Exploring the relationship between students’ values and the values of postsecondary institutions

Little is known of how institutional and individual value systems are related among university undergraduates. With three different measures and samples of college students, perceptions of university mission and values (i.e., institutional values, creating pro-social climates, and developing a life-long commitment to values) loaded independently of their personal values systems, and often negatively with social desirability. Perceptions of institutional values were generally independent of personal value systems, using either a rank-order (Sample 1, n = 199) or rating scale method (Sample 2, n = 107), or by focusing on moral behavior structures (Sample 3, n = 208). Together, these results indicate that higher education assessment may reflect institutional values that are independent of student personal value systems.Portions of this paper were presented at the 2004 Institute for College Student Values, Tallahassee, FL     

Variability in Personality Expression Across Contexts: A Social Network Approach

The current research investigated how the contextual expression of personality differs across interpersonal relationships. Two related studies were conducted with college samples (Study 1: N = 52, 38 female; Study 2: N = 111, 72 female). Participants in each study completed a five‐factor measure of personality and constructed a social network detailing their 30 most important relationships. Participants used a brief Five‐Factor Model scale to rate their personality as they experience it when with each person in their social network. Multiple informants selected from each social network then rated the target participant's personality (Study 1: N = 227, Study 2: N = 777). Contextual personality ratings demonstrated incremental validity beyond standard global self‐report in predicting specific informants' perceptions. Variability in these contextualized personality ratings was predicted by the position of the other individuals within the social network. Across both studies, participants reported being more extraverted and neurotic, and less conscientious, with more central members of their social networks. Dyadic social network–based assessments of personality provide incremental validity in understanding personality, revealing dynamic patterns of personality variability unobservable with standard assessment techniques.     

Chinese Proverb Scale: Development and validation of an indigenous measure of Chinese traditional values

The aim of this study was to develop and validate an indigenous measure of Chinese traditional values using Chinese proverbs. A sample of 363 Mainland Chinese undergraduates participated in Study 1, in which a 26‐item Chinese Proverb Scale (CPS) was developed through factor analysis on an initial pool of 118 Chinese proverbs. Four factors were clearly identified: (a) Diligence, (b) Integrity, (c) Self‐Preservation, and (d) Self‐Interest. The CPS showed satisfactory convergent validity with personal values (S. H. Schwartz, 1992, Advances In Experimental Social Psychology, San Diego, Academic Press) and social axioms (K. Leung et al., 2002, Journal of Cross‐Cultural Psychology, 33, p. 286). For incremental validity, the CPS predicted life satisfaction beyond the Big Five personality, personal values, and social axioms. In Study 2, a sample of 239 Mainland Chinese participants completed the CPS across two measurement occasions with an interval of 6 months. Longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed the structure of the CPS was robust and invariant over time. In Study 3, a sample of 167 Chinese undergraduates from Hong Kong responded to an adapted version of the CPS. Multigroup SEM showed structural equivalence of the scale across the mainland and Hong Kong samples. The cultural origins of the factors in the CPS and future applications of the scale in various research areas are discussed.     

The perception of false self scale for adolescents: Reliability,validity, and longitudinal relationships with depressive and anxious symptoms

A scale assessing generalized false self‐perceptions (Perceptions of False Self, POFS) was developed and tested across three studies involving a total of 331 adolescents (11–16 years). In Study 1, interviews were conducted to develop items for the scale. In Study 2, psychometric techniques were used to derive a scale composed of 16 items. Study 2 also assessed the validity of the scale: depressive symptoms were found to increase POFS across 10 weeks, whereas false self‐perceptions had a reciprocal effect on anxiety. In Study 3, the convergent validity of the POFS scale was established. Overall, the evidence suggests that the POFS scale is a reliable and valid measure of generalized false self‐perceptions.     

Connectedness and its consequences: a study of relationships with the natural environment

Recent interest in people's engagement with the natural environment has resulted in a series of empirical measures and important research findings. Two studies reported here complement this literature in producing a concise measure of connectedness to the natural environment and assessing its independent predictive impact within the structure of the theory of planned behavior. In Study 1 (n = 71), new measures of connectedness and caring were constructed; in Study 2 (n = 163), the connectedness measure was shown to be an independent predictor of people's intentions to reduce personal energy consumption levels. It is suggested that the measure of connectedness may capture some identity‐related and/or affective experience that impacts (independently of more cognitive predictors) upon people's motivation in this domain.     

