Self-leadership and volition: distinct and potentially supplemental constructs?

Self-leadership and volition are conceptually similar concepts. Both propose self-influence strategies that aim to improve the motivation and self-direction necessary to perform well. The present study assesses whether self-leadership strategies maintain construct-specific variance when compared with the similar strategies of volition. Results from a questionnaire study (N=320) indicate that self-leadership and volitional strategies are distinguishable and only moderately (r = .33) correlated. Self-leadership, therefore, supplements volition during goal attainment. Findings are discussed in light of the Rubicon model of action phases.     

Decision making under risk condition in patients with Parkinson's disease: a behavioural and fMRI study

We aimed to study whether previously described impairment in decision making under risky conditions in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is affected by deficits in using information about potential incentives or by processing feedback (in terms of fictitious gains and losses following each decision). Additionally, we studied whether the neural correlates of using explicit information in decision making under risk differ between PD patients and healthy subjects. We investigated ten cognitively intact PD patients and twelve healthy subjects with the Game of Dice Task (GDT) to assess risky decision making, and with an fMRI paradigm to analyse the neural correlates of information integration in the deliberative decision phase. Behaviourally, PD patients showed selective impairment in the GDT but not on the fMRI task that did not include a feedback component. Healthy subjects exhibited lateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate and parietal activations when integrating decision-relevant information. Despite similar behavioural patterns on the fMRI task, patients exhibited reduced parietal activation. Behavioural results suggest that PD patients' deficits in risky decision making are dominated by impaired feedback utilization not compensable by intact cognitive functions. Our fMRI results suggest similarities but also differences in neural correlates when using explicit information for the decision process, potentially indicating different strategy application even if the interfering feedback component is excluded.     

By name or by deed? Identifying the source of the feminist stigma

Prejudice and discrimination against feminists were explored across two contexts, a workplace and a social setting. We examined university students' reactions to a woman who called herself a feminist, behaved like a feminist by challenging sexism, did both, or did neither. In Study 1, participants (N = 177) evaluated a job candidate less favorably when she called herself a feminist after controlling for perceived assertiveness and participants' feminist self‐identification. However, our results showed no evidence of hiring discrimination. In Study 2, participants (N = 184) evaluated a peer less favorably and were less willing to befriend and date her when she called herself a feminist, controlling for perceived assertiveness. Participants were also less willing to befriend her when she behaved like a feminist. The contextual nature of the feminist stigma and the influence of perceived assertiveness are discussed.     

“A Big Piece of News”: Théodule Ribot and the Founding of the Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Etranger

This paper describes the founding of the Revue Philosophique de la France et de l’Étranger by Théodule Ribot (1839–1916) in 1876. Like the English journal Mind, which was launched the same year, this journal introduced the new scientific psychology to France. Its founding increased Ribot's scientific credibility in psychology and led him to be regarded as the most distinguished French specialist in the field. First, we review the state of French philosophy at the time of the journal's founding, focusing on the three main French schools of thought in philosophy and on their relations with psychology. Second, after analyzing the preface written by Ribot in the first issue of the Revue Philosophique, we examine how the journal was received in French philosophical circles. Finally, we discuss its subsequent history, highlighting its founder's promotion of new ideas in psychology.     

Determinants of Property Crime Among Illicit Opiate Users Outside of Treatment Across Canada

Criminal activities account for a major proportion of the social costs related to illicit drug use. This article examines the factors contributing to property crime activity among a community sample of 653 untreated regular illicit opiate users in 5 Canadian cities (OPICAN study). Multivariate analyses showed the frequency of heroin, cocaine, and crack use, gender, housing status, and past criminal justice involvement as predictors of property crime. Furthermore, crack use had a significantly different impact on property crime depending on housing status and city. These findings underline the need for targeted intervention efforts toward a reduced crime burden.     

The issue of drugs and crime among a sample of incarcerated women

Based on a sample of incarcerated women in Quebec prisons in 1989, this study focuses on drug use and abuse and its relation to crime with a special concern for age of onset, nature of conviction, previous involvement in criminal activities, motivation, and other related variables. The emerging profile of these subjects is one of drug‐related problems rather than a deep involvement in criminality. Within this population of women prisoners a strong link between drugs and crime is still difficult to establish. In conclusion, it is suggested that future research rely more on qualitative analyses to gather a better understanding of the operating processes.     

Adolescents with high mental toughness adapt better to perceived stress: A longitudinal study with Swiss vocational students

A mindset of mental toughness enables an individual to cope successfully with the pressures and demands of life. This 10-month study prospectively examined the association between mental toughness and stress resilience in 865 students (M = 17.86 years, 42.7% girls) from two vocational schools. Within each school, separate cluster analyses identified groups with different profiles of risk (assessed with perceived stress) and adaptation (operationalized with depressive symptoms and life satisfaction). Four clusters emerged characterizing students with well-adjusted (low risk, good adaptation), maladjusted (elevated risk, bad adaptation), deteriorated (low initial risk, worsening adaptation) and resilient profiles (elevated initial risk, improving adaptation). The latter two clusters reported similar levels of mental toughness at baseline, but resilient adolescents scored significantly higher on mental toughness at follow-up. After controlling for possible confounds, baseline toughness levels predicted depressive symptoms and life satisfaction over time. This study shows that mental toughness operates as a stress resilience resource. Mental toughness is, therefore a topic of interest for health specialists working with adolescent populations.     

Socio‐economic status and handedness in two large cohorts of French adults

Left‐and right‐handers have coexisted since the Palaeolithic age. Hand preference is heritable. Moreover, there is extensive evidence of an association between left‐handedness and several fitness costs. In this context, the persistence of the polymorphism is interesting. Here, we explore the associations between socio‐economic status and handedness, analysing data from two large cohorts of adult men and women. Such associations are relevant to an evolutionary approach, as the socio‐economic and the reproductive value are related. Our results partly support the hypothesis that left‐handers have a socio‐economic status advantage, countervailing the health issues. Although the models explain a small proportion of the variance observed, the frequency of left‐handedness is significantly higher: (1) among women of higher educational level; (2) among categories of higher income; and (3) among individuals who have a higher position in the company. The importance of these findings for the evolution of the polymorphism of handedness is discussed.     

A large scale study of the assessment of the social environment of middle and secondary schools: The validity and utility of teachers' ratings of school climate, cultural pluralism, and safety problems for understanding school effects and school improvement

Due to changes in state and federal policies, as well as logistical and fiscal limitations, researchers must increasingly rely on teachers' reports of school climate dimensions in order to investigate the developmental impact of these dimensions, and to evaluate efforts to enhance the impact of school environments on the development of young adolescents. Teachers' climate ratings exhibited a robust dimensional structure, high levels of internal consistency, and moderate levels of stability over 1-and 2-year time spans. Teachers' climate ratings were also found to be related consistently with students' ratings. In three large-scale samples of schools, teachers' climate ratings were associated significantly and consistently with students' performance on standardized tests of academic achievement, and with indexes of their academic, behavioral, and socio-emotional adjustment.