Institutional Origins of Subjective Well-Being: Estimating the Effects of Economic Freedom on National Happiness

We exploit the cross-country differences in economic freedom to examine the link between the quality of institutions and subjective well-being. Using Veenhoven’s happiness dataset, the evidence suggests countries with better economic institutions and higher level of economic freedom, captured by the security of property rights, open markets and more limited government, are significantly more likely to experience greater subjective well-being after controlling for structural confounders of national subjective well-being such as income, unemployment, inequality, social capital and life satisfaction. The effect of institutions on cross-national happiness is both significant and robust to different model specifications, estimation techniques and possible sources of endogeneity. Furthermore, our panel data analysis reveals that over time higher levels of economic freedom are associated with decreasing subjective well-being after controlling for state dependence and income.     

The Structure of Adolescent Affective Well-Being: The Case of the PANAS Among Serbian Adolescents

The structure of affective well-being and the relationship between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) have rarely been examined among adolescents. The aim of the present research was to investigate the question of bipolarity versus independence of PA and NA as measured by the PANAS across three studies in adolescent samples. The results of Study 1 (N = 1038) showed that a two-factor structure of the PANAS, with correlated PA and NA and allowed correlated errors between similarly worded items provided the best fit to data. Study 2 included three independent samples (total N = 1071), and showed that PA and NA differed in terms of their relationship to various well-being indicators. Study 3 (N = 482) tested the predictive validity of PA and NA in a 5 month follow-up design, and showed that both PA and NA had independent predictive benefits for depression, risky behaviors and life satisfaction, and that PA had no unique role in the prediction of stress and anxiety, while NA had no unique role in the prediction of academic achievement. The results of the present research provided strong support for the relative independence of PA and NA as measured by the PANAS among adolescents.     

Autobiographical reflections on what it means to experience disruption

Accepting disruption as an inevitable occurrence in life, five nurse-teacher-researchers explore their experience with being disruptive/being disrupted. Reflection on the all-encompassing embodied experience of disruption takes us through a process of exploration and meaning-making. We pause to show what it is like to be in-between the known and unknown in creating a life in academia through stories. Plotlines such as being in-between family and work; transplanted outsider seeking a sense of belonging; going into the chaos while feeling invisible; and self-induced disruption in response to loss illuminate our reflection. The metaphor of the breathturn allows us to reconstruct our experience and to discern possibilities beyond the usual negative connotations.     

The influence of linguistic and cognitive factors on the time course of verb-based implicit causality

In three eye-tracking experiments the influence of the Dutch causal connective “want” (because) and the working memory capacity of readers on the usage of verb-based implicit causality was examined. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that although a causal connective is not required to activate implicit causality information during reading, effects of implicit causality surfaced more rapidly and were more pronounced when a connective was present in the discourse than when it was absent. In addition, Experiment 3 revealed that—in contrast to previous claims—the activation of implicit causality is not a resource-consuming mental operation. Moreover, readers with higher and lower working memory capacities behaved differently in a dual-task situation. Higher span readers were more likely to use implicit causality when they had all their working memory resources at their disposal. Lower span readers showed the opposite pattern as they were more likely to use the implicit causality cue in the case of an additional working memory load. The results emphasize that both linguistic and cognitive factors mediate the impact of implicit causality on text comprehension. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the ongoing controversies in the literature—that is, the focusing-integration debate and the debates on the source of implicit causality.     

The structure of coping styles: a comparative study of croatian sample

The primary aim of this study was to develop a Croatian inventory for assessing coping strategies that people use when under stress. As a basis for this inventory, a translation of the multidimensional coping inventory (COPE) by Carver, Scheier and Weintraub (1989) was used. The second purpose was to compare the results of the original version of the COPE with the translated Croatian version. Three additional scales (Humour, Turning to Religion, and Drug and Alcohol Use) were also analysed. The results were obtained using a sample consisting of undergraduate students (N=403) from the University of Rijeka, Croatia. When comparing the original version of the COPE inventory with the Croatian version, a similar factor structure emerged. The differences obtained are interpreted by taking into account different sociocultural and economic conditions in Croatia and the USA. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validity of the Czech Version of the Therapeutic Factors Inventory – Short Form (TFI-S)