Regulatory focus systems and personal values

The present studies sought connections between two highly influential, but separate motivational systems: the regulatory foci and personal values. Study 1 (N = 173) showed that promotion focus was positively associated with Achievement and negatively with Tradition values, whereas prevention focus was positively associated with Conformity and Security values, and negatively with Self‐Direction and Stimulation values. Furthermore, interdependent self‐construal moderated trait prevention focus' associations with Power, Benevolence, Universalism, and Conformity values. Study 2 (N = 150) showed that a promotion‐framed message evoked more compliant behavior among those scoring high on Stimulation, Achievement, and Self‐Direction values, but that a prevention‐framed message evoked more compliance among those high in Conformity values. The results suggested that the regulatory foci are associated with certain values, and that these values may increase motivation in promotion‐ versus prevention‐relevant situations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Experience in Personal Social Systems Questionnaire (EXIS.pers): Development and Psychometric Properties

This study presents the theoretical background, development, and psychometric properties of the German and English versions of the Experience in Personal Social Systems Questionnaire (EXIS.pers). It assesses how the members of a personal social system experience their situation within that system. It is designed as a research tool for interventions in which only one member of the system participates (e.g., Family Constellation Seminars). The EXIS.pers was created to measure change on the individual level relating to one's own important personal social system. In Study 1, we used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for latent variable identification of the original German EXIS.pers (n = 179). In Studies 2 and 3, we used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the dimensionality of the German (n = 634) and English (n = 310) EXIS.pers. Internal consistencies and cross‐cultural structural equivalence were assessed. EFA indicated that a four‐factor model provided best fit for the German EXIS.pers. For both the German and English EXIS.pers, CFA provided the best fit for a five‐factor bi‐level model that included a general factor (Experience In Personal Social Systems) and four dimensions (Belonging, Autonomy, Accord, Confidence). Good internal consistencies, external associations, and cross‐cultural structural equivalence were demonstrated. This study provides first evidence for the German and English EXIS.pers as an economical and reliable measure of an individual's experience within his or her personal social systems.     

American undergraduate students' value development during the Great Recession

The Great Recession's influence on American undergraduate students' values was examined, testing Greenfield's and Kasser's theories concerning value development during economic downturns. Study 1 utilised aggregate‐level data to investigate (a) population‐level value changes between the pre‐recession (2004–2006: n = 824,603) and recession freshman cohort (2008–2010: n = 662,262) and (b) overall associations of population‐level values with national economic climates over long‐term periods by correlating unemployment rates and concurrent aggregate‐level values across 1966–2015 (n = 10 million). Study 2 examined individual‐level longitudinal value development from freshman to senior year, and whether the developmental trajectories differed between those who completed undergraduate education before the Great Recession (freshmen in 2002, n = 12,792) versus those who encountered the Great Recession during undergraduate years (freshmen in 2006, n = 13,358). Results suggest American undergraduate students' increased communitarianism (supporting Greenfield) and materialism (supporting Kasser) during the Great Recession. The recession also appears to have slowed university students' development of positive self‐views. Results contribute to the limited literature on the Great Recession's influence on young people's values. They also offer theoretical and practical implications, as values of this privileged group of young adults are important shapers of societal values, decisions, and policies.     

The reward probability index: design and validation of a scale measuring access to environmental reward

Behavioral models of depression implicate decreased response-contingent positive reinforcement (RCPR) as critical toward the development and maintenance of depression (Lewinsohn, 1974). Given the absence of a psychometrically sound self-report measure of RCPR, the Reward Probability Index (RPI) was developed to measure access to environmental reward and to approximate actual RCPR. In Study 1 (n = 269), exploratory factor analysis supported a 20-item two-factor model (Reward Probability, Environmental Suppressors) with strong internal consistency (α = .90). In Study 2 (n = 281), confirmatory factor analysis supported this two-factor structure and convergent validity was established through strong correlations between the RPI and measures of activity, avoidance, reinforcement, and depression (r = .65 to .81). Discriminant validity was supported via smaller correlations between the RPI and measures of social support and somatic anxiety (r = – .29 to – .40). Two-week test–retest reliability was strong (r = .69). In Study 3 (n = 33), controlling for depression symptoms, hierarchical regression supported the incremental validity of the RPI in predicting daily diary reports of environmental reward. The RPI represents a parsimonious, reliable, and valid measure that may facilitate understanding of the etiology of depression and its relationship to overt behaviors.     

