Brian Connelly

Biography

Brian Connelly is a tenured Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management in the Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He holds a cross-appointment to the Organization Behavior and HR area at the Rotman School of Management. Prof. Connelly's research examines how organizations can best use personality measures to solve workplace challenges, particularly in employee selection and development. In current and on-going research, he has used personality ratings from others (e.g., one’s peers, friends, or family) to study the limitations of self-knowledge, how first impressions are formed, the way people “fake” personality measures and the structure of personality. Prior to coming to the University of Toronto, he was an assistant professor in the University of Connecticut's psychology department, in the industrial/organizational psychology area (2008-2010). Brian Connelly is a tenured Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management in the Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He holds a cross-appointment to the Organization Behavior and HR area at the Rotman School of Management. Prof. Connelly's research examines how organizations can best use personality measures to solve workplace challenges, particularly in employee selection and development. In current and on-going research, he has used personality ratings from others (e.g., one’s peers, friends, or family) to study the limitations of self-knowledge, how first impressions are formed, the way people “fake” personality measures and the structure of personality. Prior to coming to the University of Toronto, he was an assistant professor in the University of Connecticut's psychology department, in the industrial/organizational psychology area (2008-2010).

Research Interest

Prof. Connelly's research focuses on the theory, measurement and application of personality within an organizational context. He draws on and applies personality theory to improve functioning in the workplace, recognizing that findings from this research are equally relevant for informing personality theory. His main research goals are to refine existing taxonomies of personality traits, to study who is the best judge of personality – oneself or others – and to understand how, when and why people fake when they answer personality inventories.