Cynthia Mathieu

Factor structure of the B-Scan 360: a measure of corporate psychopathy.

Psychopathy is a clinical construct defined by a cluster of personality traits and behaviors, including grandiosity, egocentricity, deceptiveness, shallow emotions, lack of empathy or remorse, irresponsibility, impulsivity, and a tendency to ignore or violate social norms. The majority of empirical research on psychopathy involves forensic populations most commonly assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), a 20-item rating scale that measures 4 related factors or dimensions (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, and Antisocial) that underpin the superordinate construct of psychopathy. Recently, researchers have turned their attention to the nature and implications of psychopathic features in the workplace. This research has been hampered by the lack of an assessment tool geared to the corporate/organizational world. Here we describe the B-Scan 360, an instrument that uses ratings of others to measure psychopathic features in workplace settings. In this study, large samples of participants used an online survey system to rate their supervisors on the B-Scan 360. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a reliable 20-item, 4-factor model that is consistent with the PCL-R 4-factor model of psychopathy. Although more research is needed before the B-Scan 360 can be used in organizational settings, we believe that these results represent an important step forward in the study of corporate psychopathy.

Corporate Psychopathy and the Full-Range Leadership Model

The B-Scan 360 is a relatively new, purpose-built measure of corporate psychopathy that addresses many of the issues inherent in studying psychopathy in organizations. The primary goal of the present study was to measure the relationship between employees’ perception of psychopathic features in their supervisor and their rating of their supervisor on the Full-Range Model of Leadership. The second goal of the study was to test the B-Scan 360’s factor structure and test its interrater reliability in an organizational sample. A total of 491 civic employees and 116 employees from a branch of a large financial company completed the B-Scan 360 as well as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire on their direct supervisor. The B-Scan 360 and all of its four factors were positively correlated with passive leadership (Laissez-Faire leadership) and negatively correlated with positive leadership (both Transactional and Transformational leadership). Furthermore, results revealed the same four-factor structure and good interrater reliability for the B-Scan 360 in this business sample as previously reported for a general population. Overall, the results provide additional support for the B-Scan 360 as a measure of psychopathic traits in corporate settings.

Developing Attitudes toward an Entrepreneurial Career through Mentoring: The Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy.

Mentoring is reputed to support the career choices and development of individuals in various contexts. This study is one of the few that investigates the effect of mentoring on career satisfaction and retention of novice entrepreneurs. We surveyed 360 novice entrepreneurs who had been supported by a mentor. Our analyses demonstrate the direct effect of mentoring on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, which mediates the relationship between satisfaction of being an entrepreneur and the intention of staying in the profession. Moreover, mentoring not only has an indirect effect on satisfaction; it seems to have a negative direct effect on intention. This result could possibly be due to the awareness of novices regarding the limitations of their initial business project. Given that entrepreneurs are closely tied to their business project, mentoring should come earlier in the entrepreneurial process in order to influence career satisfaction and retention of novice entrepreneur.

A Modelization of Differences between Early- and Late-Starter French-Canadian Offenders

Objective. Recent research has shown that there are two groups of mentally disordered offenders: early starters (early onset of behavioral problems) and late starters (behavior problems that start in adulthood). The present study sought to arrive at a better understanding of the differences between persons suffering from major mental disorder who are early- and late-starter offenders. Method. The sample was recruited within the province of Quebec, Canada. It is composed of 137 men diagnosed with a major mental disorder. Participants were recruited under three distinct legal statuses. Results. Results indicate that there are interesting and key differences between early and late starters on etiological and symptomatological variables, as well as in terms of antisocial behaviors. Conclusion. These findings have implications for the treatment, prevention, and risk assessment of persons with major mental disorders.

Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Attachment on Men's Anger

Previous research has identified men’s level of anger as one of the predictors of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, few studies have tried to empirically explore the underlying factors influencing anger in men who perpetrate IPV. Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify the contribution of attachment style to the level of anger experienced by men perpetrators of IPV. Method: Eighty men enrolled in IPV therapy completed self-report questionnaires of attachment and anger. Result: Multiple regressions revealed that avoidant and anxious attachment styles had a significant influence in explaining anger in violent men. Conclusion: These findings indicate the importance of considering attachment style in the understanding and treatment of anger in IPV perpetrators.

Can less be more? Mentoring functions, learning goal orientation, and novice entrepreneurs’ self-efficacy

One of the main goals of entrepreneurial mentoring programs is to strengthen the mentees’ self-efficacy. However, the conditions in which entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) is developed through mentoring are not yet fully explored. The purpose of this paper is to test the combined effects of mentee’s learning goal orientation (LGO) and perceived similarity with the mentor and demonstrates the role of these two variables in mentoring relationships. The current study is based on a sample of 360 novice Canadian entrepreneurs who completed an online questionnaire. The authors used a cross-sectional analysis as research design. Findings indicate that the development of ESE is optimal when mentees present low levels of LGO and perceive high similarities between their mentor and themselves. Mentees with high LGO decreased their level of ESE with more in-depth mentoring received. This study investigated a formal mentoring program with volunteer (unpaid) mentors. Generalization to informal mentoring relationships needs to be tested. The study shows that, in order to effectively develop self-efficacy in a mentoring situation, LGO should be taken into account. Mentors can be trained to modify mentees’ LGO to increase their impact on this mindset and mentees’ ESE. This is the first empirical study that demonstrates the effects of mentoring on ESE and reveals a triple moderating effect of LGO and perceived similarity in mentoring relationships.