Development and Validation of a Deontic Justice Scale

This paper describes the development and validation of a deontic justice scale (DJS). Study 1 (n = 124) was conducted to test the initial 36‐item version of the scale. It resulted in the reduction of the initial scale to 18 items, including 3 dimensions: moral obligation (8 items), moral accountability (6 items), and moral outrage (4 items). Study 2 (n = 101) was conducted to examine the construct validity and confirm the factor structure of the DJS. Findings from both studies showed evidence of the scale's construct validity. They also showed that deontic justice is a multidimensional construct encompassing moral obligation, moral accountability, and moral outrage. The scale's implications for use as an adequate research instrument are discussed.     

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.     

Passion for a Cause: How It Affects Health and Subjective Well‐Being

Using the dualistic model of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003), this research investigated how harmonious passion (HP) or obsessive passion (OP) for a cause can affect volunteers' health and subjective well‐being. Three studies with volunteers for local (local emergency crises and community help) and international (humanitarian missions) causes assessed physical and psychological health using cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs. Study 1 (N = 108) showed that HP was positively related to satisfaction with one's involvement in the cause and unrelated to physical injuries due to cause involvement. OP was unrelated to satisfaction but positively associated with injuries. Findings were replicated in Study 2 (N = 83). Moreover, self‐neglect mediated the positive and negative effects of HP and OP, respectively, on injuries. Study 3 (N = 77) revealed that HP predicted an increase in satisfaction and health over a 3‐month mission. OP predicted an increase in physical symptoms and a decrease in health. Furthermore, OP before a mission was positively related to self‐neglect that was positively associated with physical symptoms after a mission. OP also positively predicted rumination that was conducive to posttraumatic stress disorder. HP was unrelated to these variables. Findings underscore the role of passion for a cause in predicting intrapersonal outcomes of volunteers.     

Autism spectrum conditions among children and adolescents: A new profiling tool

There is considerable debate about the sociocognitive features of autism spectrum conditions (ASC), and a tool for profiling the sociocognitive profiles of children and adolescents with ASC is needed. The aim of this research was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a new questionnaire—The Australian Scale for Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASASC). Three hundred twenty‐two parents of children on the ASC spectrum, including autistic disorder (n = 76), Asperger's disorder (n = 188), and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (n = 21), and a clinical group of children with subclinical ASC features and no ASC diagnosis (n = 37). Measures include an initial scale measuring eight potential dimensions of ASC, a related screening tool for autism, and two previously validated social skills questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered online. The ASASC was factor‐analysed, internal and test–retest reliabilities (for a randomly selected 84 parents) were calculated, and preliminary tests of convergent and divergent validity were conducted. The resulting measure (44 items) contained five coherent and reliable dimensions: understand and express emotion, fact orientation, sensory sensitivity, social communication, and rigidity. The questionnaire had good test–retest reliability and convergent/divergent validity. The ASASC enables profiles of ASC symptomatology that should be useful in adjusting interventions to individual needs.     

Alcohol self‐presentation: the role of impression motivation and impression construction

Two studies examined impression motivation (IM) and impression construction (IC) processes in college freshman alcohol use. In both studies, students completed individual difference measures related to IM and alcohol IC. In Study 1 (n = 232), participants were assigned to IM (low vs. high) and IC (alcohol vs. control) conditions and then created a personal profile. In Study 2 (n = 65), participants reported levels of IM and alcohol IC, and number of drinks during each evening's social interactions for 3 weeks. Situational alcohol IC was positively related to whether participants presented themselves as an alcohol user in their profile (Study 1) and in the amount they drank (Study 2). In Study 2, the association between IC and drinking was moderated by IM.     

Suspicious minds: The motive to acquire relationship‐threatening information

In four studies, we obtained evidence for the reliability and validity of a 21‐item scale designed to measure a new theoretical construct: individual differences in the motivation to acquire relationship‐threatening information (hereafter, MARTI). Study 1 provided evidence for the MARTI scale's reliability and discriminant validity, revealing that it was reliable and not significantly correlated with measures of the Big Five personality traits, adult attachment styles, or more general social orientations. Studies 2 and 3 provided evidence for the scale's convergent and discriminant validity, showing that dating partners with higher MARTI scores (i.e., those who were more motivated to acquire relationship‐threatening information) scored lower in relational trust and reported engaging in more “suspicion behaviors.” Study 4 provided behavioral evidence for the scale's predictive validity, revealing that (a) dating partners with higher MARTI scores were more likely to break up within 5 months, and (b) the breakup rate was most pronounced for dating partners who scored higher on the scale and who also reported being less close. We discuss how this new construct and measure can be used to study important relationship dynamics.

