Development of the Collectivist‐Sensitive Trait Forgivingness Scale

Mounting evidence suggests that experiences of forgiveness vary across cultures. However, culturally sensitive conceptualizations of forgiveness lack empirical support, in part because psychometrically sound instruments designed to capture unique aspects of forgiveness in non‐Western cultures are rare. For this reason, we developed the Collectivist‐Sensitive Trait Forgivingness Scale (TFS‐CS), which is designed to measure trait forgivingness within societies characterized by a blend of individualistic and collectivistic worldviews. In Study 1 (N = 597), exploratory factor analysis revealed a 16‐item three‐factor structure of third‐party forgiveness, collectivistic forgiveness, and interpersonal resentment among South Africans. In Study 2 (N = 897), the three‐factor model replicated in an independent South African sample. Findings also offered preliminary evidence supporting the construct validity of the TFS‐CS. Overall, these studies support a conceptualization of trait forgivingness with similarities and differences relative to Western models and highlight the importance of appreciating the influence of culture when measuring forgiveness.     

Chinese college students' general and relationship‐specific representations of adult attachment: Variable‐centred and person‐centred analysis

Formerly, researchers often treated adult attachment as a trait‐like construct with consistency across relationship contexts. However, recent studies have shown that people possess multiple relationship‐specific attachment representations, and inter‐correlations among them are only in a small‐to‐medium range. The aim of this study is to test whether these variable‐centred results could be replicated in China and further supplement them with a person‐centred analysis focusing on identifying prototypical patterns of multiple working models across relationships. We administrated measurements of general and four relationship‐specific (mother/father/best friend/romantic partner) working models and indicators of psychological adjustment upon 302 Chinese college students. Results from variable‐centred analysis demonstrated the cross‐relationship variability in working models. Furthermore, global indicators of psychological adjustment were better predicted by general models, while relationship‐specific indicators were better predicted by corresponding relationship‐specific models. These results largely replicate previous Western studies, supporting the existence of multiple attachment representations in China. In person‐centred analysis, a latent profile analysis identified four typical classes of working model profiles: all‐average, all‐secure, romantic‐insecure and peer‐secure. These classes differed not only in the cross‐relationship variability of their working models, but also in their levels of psychological adjustment. These interesting patterns may have theoretical implications and are worthy of further examination.     

Luther on vocation,by Gustaf Wingren: A twenty‐first‐century theological‐literary reading

In this article, the author offers a critical, appreciative appraisal of The One Mediator, Luther on Vocation, by Gustaf Wingren (English translation, 1957), which continues to be a seminal text for understanding Luther's teaching on the theme of vocation. The author points out that the reader needs to keep in mind both the difference between Luther's world of the sixteenth century and the world of the early twenty‐first century, and the sobering reality that pursuing the neighbor's good continues to be an essential, definitive calling that every Christian has. Further, the author calls attention to Wingren's indisputable reminder that, for Luther, vocation is about the way of the Christian in human society. That way of being in pursuit of the neighbor's good is consequent upon the forgiveness of sins, which God bestows on the sinner who receives it through faith in Jesus Christ. It is God alone who is the decisive actor, even though in the former—seeking the neighbor's good—God's work is hidden; that is, the human actor is a “mask of God.”     

A Norwegian version of the Obsessive‐Compulsive Inventory–Revised: Psychometric properties

Solem, S., Hjemdal, O., Vogel, P.A. & Stiles, T.C. (2010). A Norwegian version of the Obsessive‐Compulsive Inventory–Revised: Psychometric properties. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 509–516. The aims of this study were to test the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Obsessive‐Compulsive Inventory–Revised (OCI‐R). The study included a student/community control sample (N = 1167) and a clinical sample (N = 72) with a diagnosis of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD). The results indicated a good fit for the six‐factor structure of the OCI‐R. The mean scores and standard deviations were similar to that of studies from other countries as was the internal consistency. The OCI‐R scores were significantly higher in the OCD sample compared to the control sample. All the subscales, except hoarding, were significant predictors of obsessive‐compulsive severity, and the OCI‐R subscales seemed to be in agreement with the different subtypes of OCD according to DSM‐IV. The OCI‐R showed meaningful correlations with measures related to obsessive compulsive symptoms. As expected, it showed the strongest correlation with the Yale‐Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, followed by measures of worry, anxiety, and depression. In summary, the Norwegian OCI‐R showed adequate psychometric properties suggesting it could be a suitable measure of obsessive‐compulsive symptoms.     

