Giving Back and Growing in Service: Investigating Spirituality,Religiosity, and Generativity in Young Adults

Generativity investigations have explored the manner by which adults derive meaning and fulfillment from their life activities (e.g., Erikson in Identity, youth, and crisis W.W. Norton & Company Inc.,NY, 1968; McAdams and Logan in American Psychological Association, 15–31, 2004). Faith and religious practice have often been central features of adult meaning making, yet the relationship between one’s spiritual identity and one’s generative concern or activities has received only limited investigation. Lesser still has been investigated examining the degree to which young adults demonstrate generative concern. The current study examined the relationship between aspects of faith (religiosity and spirituality) and generativity (concern and action). A sample of 94 undergraduates from a religiously affiliated college were recruited through door-to-door invitation and were surveyed using a new measure of religiosity (Steger and Frazier in Journal of Counseling Psychology 52(4):574–582, 2005) and two measures of generativity (Loyola Generativity Scale and Generative Behavior Checklist, McAdams et al. 1992). Support was found for a relationship between spirituality and generative concern. These findings are discussed in relation to recent demographic shifts and are compared with earlier work investigating secular spiritual trends on generativity (e.g., Dillon and Wink in The generative society American Psychological Association Press, Washington, DC, 153–174, 2004).     

Generativity and Productive Pursuits: Pathways to Successful Aging in Late Midlife African American and White Women

The current study aims to examine correlates of successful aging in the context of midlife, by examining its relationship to generativity, or providing for the next generation (Erikson in Dimensions of a new identity: the 1973 Jefferson lectures in the humanities, W. W. Norton & Co., Oxford, 1974). This research identifies productive activities (e.g., paid work, sports and recreation) and spiritual commitment as potential moderators of the generativity–successful aging relationship, since engagement in these activities has been suggested to benefit health. Furthermore, we examine how these interactions differ for a sample of 237 middle-aged women (mean age = 61), depending on race. Results indicate that, whereas generativity and successful aging are related for the overall sample, this relationship is moderated by sports and recreation activities, and to a lesser extent, spiritual commitment. Importantly, spiritual commitment is associated with a positive relationship between generativity and successful aging, while sports and recreation is associated with a negative one. When viewed by race, spiritual commitment, and sports and recreation activities moderate the relationship specifically for White women, while paid work does so for Black women. This research highlights the importance of examining different pathways between generativity and aging successfully.     

Overconfidence and the Big Five

It has been consistently observed that people are generally overconfident when assessing their performance. In the current study, participants completed Goldberg's Big Five personality inventory and then completed a cognitive task designed to assess overconfidence (defined as the difference between confidence and accuracy). Extraversion significantly predicted overconfidence (with the other Big Five factors controlled statistically). In addition, openness/intellectance significantly predicted confidence and accuracy but not overconfidence (again, with the other Big Five factors controlled statistically). Theoretical implications and implications for future research are discussed.     

A Life Span Developmental Perspective on Psychosocial Development in Midlife

Research in life span development suggests that middle adulthood is a time of stability, discovery, and psychosocial growth. This review applies the life span developmental perspective to advance counselors’ understanding of psychosocial development during middle adulthood, specifically, midlife adults’ sense of self, perceptions of aging, developmental tasks, and contexts.     

Affective forecasting and the Big Five

Recent studies on affective forecasting clarify that the emotional reactions people anticipate often differ markedly from those they actually experience in response to affective stimuli and events. However, core personality differences in affective forecasting have received limited attention, despite their potential relevance to choice behavior. In the present study, 226 college undergraduates rated their anticipated and experienced reactions to the emotionally-evocative event of Valentine's Day and completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits - neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness - and their facet scales. Neuroticism and extraversion were associated with baseline mood, experienced emotional reactions, and anticipated emotional reactions. The present findings hold implications for the study of individual differences in affective forecasting, personality theory, and interventions research.     

