James M. LeBreton

I use the Conditional Reasoning Theory of Personality to study how basic human motives are related to an array of work and non-work behaviors. Conditional reasoning is based on the principle that people with a strong motive or need to engage in certain types of behaviors will develop biased ways of reasoning that make the behaviors seem rational and sensible as opposed to irrational and foolish. These reasoning biases are referred to as justification mechanisms to indicate that they serve to enhance the rational appeal of behaviors that express a motive. An example of a justification mechanism associated with the motive to aggress is the hostile attribution bias, which consists of a proclivity to sense hostile intent and perhaps even danger in the behavior of others. This heightened sense of threat often triggers sensations of peril and alarm in aggressive people. What follows is a concern for self-protection, which enables an aggressive person to infer that acting aggressively is justified inasmuch as one is merely protecting oneself, not initiating a hostile action. A desire to harm others (Motive to Aggress) through aggressive behavior is made to seem rational via a bias (justification mechanism) to overestimate threat. Our work is consistent with Bandura’s (1999) suggestion that people create justifications to help them “disengage” their moral standards so that self-regulatory mechanisms are not working when acting aggressively. The other justification mechanisms we have linked to the Motive to Aggress include: Potency Bias, Derogation of Target Bias, Retribution Bias, Social Discounting Bias, and the Victimization by Powerful Others Bias. Relevant References 1. Galic, Z., Ruzojcic, M., Bubic, A., Trojak, N., Zeljko, L., & LeBreton, J. M. (2021). Measuring the power motive using conditional reasoning: Some preliminary findings. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 30(2), 175-191. 2. James, L. R., & LeBreton, J. M. (2010). Assessing aggression using conditional reasoning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 30-35. 3. James, L. R., & LeBreton, J. M. (2012). Assessing the implicit personality through conditional reasoning. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. 4. 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. 5. Schoen, J. L., DeSimone, J. A., Meyer, R. D., Schnure, K. A., & LeBreton, J. M. (2021). Identifying, defining, and measuring justification mechanisms: The implicit biases underlying individual differences. Journal of Management, 47(3), 716-744.