A mixed blessing? Dual mediating mechanisms in the relationship between dopamine transporter gene DAT1 and leadership role occupancy

Genetics, leadership position, and well-being: An investigation with a large-scale GWAS

Our study presents the largest whole-genome investigation of leadership phenotypes to date. We identified genome-wide significant loci for leadership phenotypes, which are overlapped with top hits for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and intelligence. Our study demonstrated the polygenetic nature of leadership, the positive genetic correlations between leadership traits and a broad range of well-being indicators, and the unique association of leadership with well-being after accounting for genetic influences related to other socioeconomic status measures. Our findings offer insights into the biological underpinnings of leadership.

Twin studies document leadership role occupancy (e.g., whether one holds formal supervisory or management positions) as a heritable trait. However, previous studies have been underpowered in identifying specific genes associated with this trait, which has limited our understanding of the genetic correlations between leadership and one’s well-being. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on individuals’ leadership phenotypes that were derived from supervisory/managerial positions and demands among 248,640 individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank data. Among the nine genome-wide significant loci, the identified top regions are pinpointed to previously reported GWAS loci for bipolar disorder (miR-2113/POUSF2 and LINC01239) and schizophrenia loci (ZSWIM6). We found positive genetic correlations between leadership position and several positive well-being and health indicators, including high levels of subjective well-being, and low levels of anxiety and depression (|r_g| > 0.2). Intriguingly, we observed positive genetic correlations between leadership position and some negative well-being indicators, including high levels of bipolar disorder and alcohol intake frequency. We also observed positive genetic correlations between leadership position and shortened longevity, cardiovascular diseases, and body mass index after partialing out the genetic variance attributed to either educational attainment or income. The positive genetic correlation between leadership and bipolar disorder seems potentially more pronounced for those holding senior leadership positions (r_g: 0.10 to 0.24), partially due to shared genetic variants with educational attainment. Our findings provide insights into the polygenic nature of leadership and shared genetic underpinnings between the leadership position and one’s health and well-being. We caution against simplistic interpretations of our findings as advocating genetic determinism.

Propiedades Psicométricas de la Versión Argentina de la Escala de Personalidad Proactiva

Resumen La personalidad proactiva es una tendencia relativamente estable a generar cambios en el ambiente para mejorarlo. El objetivo de este estudio fue traducir, adaptar y validar la Escala de Personalidad Proactiva de Bateman y Crant en Argentina. Se empleó un diseño empírico-instrumental transversal sobre una muestra no probabilística de 465 trabajadores (54% mujeres; X edad = 34,5 años; DT edad = 12,94). Análisis factoriales exploratorios y confirmatorios indicaron la adecuación de un modelo unifactorial con seis variables observables (SBχ2= 2,01; GFI= 0,98; CFI= 0,95; RMSEA= 0,04, AIC= 42,03; ω = 0,82; CR= 0,80). Las correlaciones positivas entre personalidad proactiva, comportamientos proactivos, satisfacción e implicación laboral indicaron apropiada evidencia de validez de relación con variables externas. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la versión argentina del instrumento presenta adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para el contexto laboral.

Who complies with COVID-19 transmission mitigation behavioral guidelines?

During the past 6 months, the world has lost almost 950,000 lives because of the outbreak of COVID-19, with more than 31 million individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide. In response, lockdowns, and various other policies have been implemented. Unfortunately, many individuals are violating those policies and governments have been urging people to comply with the behavioral guidelines. In this paper, we argue that personality traits need to be considered to understand and encourage more effective public compliance with COVID 19 transmission mitigation behavioral guidelines. Using a sample of 8,548 individuals from Japan, we show that certain personality traits are related to the tendency to comply with COVID-19 transmission mitigation behavioral guidelines. We emphasize the importance of understanding why people respond differently to the same authority's messages and provide actionable insights for government policy makers and those who implement policies.

Climbing the ladder or falling from grace? A threat-opportunity framework of the effects of norm violations on social rank

'Social norms keep anarchy at bay, yet norm violations are omnipresent. Although norm violators are generally rejected from higher-ranking positions, they sometimes rise up the ranks. We advance a threat-opportunity framework to understand how contextual factors shape norm violators' downward or upward mobility in social hierarchies. The contextual factors we identify pertain to attributes of the actor (violator), the observer, and the cultural context, which influence whether norm violations are construed as threats or opportunities. Norm violators rise up when their actions promote group goals, but they fall from grace when their actions obstruct observers' own interests or culturally reinforced goals. We offer a review of the literature, which supports the threat-opportunity framework. We close by suggesting future research directions.

The Added Value of Neuroscience Methods in Organizational Research

Historically, the lack of availability and prohibitive expense of brain imaging technology have limited the application of neuroscience research in organizational settings. However, recent advances in technology have made it possible to use brain imaging in organizational settings at relatively little expense and in a practical manner to further research efforts. In this article, we weigh the advantages and disadvantages of neuroscience applications to organizational research. Further, we present three key methodological issues that need to be considered with regard to such applications: (a) level of assessment, (b) intrinsic versus reflexive brain activity, and (c) the targeting of brain region(s) or networks. We also pose specific examples of how neuroscience may be applied to various topical areas in organizational behavior research at both individual and team levels.

Genetics and Organizational Behavior

Articles on the genetics of complex human behaviors and psychological traits provided in past volumes of journals published by Annual Reviews tended to adopt a pathological perspective and focused heavily on the disorders of human affect and behaviors. In our review, we expand our focus to the more general, nonclinical population, and in particular on the advances in the understanding of the genetics of attitudes and behaviors in work settings. We review the recent and emerging literature using a behavioral genetics approach to examine the influence of genetics on a wide array of important constructs in organizational behavior (OB) research and provide unique theoretical insights offered by this approach. We discuss practical implications and future research directions from a broad person-environment interactionist perspective by taking a genetics approach.