What if some people just do not like science? How personality traits relate to attitudes toward science and technology

As societal discussion on the public opinion of science and technology ignites over and over again, understanding where such opinions are rooted is increasingly relevant. A handful of prior studies have suggested personality traits as a root of science and technology attitudes. However, these report mixed findings, and employ small student or convenience samples. This leaves considerable uncertainty regarding personality traits' relation to attitudes toward science and technology. If in fact stable psychological predispositions play a role, this has considerable implications for science policy and science communication. This article investigates the relationship between the big five personality traits and science attitudes in Germany and the Netherlands. Findings indicate that personality traits are related to science attitudes but only very weakly so, among them openness to experience and negative emotionality are most notably related to science attitudes, whereas extraversion, in contrast to prior studies, shows no relation to science and technology attitudes.

Assessing Academics’ Third Mission Engagement by Individual and Organisational Predictors

In recent years, the coming of the entrepreneurial university has brought about a third role in academia, which involves greater visible exchange of academics with society and industry. In this paper, the authors investigate to what extent individual and organisational factors influence the propensity of academics to engage in different types of Third Mission (TM) activities. This study is based on a large-scale survey of academics in Iceland regarding engagement in socio-economic activities. The results indicate that “soft” activities such as community activities and external teaching and training can be better predicted by individual factors, while hard activities such as applied contract research and commercialisation can be better predicted by organisational factors. Overall, academics are most likely to participate in community-related activities. Hereby, academics from the STEM and health disciplines, with work experience outside of academia and who are open to new experiences are more likely to be engaged in applied contract research and commercialisation. Academics belonging to disciplines other than STEM and health sciences and those that on an average publish more peer-reviewed articles are more likely to disseminate their knowledge to a wider audience outside of academia through public science communication. Gender, rank, and teaching do not affect TM participation, but openness, performance, or discipline do.

Fostering students' creative thinking skills by means of a one-year creativity training program

Creative thinking is among the most sought-after life and work skills in the 21st century. The demand for creativity, however, exceeds the degree to which it is available and developed. The current project aimed to test the effectiveness of a one-year creativity training program for higher education. The creativity of students following the training was measured before, halfway, and after the training. In addition to the within-subjects comparison across time, performance was compared to a matched control group. At each of the measurement points, different versions of seven well-validated creativity tasks (capturing divergent and convergent creative thinking skills) were employed. The creativity training increased students' ideation skills and, more importantly their cognitive flexibility. However, no difference in originality was observed. Finally, an increase in performance was observed for one of the convergent creativity tasks, the Remote Associate Test. Implications for educational settings and directions for future research are discussed.

Understanding adaptive information seeking in the context of microblogging from the cognitive switching perspective

Drawing on adaptive structuration theory and cognitive switching theory, this study develops a research model exploring the effects of cognitive switching stimuli on adaptive information seeking and the moderating effects of information need and personal innovativeness in information technologies. Data collected from microblogging users were used to test the model. The findings suggest that other people’s use, discrepancies, and deliberate initiatives each have significant positive effects on trying new features to seek information. Other people’s use which essentially reflects the nature of learning from observing other people is the most important determinant. Meanwhile, information need and personal innovativeness in IT each positively moderate the effect of other people’s use on trying new features to seek information. This study contributes to theory by examining adaptive information seeking in the context of microblogging which has been largely overlooked by prior literature. The findings and more implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The Value of Scientific Knowledge Dissemination for Scientists—A Value Capture Perspective

Scientific knowledge dissemination is necessary to collaboratively develop solutions to today’s challenges among scientific, public, and commercial actors. Building on this, recent concepts (e.g., Third Mission) discuss the role and value of different dissemination mechanisms for increasing societal impact. However, the value individual scientists receive in exchange for disseminating knowledge differs across these mechanisms, which, consequently, affects their selection. So far, value capture mechanisms have mainly been described as appropriating monetary rewards in exchange for scientists’ knowledge (e.g., patenting). However, most knowledge dissemination activities in science do not directly result in capturing monetary value (e.g., social engagement). By taking a value capture perspective, this article conceptualizes and explores how individual scientists capture value from disseminating their knowledge. Results from our qualitative study indicate that scientists’ value capture consists of a measureable objective part (e.g., career promotion) and a still unconsidered subjective part (e.g., social recognition), which is perceived as valuable due to scientists’ needs. By advancing our understanding of value capture in science, scientists’ selection of dissemination mechanisms can be incentivized to increase both the value captured by themselves and society. Hence, policy makers and university managers can contribute to overcoming institutional and ecosystem barriers and foster scientists’ engagement with society.

