Individual differences in emotional complexity: their psychological implications

Two studies explored the nature and psychological implications of individual differences in emotional complexity, defined as having emotional experiences that are broad in range and well differentiated. Emotional complexity was predicted to be associated with private self-consciousness, openness to experience, empathic tendencies, cognitive complexity, ability to differentiate among named emotions, range of emotions experienced daily, and interpersonal adaptability. The Range and Differentiation of Emotional Experience Scale (RDEES) was developed to test these hypotheses. In Study 1 (N=1,129) students completed questionnaire packets containing the RDEES and various outcome measures. Study 2 (N=95) included the RDEES and non-self-report measures such as peer reports, complexity of representations of the emotion domain, and level of ego development measured by a sentence completion test. Results supported all of the hypotheses, providing extensive evidence for the RDEES's construct validity. Findings were discussed in terms of the role of emotional complexity in ego maturity and interpersonal adaptability.     

Ego development in adult women

Ego development in adult women was studied using Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development (SCT). The subjects were 163 women in a university nurse practitioner training program. Ego development scores were correlated with scores from personality tests and with interview data. Higher ego levels were related to personal adjustment, nurturance, responsibility, tolerance, enjoyment of children, inner control, capacity for status, and age. Improvement in ego level scores was found only for those at, or below, the self-aware level. The SCT, as scored for women, seems to be particularly sensitive to differences in responsible caring in relationships, an aspect of personality development often neglected by other tests.     

The relationship of CPI measures of interpersonal adequacy to safety and esteem motives

This study was concerned with establishing the relationship of CPI measures of interpersonal adequacy to SCT measures of safety and esteem motives. A large number of students were given the SCT and 56 safety-oriented and 56 esteem-oriented subjects were selected and and given the dominance (Do), capacity for status (Cs), self-acceptance (Sa) and sense of well-being (Wb) subscales of the CPI. As predicted the results indicated that esteem-oriented subjects scored higher on all the CPI measures of interpersonal adequacy.     

Getting older, getting better? Personal strivings and psychological maturity across the life span.

Measures of psychological maturity based on personal strivings (R. A. Emmons, 1989) were administered to 108 adults aged 17-82. On the basis of organismic-theoretical assumptions regarding maturity, age was hypothesized to be positively associated with K. M. Sheldon and T. Kasser's (1995, 1998) two goal-based measures of personality integration. E. Erikson's (1963) assumptions regarding maturity were the basis for the hypothesis that older people would tend to list more strivings concerning generativity and ego integrity and fewer strivings concerning identity and intimacy. Finally, on the basis of past research findings, maturity and age were hypothesized to be positively associated with subjective well-being. Results supported these hypotheses and also showed that measured maturity mediated the relationship between age and well-being. Thus, older individuals may indeed be more psychologically mature than younger people and may be happier as a result.     

Coping strategies and quality of life in women with advanced breast cancer and their family caregivers

Abstract

This study examines the effects of personal resources of both heart patients and their close social partners on patients' coping and quality of life. Generalized personal resources (self-efficacy beliefs, dispositional optimism, self-regulation competence) and outcomes were assessed by questionnaire 1–3 days before surgery (n = 122) and again six months later (n= 50). Outcome variables were coping styles, social resources (social support and social integration), emotional states, and further measures of quality of life. Patients' personal resources were dominant in the prediction of most of the outcomes. Partners' resources were uniquely related to social support, social integration, and quality of life as perceived by the patients. Further, partners' personality resources predicted changes in patients' loneliness and energy levels during the six-month interval.     

The Relations of Regulation and Emotionality to Children's Situational Empathy-Related Responding

The relations of dispositional regulation (attentional control, ego control), ego resiliency, and emotionality (general emotional intensity and negative emotionality) to situational measures of sympathy and personal distress were examined. Situational sympathy and personal distress were assessed with facial, self-reported, and heart rate reactions to an empathy-inducing film. Teachers and parents completed measures of children's dispositional regulation and emotionality. In general, children who evidenced sympathy (e.g., facial sadness, mean heart rate decline, and self-reported sympathy) were rated higher in regulation and resiliency, although findings sometimes were obtained for only one sex. Children who evidenced personal distress (e.g., facial distress), as well as facial sadness, were rated relatively high in emotionality. Gaze aversion from the film was correlated with regulation and boys' resiliency, and was negatively related to negative emotionality.     

Correlates of sexual interest among elderly men

Interview data were collected from 46 English elderly men (age 70 to 94 years) relating to attitudes, psychological traits, and life satisfaction. Sexual interest was not related to life satisfaction or marital status but was significantly correlated with measures of emotional expressivity, personal identity, as well as regrets about the past. Findings are discussed in terms of Erikson's later stages of ego development.     

