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1
Situational Strength:
Past and Present
Reeshad S. Dalal
Conferinţa Asociația Psihologilor din România
November 12, 2021
Thank you for inviting me!
Overview of Today’s Talk
⚫ Introduction to the concept of situational strength
⚫ My empirical work on situational strength
– Situational strength at multiple levels of analysis:
occupation, organization, and job
– An unanticipated result, followed by a replication and
extension
– Other relevant research
– Practical implications
2
3
Situational Strength: Basic Idea
⚫ The situational “press” can be so strong that
everyone behaves similarly (strong
situation)
– If everyone behaves similarly due to the
situation, dispositions (e.g., personality) will not
predict behavior well
Situational Strength: Formal
Definition
⚫ Implicit or explicit cues provided by
external entities regarding the
desirability of potential behaviors (Meyer,
Dalal, & Hermida, 2010, p. 122)
4
5
An Example
What do people do at a...?
6
Situational Strength: History⚫ Idea expressed in a rudimentary form by
many famous social scientists:
– Max Weber (1922)o Bureaucracies provide a set of rationally
developed, rule-based procedures designed specifically to overcome the processing shortcomings of individuals
o …thereby increasing efficiency but also minimizing individual freedom of choice
– Carl Rogers (1954)o Traits necessary for success in therapy (e.g.,
openness to experience, internal locus of control) are “permitted to emerge” when situations provide psychological safety and freedom (p. 256)
– Stanley Milgram (1965, p. 74)o “One aim of the [obedience] research was to
study behavior in a strong situation of deep consequence to the participants” (p. 74)
7
Situational Strength: More History
⚫ But typically attributed to Walter Mischel
– Personality and Assessment (1968)
o Personality does not matter!
o Under what circumstances does personality matter?
8
Situational Strength:
Yet More History
⚫ Argued to be “the most important situational moderating variable” (Snyder & Ickes, 1985, p. 904)
– Personality predicts behavior more strongly in weak situations than in strong situations
⚫ But…
– This conclusion may have been “prematurely accepted” or even become a “dogma” (Cooper & Withey, 2009, p. 68, 70)
– Very little work in organizational settings
– That’s where I came in
Primary Hypothesis Tested in
Several Studies
9
Personality
_
Job Performance
Situational Strength
Stripped down to their core…
+
Example #1:
Occupation Level (O*NET)
10
Personality1. Conscientiousness
_
Job Performance1. Overall Performance
2. Task Performance
Situational Strength1. Constraints
2. Consequences
+
Meyer, Dalal, and Bonaccio (2009, Journal of Organizational Behavior)
Individual Employee Level
Occupation Level
11
⚫ Constraints on decision and action (7 items; α = 0.72; Obs. Range = 20-59)
– E.g.: “How much decision-making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?” (reverse-scored)
⚫ Consequences of decisions and actions (7 items; α = 0.79; Obs. Range = 43-85)
– E.g.: “How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?”
Situational Strength1. Constraints
2. Consequences
⚫ Examples of strongoccupations
– Airline pilots
– Nuclear equipment operation technicians
⚫ Examples of weakoccupations
– Poets, lyricists, and creative writers
– Personnel recruiters
12
⚫ Meta-analysis of single-occupation primary studies of conscientiousness-performance relationship
– Overall Performance
o K = 82, N = 10,943, r = 0.15, ρ = 0.19
o Q = 137.7 (p < 0.05), 90% CV = 0.08, 0.30
– Task Performance
o K = 33, N = 4,528, r = 0.13, ρ = 0.15
o Q = 74.1 (p < 0.05), 90% CV = 0.08, 0.30
– Results similar to those of previous meta-analyses
– Absence of homogeneity suggests study-level moderators
Personality1. Conscientiousness
Job Performance1. Overall Performance
2. Task Performance+
13
⚫ WLS regression
– Outcome is rC,P
– Predictor is Constraints or Consequences
14
β = -0.16, p < 0.05
15
β = -0.23, p < 0.05
16
β = -0.16, p < 0.10
17
β = -0.21, p < 0.05
Example #2:
Organization Level (Climate Strength)
18
Personality1. Conscientiousness
_
Job Performance1. Safety Compliance Behavior
2. Safety Helping Behavior
Situational Strength1. Safety Climate Strength
+
Lee & Dalal (2016, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology)
Individual Employee Level
Organization Level
⚫ Sample
– Level 1 N = 964, Level 2 N = 17
– 15% female, mean age = 38
– Predominantly manufacturing jobs across
various industries (e.g., food, heavy machinery,
chemicals) in Korea
⚫Measures
– Conscientiousness (Saucier’s, 1994, Minimarkers)
– Safety climate (Griffin & Neal, 2000)
o Climate Strength = -1*SD of within-org. scores
– Safety compliance behavior (Neal & Griffin, 2006)
– Safety helping behavior (Hofmann et al., 2003) 19
Even though we use a
dispersion model (Chan, 1998):
Median rwg(j) = 0.76, ICC (1) =
0.35, and ICC (2) = 0.97
Still, power to detect cross-
level interaction (Mathieu et
al., 2012) > 0.90
20
Personality1. Conscientiousness
_
Job Performance1. Safety Compliance Behavior
2. Safety Helping Behavior
Situational Strength1. Safety Climate Strength
+
Control Variables: Safety climate level (L2),
Organization size (L2), Number of respondents per
organization (L2), and Age (L1)
γ = -0.65, p < 0.01
21
Personality1. Conscientiousness
_
Job Performance1. Safety Compliance Behavior
2. Safety Helping Behavior
Situational Strength1. Safety Climate Strength
+
Control Variables: Safety climate level (L2),
Organization size (L2), Number of respondents per
organization (L2), and Age (L1)
γ = -0.53, p < 0.01
Example #3:
Job Level (Perceived Situational Strength)
22
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Study 4 of Meyer et al. (2014, Journal of Management)
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
⚫ Sample
– N = 588
– 47% female, mean age = 39
– Variety of job titles, industries, and locations
within the U.S.