Hindu Perspectives on the Thirst for Transcendence

Abstract. Definitions of nature and transcendence are given, and the framework of Hindu thought is presented. The levels of reality as discovered by physics are then discussed, which leads us to revise our notions of reality and objectivity. Transcendence is defined as something beyond matter‐energy in space‐time and is explored in several contexts of modern science, as in pre‐Big‐Bang state, negative entropy, information, complexity, and others. Finally, a philosophical reflection on consciousness is presented.     

Associations of self‐esteem and temperament traits to self‐ and teacher‐reported social status among classmates

Hintsanen, M., Alatupa, S., Pullmann, H., Hirstiö‐Snellman, P. & Keltikangas‐Järvinen, L. (2010). Associations of self‐esteem and temperament traits to self‐ and teacher‐reported social status among classmates. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 488–494. The present study examined the validity of self‐ and teacher‐reported social status and its relations to self‐esteem and temperament in a geographically representative cohort of Finnish adolescents (N = 3941, mean age 15.1 years). High agreement was found between self‐ and teacher‐rated social status (r = 0.42). Different aspects of self‐esteem were differently related to social status. When other temperament and self‐esteem variables were included in the analyses, strongest predictor for self‐rated social status in both genders was social self‐esteem (p < 0.01) and for teacher‐rated social status general self‐esteem (p < 0.01). The strongest temperamental predictors of social status were lower inhibition in girls (p < 0.01, self‐ and teacher‐rated) and higher impulsivity (p < 0.01, self‐rated) and activity (p < 0.01, teacher‐rated) in boys. The present findings are consistent with the view that social functioning and peer relations are associated with individual differences in self‐concept and temperament dimensions.     

QUASI‐NATURALISM AND MORAL REALITY

In his recent book Moral Reality, Paul Bloomfield has put forward an original set of arguments for moral realism. Central to his treatment is an argument for the reality of moral properties, one which models them on the property of being healthy. The paper is a critical examination of Bloomfield's central line of argument. It is contended that his proposed method of grounding moral realism fails, inasmuch as his Distinction Test criterion for property reality – essentially the claim that a property exists if its existence is required for distinctions that we make and must make – is inadequate. An alternative approach toward properties is suggested, which has the result, inter alia, that Bloomfield's quasi‐naturalistic approach is unnecessary for the defense of moral realism.¹     

A short note on the maximal point‐biserial correlation under non‐normality

The aim of this paper is to derive the maximal point‐biserial correlation under non‐normality. Several widely used non‐normal distributions are considered, namely the uniform distribution, t‐distribution, exponential distribution, and a mixture of two normal distributions. Results show that the maximal point‐biserial correlation, depending on the non‐normal continuous variable underlying the binary manifest variable, may not be a function of p (the probability that the dichotomous variable takes the value 1), can be symmetric or non‐symmetric around p = .5, and may still lie in the range from ?1.0 to 1.0. Therefore researchers should exercise caution when they interpret their sample point‐biserial correlation coefficients based on popular beliefs that the maximal point‐biserial correlation is always smaller than 1, and that the size of the correlation is always further restricted as p deviates from .5.     

Cross‐cultural Generalizability of the Alternative Five‐factor Model Using the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire

Several personality models are known for being replicable across cultures, such as the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) or Eysenck's Psychoticism–Extraversion–Neuroticism (PEN) model, and are for this reason considered universal. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cross‐cultural replicability of the recently revised Alternative FFM (AFFM). A total of 15 048 participants from 23 cultures completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA‐PQ) aimed at assessing personality according to this revised AFFM. Internal consistencies, gender differences and correlations with age were similar across cultures for all five factors and facet scales. The AFFM structure was very similar across samples and can be considered as highly replicable with total congruence coefficients ranging from .94 to .99. Measurement invariance across cultures was assessed using multi‐group confirmatory factor analyses, and each higher‐order personality factor did reach configural and metric invariance. Scalar invariance was never reached, which implies that culture‐specific norms should be considered. The underlying structure of the ZKA‐PQ replicates well across cultures, suggesting that this questionnaire can be used in a large diversity of cultures and that the AFFM might be as universal as the FFM or the PEN model. This suggests that more research is needed to identify and define an integrative framework underlying these personality models. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Employing autobiographical memory perspective to influence self‐congruence and brand preference

This paper advances our understanding of consumer behavior by examining the influence of autobiographical memory perspective on consumer's self‐congruence. While extant research has primarily restricted itself to the consequences of self‐congruence, this work focuses on an antecedent, by examining the psychological processes associated with the consumer's autobiographical memory perspective and the resulting impact on self‐congruence. Through three experiments, we demonstrate that visualizing autobiographical memories from a first‐person versus a third‐person perspective impacts consumers' self‐brand congruence differently under varied circumstances. Specifically, differing degrees of self‐brand congruence are experienced when consumers focus on differences (vs. similarities) between their present and recalled selves, combined with distinct autobiographical memory perspectives. The autobiographical memory perspective is identified as a key determinant of consumers' perceived change in self‐image, which, in turn, has a cascading effect on their self‐brand congruence. Thus, consumers' perceived change in self‐image is identified as the mechanism underlying the main effect. Furthermore, as an important component of self‐image, this research determines and examines a moderating influence of self‐esteem in the relationship between autobiographical memory perspective and self‐congruence. Collectively, these results facilitate our understanding of the autobiographical memory perspective as an antecedent of consumer's self‐congruence, with implications for nostalgia advertising and retro branding.     