Personality correlates of logical and sociomoral judgment

This study examined the relation of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) to stages of logical and sociomoral judgment. Logical judgment was measured using adaptations of the pendulum and correlations tasks of Inhelder and Piaget; moral judgment was scored using the standard Kohlberg interview. In a sample of 143 adults, logical and sociomoral judgment were correlated .30 to .50 with most of the Class I (Factor 2) CPI scales, those capturing social poise and interpersonal adequacy, and Class III (Factor 3) CPI scales, those capturing achievement potential and intellectual efficiency. The findings offer support for a cognitive interpretation of competence and ego development.     

Emotional intelligence and personal growth initiative effects on subjective happiness among university students

This study examined emotional intelligence and personal growth initiative influences on the level of subjective happiness among university students in Ghana. Two hundred and sixty undergraduate students were participants (female = 69.8%; mean age = 21.72 years, SD = 3.61 years). They responded to measures of emotional intelligence, personal growth initiative, and subjective happiness. After controlling for their demographic characteristics, and following hierarchical regression analysis, results indicate emotional intelligence and intentional behaviour domain of personal growth to predict students’ level of subjective happiness. These findings suggest that students’ ability to manage and utilise their emotions, as well as their personal growth initiative contribute significantly to their level of happiness.     

The predictive value of different infant attachment measures for socioemotional development at age 5 years

The predictive value of different infant attachment measures was examined in a community‐based sample of 111 healthy children (59 boys, 52 girls). Two procedures to assess infant attachment, the Attachment Q‐Set (applied on a relatively short observation period) and a shortened version of the Strange Situation Procedure (SSSP), were applied to the children at age 15 months and related to a comprehensive set of indicators of the children's socioemotional development at age 5 years. Three attachment measures were used as predictors: AQS security, SSSP security, and SSSP attachment disorganization. AQS security and SSSP security jointly predicted the security of the children's attachment representation at age 5. Apart from that, SSSP attachment disorganization was a better predictor of the children's later socioemotional development than were the other two early attachment measures. First, attachment disorganization was the only attachment measure to predict the children's later ego‐resiliency, school adjustment, and dissociation. Second, as for the socioemotional measures at age 5 that also were related to AQS or SSSP security (i.e., peer social competence and externalizing problems), the attachment security measures did not explain any extra variance beyond what was explained by attachment disorganization.     

Contextual and individual influences on antisocial behaviour and psychobiosocial states of youth soccer players

Purpose

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of contextual and individual variables (perceived motivational climate and moral atmosphere, task/ego orientation and perceived competence) on antisocial behaviour and emotion-related psychobiosocial (PBS) states as conceptualised within the individual zones of optimal functioning model.

Participants

The study was conducted on a sample of 382 young male soccer players, aged from 14 to 16 years, drawn from 27 Italian teams.

Method

A cross-sectional design was used. Assessment included measures of reported antisocial behaviour, perceived moral atmosphere, perceived motivational climate, goal orientation, perceived competence, and PBS states. Data analysis involved confirmatory factor analysis of measures and path analysis of the hypothesized relationships.

Results

Results suggest that performance climate and a moral atmosphere, in which aggressive behaviours are encouraged, are likely to determine antisocial behaviour and a range of unpleasant PBS states in young sports participants.

Conclusions

Findings substantiate the importance of the situational factors on ethical aspects and emotional states in youngsters.     

Personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care in adolescents and young adults with Type 1 diabetes.

This study compared 3 models of association between personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care in a cross-sectional design. These models were as follows: (a) Emotional stability determines self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs, and conscientiousness is a direct predictor of self-care; (b) emotional stability determines self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs, and conscientiousness moderates the association between beliefs and self-care; (c) both emotional stability and conscientiousness determine self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs. Participants (N = 358, aged 12-30 years) with Type 1 diabetes completed measures of personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care. Structural equation modeling indicated that Model C was the best fit to the data.     

Relationship between language competence and emotional competence in middle childhood

Research on children's emotional competence has received considerable attention in the last decade, including the role of language. Language competence (LC) and emotional competence (EC) comprise multiple components. These components and their specific interrelations have not been studied sufficiently. In our study, we examined relations between multiple components of LC and EC in a sample of 210 school-age children. Five measures represented LC: receptive vocabulary, verbal fluency, literacy, narrative structure, and the narrative use of evaluative devices. Four measures represented EC: expressive emotion vocabulary, declarative emotion knowledge, awareness of mixed emotions, and facial emotion recognition. Results showed strong positive correlations between LC and EC ranging between r = .12 and r = .45. In particular, receptive vocabulary and literacy were closely related to emotion knowledge and awareness of mixed emotions. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that there is a common general ability factor for LC and EC. We discuss why receptive vocabulary and literacy might be so strongly related to emotion knowledge in school-age children. Our findings have implications for developmental psychologists, educational research, and speech-language pathologists.     