Correcting a Longstanding Misconception about Social Roles and Personality: A Case Study in the Psychology of Science

Psychologists often argue that sex roles direct different types of socializing behaviors toward males and females and that this differential treatment, in turn, leads to sex differences in personality. Widely cited in support of this thesis has been the Fels longitudinal study finding that dependency and passivity are stable from childhood to adulthood for females only and aggressiveness and sexuality for males only. The present article explains why the type of sex differences in personality stability cited by Fels researchers actually contradicts the view that sex role expectations cause these differences. The report suggests ways in which social learning theory, the dominant developmental paradigm of the 1960s, may have contributed to the misinterpretation of the Fels data and how the rise of social constructivism maintained this misinterpretation for decades. The article concludes by correcting misconceptions about biology and personality stability and by explaining why theories that incorporate biology are not only more adequate than social constructivism but also more effective in bringing about the changes in society that constructivists desire.

Understanding the Taiwan Indigenous Psychology Movement

A five-part model of the development of indigenous psychology movements was proposed from a sociology of science perspective, two parts of which, the local relevance path and the conditions of work path, were examined in the context of the Taiwan Indigenous Psychology Movement (TIPM). The Local Relevance Path focuses on indigenous movements’ concerns with the cultural relevance of Western psychology, the validity of positivist epistemology and methodology, and the appropriateness of English-language communication. The Conditions of Work Path places the research activities and career strategies of non-Western psychologists in the context of their available resources and career contingencies. A study of 103 proponents and opponents of the TIPM provided support for both models, particularly in respondents’ dissatisfaction with positivist epistemology and their research resources. The TIPM is well known in Taiwan and garners moderate support, but strong divisions were found among subdisciplines and between locally versus overseas-educated respondents on most measures. Issues of qualitative versus quantitative methods, the influence of the Taiwanese cultural renaissance, and the validity of outsider analyses of indigenous movements are discussed.

Scientists' personality, values, and well-being

Background

Scientists play an important role in modern society. However, only a small number of their psychological characteristics, such as personality traits, have been investigated; hence, further investigation is required.

Results

In this study, scientists (n = 24) and non-scientist controls (n = 26) were assessed with respect to their five-factor personality traits, 10 basic values, and subjective well-being (subjective happiness and sense of purpose in life). Compared with the non-scientist control group and with normative data of laypeople, the scientists consistently exhibited greater openness (i.e., traits related to curiosity and intelligence), self-direction (i.e., values related to the pursuit of curiosity, creativity, and autonomous action), happiness, and sense of purpose in life.

Conclusions

These data indicate that scientists possess personality traits and values suitable for a career in science, from which they also derive subjective well-being.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-2225-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

MODELLING THE LINK BETWEEN LEADER–MEMBER EXCHANGE AND INDIVIDUAL INNOVATION IN R&D

This study models individual characteristics, leadership, and organisational support in relationship to individual innovation in highly complex research and development (R&D) settings. The study reports on a survey of 166 R&D team members, 43 team leaders, and 10 department managers in five Swedish industrial organisations. Individual innovation was measured using four indicators (new products, new patent applications, scientific publications, and other publications) and team leaders’ ratings of innovative work behaviour. Individuals’ inclination to take personal initiative predicted individual innovation, while intrinsic motivation and leadership (conceptualised by leader–member exchange (LMX) theory) did not. A mediating effect was found whereby LMX was associated with individual innovation through the personal initiative of team members. Organisational support moderated the relationship between LMX and individual initiative. High organisational support strengthened the relationship.