Knowledge‐lies re‐examined

Sorensen says that my assertion that p is a knowledge‐lie if it is meant to undermine your justification for believing truly that ～p, not to make you believe that p and that, therefore, knowledge‐lies are not intended to deceive. It has been objected that they are meant to deceive because they are intended to make you more confident in a falsehood. In this paper, I propose a novel account according to which an assertion that p is a knowledge‐lie if it is intended not to provide evidence that p but to make you stop trusting all testimonies concerning whether p (in a room full of obvious liars, you will trust no one), which is how they undermine your testimonial knowledge. Because they are not intended to provide evidence that bears on the truth of p, they are not intended to make you more confident in a falsehood; therefore, knowledge‐lies are not intended to deceive. This makes them a problem for the traditional account, which takes the intention to deceive as necessary for lying, and an interesting example of Kant's idea that allowing lies whenever one feels like it would bring it about that statements in general are not believed.     

Subject‐Involving Luck

In recent years, philosophers have tended to think of luck as being a relation between an event (taken in the broadest sense of the term) and a subject; to give an account of luck is to fill in the right‐hand side of the following biconditional: an event e is lucky for a subject S if and only if ____. We can call such accounts of luck subject‐relative accounts of luck, since they attempt to spell out what it is for an event to be lucky relative to a subject. This essay argues that we should understand subject‐relative luck as a secondary phenomenon. What is of philosophical interest is giving an account of subject‐involving luck, i.e., filling in the right‐hand side of this biconditional: it is a matter of luck that S ?s iff ____. The essay argues that one of the upshots of focusing on subject‐involving luck is that lack of control accounts of luck (LCALs) become more attractive. In particular, a range of counterexamples to LCALs of subject‐relative luck do not apply to LCALs of subject‐involving luck.     

A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between maternal mind‐mindedness and theory of mind

Data are presented from a longitudinal investigation examining the relationship between maternal mind‐mindedness (MM) in infancy and socio‐cognitive development in childhood. We revisited children (n = 18) who had taken part in a longitudinal study as infants. MM had been assessed at 10, 12, 16, and 20 months of age. We followed up these children at 5–6 years of age to test their higher order theory of mind (ToM) (using the strange stories task). The convergent validity, temporal stability, and predictive validity of the construct of MM were examined in a longitudinal data set. The five measures of MM were not significantly correlated. Mother's production of appropriate mind‐related comments (but no other measures) showed evidence of temporal stability throughout infancy. Thus, MM (as measured by appropriate mind‐related comments) was confirmed as a stable construct. Children's ToM at 5–6 years of age was significantly predicted by their mother's MM up to 4 years earlier, with MM accounting for 40% of the variance of the strange stories task scores. These findings identify a relationship between MM across a protracted period of infancy and socio‐cognitive development at 5–6 years of age.     

ADOLF GRÜNBAUM ON THE STEADY‐STATE THEORY AND CREATIO CONTINUA OF MATTER OUT OF NOTHING

Abstract The ideas of creatio ex nihilo of the universe and creatio continua of new matter out of nothing entered the arena of natural science with the advent of the Big Bang and the steady‐state theories in the mid‐twentieth century. Adolf Grünbaum has tried to interpret the steady‐state theory in such a way, to show that the continuous formation of new matter out of nothing in this theory can be explained purely physically. In this paper, however, it will be shown that Grünbaum's interpretation encounters at least three problems: not distinguishing between material and efficient causes, inconsistency, and misconceiving the law of density conservation.     

