Landers began his academic career at Old Dominion University,initially as an assistant professor of psychology in 2009,and was later appointed associate professor from 2015 to 2018. In 2018,he joined the University of Minnesota as an associate professor[2] and was later promoted to John P. Campbell Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2022.[2][3]
Landers was elected to the presidency of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2025.[4] He is also the editor of the American Psychological Association's journal Technology,Mind,and Behavior.[5]
Research
Landers' research has examined how technological innovations,including artificial intelligence,social media,and gamified tools,influence employee behavior and organizational practices. He introduced a theory of gamification,defining it as the application of game-based motivational principles to learning and work contexts[6] and emphasized the role of technology design choices in shaping user engagement.[7] His work has also shown that immersive features in technology-based assessments can increase engagement,while control features tend to have less impact.[8]
Landers' research also includes studies on artificial intelligence in the workplace,[9] including decision automation and augmentation,[10] the auditing of bias and fairness in AI algorithms,[11] and common misconceptions about generative artificial intelligence,which he characterizes as predictive systems rather than forms of cognition.[12]
In his book,A Step-by-Step Introduction to Statistics for Business,Landers introduced statistical methods for business students with an emphasis on practical decision-making using Microsoft Excel and SPSS.[13] In Reference and Research Book News,the book was described as "clear" and "succinct."[14] He also authored Research Methods for Industrial and Organizational Psychology:Science and Practice,which examined how research methods are developed,applied,and evaluated within the field.[15][16] Furthermore,he has explored the effects of digital technologies on recruitment,selection,and employee behavior in his books Social Media in Employee Selection and Recruitment:Theory,Practice and Current Challenges[17] and The Cambridge Handbook of Technology and Employee Behavior.[18]
Landers' work on gamification for learning has suggested that it is best designed to influence specific learner behaviors or attitudes,with learning as a downstream outcome.[19] He has emphasized the importance of aligning design features with user preferences[20] to support engagement and effectiveness.[21] In gamified employee selection,he has distinguished between approaches that add game elements to existing systems and those that use complete games as assessment tools.[22] He has proposed a conceptual framework differentiating assessment gamification,gameful design,and game-based assessment,clarifying how game elements can be systematically integrated into assessment systems.[23] According to ScholarGPS,he is the fifth most cited gamification scholar globally.[24]
2022 –Innovations in Assessment Award,International Personnel Assessment Council[34]
Bibliography
Books
Landers, Richard N. (2013). A Step-by-Step Introduction to Statistics for Business (1sted.). Sage Publications. ISBN9781446280850.
Landers, Richard N.; Schmidt, Gordon B. (2016). Social Media in Employee Selection and Recruitment: Theory, Practice and Current Challenges (1sted.). Springer International Publishing. ISBN9783319299891.
Landers, Richard N. (2019). The Cambridge Handbook of Technology and Employee Behavior. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9781108649636.
Landers, Richard N.; Behrend, Tara S. (2024). Research Methods for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Science and Practice (1sted.). Routledge. ISBN9781315167473.
Selected articles
Landers, Richard N.; Lounsbury, John W. (March 2006). "An investigation of Big Five and narrow personality traits in relation to Internet usage". Computers in Human Behavior. 22 (2): 283–293. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2004.06.001.
Landers, Richard N. (2015). "Developing a Theory of Gamified Learning: Linking Serious Games and Gamification of Learning". Simulation & Gaming. 45 (6). doi:10.1177/10468781145636 (inactive 16 January 2026).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2026 (link)
Landers, Richard N.; Behrend, Tyler S. (2015). "An inconvenient truth: Arbitrary distinctions between organizational, Mechanical Turk, and other convenience samples". Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. 8 (2): 142–164. doi:10.1017/iop.2015.13.
Landers, Richard N.; Landers, Amy K. (2015). "An Empirical Test of the Theory of Gamified Learning: The Effect of Leaderboards on Time-on-Task and Academic Performance". Simulation & Gaming. 45 (6). doi:10.1177/1046878114563662.
Landers, Richard N.; Bauer, Kristina N.; Callan, Rachel C. (2017). "Gamification of task performance with leaderboards: A goal setting experiment". Computers in Human Behavior. 71: 508–515. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.008.
References
↑"Richard Landers". University of Minnesota. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
↑Roulin, Nicolas; Wong, Odelia; Langer, Markus; Bourdage, Joshua S. (4 May 2023). "Is more always better? How preparation time and re-recording opportunities impact fairness, anxiety, impression management, and performance in asynchronous video interviews". European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 32 (3): 23. doi:10.1080/1359432X.2022.2156862.
↑Harman, Jason L.; Brown, Kayla D. (March 2022). "Illustrating a narrative: A test of game elements in game-like personality assessment". International Journal of Selection and Assessment. 30 (1): 2. doi:10.1111/ijsa.12374.
↑Jaboob, Mohammed; Al-Ansi, Abdullah M.; Al-Okaily, Manaf; Ferasso, Marcos (28 February 2025). "Harnessing artificial intelligence for strategic decision-making: the catalyst impact of digital leadership". Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration. doi:10.1108/APJBA-12-2024-0706.
↑Zhuk, Alesia (1 December 2025). "Ethical implications of AI in the Metaverse". AI and Ethics. 5 (6): 5647. doi:10.1007/s43681-024-00450-5.
↑Mahmud, Luqman (October 2025). "Richard N. Landers and Tara S. Behrend. Research Methods for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Science and Practice". Journal of Scholarly Publishing. 56 (4): 932–934. doi:10.3138/jsp-2024-0088.
↑Bolton, Ruth N.; McColl-Kennedy, Janet R.; Cheung, Lilliemay; Gallan, Andrew; Orsingher, Chiara; Witell, Lars; Zaki, Mohamed (8 November 2018). "Customer experience challenges: bringing together digital, physical and social realms". Journal of Service Management. 29 (5): 22. doi:10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0113.
↑Behl, Abhishek; Jayawardena, Nirma; Pereira, Vijay; Islam, Nazrul; Giudice, Manlio Del; Choudrie, Jyoti (2022). "Gamification and e-learning for young learners: A systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis, and future research agenda". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 176 121445: 31. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121445. hdl:10871/128252.
↑Ohlms, Marie L.; Melchers, Klaus G.; Kanning, Uwe P. (March 2024). "Can we playfully measure cognitive ability? Construct-related validity and applicant reactions". International Journal of Selection and Assessment. 32 (1): 92. doi:10.1111/ijsa.12450.
↑van Lill, Xander; McColl, Laird; Neale, Matthew (June 2023). "Cross-national applicability of a game-based cognitive assessment". International Journal of Selection and Assessment. 31 (2): 303. doi:10.1111/ijsa.12425.
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