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Rainbows in the society: A measure of hope for society

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a measure of social hope. Previous studies have extensively reported on personal hope and its outcomes. Although a few studies have suggested the concept of collective or social hope, there is no instrument to assess the construct. In this study, we created a 5‐item scale, drawing on Snyder's hope theory, and collected two sets of survey data online. Analysis of these data sets revealed that the new scale was structurally unidimensional and internally consistent. In association with Snyder's State Hope Scale, the Social Hope Scale showed convergent and discriminant validity. The social hope construct also exhibited theoretically meaningful relationships with political efficacy and self‐construal (concurrent validity). Finally, social hope was higher for those who had participated in certain types of social activism than it was for those who had not (predictive validity). These results suggest that the Social Hope Scale is a reliable and valid self‐report measure of hopeful thinking for society.     

Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement in Health Risk and HIV and AIDS Prevention

The purpose of the study was to establish the difference in health and HIV and AIDS risk between students with an internal locus of control (LOC; n = 124) and students with an external LOC (n = 133). The study assessed students' LOC and health risks associated with self‐control, fatalism, achievement‐oriented behavior, deferment of gratification, personal values, and alienation. The findings indicate significant differences in health risks between students with an internal LOC and those with an external LOC. Future research should focus on LOC, reinforcement, and HIV and AIDS risk.     

Personal values and prosocial behaviour in strategic interactions: Distinguishing value‐expressive from value‐ambivalent behaviours

Relying on the framework provided by Schwartz's theory of personal values, we investigated whether values can help explain prosocial behaviour. We first distinguished value‐expressive behaviours from value‐ambivalent behaviours. The former are compatible with primarily one value or with congruent values, the latter with mutually conflicting values. In Study 1, an analysis over all 41 (39 unpublished) samples in which we measured personal values and prosocial behaviour in monetarily incentivized strategic interactions (N = 1289; data collected between 2007 and 2010 in China, Finland, Germany, Israel, and the West Bank) supported our idea that personal values, universalism in particular, predict value‐expressive (prisoner's dilemma cooperation and trust game back‐transfers) but not value‐ambivalent behaviours (trust game transfers and ultimatum game proposals and responses). Study 2 (N = 56) focused on dictator game behaviours, which we expected and found to be strongly value‐expressive. The findings contribute to the ongoing discussion on whether and under which circumstances values shape behaviour. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Agreement by design: The effect of visual harmony on responses to surveys

The present study is one of the first to empirically examine how the visual harmony of a questionnaire can lead to measurement bias. Researchers often employ questionnaires with Likert scales to measure constructs. In this note, we examine how the design of the survey instrument, specifically, its visual harmony, can impair measurement accuracy. Two studies investigate effects of visual harmony in surveys on responses to Likert scales using paper and pencil surveys. Applying an established customer relationship management model, Study 1 employs a survey of female visitors to a grocery store (n = 115). Switching to a product and brand innovation context, Study 2 employs a survey of male and female members of a consumer panel (n = 180) to examine responses to a new e‐scooter. Across studies, results indicate that assessing important consumer response constructs through visually more harmonious surveys can lead to more positive response patterns, lower scale reliability, and questionable validity, especially with females. Although these effects do not occur uniformly across measures and samples, they occur regardless of consumers' past experience with completing questionnaires, their familiarity with questionnaire design, and the naturalness and elaborateness of the visual design. Relating specific elements (e.g., text boxes, type font, shapes, and images) and relational properties of design (e.g., balance, symmetry, and coherence) to consumers' overall perception of harmony aids marketers and researchers in achieving intermediate levels to obtain realistic, reliable, and valid results.     

The translation and validation of the Mini‐K scale in Japanese

The purpose of this study was to validate the 20‐item Mini‐K scale, which is the short form of the Arizona Life History Battery, as translated into Japanese. Two samples of Japanese adults (N = 2000; 50.0% men; Mage = 40.9 for the first survey; N = 400; 50.0% men; Mage = 42.2 for the second survey) completed a web‐based questionnaire, including the Japanese translation of the Mini‐K. The results showed that the psychometric properties of the Japanese Mini‐K scale were comparable to those of the original English version. The scale had good reliability based on Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω. Convergent validity was demonstrated by the correlation between the Mini‐K scores and life history indicators. In addition, the Mini‐K score was related to both personality and psychosomatic health. The translated scale provides a valid and reliable instrument in Japanese that measures human life‐history strategy.