A Meta‐analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations Between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism

The equivocal and debated findings from a 2007 meta‐analysis, which viewed perfectionism as a unidimensional construct, suggested that perfectionism was unrelated to procrastination. The present meta‐analysis aimed to provide a conceptual update and reanalysis of the procrastination–perfectionism association guided by both a multidimensional view of perfectionism and self‐regulation theory. The random‐effects meta‐analyses revealed a small to medium positive average effect size (r  = .23; k  = 43, N  = 10 000; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) [0.19, 0.27]) for trait procrastination and perfectionistic concerns and a small to medium negative average effect size (r  = ?.22; k  = 38, N  = 9544; 95% CI [?0.26, ?0.18]) for procrastination and perfectionistic strivings. The average correlations remained significant after statistically accounting for the joint variance between the two perfectionism dimensions via semi‐partial correlations. For perfectionistic concerns, but not perfectionistic strivings, the effects depended on the perfectionism measure used. All effects did not vary by the trait procrastination measure used or the respondent's sex. Our findings confirm that from a multidimensional perspective, trait procrastination is both positively and negatively associated with higher‐order perfectionism dimensions and further highlights the value of a self‐regulation perspective for understanding the cognitive, affective and behavioural dynamics that characterise these traits. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Exploring the Ethical Aspects of Leadership: From a Korean Perspective

Theories of ethical leadership provide important insights about the effect of leader’s ethics on the relationship between leaders and followers. However, there is an increasing demand for addressing key constructs that enhance the capacity to explain theoretical aspects of ethical leadership. The purpose of this study is to expand the theoretical framework of ethical leadership based on Korean traditional leadership by focusing on personal cultivation, morality, and social responsibility. Using a framework of intrapersonal process as leadership and core value and competence as components of leadership, this study examines the ethical aspects of Korean traditional leadership and provides the implications to further develop the theory of ethical leadership. It is found that ethical integrity ensued from sugi (self-cultivation) is an essential precondition to develop leadership, and the core value of ethical leadership includes Zhixin-Chijing (cultivation of the mind and internal piety) and the competence consists of both Ipzhi (setting a solid self-vision/establishing goal) and Silsim (practical mind, grasp changes in reality with a sound mind) in Korean traditional leadership that contributes to expanding the theoretical understanding of ethical leadership. Implications for future research in the area of ethical leadership are discussed.     

Accentuating the positive: The gendered identities of male problem‐drinkers,and the questions these pose for the counselling profession

Background: Few published studies have addressed the male experience of alcohol dependency. Aim: This paper seeks to address this deficiency and to highlight aspects of the male experience relevant to the counselling and psychotherapy profession. Methods: Six men in recovery from alcohol dependency participated in semi‐structured interviews. Findings: A grounded theory analysis elicited five core categories, Beginning to Drink, Paying for Gain with Pain, Reaching Rock Bottom, Struggling to Recover and Leading a New Life. Despite the pain they had experienced, participants' narratives were matter‐of‐fact and goal‐oriented. Low self‐esteem was expressed indirectly. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with socialisation models of alcoholism. Counsellors, and the wider profession, must be alert for the male under‐reporting of emotional distress.     

Limited‐information goodness‐of‐fit testing of diagnostic classification item response models

Despite the growing popularity of diagnostic classification models (e.g., Rupp et al., 2010, Diagnostic measurement: theory, methods, and applications, Guilford Press, New York, NY) in educational and psychological measurement, methods for testing their absolute goodness of fit to real data remain relatively underdeveloped. For tests of reasonable length and for realistic sample size, full‐information test statistics such as Pearson's X² and the likelihood ratio statistic G² suffer from sparseness in the underlying contingency table from which they are computed. Recently, limited‐information fit statistics such as Maydeu‐Olivares and Joe's (2006, Psychometrika, 71, 713) M₂ have been found to be quite useful in testing the overall goodness of fit of item response theory models. In this study, we applied Maydeu‐Olivares and Joe's (2006, Psychometrika, 71, 713) M₂ statistic to diagnostic classification models. Through a series of simulation studies, we found that M₂ is well calibrated across a wide range of diagnostic model structures and was sensitive to certain misspecifications of the item model (e.g., fitting disjunctive models to data generated according to a conjunctive model), errors in the Q‐matrix (adding or omitting paths, omitting a latent variable), and violations of local item independence due to unmodelled testlet effects. On the other hand, M₂ was largely insensitive to misspecifications in the distribution of higher‐order latent dimensions and to the specification of an extraneous attribute. To complement the analyses of the overall model goodness of fit using M₂, we investigated the utility of the Chen and Thissen (1997, J. Educ. Behav. Stat., 22, 265) local dependence statistic $X_{\mathrm{LD}}^2$ for characterizing sources of misfit, an important aspect of model appraisal often overlooked in favour of overall statements. The $X_{\mathrm{LD}}^2$ statistic was found to be slightly conservative (with Type I error rates consistently below the nominal level) but still useful in pinpointing the sources of misfit. Patterns of local dependence arising due to specific model misspecifications are illustrated. Finally, we used the M₂ and $X_{\mathrm{LD}}^2$ statistics to evaluate a diagnostic model fit to data from the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, drawing upon analyses previously conducted by Lee et al., (2011, IJT, 11, 144).