Vocational Personalities and Mindfulness

In the past few decades, many studies have been conducted on the positive effects of mindfulness, a state of openness to novelty in which an individual actively constructs categories and distinctions. The authors tested the applicability of Langer's ( 1989a ) mindfulness theory to Holland's ( 1997 ) vocational personalities. Data from 156 Israeli full‐time employees were collected. The results link different types of vocational personalities to a mindful mind‐set.     

Relationships among higher-order strengths factors,subjective well-being,and general self-efficacy – The case of Israeli adolescents

We investigated relationships among five higher-order strengths factors, subjective well-being, and general self-efficacy in participants that live under challenging conditions. Therefore, a sample of 396 Israeli adolescents (aged 13–18 years) completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the Affect Balance Scale, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. An orthogonally rotated principal component analysis of the 24 character strengths yielded five strengths factors that explained 32% of the variance in life satisfaction, with the transcendence strengths factor as the most substantial predictor. The strongest predictors of positive affect were the transcendence and leadership strengths factors; the best predictors of negative affect were the transcendence and temperance strengths factors; and the strongest predictor of affect balance was the transcendence strengths factor. The five strengths factors explained 46% of the variance in general self-efficacy, with the leadership strengths factor as the most substantial predictor. Further analysis indicated that general self-efficacy mediated the relationship between leadership strengths and global life satisfaction. The results suggest that different strengths factors are relevant for different positive experiences (e.g., life satisfaction, self-efficacy beliefs). The findings shed light on the contribution of specific character strengths as a meaningful resource under stressful conditions.     

The effect of client attachment style and counselor functioning on career exploration

This longitudinal research investigated the interactive effect of social attachment style and perceived-counselor behavior on exploratory behavior exhibited by clients during and after career counseling. Results from 96 clients in career counseling indicated that social confidence and comfort, and the perception that the counselor had created social comfort and personal security, enhanced the range and effectiveness of career exploration by the client. The counselor’s functioning as a “secure base” moderated the association between clients’ avoidance and anxiety attachment style and their career exploration. Specifically, when the clients who were high in social avoidance or in social anxiety perceived-counselors as providing an atmosphere in which they feel secure, they engaged in career exploration far more than similar clients who did not perceive their counselor as a secure base.     

Looking forward to tomorrow: The buffering effect of a daily optimism intervention

This research demonstrates the effectiveness of a brief daily self-applied optimism intervention in an adult normal population. Participants completed Life Orientation Test-Revised, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Burnout Measure scales before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. At baseline, optimism intervention group (N = 36) and control group (N = 41) were statistically similar on the variables of interest. At post-test, and also one month later, the intervention group demonstrated reduced pessimism, negative affect, and emotional exhaustion, although optimism, positive affect, and life satisfaction did not increase. Higher initial optimism increased the intervention effect for the optimism group, but not for the control group, by diminishing negative affect and emotional exhaustion, and increasing optimism. Sixty-one percent of the activities mentioned by the control group participants focused on duties and work, compared to 28% in the optimism condition. No correlations were found between initial optimism or pessimism, and the type of activities mentioned.     

Does equity sensitivity moderate the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and burnout

The model of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) received considerable research attention in the job stress literature. However, very scarce research investigated individual differences as moderators between ERI and stress. The present study is aimed at examining the combined effects of ERI, overcommitment (OVC), and the interaction between ERI and overcommitment on burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy) and the moderating role of equity sensitivity. A questionnaire measuring ERI, burnout, and equity sensitivity was administered to 159 employees. Regression analyses were conducted to test the proposed relations and moderating hypotheses. ERI was negatively related to inefficacy and overcommitment was positively related to emotional exhaustion and cynicism. In addition, equity sensitivity was found to moderate the effect of overcommitment on emotional exhaustion and inefficacy. The findings emphasize the detrimental effect overcommitment may have on employee's mental health and suggest that the ERI model components may be closely related to perceptions of organizational justice.     

When Theory and Research Collide: Examining Correlates of Signature Strengths Use at Work

Signature strengths are individuals’ highest-ranked strengths, those that they own, celebrate, and frequently exercise. Their use has been theorized to elicit positive affect, and contribute significantly to individuals’ functioning and well-being. The present study examined two elements of these ideas in the work arena: (a) Associations of strengths use at work with work outcomes (work meaningfulness, engagement, job satisfaction, performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behaviors), focusing on differences in the associations of signature-strengths use, lowest-strengths use, and happiness strengths-use at work; (b) The role of positive affect in mediating these associations. The results, based on self-reports of an international sample of 1031 working individuals, generally indicated that the use of all kinds of strengths had positive correlates. As expected, using signature strengths had the highest, robust unique contribution to behavioral outcomes (performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and lower counterproductive work behavior). But unexpectedly, using happiness strengths (and not signature strengths) had the highest, robust unique contribution to psycho-emotional work-related outcomes (work meaningfulness, engagement, and job satisfaction). Positive affect mediated the association between strengths use and all work-related outcomes for the three kinds of strengths, when each was examined separately. However, when uses of the three kinds of strengths were examined together, positive affect mediated the effects of lowest strengths use and those of happiness strengths use, but not the effects of signature strengths use. These findings highlight the differential benefits of using different kinds of strengths, and suggest that additional (and different) mechanisms may underlie these effects.     

How does exposure to masked individuals affect White Americans' attitudes toward Asian American and Pacific Islanders?

Across three studies, conducted between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021, we tested whether exposure to an Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) target person wearing a face mask would increase or decrease White Americans' perceived threat from and positivity toward AAPI individuals. Although results varied by study, a single-paper meta-analysis revealed that the masked (compared to unmasked) AAPI target resulted in greater positivity toward AAPIs, due to reduced perceptions of both symbolic threat to group values and realistic threat to group health. Positivity toward AAPIs did not reliably differ after exposure to a masked versus unmasked White target. Implications for interventions that encourage COVID-safe behaviors and combat anti-AAPI attitudes are discussed.     

Positive Psychopathology and Positive Functioning: OCD,Flourishing and Satisfaction with Life through the Lens of Character Strength Underuse,Overuse and Optimal Use

Applied Research in Quality of Life - Theoretical propositions suggesting that character strengths (CSs) may have darker sides have triggered a new wave of studies, providing novel insight into the...