⚫Measures
– Conscientiousness & Agreeableness (Goldberg’s,
1999, IPIP)
– Organizational Citizenship Behavior (Williams &
Anderson, 1991)
– Counterproductive Work Behavior (Bennett &
Robinson, 2000’s measure of Workplace Deviance
Behavior)23
⚫Measures (Continued)
– Situational Strength
o Original scale, validated in Studies 1-3 of this
paper (current study is Study 4)
o “Four Cs” (from Meyer et al., 2010, theory paper)
❑Clarity (α = 0.94; 7 items; e.g., “On this job, specific
information about work-related responsibilities is provided”)
❑Consistency (α = 0.91; 7 items; e.g., “On this job, different
sources of work information are always consistent with
each other”)
❑Constraints (α = 0.94; 7 items; e.g., “On this job, an
employee is prevented from making his/her own
decisions”)
❑Consequences (α = 0.89; 7 items; e.g., “On this job, an
employee’s decisions have extremely important
consequences for other people”)
24
25
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
+ for OCB
- for CWB
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.14, p < 0.05
- for OCB
+ for CWB
26
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.13, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
27
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.12, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
28
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.09, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
29
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.07, p < 0.10
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
30
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.10, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
31
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
β = -0.10, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
32
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Levelβ = -0.07, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
33
Expected (and Found) Shape/Form of Interaction
34
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.18, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
35
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.15, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
36
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.25, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
37
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.15, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
38
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.09, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
39
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.11, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
40
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.20, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
41
Personality1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
Job Performance1. Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior
Situational Strength1. Clarity
2. Consistency
3. Constraints
4. Consequences
Individual Employee Level
= Job Level
Oh no!!!
β = -0.11, p < 0.05
+ for OCB
- for CWB
- for OCB
+ for CWB
42
Expected Shape/Form of Interaction
Found Shape/Form of Interaction
Example #4:
Job Level (Perceived Situational Strength)
43
Personality (T1)1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
3. Emotional Stability
Job Performance (T2) 1. Counterproductive Work
Behavior –
Organizationally Directed
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior – Interpersonally
Directed
Task-Performance-Focused
Situational Strength (T1 & T2)1. Clarity
2. Constraints
Dalal et al. (2020, Journal of Business and Psychology)
Individual Employee
Level = Job Level
Negative
Affect
(T2)
Counterproductive-Work-Behavior-
Focused Situational Strength (T2)1. Organizationally Directed
2. Interpersonally Directed
_+
__
44
OK, let’s take it step-by-step!
