Professional Bio

Research Interests: Personality & Organizational Behavior

For the last 20 years, I have focused on developing, testing, and revising the Conditional Reasoning Theory of Personality. This theory is anchored on the basic concept of motivated reasoning.  Specifically, we believe that individuals with strong personality motives (e.g., motive to aggress; motive to achieve; motive for power) develop cognitive biases (e.g., hostile attribution bias; efficacy of persistence bias; agency bias) whose purpose is to facilitate the pursuit of behavior that satisfies the underlying motives (e.g., harming others; working evenings and weekends; pursuing positions of leadership).  As part of this research program, I have been involved in the development and validation of several measures designed to assess the implicit motives to aggress, to achieve, and for power.  We have then relied on these measures to test hypotheses linking personality to organizational outcomes including counterproductive work behavior, leadership, team processes & performance, and job attitudes.

Research Interests: Measurement and Applied Statistics

I also have secondary interests related to research methods and statistics.  I am a past editor of Organizational Research Methods and recently co-edited the APA Handbook on Multilevel Theory, Measurement, and Analysis.  My current interests include topics related to meta-analysis, multilevel research, and the development and validation of surveys/tests used in organizational research.

Representative Publications

(current & former students noted in bold text)

1.    Galic, Z., Ruzojcic, M., Bubic, A., Trojak, N., Zeljko, L., & LeBreton, J. M. (in press). Measuring the power motive using conditional reasoning: Some preliminary findings. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

2.    LeBreton, J. M., Reichin, S. L., te Nijenhuis, J., Cremers, M., & van der Heijden-Lek, K. (in press). Validity evidence and measurement equivalence for a Dutch version of the conditional reasoning test for aggression. Applied Psychology: An International Review.

3.    Schoen, J. L., DeSimone, J. A., Meyer, R. D., Schnure, K. A., & LeBreton, J. M. (in press). Identifying, defining, and measuring justification mechanisms: The implicit biases underlying individual differences. Journal of Management.

4.    Van Iddekinge, C. H., Aguinis, H., LeBreton, J. M., Mackey, J. D., & DeOrtentiis, P. S. (in press). Assessing and interpreting interaction effects: A reply to Vancouver, Carlson, Dhanani, and Colton (2021). Journal of Applied Psychology.

5.    Davison, H. K., LeBreton, J. M., Stewart, S. M., & Bing, M. N. (2020). Investigating curvilinear relationships of explicit and implicit aggression with work outcomes. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 29(4), 501-0514.

6.    LeBreton, J. M., Grimaldi, E. M., & Schoen, J. (2020). Conditional reasoning: Suggestions for test and development and validation.  Organizational Research Methods, 23(1), 65-95.

7.    Smith, D., Hoffman, M. E., & LeBreton, J. M. (2020). Conditional reasoning: An integrated approach to item analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 23(1), 124-153.

8.    Yuan, Z., Morgeson, F. P., & LeBreton, J. M. (2020). Maybe not so independent after all: Exploring meta-analytic assumptions about the relationship between situational moderators and criterion reliability. Personnel Psychology, 73, 491-516.

9.    Reichin, S. L., Grimaldi, E. M., & LeBreton, J.M. (2019). Critically evaluating the use of dark trait measurement in selection. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 12, 163-166.

10.    LeBreton, J. M., Shiverdecker, L. K., & Grimaldi, E. M. (2018). The dark triad and workplace behavior. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 387-414.

11.    Kaiser, R. B., LeBreton, J. M., & Hogan, J. (2015). The dark side of personality and extreme leader behavior. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 64(1), 55-92.

13.    Baysinger, M., Scherer, K. T., & LeBreton, J. M. (2014). Exploring the disruptive effects of psychopathy and aggression on group processes and group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), 48-65.

14.    Galic, Z., Scherer, K. T., & LeBreton, J. M. (2014). Examining the measurement equivalence of the conditional reasoning test for aggression across U.S. and Croatian samples. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 56, 195-216.

15.    Galic, Z., Scherer, K.T., & LeBreton, J. M. (2014). Validity evidence for a Croatian version of the conditional reasoning test for aggression. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 22(4), 343-354.

16.    Abbey, A., Jacques-Tiura, A. J., & LeBreton, J. M. (2011). Risk factors for sexual aggression in young men: An expansion of the confluence model. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 450-464.

17.    James, L. R., & LeBreton, J. M. (2010). Assessing aggression using conditional reasoning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 30-35.

18. Bing, M. N., LeBreton, J. M., Davison, H. K., Migetz, D. Z, & James, L. R. (2007). Integrating implicit and explicit social cognitions for enhanced personality assessment: A general framework for choosing measurement and statistical methods.  Organizational Research Methods, 10, 346-389.

19.    LeBreton, J. M., Barksdale, C. D., Robin, J. D. & James, L. R. (2007). Measurement issues associated with conditional reasoning tests of personality: Deception and faking.  Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1-16.

20.    James, L. R., McIntyre, M. D., Glisson, C. A., Green, P. D., Patton, T. W., LeBreton, J. M., Frost, B. C., Russell, C. M., Sablynski, C. J., Mitchell, T. R., & Williams, L. J. (2005). A conditional reasoning measure for aggression. Organizational Research Methods, 8, 69-99.