Adaption-innovation typology and right-left hemispheric preferences

The authors of this article illustrate the results of an Italian research in which the correlation between the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) and Torrance's Solat C Test has been tested. Previous studies in this domain of cognitive style and individual preferences showed encouraging findings, although data were obtained with a small sample (Torrance and Horng, 1980). In this research the two measures were applied to a sample (N = 216) of high school students, heterogeneous for sex and subject of study. The Italian findings support the existence of a correlation between KAI and Solat form C, and this is valid also for KAI subtraits O, E and R. Although the correlation exists and shows that the two measures are related, it is not large enough to demonstrate that they are measuring the same thing. Nevertheless, some issues are questioned about the correlations and a new variable (δ = right-left scores) is described in order to obtain a stronger and more reliable correlation with KAI total score. The KAI subtrait's correlations with left-right preferences are available for the Italina sample.     

The style of processing scale: normative and reliability data.

Three student samples (ns=624, 653, and 566) yielded normative data for the Style of Processing scale. Analysis of subsamples found acceptable internal reliability (overall r=.78) and good test-retest reliability (overall r=.81, 6-mo. interval). The scale appears to have satisfactory reliability for assessing verbal-visual cognitive style, but further work is needed to test the scale's validity.     

Assessing decision-making style in French-speaking populations: Translation and validation of the general decision-making style questionnaire

IntroductionIndividual differences in decision-making are a fundamental component of our understanding of the decision-making process. Scott and Bruce (1995) developed the General Decision-Making Style (GDMS) questionnaire to assess five decision-making styles: rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous.ObjectiveThe purpose of our study was to translate and validate the GDMS into French. This measure has been used frequently to assess decision-making style since its creation. Yet, the scale is currently unavailable in French despite being already available in Slovak, Italian, and Swedish.MethodFollowing best practices for scale translation (e.g., Vallerand, 1989), the original version of the GDMS was administered to a group of 345 English-speaking participants and the translated version of the questionnaire was administered to a group of 325 French-speaking participants.ResultsThe properties of the translated questionnaire were then compared to those of the original questionnaire. Results of item-level, scale-level and measurement invariance analyses demonstrate that the translated measure, the Échelle des styles décisionnels, is a valid and reliable assessment of decision-making style in French-speaking populations.ConclusionThis measure already exists in languages that are much less commonly spoken than French. The newly translated Échelle des styles décisionnels will now allow researchers to validly assess decision-making style in French-speaking populations, thereby greatly increasing the ability to assess cross-cultural stability of decision-making theories.     

The Roots of Psychology (Book)

Individual scale characteristics and the inventory structure of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) were examined by conducting internal consistency and factor analyses of item and scale score data from a large group (N = 301) of alcohol-dependent patients. Alpha coefficients, mean interitem correlations, and corrected item-total scale correlations for the sample paralleled values reported by Morey for a large clinical sample. Minor differences in the scale factor structure of the inventory from Morey's clinical sample were found. Overall, the findings support the use of the PAI in the assessment of personality and psychopathology of alcohol-dependent patients.     

The Relation Between Children's Trust Beliefs and Theory of Mind Abilities

The study examined the relation between children's trust beliefs and Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities. A sample of 168 Italian children (M = 9 years–6 months, SD = 7 months) were administered the Italian Children's Generalized Trust Beliefs (ICGTB) Scale, two Second‐Order False Belief ToM measures, and an Advanced ToM measure. As expected, the ICGTB scale demonstrated: (1) validity by its three factor structure and (2) reliability by exhibiting acceptable internal consistency and test–retest stability. As expected, the children's emotional trust beliefs in others were associated with both second‐order false belief ToM ability and advanced ToM ability. These relations were not attributable to verbal ability. The findings are discussed with respect to the relations among children's emotional trust beliefs, personal disclosure, and quality of attachment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

个体认知方式与材料复杂性对视空间工作记忆的影响

采用计算机呈现的Corsi积木点击任务,探讨了不同认知方式个体对材料的路径、结构和数量复杂性不同的视空间工作记忆的广度。研究结果表明：（1）场独立性认知方式是影响视空间工作记忆广度的一个重要的个别差异变量,在路径复杂或呈现的材料结构随机的条件下,场独立者的视空间工作记忆广度明显高于场依存者;（2）材料呈现的路径、数量是影响视空间记忆广度的重要因素,在路径简单或数量少的情况下被试的视空间记忆广度要明显得高     