⚫Goals:
– Replicate “anomalous”
counterproductive-work-behavior-related
findings from Meyer et al. (2014)
– Extend situational strength theory
45
⚫Basic Idea (Part 1):
46
Strong situation blocks one outlet for poor
performance (e.g., poor task performance)
Employees predisposed toward such behavior
experience “reactance” (negative affect)
They displace their low-performance predisposition to a
second outlet (e.g., counterproductive work behavior),
thereby intensifying low performance in the second domain…
…unless that second outlet, too, is blocked by
a strong situation
⚫Basic Idea (Part 2):– Need to match the (strong) situation to the
performance outcome
– The “4 Cs” model of situational strength (Meyer et al.,
2010, 2014) was developed with task performance in
mind
– It may generalize to organizational citizenship
behavior
o Going “above and beyond” expectations on work tasks
– But it does not generalize as far as
counterproductive work behavior
o And in fact is likely to have unintended consequences
o Therefore, need a different way to create strong situation
for counterproductive work behavior47
⚫ Sample
– N = 369
– 30% female, mean age = 33
– Variety of job titles, industries, and locations
within the U.S. (54%) and India (46%)
– Two timepoints, separated by a fortnight
⚫Measures
– Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, &
Emotional Stability (John et al.’s, 1991, BFI)
– Counterproductive Work Behavior (Bennett &
Robinson, 2000’s measure of Workplace Deviance
Behavior)
48
⚫Measures (Continued)
– Task-Performance-Focused Situational
Strength (Meyer et al., 2014)
o Clarity (T1 α = 0.93, T2 α = 0.95)
o Constraints (T1 α = 0.95, T2 α = 0.96)
o Did not measure Consistency or
Consequences
– Counterproductive-Work-Behavior-
Focused Situational Strength
o Extent to which the organization discourages
versus encourages counterproductive work
behavior (subsequently reverse-scored)
o α = 0.96 for both organizationally- and
interpersonally-directed forms49
50
Personality (T1)1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
3. Emotional Stability
Job Performance (T2) 1. Counterproductive Work
Behavior –
Organizationally Directed
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior – Interpersonally
Directed
Task-Performance-Focused
Situational Strength (T1 & T2)1. Clarity
2. Constraints
Negative
Affect
(T2)
Counterproductive-Work-Behavior-
Focused Situational Strength (T2)1. Organizationally Directed
2. Interpersonally Directed
_+
_+
_
When examining only counterproductive-work-behavior-
focused situational strength…
We expect the “typical” form of interaction for situational strength
_
51
Statistically significant interaction with expected shape/form
observed in all 6 cases (3 personality traits x 2 forms of
counterproductive work behavior and corresponding form of
situational strength)
52
Personality (T1)1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
3. Emotional Stability
Job Performance (T2) 1. Counterproductive Work
Behavior –
Organizationally Directed
2. Counterproductive Work
Behavior – Interpersonally
Directed
Task-Performance-Focused
Situational Strength (T1 & T2)1. Clarity
2. Constraints
Negative
Affect
(T2)
Counterproductive-Work-Behavior-
Focused Situational Strength (T2)1. Organizationally Directed
2. Interpersonally Directed
_+
__
When examining only task-performance-focused situational strength…
We expect to replicate the “anomalous” results from Meyer et al. (2014)
_
53
Expected shape/form of interaction observed in all 24 cases (3
personality traits x 2 forms of counterproductive work behavior x 2
forms of task-performance-focused situational strength x 2
timepoints)
Statistically significant in 15/24 cases (8/8 for Conscientiousness,
6/8 for Agreeableness, and 1/8 for Emotional Stability)
⚫Turning now to the moderated
mediation model…
– Mediated model with Stage 1 moderation
o Shape/form of interaction always as expected
o Generally statistically significant for
Conscientiousness and Agreeableness but
not for Emotional Stability
– Mediated model with Stage 2 moderation
o Shape/form of interaction always as expected
o Always statistically significant
54
⚫Exploratory analysis examining 3-way
interactions by country (U.S. vs. India)
– First stage:
o 3-way interactions never statistically
significant
o That is, 2-way interaction generalizes across
countries
– Second stage:
o 3-way interactions always statistically
significant (stronger in India) but 2-way
interactions also always remained significant
o That is, 2-way interaction is stronger in India
but remains significant in the U.S. 55
Other Related Research
⚫ Sources (antecedents) of situational strength – Alaybek et al. (2017, Frontiers in Psychology)
⚫ Restricted variance interactions – Keeler et al.
(2019, Journal of Applied Psychology)
⚫ “Personality strength” – Dalal et al. (2015, Journal of
Management) and Green et al. (2019, Journal of Management)
⚫ Examining the (mis)fit between actual and
preferred levels of situational strength – Kim et
al. (in progress)
56
Practical Implications
⚫ Personality and other non-cognitive
individual differences are not great
predictors of job applicants’ success in
jobs/occupations/organizations
characterized by high situational strength
⚫ Potential divergence in situational strength
facet scores as a function of organizational
hierarchy
– E.g., CEOs may experience high consequences
but low clarity, consistency, and constraints
57
Practical Implications (Continued)
⚫ Situational strength on a job can change
over time as a function of HR practices
– Telework and flexible work schedules may
decrease situational strength
– Training, socialization, performance monitoring,
and pay-for-performance may increase
situational strength
– To what extent are various practices within an
organization’s HRM system aligned vs.
misaligned?
58
Practical Implications (Continued)
⚫ Preferences for situational strength
– May differ
o Across employees: Employee X may want autonomy
whereas Employee Y may want structure
o Within an employee over time: An employee may want
more structure during the first few months on the job
and more autonomy when he or she is highly
experienced
– Misfit between actual and preferred levels of
situational strength may lead to stress,
dissatisfaction, and intent to quit
59
Questions?
60