Clarifying personality measurement in industrial-organizational psychology: The utility of item response tree models

Self-report personality measures typically seek to capture overall tendencies of individuals' behavior but do not capture potentially useful information provided by within-person variability and differences in trait relevance. We propose an item-response theory approach to simultaneously capture estimates of trait levels, within-person variability, and differences in trait relevance. In contrast to previous research, we focus on intentional withinperson shifts in personality that we label adaptability. This approach was tested on a large sample (N = 983) using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Results suggested that these three aspects can be statistically distinguished from each other and provide incremental variance in related outcomes. The ability to simultaneously capture personality trait levels, adaptability, and traitedness with self-report measures would allow researchers to better understand the role of personality in the workplace.

Automated summary

The study proposes a new approach to personality measurement using item-response theory, which can simultaneously capture trait levels, within-person variability, and differences in trait relevance. Results indicate that these three aspects can be statistically distinguished and provide incremental variance in related outcomes. This method allows researchers to better understand the role of personality in the workplace.