Mesomorphy correlates with experiential cognitive style

The purpose of this study was to test for a relationship between mesomorphy and experiential cognitive style (S. Epstein, 1994) in a sample of university students (30 women and 24 men). Anthropometric somatotypes were obtained using the Heath-Carter procedure (J. E. L. Carter, 2002). Experiential cognitive style was operationalized as scores on the experiential scale of the Rational Experiential Inventory for Adolescents (A. D. Marks, D. W. Hine, R. L. Blore, & W. J. Phillips, 2008). Nonparametric bootstrap correlations were calculated using 80% confidence intervals. There were significant correlations between mesomorphy and experiential cognitive style for men (r(s) = .33) and women (r(s) = .25). For men, experiential cognitive style was also correlated with endomorphy (r(s) = .39) and ectomorphy (rs = -.48).     

Comparison of the Cognitive Styles Analysis and the Style of Processing Scale

The Cognitive Styles Analysis and the Style of Processing Scale are two tests designed to assess verbal-visual cognitive style. These scales represent two of the main approaches to assessing verbal-visual cognitive style, namely, computer-based testing and paper-and-pencil testing. A student sample (N=75; sex: 23 men, 52 women; age: M= 18.1 yr., SD= 1.7 yr.) yielded low correlations between the verbal-visual components of the tests (largest r = .08), indicating that they are unlikely to be related. The Cognitive Styles Analysis has some support for validity but its reliability has recently been criticised. The Style of Processing Scale has demonstrated reliability but has little support for validity. Currently, neither test could be considered a dearly dependable scale for assessing verbal-visual cognitive style.     

The Need for Recovery scale: Adaptation to the Italian context

IntroductionNeed for Recovery scale is one of the main scales used to assess work-induced fatigue and quality of workers’ recovery time. In fact, need for recovery is considered relevant as a precursor of prolonged fatigue or psychological distress, an indicator of work stress, and a mediating or moderating characteristic in the etiology of work-related health problems, sick leave and work disability.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study is to translate the Need for Recovery scale into Italian, and to adapt it to Italian culture; until now there has been no comparable valid instrument made for the Italian language that measures the need for recovery of employees. The stability and internal consistency of the scale will be assessed among Italian workers.MethodFor cross-cultural adaptation, a translation/back-translation method integrated with expert committee review and pre-testing was applied. Three hundred and seventy-eight Italian workers filled out the scale.ResultsThe psychometric properties proved to be good, both in terms of scale homogeneity and internal consistency, for the total sample and for subgroups of Italian employees in terms of gender, age and educational level. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a single factor solution with 44% of the variance explained.ConclusionsResults are encouraging for the possibility of using the Need for Recovery scale as a quick and adequate scale to measure early symptoms of work-induced fatigue and quality of Italian workers’ recovery time.     

创造性认知风格、创造性人格与创造性思维的关系

对315名初中生施测Kirton适应–创新认知风格问卷、Williams创造性倾向量表和Torrance创造性思维测验任务,以考察创造性认知风格、创造性人格与创造性思维之间的关系。相关分析表明,在创造性认知风格中,效率性、规则性均与创造性思维呈显著负相关;在创造性人格中,冒险性、好奇心及挑战性均与创造性思维显著正相关。回归分析进一步表明,在创造性认知风格中,创新性、效率性分别正向、负向预测创造性思维,在创造性人格中,好奇心正向预测创造性思维;对回归系数的逐步检验发现,创新性维度通过创造性人格而对创造性思维具有间接的积极影响。结构方程模型结果则显示,创新性维度、规则性维度以创造性人格为中介分别对创造性思维发生间接的积极、消极影响。可见,创新认知风格有利于创造性思维,而适应认知风格不利于创造性思维;创造性人格有利于创造性思维;创造性人格在创造性认知风格与创造性思维之间具有一定的中介作用,创新性认知风格通过创造性人格而促进创造性思维,规则性认知风格通过创造性人格而抑制创造性思维。     