Differences in Biases and Compensatory Strategies Across Discipline, Rank, and Gender Among University Academics

The study of ethical behavior and ethical decision making is of increasing importance in many fields, and there is a growing literature addressing the issue. However, research examining differences in ethical decision making across fields and levels of experience is limited. In the present study, biases that undermine ethical decision making and compensatory strategies that may aid ethical decision making were identified in a series of interviews with 63 faculty members across six academic fields (e.g., biological sciences, health sciences, social sciences) and three levels of rank (assistant professor, associate professor, and full professor) as well as across gender. The degree to which certain biases and compensatory strategies were used in justifications for responses to ethical situations was compared across fields, level of experience, and gender. Major differences were found across fields for several biases and compensatory strategies, including biases and compensatory strategies related to use of professional field principles and field-specific guidelines. Furthermore, full professors tend to differ greatly from assistant and associate professors on a number of constructs, and there were differences in the consistency with which biases and compensatory strategies were displayed within these various groups. Implications of these findings for ethics training and future research are discussed.

Creativity-the unconscious foundations of the incubation period

Creativity is one of the most important assets we have to navigate through the fast changing world of the 21st century. Anecdotal accounts of creative individuals suggest that oftentimes, creative discoveries result from a process whereby initial conscious thought is followed by a period during which one refrains from task-related conscious thought. For example, one may spend an embarrassing amount of time thinking about a problem when the solution suddenly pops into consciousness while taking a shower. Not only creative individuals but also traditional theories of creativity have put a lot of emphasis on this incubation stage in creative thinking. The aim of the present article is twofold. First, an overview of the domain of incubation and creativity is provided by reviewing and discussing studies on incubation, mind-wandering, and sleep. Second, the causes of incubation effects are discussed. Previously, little attention has been paid to the causes of incubation effects and most findings do not really speak to whether the effects should be explained by unconscious processes or merely by consequences of a period of distraction. In the latter case, there is no need to assume active unconscious processes. The findings discussed in the current article support the idea that it is not merely the absence of conscious thought that drives incubation effects, but that during an incubation period unconscious processes contribute to creative thinking. Finally, practical implications and directions for future research will be discussed.

Bibliographic processes and products, and a bibliography of the published primary-source works of B. F. Skinner

This paper introduces the nature and practice of bibliography (e.g., definition, history, and genres); it reviews the extant B. F. Skinner bibliographies (1958 to 2001); and it describes the methods used in constructing a new, comprehensive, and corrected bibliography of Skinner's primary-source published works. The bibliography includes 291 items from across 16 categories of publications (e.g., books, articles, chapters, monographs, book reviews, manuals, encyclopedia entries, letters to the editor) and lists them in chronological order (1930 to 1999). A discussion section addresses the bibliography's limitations, how it might be enlarged and expanded, its value for qualitative and quantitative historical inquiry, and the beginnings of a "Skinner industry."

Motion as manipulation: implementation of force-motion analogies by event-file binding and action planning

Tool-improvisation analogies are structure-mapping inferences implemented, in many species, by event-file binding and pre-motor action planning. These processes act on multi-modal representations of currently perceived situations and eventuate in motor acts that can be directly evaluated for success or failure; they employ implicit representations of force-motion relations encoded by the pre-motor system and do not depend on explicit, language-like representations of relational concepts. A detailed reconstruction of the analogical reasoning steps involved in Rutherford's and Bohr's development of the first quantized-orbit model of atomic structure is used to show that human force-motion analogies can in general be implemented by these mechanisms. This event-file manipulation model of the implementation of force-motion analogies is distinguished from the standard view that structure-mapping analogies require the manipulation of explicit, language-like representations of relational concepts.

Creativity and Ethics: The Relationship of Creative and Ethical Problem-Solving

Students of creativity have long been interested in the relationship between creativity and deviant behaviors such as criminality, mental disease, and unethical behavior. In the present study we wished to examine the relationship between creative thinking skills and ethical decision-making among scientists. Accordingly, 258 doctoral students in the health, biological, and social sciences were asked to complete a measure of creative processing skills (e.g., problem definition, conceptual combination, idea generation) and a measure of ethical decision-making examining four domains, data management, study conduct, professional practices, and business practices. It was found that ethical decision-making in all four of these areas was related to creative problem-solving processes with late cycle processes (e.g., idea generation and solution monitoring) proving particularly important. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between creative and deviant thought are discussed.