The Dark Triad,the Big Five,and the HEXACO model

The “Dark Triad” of Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and psychopathy has received much research attention since the seminal article of Paulhus and Williams (2002). The introduction of the Dark Triad came shortly after the discovery of a six-dimensional model of personality characteristics, now called the HEXACO model. One of the HEXACO factors—Honesty–Humility—is essentially equivalent (at its opposite pole) to the common element shared by the Dark Triad variables. We suggest that the emergence and popularity of the Dark Triad reflect the importance of these characteristics and their underrepresentation in five-dimensional models of personality. We note that optimal prediction and understanding of criterion variables is better achieved using the HEXACO factors than using an ad hoc combination of the Big Five and a Dark Triad composite.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of Perceived Control and Cognitive Performance in Young,Midlife and Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Longitudinal associations between generalized control beliefs (one's perceived capacity to influence events) and cognitive test performance were examined in a population-based sample of young, midlife and older adults. Participants provided measures of perceived control, self-assessed health, education and depression and anxiety symptoms, and completed cognitive tests at two assessments, 4 years apart. For each age group, baseline (between-person) control was positively related to performance on tests of memory (immediate recall and digits backwards), speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test and choice reaction time) and verbal intelligence (Spot-the-Word). Interaction effects indicated stronger associations of between-person control beliefs with indices of speed for the older age group relative to the younger groups. Within-person changes in control were not significantly associated with changes in cognitive test performance over the study interval. Implications of the findings for self-efficacy based interventions designed to promote cognitive functioning are discussed.     

Liking of personal names,self-esteem,and the Big Five Inventory

76 university students responded to the Big Five Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory, and rated how much they liked their first and middle names. Self-esteem positively correlated with scores on Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion and negatively with Neuroticism. Liking of one's first name correlated positively with scores on Conscientiousness only.     

Psychosocial Intimacy,Relationships with Parents,and Well-being among Emerging Adults

For emerging adults, the development of psychosocial intimacy may be a key developmental task shaped by past parenting. In this study, 232 emerging adult, college students completed a questionnaire about their intimacy development, identity development, self-efficacy in romantic relationships, parenting (i.e., attachment styles, parental caring and overprotection, and parental challenge), and well-being (i.e, depressive symptoms, loneliness, happiness, and self-esteem). Findings indicate that identity development, low attachment avoidance, and self-efficacy in romantic relationships predicted intimacy development. Furthermore, those individuals with high intimacy have less loneliness, greater self-esteem, and more happiness than those with low intimacy. Achieving psychosocial intimacy may have benefits for well-being.     

Generativity,Transdisciplinarity, and Integral Leadership

Generativity involves supporting the thriving of present and future generations. The use of integral maps and transdisciplinary methods increases the potential for effectiveness in our projects and strategies. Using distinctions to conceptualize what is required for the leadership of these generative and transdisciplinary efforts is proposed as a precursor to defining leadership within contexts.     

Alexithymia and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults: Psychosocial,Psychophysiological, and Biomedical Correlates

Psychosocial correlates of alexithymia were examined in 102 healthy, older adults (ages 53-83; 76% male). Alexithymic ( n = 26) and non-alexithymic ( n = 30) groups, defined by top ( S 70) and bottom ( h 54) quartiles of the distribution of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (26-item) scores, were compared with respect to psychosocial, psychophysiological, and biomedical risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Both categorical ratings and continuous scores of alexithymia were associated with significantly greater levels of trait anxiety, anger-in, neuroticism, hostility, perceived stress, depression, and lower levels of social support. Compared to non-alexithymics, alexithymics displayed significantly greater blood pressure responses to anger provocation and tended to have a greater percent body fat. The groups did not differ in resting cardiovascular parameters, heart rate reactivity, fasting glucose and lipoprotein lipids, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, social desirability, or trait anger. These findings suggest several psychosocial and psychophysiological pathways by which alexithymia may confer risk for cardiovascular disease among older adults.     

Age,the Big Five,and time-of-day preference: A mediational model

This research examined the extent to which the Big Five personality factors mediated the relationship between age and time-of-day preference. A sample of 491 Americans (M_age = 32 yrs) completed the 240-item NEO-PI-R, the 19-item Horne and Östberg’s (1976) Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and provided demographic information. As demonstrated in previous research, correlations revealed that older people expressed a stronger morning preference. More importantly, using bootstrapping procedures, it was found that the Big Five factor of conscientiousness attenuated the relationship between age and time-of-day preference. These findings indicate that conscientiousness plays a significant role in the relationship between age and time-of-day preference.     

