Equity Sensitivity Inventory), and using both self and peer reports of personality (in Study 3). Although results varied somewhat across samples, the personality variables of Conscientiousness and Honesty-Humility, followed by Agreeableness, were the most robust predictors of equity sensitivity. Individuals higher on these traits were more likely to be Benevolents, whereas those lower on these traits were more likely to be Entitleds. Although some associations between Extraversion, Openness, and Neuroticism and equity sensitivity were observed, these were generally not robust. Overall, it appears that there are several prominent personality variables underlying equity sensitivity, and that the addition of the HEXACO model's dimension of Honesty-Humility substantially contributes to our understanding of equity sensitivity.