Cross-Field Differences in Creative Problem-Solving Skills: A Comparison of Health, Biological, and Social Sciences

In the present study, 258 doctoral students working in the health, biological, and social sciences were asked to solve a series of field-relevant problems calling for creative thought. Proposed solutions to these problems were scored with respect to critical creative thinking skills such as problem definition, conceptual combination, and idea generation. Results indicated that health, biological, and social scientists differed with respect to their skill in executing various operations, or processes, involved in creative thought. Interestingly, no differences were observed as a function of the students' level of experience. The implications of these findings for understanding cross-field, and cross-experience level, differences in creative thought are discussed.

Applying the Psychology of Science to the Science of Psychology: Can Psychologists Use Psychological Science to Enhance Psychology as a Science?

Added to the already tremendous diversity of subdisciplines of psychological science is the psychology of science. Although research on the psychology of science began in 1874, the field has seen a substantial expansion of activity in recent years. One particular subset of this research literature has special importance: namely, inquiries into the psychology of doing great science. These investigations may be assigned into four groups: cognitive, differential, developmental, and social. Each of these deal with critical questions that can, if answered, contribute directly to the improvement of psychology as a science. Potential applications include (a) the identification of scientific talent in psychology, (b) the education of future investigators in psychological science, and (c) the evaluation of psychology's progress as a scientific endeavor.

Scientific Problem Solving in a Virtual Laboratory: A Comparison Between Individuals and Pairs

This study compared individuals with pairs in a scientific problem-solving task. Participants interacted with a virtual psychological laboratory called Virtue to reason about a visual search theory. To this end, they created hypotheses, designed experiments, and analyzed and interpreted the results of their experiments in order to discover which of five possible factors affected the visual search process. Before and after their interaction with Virtue, participants took a test measuring theoretical and methodological knowledge. In addition, process data reflecting participants’ experimental activities and verbal data were collected. The results showed a significant but equal increase in knowledge for both groups. We found differences between individuals and pairs in the evaluation of hypotheses in the process data, and in descriptive and explanatory statements in the verbal data. Interacting with Virtue helped all students improve their domain-specific and domain-general psychological knowledge.

Scientific Talent, Training, and Performance: Intellect, Personality, and Genetic Endowment

Despite over a century of research, psychologists have still not established scientific talent as an empirically demonstrable phenomenon. To help solve this problem, a talent definition was first proposed that provided the basis for three quantitative estimators of criterion heritability that can be applied to meta-analytic and behavior genetic research concerning the intellectual and personality predictors of scientific training and performance. After specifying the ideal data requirements for the application of the three estimators, the procedures were applied to previously published results. Personality traits were illustrated with the use of the California Psychological Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire with respect to two criteria (scientists versus nonscientists and creative scientists versus less creative scientists) and intellectual traits with the use of the Miller Analogies Test with respect to seven criteria (graduate grade-point average, faculty ratings, comprehensive examination scores, degree attainment, research productivity, etc.). The outcome provides approximate, lower-bound estimates of the genetic contribution to scientific training and performance. Subsequent discussion concerns what future research is necessary for a more complete understanding of scientific talent as an empirical phenomenon.

A Study of the Logic of Empirical Arguments in Psychological Research: “The Automaticity of Social Behavior” as a Case Study

This article describes the logical structure of one type of empirical argument commonly used in psychological research. A characteristic flaw in its application is identified and illustrated with an analysis of a number of experiments. Intraindividual as well as social factors that contribute to the flaw's occurrence are discussed. The operation of the social factor is explored with an analysis of citation patterns in the literature. The citation analysis reveals the degree to which the flaw goes unnoticed, in deference to building a consensus of support for broad theoretical claims. The article closes with an outline of the decisions involved in choosing a research strategy and indicates the epistemic consequences of these choices.

How Development and Personality Influence Scientific Thought, Interest, and Achievement

In the present article, I review and summarize two subdisciplines of the psychology of science, namely development and personality. In the first section concerning developmental psychology of science, I review three major developmental topics: 1) the literature on the developmental and familial influences behind scientific interest and scientific talent (e.g., birth-order and theory acceptance, immigrant status and scientific talent); 2) gender and scientific interest and talent; and lastly, 3) age and scientific interest and productivity. In the second section concerning personality psychology of science, I organize the review around four major topics: 1) which traits make scientific interest in general more likely; 2) which traits make interest in specific domains of science more likely (especially social and physical science); 3) which traits make different theoretical orientations more likely; and finally, 4) which traits make scientific achievement and creativity more likely. From the empirical evidence reviewed, it is quite clear that developmental and personality factors impact directly and indirectly scientific thought, interest, and achievement.

