We focus on the Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and their relationships to the mechanisms of motivation and level of burnout that people experience at work. From the motivational perspective, the needs associated with the Dark Triad traits might be satisfied in work environments by selecting different goals or motives. Moreover, the selection of different goals and motives may be related to the level of burnout syndrome that some people develop. We use the Short Dark Triad Personality Test, Barbuto’s Motivation Sources Inventory, and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory to measure triad traits, preferred work motives, and level of burnout, respectively. The results show that in general, some part of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and burnout is mediated by the motivational sources. As expected, the Dark Triad traits are more closely related to external sources of motivation (especially instrumental motivation), which are in turn partly associated with higher levels of burnout. The results also suggest that the trajectory of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and burnout via motivation sources is different from expected, presenting a background for discussion.

This article presents the findings of four studies designed to validate the translated Polish version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale. Results of exploratory factor analyses in Study 1 (N = 272, M age = 41.07) showed that the psychological need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence that are central to the Self-Determination Theory have a bidimensional structure, involving both a need for satisfaction and need for frustration component. Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses in Study 2 (N = 265; M age = 38.15) provided further evidence for a sixdimensional structure of the scale, thereby distinguishing a satisfaction and frustration component for each of the three needs. Study 3 (N = 158; M age = 27.28) further revealed that the distinguished subscales are moderately to highly internally consistent and yielded good test-retest reliability. Finally, Study 4 (N = 204; M age = 20.57) confirmed that satisfaction of the needs is positively related to well-being, while frustration is positively related to depressive symptoms. The Polish version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale can be successfully used in future basic and applied studies in the context of Self-Determination Theory.

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The paper presents original study and its findings concerning the possibility of using personality traits and motivational traits as predictors of social competence. According to the findings, motivational traits, including social anxiety and managerial and organisational interests, correlate highly with social competence in situations of social exposure and requiring self-assertion. Hence, motivational traits are highly useful predictors of social competence in both types of social situations. Moreover empirical findings point out that in order to increase the accuracy of estimating social competence both personality traits and motivational traits should be considered. Measurement of both traits estimates the level of social competence more accurately than the measurement of personality traits. Implication for occupational selection is discussed.

Transphobia is an under-examined but important type of prejudice to study in Polish culture. Poland is a country where a majority of transgender people feel discriminated against. There is a need for a more evidence-based measures for researchers and practitioners to better understand transphobia. The main purpose of the present three studies (n = 300 participants for each study) was to validate the Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS; Hill and Willoughby 2005) and the Transphobia Scale (TS; Nagoshi et al. 2008) in Polish culture and to identify the possible psychological and demographic factors that matter in forming attitudes toward transgender individuals. The results confirm that Polish versions of both the GTS and the TS are reliable instruments to measure attitudes toward transgender individuals. Moreover, the studies revealed that both traditional and modern homonegativity, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, religious fundamentalism, attitudes toward gender roles, and biological and cultural beliefs about the origins of gender differences were significant predictors of transphobia. As in previous studies, men were more prejudiced toward gender nonconformists in comparison to women. These studies contribute well-adapted tools for measuring transphobia and data-driven collection of significant predictors of transphobia.

Exploring the relationships between variables that predict hostile attributions is essential for understanding aggressive behaviours and for enabling the development of suitable aggression‐reduction interventions. The aim of this series of two studies was to investigate how ascribing intentionality and blame to other people are critical in predicting hostile attribution. In Study 1 (general sample: N = 163, 63.8% females; inmates: N = 109 people, 78.9% females), we hypothesized that people that are sensitive to provocation declare higher levels of anger and that this is serially mediated by perceived intentionality of the act and perceived blame of the harm‐doer. The results confirmed these assumptions. In Study 2, the participants took part in a 3‐month psycho‐educational training that included mentalization elements. We hypothesized that the level of hostile attributions among inmates (N = 8, females) would be lower after the training. Changes in the inmates' attributions were observed after a qualitative analysis of the results. This finding achieved the study's aim of demonstrating how such theoretical assumptions can be practically implemented.

The aim of this research project was to validate the work-related version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) into the Polish language and culture. Although studies have demonstrated the benefits associated with basic psychological need satisfaction and the costs associated with need frustration at work, the concept of needs has been neglected both in Polish scientific research and in practical organizational studies. The adaptation of the BPNSFS-Work Domain may change this situation and stimulate research in the Polish community. The scale has been validated in a sample consisting of three occupational groups: healthcare workers, education staff and customer service workers (N = 1315, Mage = 43.8). The findings suggest that the Polish scale has robust psychometric features. The CFA analysis proves that the scale has a six-dimensional structure similar to the original scale. These dimensions show satisfactory to high Cronbach’s α and McDonalds ω reliability, and high criterion validity is shown by association of the six need dimensions with correlates of both positive (i.e., engagement, job crafting and self-efficacy) and negative aspects of work (i.e., burnout and stress). The structure of the scale is the same in all three occupational groups, although the regression weights and covariances are only partially invariant. The validated version of the BPNSFS-Work Domain can be used in future basic and applied studies in the paradigm of self-determination theory.

Despite the vast body of studies within self-determination theory, the impact of factors which influence performance in experimental paradigm is still underresearched. The aim of the two studies presented in this paper was to investigate the impact of basic psychological needs on performance with the simultaneous presence of external incentives. Study 1 tested whether the satisfaction of competence and relatedness during task performance (while external incentives were present) can impact individual’s performance. Study 2, on the other hand, investigated whether the basic psychological needs and provision of external incentives can impact an individual’s performance. Moreover, in both studies the mechanisms behind the need–performance relationship was checked. Our results showed that out of the three basic needs, competence had the strongest positive impact on performance, which was partially mediated by the subjective evaluation of the levels of difficulty and intrinsic motivation. The weak relationship between relatedness and task performance was fully mediated by the level of intrinsic motivation.