psychological aspects and measurement of john f. rauthmann leopold-franzens university of innsbruck,...

Psychological Aspects

and Measurement of

John F. Rauthmann

Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck, Austria

24.05.2010, Helsinki (Finland)

Content

[1] What is Systems Intelligence (SI)? SI by Hämäläinen and Saarinen (2004, 2006, 2008)

[2] How conceptualize SI psychologically? Proposing a psychological perspective on SI

[3] How measure SI psychologically? Proposing a scale to measure Trait-SI

[4] What to do with a psychological perspective on SI? Discussion of prospects with a psychological perspective on SI

1

What is Systems Intelligence?

2

Perception-SI: Seeing oneself in the system

► Seeing oneself, one’s roles, and one’s behaviour in a system

► Seeing through the eyes of others

► Contextual awareness

Cognition-SI: Thinking systems intelligently

► Identifying and envisioning productive ways of behaviour for oneself in a system

► Self- and meta-reflection

► Deep thoughts

Action-SI: Managing and sustaining systems intelligent behaviour

► Exercising productive ways of behaviour in a system

► Continuing and fostering systems intelligent behaviour in the long run

A psychological conceptualization of SI

3

What is Systems Intelligence psychologically?

Different construct types in personality psychology:

Traits

Motives

Abilities and competencies

Styles

► Systems Intelligence can be conceptualized differently within personality psychology.

► For now: Ability-SI and Trait-SI


4

Ability-SI: Conceptualizing SI as an intelligence

Four basic questions:

(1) What is “intelligence”?

(2) Which “intelligences” are there?

(3) How can SI be conceptualized as an “intelligence”?

(4) Is SI an “intelligence”?


5

Ability-SI: What is “intelligence”?

► Many different definitions of “intelligence” within psychology

► No clear consensus on what exactly “intelligence” is

Neisser et al. (1998, p. 77):

Understanding complex ideas

Adapting flexibly to the environment

Learning from experiences

Engaging into various forms of reasoning

Overcoming obstacles by taking thought


6

Ability-SI: Which “intelligences” are there?

► Maybe not be just one “intelligence”, but in fact many

► No clear consensus on how many “intelligences” there are and which they are

Common intelligences:

Emotional Intelligence

Social Intelligence

Practical Intelligence

Successful Intelligence

Gardner’s multiple intelligences


7

Ability-SI: How can SI be conceptualized as an intelligence?

► Different conceptualizations of “intelligence” in psychological literature

► No clear consensus on the structure of “intelligence”

Common intelligence models:

Spearman: Two factor theory (g and s)

Thurstone: Primary mental abilities (v, w, n, s, m, p, r/i)

Cattell: Fluid and crystallised intelligence

Guilford: Structure of intellect

Carroll: Three stratum theory


8


Stratum III (General): General intelligence factor (g-factor)

Stratum II (Broad): Fluid intelligence, crystallised intelligence,general memory and learning, broad visual perception, broad auditory perception, broad retrieval ability, broad cognitive speediness and processing speed

Stratum I (Narrow): 69 narrow abilities, each related to a specific Stratum II domain

Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of cognitive abilities (CHC theory) Amalgamation of two similar theories about the content and structure of human cognitive abilitiesGf-Gc theory (Cattell, 1941; Horn 1965) + Three Stratum Theory (Carroll, 1993)


9


Implications of intelligence research for SI:

Distinction between intra- and interpersonal aspects

Different ability domains: cognition, affect/emotion – motivation – regulation, behavior

Distinctions between contents, operations, and outputs

Hierarchical structure of SI (g- and s-factors) with different strata

► SI as a multidimensional and multifaceted construct

► SI as incorporating different intelligence aspects (e.g., creativity, meta-cognitive components, etc.)


10


Stratum I: Global undifferentiated SI-factor

Stratum II: Fluid and crystallised global SI-factors

Stratum III: Specialized SI-abilities

s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8

gf gc

g


8

Ability-SI: Is SI an “intelligence”?