This study’s aim was to assess validity of the Czech translation of the Therapeutic Factors Inventory (TFI-S), which includes four factors: Instillation of Hope, Secure Emotional Expression, Awareness of Emotional Impact, and Social Learning. We assessed data from 220 patients who attended a daily three-month treatment program that used integrative group psychotherapy. TFI-S’s reliability was satisfactory: at week 12, Cronbach’s α was .93 and McDonald’s ω was .95. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable fit to our data: at week 12, χ²(146) = 262.5, p < 0.001, CFI = .994, TLI = .992, RMSEA = .071 (90% CI = .057–.084), and SRMR = .063. Predictive validity showed significant correlations between TFI-S factors and pre/post-treatment change. In the conclusion, we discuss possible future potential of cross-cultural research.     

Brain activity underlying negative self- and other-perception in adolescents: The role of attachment-derived self-representations

One of teenagers’ key developmental tasks is to engage in new and meaningful relationships with peers and adults outside the family context. Attachment-derived expectations about the self and others in terms of internal attachment working models have the potential to shape such social reorientation processes critically and thereby influence adolescents’ social-emotional development and social integration. Because the neural underpinnings of this developmental task remain largely unknown, we sought to investigate them by functional magnetic resonance imaging. We asked n = 44 adolescents (ages 12.01–18.84 years) to evaluate positive and negative adjectives regarding either themselves or a close other during an adapted version of the well-established self-other trait-evaluation task. As measures of attachment, we obtained scores reflecting participants’ positive versus negative attachment-derived self- and other-models by means of the Relationship Questionnaire. We controlled for possible confounding factors by also obtaining scores reflecting internalizing/externalizing problems, schizotypy, and borderline symptomatology. Our results revealed that participants with a more negative attachment-derived self-model showed increased brain activity during positive and negative adjective evaluation regarding the self, but decreased brain activity during negative adjective evaluation regarding a close other, in bilateral amygdala/parahippocampus, bilateral anterior temporal pole/anterior superior temporal gyrus, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that a low positivity of the self-concept characteristic for the attachment anxiety dimension may influence neural information processing, but in opposite directions when it comes to self- versus (close) other-representations. We discuss our results in the framework of attachment theory and regarding their implications especially for adolescent social-emotional development and social integration.     

Incongruences of Ethical and Legal Norms in Academia: the Case on Revocation of Doctoral Degrees

In the academic setting as in any organization legal norms prevail and are assumed to be congruent with ethical norms. Nevertheless, there are cases when the ratio of ethical and legal norms is inadequate and disproportional, especially those dealing with socially responsible decisions in academia. For this reason, the aim here is to analyse incongruences of ethical and legal norms related to the revocation of doctoral degrees in Lithuania, illustrated with examples of deviant behaviour by academic degree holders in terms of decisions of the courts and the ombudsman for academic ethics. Lithuania, being a Member State of the European Union, is currently facing the challenge of implementing newly-adopted laws related to the revocation of doctoral degrees. Accordingly, data were collected from available online official sources to gain more comprehensive evidence, and then analysed using the inductive approach of qualitative content analysis. Research findings show that there is still a thin line between ethical and legal norms, and this line fluctuates depending on nuanced considerations. This is to say that it is still problematical to dress ethical principles in legal clothing.     

Are the aesthetic preferences towards snake species already formed in pre-school aged children?

This study explores aesthetic preferences towards boa and python species among pre-school children and adults, and compares the ratings between the two groups. A set of snake photographs was presented (56 species) to children and adult respondents. The respondents were asked to select the five most preferred and five least preferred species. The children’s agreement on which species were ‘beautiful’ and which were ‘ugly’ was statistically significant and a positive relationship between the mean ranks provided by children and adults was also found (r = .54, P < .001). Children preferred species with thick necks and inconspicuous heads, usually small species, harmless to children. Large pythons probably posed more danger to children than they did to adults during human evolution in African savannas and therefore we hypothesize that young children’s aesthetic preferences were shaped by natural selection through interactions with dangerous snakes.