Development and validation of the cognitive style indicator

The authors describe the development and validation of the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI) using 3 diverse samples (N = 5,924; N = 1,580; and N = 635). Reliability, item, and factor analyses demonstrated the internal consistency and homogeneity of 3 cognitive styles: knowing, planning, and creating. The authors also found substantial support for the instrument's convergent and discriminant validity by including other cognitive style instruments and personality and academic performance measures in the validation process. Criterion-related validity was confirmed by examination of the relation between these cognitive styles and work-related characteristics. The main contributions of this study are (a) the further refinement of the analytic-intuitive cognitive style dimension by splitting the analytic pole in a knowing and a planning style and (b) the development of a valid and reliable cognitive style instrument for use in organizations.     

A Self‐Report Measure of Productive Thinking in Solving Insight Problems

There is broad agreement among executives on the importance of innovation and creativity in organizations. The paper aimed to provide information on the effectiveness of a new cognitive style inventory, the Productive‐Reproductive Thinking Inventory (P‐R), in identifying people with creative problem‐solving potential. Participants completed the P‐R Inventory, Kirton's Adaption‐Innovation Inventory (KAI), the Assimilator‐Explorer Inventory, self‐rating of insight problem‐solving, and a battery of insight problem‐solving tasks under controlled conditions. The P‐R scale was a significant predictor of problem‐solving performance and insight self‐ratings and correlated significantly with KAI and AE scores. In addition, the results supported distinguishing two types of reproductive thinking which are differentially associated with insight performance. The distinction was supported by confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation models. Using controlled conditions may limit the generality of the findings and further research should be carried out in applied settings. The P‐R inventory is short and easily administered and may provide HR professionals with a useful screening tool for assessing creative problem‐solving potential. The measure differs from the KAI in several ways that may offer advantages for creativity researchers in that it is non‐proprietary, based on well‐established psychological constructs, and is more particularly applicable to insight problem‐solving.     

Development and Validation of the Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Events Scale

We examined the psychometric properties of the newly created Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Events Scale (CTNES) in two studies involving university undergraduates. In Study 1 (N = 634), factor analysis revealed four subscales that correspond with various types of counterfactual thinking: Nonreferent Downward, Other-Referent Upward, Self-Referent Upward, and Nonreferent Upward. The subscales were largely orthogonal and had adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The CTNES subscales were positively correlated with a traditional method of assessing counterfactual thinking and were related as expected to contextual aspects of the negative event, negative affect, and cognitive style. In Study 2 (N = 208), we further examined the validity of the scale and demonstrated that the subscales were sensitive to an experimental manipulation concerning the type of negative event participants recalled. Moreover, the CTNES subscales correlated in the expected direction with measures of coping and cognitive style.     

Stability of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression: a short-term prospective multiwave study

The stability of 3 cognitive vulnerabilities--a negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, and rumination--as well as depressive symptoms as a benchmark were examined to investigate whether cognitive vulnerabilities are stable, enduring risks for depression. A sample of adolescents (6th-10th graders) completed measures of these 3 cognitive vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms every 5 weeks for 4 waves of data across 5 months. Mean-level and differential stability were examined for the sample overall and by age subgroups. A negative cognitive style exhibited mean-level stability, whereas rumination and dysfunctional attitudes showed some mean-level change. Absolute magnitudes of test-retest reliabilities were strong for depressive symptoms (mean r= .70), moderately high for a negative cognitive style (mean r= .52), and more modest for rumination (mean r= .28) and dysfunctional attitudes (mean r= .26). Structural equation modeling showed that primarily enduring processes, but not contextual forces, contributed to the patterning of these test-retest reliabilities over time for a negative cognitive style and dysfunctional attitudes, whereas both enduring and contextual dynamics appeared to underlie the stability for rumination. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Cognitive appraisal,vulnerability and coping: An integrative analysis of appraisal and coping mechanisms

Research on stress has generally concluded that stress occurs within the person as a result of their cognitive appraisal of experience. However although a number of cognitive theories of emotion exist, an integrative analysis of cognitive appraisal and vulnerability to stress has not been produced. This report contains two studies. Study 1 draws together the major variables identified in the literature in an analysis of their power to differentiate between a clinical sample (n = 48), a self-help group (n = 54), and a control sample (n = 509). The analysis shows that achievement motivation, attributional style, problem-solving style, emotional reactivity; hopelessness, perceived control and perceived social support are significant discriminators. In a second study the relationship between these variables and aspects of life stress, work stress, life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, and positive affect were investigated. Again the data support an explanatory role for these variables. The suggestion is that these variables can be utilized in an integrative model of cognitive appraisal in the stress process to guide intervention.     