Gardner’s eight criteria for an “intelligence”:

Gardner’s intelligence criteria Currently met by SI?

Specialised brain areas

Exceptional individuals

Set of core operations ()

Distinctive development history

Evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility ()

Support from experimental psychological tasks

Psychometric findings ()

Susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system

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4

Trait-SI: Conceptualizing SI as a trait

Four basic questions:

(1) What is a “trait”?

(2) Which debates revolving around traits are there in personality psychology?

(3) How can SI be conceptualized as a “trait”?

(4) How should we measure Trait-SI?

12


4

Trait-SI: What is a “trait”?

Trait:

Enduring, stable, consistent

General description

Mental and/or behavioral characteristics

State:

Unstable, momentary, inconsistent

► Personality psychology aims at assessing (measuring) stable traits, not states.

13


4

Trait-SI: Which debates are (were) there in personality psychology?

Four interrelated controversies:

Trait vs. state

Person vs. Situation

Structure vs. Process

Nomothetic vs. Idiographic

Implications:

Different perspectives on the human condition or how we think, feel, and act in situations

“False” dichotomisation of person vs. situation variables (cf. interactional systems)14

4

Controversy Positions

Trait vs. State

Trait: stable, long-term, enduring characteristics that describe people in generalmostly seen as (more or less central) person characteristics

State: unstable, short-term, momentary conditions of people that can also be atypical for them mostly seen as (more or less random) fluctuations

Person vs. Situation

Person: existence and meaningfulness of traits and personalitybehavioural consistency (stability)dominance of traits in behaviour (internal determinism)

Situation:non-existence and non-meaningfulness of traits and personalitybehavioural inconsistency (instability)dominance of situations in behaviour (external determinism)

Structure vs. Process

Structure: traits as descriptive elements or fixed dimensions that are an accumulation of the reliable elements of states or within-person variabilitystates as capricious or error and thus neglected (or avaraged out)

Process / Dynamics: traits as dynamic processes that also integrate states and within-person variability over different situations and time states as part of a dispositional density distribution of a trait dimension (with mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis)

Nomothetic vs. Idiographic

Nomothetic: general approach to individuals differing in certain parametersinterindividual viewing point between-person variability

Idiographic: person-centred approach to a unique individualintraindividual viewing point within-person variability and stability 15


4

Trait-SI: How can SI be conceptualized as a “trait”?

Different highlighted aspects:

Intertwinement of “person” and “situation”

Emphasis on processes / dynamics and (emergent) structures

Implications:

Focus on person and context variables

Systemic-synergetic perspective on personality and traits

Flexible usage of different paradigms and methodology

Assessment of individual differences in SI16


4

Trait-SI: How measure SI?

Different types of types of data:

Type Data Examples Best for

L-dataassessment through others

peer-ratings behavioural observation (B-data) videotaping and audio recording autobiography, life history, CV, handwritings, etc.

Trait-SIAbility-SI

Q-datasubjective self-report and self-evaluation

questionnaires also: standardised interviews

Trait-SI

T-data objectives measures

physiological tests intelligence tests performance tests

Ability-SI

17

A psychological measurement of SI

4

The Trait-SI Scale (TSIS): Item generation

Item content and item generation (Hämäläinen & Saarinen, 2004, 2007, 2008):

Perceptional: Perceiving oneself and reciprocal influences in systems

Cognitive and meta-cognitive: Thinking and reflecting within systems

Emotional and motivational: Intuitively guided actions, empathy, motivation to persevere

Behavioural: productive behaviours

Response format: 5-point Likert scale (“0 – I totally disagree” to “4 – I totally agree”)

Result: 30 items related to Trait-SI aspects (e.g., “I exercise productive ways of influence within my surroundings”, “I perceive myself as part of a whole”)

18

A psychological measurement of SI

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The Trait-SI Scale (TSIS): The study

Methods Description

Procedure Online-study (30 – 40 minutes)

Participants

N = 408 students (LFUI)Austrian/German sample316 women (77.50%), 93 men (22.50%)mean age = 22.81 years (SD = 4.91; median = 21 years; range: 18 – 65 years)

