A recent IZA discussion paper by David L. Dickinson and David Masclet investigates how personality traits and other observable characteristics, such as religiosity or a history of time in prison, shape behaviors critical to workplace settings, including honesty and task effort. Through two online experiments, the researchers explored whether these factors reliably predict workplace-relevant outcomes.
The first experiment contrasted individuals with “dark” personality traits, such as narcissism and psychopathy, with those displaying “light” traits, like humanism and faith in humanity. Results showed that individuals with darker traits were more likely to act dishonestly in an honesty task and were less productive in an effort task compared to their lighter counterparts. These findings highlight the value of personality assessments in identifying tendencies that may affect workplace performance.
The second experiment examined two commonly observed signals: regular participation in religious activities and a history of time in prison. It revealed that individuals with “ex-convict” status were more productive in the effort task than religious participants but were more likely to display dishonest behaviors in certain conditions. This nuanced finding challenges the interpretation of weak signals, demonstrating their predictive complexity.
The study concludes that both personality traits and weak signals can provide useful insights into workplace behaviors, but it emphasizes the importance of recognizing their limitations. While dark personality traits and a history of time in prison were linked to undesirable behaviors in some contexts, they also indicated strengths in some instances, such as with ex-convicts being more productive in a simple effort task than religious types. These findings offer a framework for refining recruitment and workforce management strategies.