Jim Bright (psychologist)

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Jim Bright is an Australian organisational psychologist and was Professor of Career Education and Development at Australian Catholic University (ACU) between 2006 and 2023. He authored the Chaos Theory of Careers with Robert Pryor. He has served as the Director of Research and Impact for the Ed Tech startup Become Education.

Contents

Background

His earlier published work focussed on occupational stress, in particular Karasek's Demands-Support model, and Fletcher's Catastrophe model. He also published research on the effectiveness of different resume layouts in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment.


Most recently he has developed the Chaos Theory of Careers [1] that characterizes career behaviour as the fractal patterns that emerge from individuals characterised as complex dynamical systems. Careers and career paths are deemed to be non-linear, subject to continual and unpredictable change and phase shift and limited by the operation of an attractor: Point (Goal); Pendulum (Role); Torus (Routine) and Strange (Complex) Attractors. The model challenges traditional notions of "fit" between people and careers; and emphasises the unpredictable nature of careers.

Works

He has published a range of books relating to Career Development and Organisational Psychology including Stress: myth theory and research, [2] Resumes that get shortlisted, [3] Brilliant CV, [4] Should I stay or should I go, [5] Amazing Resumes, [6] Getting a Brilliant Job: the student's guide, [7] and The Chaos Theory of Careers: a new perspective on working in the twenty-first century. [8]


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Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to have completely random states of disorder and irregularities. Chaos theory states that within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnection, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self-organization. The butterfly effect, an underlying principle of chaos, describes how a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. A metaphor for this behavior is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial and organizational psychology</span> Branch of psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology is the science of human behavior in the workplace. It is an applied discipline within psychology. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational psychology in the United Kingdom, organisational psychology in Australia and New Zealand, and work and organizational (WO) psychology throughout Europe and Brazil. Industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology is the broader, more global term for the science and profession.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynamical systems theory</span> Area of mathematics used to describe the behavior of complex dynamical systems

Dynamical systems theory is an area of mathematics used to describe the behavior of complex dynamical systems, usually by employing differential equations or difference equations. When differential equations are employed, the theory is called continuous dynamical systems. From a physical point of view, continuous dynamical systems is a generalization of classical mechanics, a generalization where the equations of motion are postulated directly and are not constrained to be Euler–Lagrange equations of a least action principle. When difference equations are employed, the theory is called discrete dynamical systems. When the time variable runs over a set that is discrete over some intervals and continuous over other intervals or is any arbitrary time-set such as a Cantor set, one gets dynamic equations on time scales. Some situations may also be modeled by mixed operators, such as differential-difference equations.

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Trait leadership is defined as integrated patterns of personal characteristics that reflect a range of individual differences and foster consistent leader effectiveness across a variety of group and organizational situations. The theory of trait leadership is developed from early leadership research which focused primarily on finding a group of heritable attributes that differentiate leaders from nonleaders. Leader effectiveness refers to the amount of influence a leader has on individual or group performance, followers’ satisfaction, and overall effectiveness. Many scholars have argued that leadership is unique to only a select number of individuals and that these individuals possess certain immutable traits that cannot be developed. Although this perspective has been criticized immensely over the past century, scholars still continue to study the effects of personality traits on leader effectiveness. Research has demonstrated that successful leaders differ from other people and possess certain core personality traits that significantly contribute to their success. Understanding the importance of these core personality traits that predict leader effectiveness can help organizations with their leader selection, training, and development practices.

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in the field of linguistics is a perspective and approach to the study of second, third and additional language acquisition. The general term Complex Dynamic Systems Theory was recommended by Kees de Bot to refer to both Complexity theory and Dynamic systems theory.

References

  1. Bright, JEH & PRyor, RGL. The Chaos Theory of Careers: a user's guide. Career Development Quarterly, Vol 53(4) Jun 2005, 291-305
  2. Jones, F & Bright J.E.H.. Stress: Myth, theory and research. Prentice Hall. London. UK. 2001.
  3. Bright J.E.H. & Earl, J. Résumés that get shortlisted. 3rd Edition. Allen & Unwin. Sydney. Australia. 2008
  4. Bright J.E.H. & Earl, J. Brilliant CV. Prentice Hall. London. UK. 3rd Edn. 2007
  5. Bright J.E.H.. Should I go and should I stay. Prentice Hall. 2003
  6. Bright J.E.H. & Earl, J. Amazing resumes. JIST Publishing. Indianapolis. US. 2nd edition. 2009.
  7. Bright, K. & Bright, J.E.H.. Getting a brilliant job: the students guide to job hunting. Allen and Unwin. Sydney. Australia. 2005.
  8. Pryor, Robert & Bright, Jim. The Chaos Theory of Careers. A new perspective on working in the twenty-first century. http://www.routledge.com/books/The-Chaos-Theory-of-Careers-ISBN 978-0-415-80634-3