Measures

Social Skills Inventory (Riggio, 1989)Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (Laux & Renner, 2002)Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965)Big Five Inventory – SOEP (Schupp & Gerlitz, 2008)Trait-SI Scale (Rauthmann, 2010)

Statistical analyses

Item statistics: M, SD, difficulties, item-scale correlations, etc.Reliability: Internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha)Factorial structure: Exploratory factor analyses Construct validity: Bivariate zero-order correlations

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4

Factors I II III IV

Effective systems handling (α = .85)

When confronted with complexity, I persevere until I have found a productive solution. .77 .14 –.08 –.08

I do not give up until I have achieved my goal. .70 .02 .03 –.14

I exercise productive ways of influence within my surroundings. .67 .06 .21 –.06

I am able to manage most of my everyday activities successfully. .65 –.06 –.07 .14

I usually have no problems dealing with difficult and complex problems when going them through step by step in my mind. .62 .05 –.22 .21

I can influence my surroundings, be they living or not. .52 .03 .09 .22

I tend to just do things right. .49 –.08 .13 .14

I usually cannot influence much in my surroundings. .46 –.20 .15 .33

My thinking is very action-oriented. .46 .09 .06 –.21

I sometimes have the feeling that there is not much what I can influence by my own actions. .40 –.16 .24 .21

I envision and identify productive ways of behaviour in my mind if confronted with complex problems. .40 .37 .07 .10

I can adapt to varying situations quite flexibly. .40 –.03 .03 .34

Systemic reflection (α = .72)

I often ponder on my thoughts, feelings, intentions, and actions. .08 .72 .07 –.02

I would describe my thinking as quite “complex” and “interwoven”. .13 .68 –.11 –.02

I am a very reflexive person. .13 .67 –.02 .09

I often think about my role in my surroundings. .00 .67 .19 –.08

I often ponder on others’ thoughts, feelings, intentions, and actions. –.14 .66 –.01 .20

I am not a very self-reflexive and thoughtful person. –.06 .27 .07 .19

Holistic systems perception (α = .86)

I feel as part of a bigger system. –.01 –.04 .89 –.11

I perceive myself as part of a whole. –.02 –.09 .87 –.05

I perceive myself as part of a whole, the influence of the whole upon myself, as well as my own influence upon the whole. .05 .03 .80 .13

I observe my own interdependence within my surroundings. .03 .17 .67 –.07

I am very well aware that I live and interact within a complex and dynamic system. .07 .21 .62 .12

Systemic flexibility (α = .69)

I can easily adopt the perspective of other people and “feel” what they are thinking and feeling. .02 .18 –.11 .68

I have difficulties seeing things from different perspectives. –.01 .07 .07 .67

I have difficulties adjusting my thoughts, feelings, and actions to my surroundings and situations. .21 –.26 .08 .51

I have an intuitive feeling for unspoken things. .02 .21 .09 .49

I am usually aware of my surroundings and its influences on me. .10 .03 .28 .48

I am usually not quite aware of the impact of my actions on my surroundings. .01 .09 –.08 .42

I would not describe my thinking as “holistic” and “intuitive”. .00 –.02 .36 .38

Results I

Exploratory factor analysis: Principal components analysisDirect-oblimin rotation (δ = 0)

Initial solution: 7 factors (57.03% variance)

Horn’s parallel analysis (1965):4 factors (46.31% variance)

Retained factors:

Effective systems handling

Systemic reflection

Holistic systems perspective

Systemic flexibility

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4

Results II

Construct validity:

Bivariate zero-order Pearson correlations

M SD α SI (g) ESH SR HSP SF

Systems Intellect

Systems Intellect global (SIg) 2.75 0.42 .89 –

Effective systems handling (ESH)

2.59 0.51 .85 – –

Systemic reflection (SR) 3.07 0.57 .72 – .28*** –

Holistic systems perception (HSP)