Why the Studies of Science Need a Psychology of Science

As I have argued elsewhere ( Feist, 2006a ; Feist & Gorman, 1998 ), the psychology of science is a discipline that incorporates all the major subdisciplines in psychology, in particular the neuroscientific, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social perspectives. The empirical investigations that psychologists have contributed to the study of scientific thought, interest, and achievement have substantially altered and added to our understanding of the nature of science. Moreover, psychologists of science bring unique methodological and theoretical tools to the studies of science. Only psychologists, for instance, can bring a true experimental design to the study of scientific thought and behavior. The contributions by Simonton, Gorman, Brewer and Schommer-Aikins, Runyan, and myself in this current special issue exemplify some of uniqueness and diversity that psychology has to offer the studies of science.

Psychobiography and the Psychology of Science: Understanding Relations between the Life and Work of Individual Psychologists

This paper presents initial interpretive hypotheses about connections between the life and work of a number of eminent psychologists: Sigmund Freud, Karen Horney, Henry Murray, B. F. Skinner, and Paul Meehl. Each of these interpretations can be critically evaluated, revised and improved, leading to incrementally more adequate understanding of individual lives, interacting with advances in psychological theory and research. Psychobiographical studies of individual scientists are a valuable complement to experimental and correlational lines of research in the psychology of science. In the “Science Wars” of the 1990s, there was an apparent conflict between scientists and those in social studies of science. The psychology of science can contribute to this debate, exploring the ways in which scientific inquiry, social-political worlds, and personal-experiential processes construct each other over time.

Scientific and Technological Thinking

Studies of scientific and technological thinking can be organized via a taxonomy of methodological approaches that reveal areas for further study. Dunbar provides such a taxonomy, using biological methods like in vivo and in vitro as examples. In vitro corresponds to laboratory simulations of scientific thinking; In Vivo corresponds to field studies of actual scientists and inventors. Dunbar expands this taxonomy to incorporate historical studies of scientists and inventors, computer simulation and the possibility of neurological studies. These methods can and should be combined: Computational simulations are frequently based on historical case-studies, for example. In this article, a wide range of studies are classified according to this taxonomy, and their main points summarized. Consideration is also given to studies of scientific and technological thinking in collaborative dyads and teams. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

The Past and Future of the Psychology of Science

As the British statesman Edmund Burke once wrote, “Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.” (Not to be confused with George Santana's comment: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”). The fact is that the history of the psychology of science has been a struggle for existence. If we wish to move away from struggle and toward a comfortable existence, then we need to learn lessons from the other disciplines that successfully have made the transition from fledgling field to fully established scientific discipline. The history, philosophy, and sociology of science are just such established disciplines.

Family background and genius II: Nobel laureates in science

OBJECTIVE

In a previous study of literary creative achievement, we presented evidence refuting the still-influential statistical studies of Frances Galton on the inheritance of genius and also described a family background constellation of creativity. This study aims to assess empirically the hereditary transmission hypothesis with respect to creative achievement in the natural sciences.

METHODS

Family background data were collected on 435 of all 488 Nobel laureates in chemistry, physics, and medicine and physiology, from 1901 through 2003. These were compared with a matching group of 548 eminent nonscientists for incidence of occupational inheritance (that is, same parent-offspring occupations) and with 560 high-IQ nonprizewinners for predominant type of occupation.

RESULTS

The incidence of one or both parents having the same occupation was only 2% for science Nobel laureates but 20% for eminent nonscientists (P < 0.001). The predominant family background constellation (63%) for science Nobel laureates consisted of the same-sex parent either having a performance-equivalent occupation involving applied science, technology, or a natural-world focus and skills (P < 0.001, compared with the matching group) or having an unrelated occupation with unfulfilled scientific interests and wishes for creative expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Nobel laureates in the natural sciences do not manifest direct inheritance of creativity from their parents; instead, congruent-sex parents are predominantly in applied or performance-equivalent occupations, with unfulfilled creative and scientific wishes. Early developmental influences on motivation involving identification and competition with the congruent-sex parent are suggested.