Cognitive bias of optimism and its influence on psychological well-being.

An investigation of the cognitive bias observed in optimism and the influence of optimism on psychological well-being was conducted. The cognitive bias was assumed to be related to the repressive style of information processing, represented by the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Social Desirability scale. Optimism and well-being were measured by the Life Orientation Test and the Social Optimism scale as well as by the Life Satisfaction and Depression scales, respectively. These scales were applied to a sample of 200 individuals. Trait Anxiety and Social Desirability led to a high multiple correlation with the Life Orientation Test (R = .54) and a moderate multiple correlation with the Social Optimism scale (R = .30). Higher correlations were obtained for the expectation of a positive than of a negative future. Both the Life Orientation Test and the Social Optimism scale contributed to the high multiple correlation with psychological well-being (R = .52).     

The State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM): A construct and incremental validity study

Recent studies have shown that relationship experiences and contextual factors may influence attachment security, anxiety, and avoidance. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Italian translation of the State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM), a personality scale aimed to assess temporary variations in adult attachment styles (Gillath, Hart, Noftle, & Stockdale, 2009). Four hundred Italian participants took a set of standardized self-report attachment scales and other measures of subjective wellbeing and mental-health. Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed an acceptable fit between the SAAM three-factor model and the data, confirming the hypothesized measurement model for security, anxiety, and avoidance. SAAM subscales also attained high internal consistency reliability, were properly related to mainstream attachment style scales, and had incremental validity in predicting psychological well-being and mental health. The Italian SAAM translation is indeed a reliable and valid measure, showing promise as a clinical assessment of short-term changes in attachment states, even in non-English cultural context.     

Effects of impulsivity, reinforcement sensitivity, and cognitive style on Pathological Gambling symptoms among frequent slot machine players

Pathological Gambling (PG) is the inability to resist recurrent urges to gamble excessively despite harmful consequences to the gambler or others. A cognitive-behavioral Pathways Model of PG (Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002) suggests individual differences in rash impulsivity and reward sensitivity, together with a cognitive style that promotes poor decision making, as risk factors. These individual differences were examined in a community sample of experienced slot machine players (N = 100), who were classified into Low, Moderate, and Problem gambling groups according to the Problem Gambling Severity Index (Ferris & Wynne, 2001). There were significant group differences on rash impulsivity as measured by the Eysenck Impulsivity scale, and on reward sensitivity as measured by the BIS/BAS Drive scale. For cognitive style, there were differences on Actively Openminded Thinking (AOT), but not the Rational Experiential Inventory. Hierarchical regression analyses found that impulsivity and AOT predicted severity of PG, but that AOT mediated the effect of BAS Drive. A thinking style that promotes erroneous cognition may correlate with PG, but individual differences in rash impulsivity and reward-seeking play a more critical role in the etiology of PG. The individual characteristics of Pathological Gamblers are similar to those of people with Substance Use Disorders.     

Spirituality and natural mentoring relationship among adolescent girls and boys in Slovakia

The aim of the article is to explore the association between natural mentoring relationships and spirituality among adolescent boys and girls, controlling for perceived parental support and year of high school attendance. The sample consisted of 177 Slovak adolescents (53% girls; M_age = 16.92, SD = 1.69). Spirituality was measured by the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory, the existence of a mentoring relationship by single item measure, and the perceived parental support was examined via the Resilience and Youth Development Module questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results confirm an association between spirituality and the existence of a natural mentoring relationship. Mentoring relationships were associated with a lower level of cognitive orientation towards spirituality among boys and girls and with a lower level of existential well-being among girls. Results confirm the importance of mentoring due to the development of adolescent spirituality and emphasize the need to examine its correlates.