2.52 0.77 .86 – .43*** .24*** –

Systemic flexibility (SF) 2.90 0.50 .69 – .56*** .33*** .40*** –

Socio-emotional skills

Emotional Expressivity 48.32 8.19 .76 .25*** .30*** –.00 .20*** .16**

Emotional Sensitivity 53.44 6.98 .76 .48*** .38*** .31*** .22*** .51***

Emotional Control 44.68 8.29 .80 .17** .22*** .07 –.03 .18***

Social Expressivity 49.58 9.93 .88 .41*** .43*** .08 .32*** .30***

Social Sensitivity 50.20 9.08 .84 –.10* –.26*** .25*** –.05 –.11*

Social Control 52.77 8.31 .80 .47*** .56*** .03 .27*** .39***

Expressivity 97.89 16.53 .89 .37*** .40*** .04 .29*** .26***

Sensitivity103.64

12.15 .81 .20*** .03 .36*** .09 .22***

Control 97.45 12.69 .81 .42*** .51*** .06 .16** .37***

Emotional Intelligence146.44

12.95 .71 .53*** .53*** .21*** .23*** .49***

Social Intelligence152.55

16.82 .83 .42*** .39*** .19*** .30*** .31***

Socio-emotional Intelligence298.99

26.08 .86 .53** .51*** .23*** .31*** .45***

Self-Monitoring (acquisitive)

Perceptiveness 2.48 0.70 .88 .43*** .51*** .08† .18*** .36***

Impression Management 2.69 0.59 .80 .48*** .39*** .28*** .21*** .54***

Self-esteem 2.26 0.54 .90 .40*** .49*** –.03 .26*** .33***

Big Five

Emotional Stability 3.64 1.23 .71 .29*** .42*** –.11* .15** .26***

Extraversion 4.97 1.26 .81 .37*** .41*** .05 .28*** .26***

Openness to Experiences 5.25 1.10 .68 .36*** .31*** .22*** .21*** .30***

Agreeableness 5.39 0.94 .52 .22*** .11* .15** .13** .29***

Conscientiousness 4.88 1.12 .69 .34*** .38*** .07 .25*** .20***

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4

The Trait-SI Scale (TSIS): Interpretation of findings

SI factor SI components Interpretation Strongest associations

Effective systems handling

Action / behavior

P̶ efficient and productive ways of acting within complex and dynamic systems

P̶ exerting positive and effective control within systems while remaining flexible and systems-oriented

P̶ persevering and seeking action-oriented solutions despite hindrances

Socio-emotional intelligenceSelf-esteemEmotional StabilityExtraversionConscientiousness

Systemic reflection Thought / cognition

P̶ reflecting upon one’s own and others’ thoughts, feelings, needs, intentions, and behaviors

P̶ being deep in thinking and reflectiveP̶ being very sensitive to surroundings

(Emotional) SensitivityNeuroticismOpennessAgreeableness

Holistic systems perception

PerceptionOpinion / attitude

P̶ perceiving oneself within a complex system, one’s actions within this system, but also the feedbacks from the system

P̶ having perceptional and thought patterns of persons and environments “working together” as one whole

P̶ “systemic and holistic” perception

ExtraversionOpenness

Systemic flexibilityThought / cognitionAction / bevavior

P̶ perspective-taking, empathy, flexibility, plasticity, and adaptivity

P̶ adapting sucessfully to different situations

P̶ adopting views and opinions different from one’s own

P̶ being cognitively and behaviourally more flexible

P̶ employing intuition (into acting)

Socio-emotional intelligenceOpenness

22

Future lines of research with a psychological take on SI

4

What can we do with a psychological perspective on SI?

Suggestions:

Relate the SI approach to the (broad) field of psychology in general and to different psychological sub-disciplines in specific

Study person x situation interactions (cf. situation psychology)

Psychometrics (i.e., reliably and validly assessing SI in individuals, groups, organisations)

Applied contexts (i.e., education, leadership, etc.) 23

The End

THANK YOU!

psychological aspects and measurement of john f. rauthmann leopold-franzens university of innsbruck,...

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