Gender differences in adolescent self-esteem: an exploration of domains

The relationship between gender and global self-esteem in adolescence, while modest, has been well established, with boys consistently scoring higher than girls. In the present study, we sought to understand gender differences in adolescent self-esteem in terms of its component parts. With a relatively large (n = 545) sample of adolescents, drawn from Grades 8, 10, and 12, we specified 8 domains of adolescent self-esteem (personal security, home/parents, peer popularity, academic competence, attractiveness, personal mastery, psychological permeability, and athletic competence) across a number of different instruments and brought them together into a common assessment superstructure. Gender differences as well as the relative contributions of the different domains to overall self-esteem scores were measured. As predicted, boys attained slightly higher global self-esteem scores than girls did, by a difference of .22 standard deviation units. Contrary to our expectation of more balanced domain effects, boys significantly outperformed girls in 6 of 8 domains, whereas the 2 remaining domains exhibited no significant gender differences. There were no main or interaction effects for grade level. In terms of relative contribution of these domains to global self-esteem for the 2 genders, global self-esteem in boys and girls is predicted in very similar strengths and in the same order of magnitude by identical domains of self-esteem: home/parents, personal security, academic competence, attractiveness, and personal mastery--yielding multiple R2s from .88 to .91.     

Prediction of goal orientation and perceived competence on intensity and direction of precompetitive anxiety among adolescent handball players

This study explored the main and interactive effects of goal orientations and perceived competence on intensity and direction of the symptoms of precompetitive cognitive and somatic anxiety. 109 handball players from 16 high school teams (M = 16.2 yr., SD = 1.5) participated. All were asked to complete the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire, Perceived Competence Questionnaire, and a modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. Using separated multiple hierarchical regression analyses, direction of the symptoms of precompetitive somatic anxiety was predicted by perceived competence and interaction of ego orientation x perceived competence. Perceived competence and the interaction of ego orientation x task orientation x perceived competence were significant predictors of direction of the symptoms of precompetitive cognitive anxiety. The results suggest that perceptions of competence and task orientation moderate the relationship between ego orientation and direction of the symptoms of precompetitive anxiety.     

Beyond positive and negative affect: Achievement goals and discrete emotions in the elementary physical education classroom

ObjectivesBased on the Achievement Goal perspective [Dweck, C. S., Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256–273; Nicholls, J. G. (1984). Achievement motivation: conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance. Psychological Review, 91, 328–346] and on Pekrun et al.'s [(2004). Beyond test anxiety: development and validation of the test emotions questionnaire (TEQ). Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 17, 287–316] model of discrete class-related emotions, this study investigated the relation of achievement goals to discrete emotions in the Physical Education (PE) class.DesignCross-sectional.MethodParticipants were 319 Greek upper elementary school students who responded to a set of questionnaires assessing their achievement goal orientation, perceived competence, and the class-related emotions they experienced in the PE classes.ResultsHierarchical regression analyses showed that, after controlling for perceived competence and gender differences, task goals were positively related to positive activating emotions and negatively related to negative emotions. Ego goals exhibited a mixed picture as they were positively associated with pride and all the negative emotions. Furthermore, the relations between ego goals and emotions were qualified by an ego by task goal and by an ego by perceived competence interaction suggesting that ego goals were especially linked to emotional maladjustment when task goals were low and when competence perceptions were high rather than low.ConclusionUnique associations between task and ego goals and specific emotions were found, rendering insightful the disentanglement of positive and negative emotions into its components. The pursuit of task goals might help to counteract the emotional burden associated with ego goal pursuit whereas feeling competent to outperform when one endorses ego goals might perhaps put extra pressure on the pupils and, hence, have negative implications for their emotional adjustment.     

For better or for worse: the congruence of personal and group outcomes on targets' responses to discrimination

This paper reports two studies examining how (in‐) congruence between personal and group outcomes affects emotional well‐being, outcome attributions and procedural justice perceptions of individuals who are exposed to subtle discrimination. In Study 1 (N = 82) participants are either accepted or rejected in a (bogus) job application procedure, and either do or do not receive additional information indicating group‐level disadvantage. In Study 2 (N = 79), participants were either accepted or rejected, and received information indicating either advantage or disadvantage for members of their group. Results of both studies reveal that not only emotional well‐being and outcome attributions, but also procedural justice perceptions are primarily guided by personal outcomes. That is, being informed of group‐level disadvantage does not intensify but can instead alleviate negative affect resulting from personal rejection. Furthermore, group disadvantage is only seen as an indicator of an unjust procedure by individual group members who have personally suffered rejection. Results are discussed in relation to current insights on discrimination, tokenism and social justice. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.