Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

Intelligence, personality, and management level.
Which is a better determinant of achieving senior positions in management: ability or personality? In this study, over 50,000 adults, in very different organizations, completed a multidimensional intelligence test (General Intelligence Assessment), and a subsample (n = 2,368) also completed a personality test (High Potential Traits Inventory). They specified their age (modal 31 years), sex (34% female), and management level (ML; junior 34%, middle 39%, senior executive 27%). People at the most senior ML scored highest on all IQ subtests, particularly word meaning and number speed, but not perceptual speed. Regressions indicated that age, as expected, was the best predictor of ML but that gender, as well as word meaning and number score, was also significantly related to ML. Following correlations, which showed four traits (particularly ambiguity tolerance and conscientiousness) were related to ML, we performed regressions (hierarchical and ordinal logistic) to investigate to what extent there was incremental validity of personality over intelligence, and intelligence over personality, in explaining ML, controlling first for sex and age. Results suggested that personality added 4% incremental variance over intelligence, but the latter added less than 1% over the former. Traits ambiguity acceptance, risk approach, and conscientiousness were all significant predictors of ML. Limitations of various aspects of this study and implications for interventions are considered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Evaluating a novel method of scoring multirater assessments of leader competencies.
In leadership development, 360 assessments are multirater instruments in which leaders rate themselves on leadership competencies and are assessed by several raters (e.g., peers, direct reports, bosses). Such assessment methods afford valuable opportunities for both leaders and practitioners alike; however, they also present thorny challenges, including those related to scoring. We propose a Latent Approximation Method (LAM) for scoring 360s that is based on recent modeling advances for multirater data and provide a preliminary empirical evaluation of that method. To an international sample of nearly 17,000 leaders and nearly 150,000 raters, we applied LAM scoring to a 360 measure of several leadership competencies. We examined associations among LAM scores, explored associations between LAM scores and standard averaged scores, and evaluated the incremental predictive utility that LAM scores bring (beyond standard scores) to the prediction of criterion variables. Replicating across subsamples, results revealed considerable overlap between LAM scores and standard scores. Moreover, LAM scores provided significant but small incremental predictive power over Standard Averaging Method scores. These results indicate limited value of LAM scoring for practitioners, and we discuss the implications of these findings for both research and applications using 360 assessments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Intervention-related correlated change between personality traits and self-esteem.
A growing body of research suggests that personality traits can be changed through psychological interventions, but it is unclear whether and to what extent these trait changes are accompanied by changes in self-esteem. The present study examined the link between changes in personality traits and self-esteem during a coaching intervention for personality change. We used data (N = 1,179) from a 3-month digital coaching intervention study with three measurement occasions (pretest, posttest, follow-up) across 6 months and focused on the three largest intervention groups, which included participants who wanted to decrease negative emotionality (n = 406), increase extraversion (n = 375), or increase conscientiousness (n = 398). Accordingly, we focused on the associations between self-esteem and the three personality traits that were targeted in the intervention groups. The main results are as follows: First, self-esteem increased on average for those participants who wanted to decrease their negative emotionality or increase their extraversion. Second, the rates of change in personality traits and self-esteem were strongly associated with each other, most notably between negative emotionality and self-esteem. Third, these associations were similar across all three intervention groups and also between the intervention and postintervention phase of the study, indicating a more general pattern of correlated change. We discuss the potential relevance of correlated change for consulting research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Early intervention and return-to-work procedures for a Navy crew after shipwreck—Using modified prolonged exposure to reestablish operational capacity.
The present case study describes principles for immediate personnel care and return-to-work procedures for large groups of operational personnel following critical incidents as practiced in the Royal Norwegian Navy. Practice is exemplified in a rendering of the psychosocial intervention for the crew of frigate His Norwegian Majesty’s Ship Helge Ingstad following a maritime collision leading to shipwreck and total loss of vessel. Interventions included psychological first aid, group sessions, and return to operational duty by way of exposure training; a group-based approach to modified prolonged exposure, led by the affected crew leadership themselves, was used. Exposure training started 6 days after the accident aboard a similar frigate, included all 137 crew members and was done in a stepwise manner leading back to full operational duty. Screening results at 3 weeks postincident showed high satisfaction with procedures and received care, and high belief among crew members in personal ability to master future critical incidents, indicating acceptability and compliance with intervention and reestablished professional self-efficacy, respectively. Several sources presented indicate positive intervention outcomes. Principles for personnel care and return-to-work procedures are transferable to other incidents, organizations, and occupations. Research on personnel care and return-to-work procedures is needed, because several dimensions of intervention lack direct empirical support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Consulting Psychology Journal - Vol 76, Iss 4