The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Personality research in teams : A methodological reconsideration of the individual differences perspective

Author

  • Rebecka Persson

Summary, in English

The aim of this doctoral dissertation was to investigate whether the application of personality in team research can
be performed so that the individual differences, that are typically studied in personality research, are maintained.
Two different approaches to apply personality to team research, without changing the unit of study from individuals
to teams, were suggested and demonstrated with example data. Personality in individuals was related to team
process perceptions in individuals, to evaluate construct overlap. Personality in individuals was also related to team
outcomes by team role subgroups of individuals. Team role subgroups were additionally used to study if individual
differences are useful when we study team processes. The different units of analysis in personality- and team
research were discussed in relation to the dimension of data that is about persons or entities (Cattell, 1952).
In Study 1, we studied whether team process perceptions of individuals had relationships with personality traits.
Furthermore, we addressed how such construct content overlaps may affect team level relationships. It was
suggested that personality traits be applied at the individual level in team process research, instead of at the team
level.
In Study 2 I addressed the possibility to relate individual level personality to team level outcomes, by dividing the
sample of individuals into team role subgroups. It was illustrated how team data must be restructured to enable
analysis. Interaction effects were suggested as a means of addressing interdependence in teams.
With Study 3, my aim was to investigate whether the individual level variability of team processes would be
meaningful to understand team processes. I used team role subgroups to show how we can evaluate whether team
processes develop differently in team members of same teams.
The method in common to the three studies was that individuals were studied across teams, instead of within or
between teams, yet in relation to the team structure of data.

Publishing year

2022

Language

English

Document type

Dissertation

Publisher

Lund University

Topic

  • Psychology

Keywords

  • Personlaity
  • teams
  • individual differences
  • methods
  • psychological mesaurement
  • multilevel modeling
  • applied psychology

Status

Published

Supervisor

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978-91-8039-142-9
  • ISBN: 978-91-8039-141-2

Defence date

10 February 2022

Defence time

13:00

Defence place

Edens hörsal, Allhelgona kyrkogata 14, Lund

Opponent

  • Jonas W. B. Lang (Associate Professor)