Mindfulness, Big Five personality, and affect: A meta-analysis

Mindfulness is purposefully and nonjudgmentally paying attention to the present moment. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a more precise empirical estimate of the relationship between mindfulness and the Big Five personality traits as well as trait affect. Current research results present inconsistent or highly variable estimates of these relationships. Meta-analysis was used to synthesize findings from 32 samples in 29 studies. Results indicate that, although all of the traits display appreciable relationships with mindfulness, the strongest relationships are found with neuroticism, negative affect, and conscientiousness. Conscientiousness, in particular, is often ignored by mindfulness researchers; results here indicate it deserves stronger consideration. Although the results provide a clearer picture of how mindfulness relates to these traits, they also highlight the need to ensure an appropriate conceptualization and measurement of mindfulness.     

The Big Five and enduring marriages

The present investigation tested the relations between the Big Five dimensions of personality and the marital relationships of over 400 couples using both observational and questionnaire data. Four major findings emerged from these analyses. First, self-reports of neuroticism were positively correlated with negative interactions and negatively correlated with global evaluations of the marriage. Second, self-reports of agreeableness were negatively correlated with negative interactions and generally positively correlated with global evaluations of the marriage. Third, self-reports of openness were negatively correlated with observer reports of negative interactions. Fourth, self-reports of openness by wives were positively correlated with global reports of sexual satisfaction. These findings suggest that agreeableness and openness deserve increased attention as significant correlates of close relationships. Discussion emphasizes the importance of intrapersonal factors for understanding marital relationships.     

Midlife Sexuality Among Thai Adults: Adjustment to Aging in the Thai Family Context

The objective of the study is to assess views of age related changes in sexual behavior among married Thai adults age 53–57. Results are viewed in the context of life course theory. In-depth interviews were conducted with 44 Thai adults in Bangkok and the four regions of Thailand. Topics covered include changing sexual behavior with age, adjustment to this change, gender differences in behavior, attitudes toward commercial sex and other non-marital sexual partners, and condom use. Most respondents were aware of this change and saw a decrease in sexual activity and desire more often among women compared to men. At the same time, many respondents viewed sexuality as important to a marriage. Some respondents accepted the decrease in sexual activity and focused more on work, family and temple activities. Thai Buddhism was seen as an important resource for people who were dealing with changes due to aging. Other persons turned to other partners including both commercial and non-commercial partners. The influence of the HIV epidemic that began in the 1990s was seen in concerns about disease transmission with extramarital partners and consequent attitudes toward condom use. The acceptability of extramarital partners in the family and community ranged from acceptance to strong disapproval of extramarital relationships.     

Meta-analyses of Big Six Interests and Big Five Personality Factors

This article presents a series of meta-analyses examining the 24 samples to date that have revealed the overlap of the three most widely used measures of Holland's Big Six domains of vocational interest, namely the Self-Directed Search (Holland, 1985a), the Strong Interest Inventory (Hansen & Campbell, 1985; Harmon, Hansen, Borgen, & Hammer, 1994), and the Vocational Preference Inventory (Holland, 1985b), with the most widely accepted measure of the Big Five personality factors, namely the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992). The meta-analyses showed the mean effect sizes for each of the 30 correlations between the six interest dimensions and the five personality dimensions. Of the 30 correlations, 5 appeared to be substantial for both women and men and across the interest measures. They are Artistic-Openness (r=.48), Enterprising-Extraversion (r=.41), Social-Extraversion (r=.31), Investigative-Openness (r=.28), and Social-Agreeableness (r=.19).     

The Questionnaire Big Six in 26 Nations: Developing Cross‐Culturally Applicable Big Six,Big Five and Big Two Inventories

The Big Five is a useful model of attributes now commonly used in cross‐cultural research, but without the support of strong measurement invariance (MI) evidence. The Big Six has been proposed as a cross‐culturally informed update, and the broader Big Two (Social Self‐Regulation and Dynamism) draws on even more cross‐cultural evidence. However, neither has been rigorously tested for cross‐cultural MI. Here a Big Six inventory (36QB6) and measures of the Big Five and Big Two derived from it were tested and refined for cross‐cultural usability in samples from 26 nations, divided into three subsets. Confirmatory factor analysis of the models in the first subset of nations demonstrated fit as strong in translation as typical personality measures achieve in their nation of origin (although poor per standard benchmarks). Items that performed inconsistently across cultures were removed, and alternates considered in a second subset of nations. Fit and invariance were improved for refined 30‐item QB6, 25‐item Big Five and 14‐item Big Two measures in the third subset of nations. For all models, decrease in comparative fit index between MI levels was larger than .01, indicating lack of support for higher levels. Configural and factorial invariance were relatively stronger, compared to scalar and full. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology