Personality accounts for stable preferences and expectations across a range of simple games

Behaviour on even simple experimental games shows considerable individual differences, but previous attempts to link these preferences to stable personality traits have had mixed results. Here we address three limitations of earlier studies, namely: (1) uncertainties concerning the reliability of preferences; (2) use of personality instruments with limited cross-study comparability; and (3) confounds where more than one psychological motive can lead to a particular choice. Sixty-seven participants completed 12 distinct real-money games twice over a two-week interval along with 6 measures concerning their expectations about other players’ choices. Personality was measured using the full NEO-PI-R. Choices were highly stable across time (r = .84). Moreover, choices on the 12 games and 6 expectations reflected a single underlying dimension of “prosocial orientation”, measuring concern for the payoffs received by other players. Scores on the prosocial orientation dimension were related to personality, with openness, (low) neuroticism, and (low) extraversion retained as significant predictors.     

Strengthening Communities: A Qualitative Assessment of Opportunities for the Prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Wake of the Opioid Crisis

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The opioid crisis is a significant challenge for health and human service systems that serve children, youth, and families across the United States. Between...     

Using census data in the management of religious diversity: an Australian case study

Abstract

Mapping and measuring religious diversity has become critical to the management of interreligious relations in the 21st century. The data about religious identification provided by the Australian census since the formation of Federal Government in Australia, and prior to that in the Colonies, has provided detailed information about the extent of and changes in religious diversity in the nation and in particular cities. Because the census also provides very detailed information about where people of different religions live, it can provide information about the extent to which religious groups are residentially segregated, a factor which affects how people of different religions relate to each other. The methodological issues related to measuring diversity are discussed and the utility in urban contexts of a ‘dissimilarity scale’ is demonstrated. The unique contribution of census data to the mapping and management of religious diversity in Australia is presented.     

Perceiving Aggression from Facial Structure: Further Evidence for a Positive Association with Facial Width‐to‐Height Ratio and Masculinity,but not for Moderation by Self‐Reported Dominance

Recent work has indicated that individual differences in facial structure are linked to perceptions of aggressiveness. In particular, the relative width of a face [facial width‐to‐height ratio (fWHR)] has been suggested to be a reliable cue to aggressive behaviour, at least in men. Additionally, facial masculinity has been associated with perceptions of dominance, a close proxy of aggressiveness. In two studies, we assessed the robustness of this link using faces transformed along these vectors in men (Studies 1 and 2) and women (Study 2). Additionally, we examined whether individual differences in self‐reported dominance of perceivers moderated this association in order to extend previous work indicating that own dominance affects perception of such behaviour in others. Results indicated that both male and female faces with increased fWHR and increased facial masculinity were perceived as more aggressive. However, we found no systematic evidence for moderating effects of self‐reported dominance on the perception of aggression in others. Taken together, these results further support the robustness of fWHR and facial masculinity as cues to aggressiveness but question whether observers' own dominance moderates their perception of these cues in others. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

General,Work-Specific,and Work-Role Conscientiousness Measures in Predicting Work Criteria: A Comparative Perspective

The current study compared general, work-specific, and work-role measures of conscientiousness as predictors of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, job engagement, and task performance. As expected, work-role conscientiousness yielded stronger relationships with five of the ten work-related criteria than general conscientiousness, and with six of the ten criteria than work-specific conscientiousness. More importantly, work-role conscientiousness displayed incremental validity in predicting nearly all work-related criteria, when controlling for general and work-specific conscientiousness alone or in combination. It is also worth noting that six of ten analyses found that work-role conscientiousness demonstrated greater relative importance compared to its counterparts. Finally, we found that the context in which the items were completed moderated the relationships between work-role conscientiousness and two work-related criteria (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment). Together, these results suggest that researchers should consider the work-role measure of conscientiousness in the prediction of work criteria.     

Social cognitive predictors of prosocial behavior toward same and alternate race children among white pre-schoolers

Social cognitive predictors of 36 White preschoolers' (18 boys, 18 girls) tendencies to say they would act prosocially toward White and African-American children were examined. White preschoolers completed measures of their tendency to engage in prosocial behaviors directed toward White and African-American children, positive racial beliefs about White and African-American persons, and race schematicity. Consistent with previous research examining prosocial behavior in preschoolers, girls were more likely than boys to say they would act prosocially. White preschoolers' age in months did not correlate significantly with their tendencies to engage in prosocial behaviors toward White children. However, age in months was negatively correlated with White preschoolers' inclinations to direct prosocial behaviors toward African-American children. Consistent with an emerging literature concerning the role of social cognitive factors in young children's race schema development, White preschoolers' race schematicity was significantly predictive of their tendencies to say they would engage in prosocial behaviors toward African-American children. Patterns of results partially replicate previous prosocial behavior research, and demonstrate the importance of social cognitive variables on young children's prosocial behaviors. This research was undertaken as part of a graduate program in psychology at the University of Wyoming by the first author under the direction of the second author. The authors express gratitude to Karen Bartsch, Ph.D., and Bernita Quoss, Ph.D., and Jesse Barber, Sylvia Jones, and Nicole Martin of the University of Wyoming and to Nancy Eisenberg, Ph.D., of Arizona State University.     

Getting credit for OCBs: potential costs of being a good actor vs. a good soldier

Employing a sample of 197 employee-supervisor dyads, we explore whether employees’ attitudes and underlying motivation for engaging in organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) differentially relate to supervisors’ assessments of their individual performance and reward recommendations. We theorized that employees who perform OCBs with self-serving motives would be low on affective commitment and high on equity sensitivity, and that such individuals would receive lower performance ratings and fewer reward recommendations than those who are high on affective commitment, low on equity sensitivity, and more selflessly motivated. Our results suggest that employees with high affective commitment, low equity sensitivity, and high selfless motives were more likely to receive positive supervisor performance ratings and high reward recommendations. We also found that affective commitment moderated the mediating path of prosocial values (a selfless motive) on the relationship between OCBs and reward recommendations. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Occurrent states

The distinction between occurrent and non-occurrent mental states is frequently appealed to by contemporary philosophers, but it has never been explicated in any significant detail. In the literature, two accounts of the distinction are commonly presupposed (and occasionally stated explicitly). One is that occurrent states are conscious states. The other is that non-occurrent states are dispositional states, and thus that occurrent states are manifestations of dispositions. I argue that neither of these accounts is adequate, and therefore that another account is needed. I propose that occurrent states are active states.