Personality and sexuality in older adults

Objective: This study explored cross-time associations between personality and multiple components of sexual functioning and behaviour in a large cohort of older adults (n = 5745).

Design: Participants (M_age = 65.57 ± 8.28 years) completed questionnaires in 2010 and 2012.

Main outcome measures: Outcomes explored included sexual attitudes, sexual activity, sexual satisfaction, lifetime sexual partners, sexual orientation and sexual dysfunction.

Results: We found that higher levels of openness and lower levels of agreeableness were related to more liberal attitudes toward sex, a greater number of sexual partners, a higher sex drive, more frequent sexual activity, lower levels of sexual dysfunction and (for women) a greater tendency towards homosexuality. Higher levels of conscientiousness were also related to more conservative attitudes towards sex, lower levels of sexual dysfunction and a greater tendency towards heterosexuality. For sexually active older adults, higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of neuroticism were related to greater sexual satisfaction. Higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of conscientiousness were also related to a greater number of sexual partners in men but not women.

Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that personality is an important correlate of sexual functioning and behaviour in older adults.     

N-of-1 study of weight loss maintenance assessing predictors of physical activity,adherence to weight loss plan and weight change

Objective: Behaviour change interventions are effective in supporting individuals to achieve clinically significant weight loss, but weight loss maintenance (WLM) is less often attained. This study examined predictive variables associated with WLM.

Design: N-of-1 study with daily ecological momentary assessment combined with objective measurement of weight and physical activity, collected with wireless devices (Fitbit?) for six months. Eight previously obese adults who had lost over 5% of their body weight in the past year took part. Data were analysed using time series methods.

Main outcomes measures: Predictor variables were based on five theoretical themes: maintenance motives, self-regulation, personal resources, habits, and environmental influences. Dependent variables were: objectively estimated step count and weight, and self-reported WLM plan adherence.

Results: For all participants, daily fluctuations in self-reported adherence to their WLM plan were significantly associated with most of the explanatory variables, including maintenance motivation and satisfaction with outcomes, self-regulation, habit, and stable environment. Personal resources were not a consistent predictor of plan adherence.

Conclusion: This is the first study to assess theoretical predictions of WLM within individuals. WLM is a dynamic process including the interplay of motivation, self-regulation, habit, resources, and perceptions of environmental context. Individuals maintaining their weight have unique psychological profiles which could be accounted for in interventions.     

项目分值对学习时间分配的影响：一种动态的过程

摘 要 研究考察了不同学习时段上,项目分值对学习时间分配的影响。结果发现: (1)分值的主效应显著,被试会选择更多的高分值项目学习, 且在高分值项目上分配更多的学习时间; (2)分值与学习时段存在交互作用,被试首先学习高分值项目,随后逐渐将学习重心转向中等分值项目,最后在临近测试前重点重学高分值项目。结果表明：学习时间分配是动态变化的,个体为了尽可能实现学习目标会在学习过程中不断调整所建构的议程。     

图片部分线索效应的学习时间分配的发展

部分线索效应指让学习者学习一系列材料, 在随后的测试阶段, 给学习者提供先前所学材料的一部分作为提取线索, 让其回忆剩余的材料, 回忆成绩反而比没有提取线索时回忆成绩差的现象。通过3个实验, 以图片为实验材料, 考察了图片部分线索效应学习时间分配的发展特点。实验1考察了图片部分线索效应的边界条件, 结果发现：图片学习中, 以物体名称为线索时, 不存在部分线索效应; 而以图片为线索时, 存在部分线索效应。结果表明：跨域线索是图片部分线索效应的边界条件。实验2利用图片作线索, 考察了图片部分线索效应的发展特点, 结果发现：图片学习中, 不同年龄被试均存在部分线索效应。结果表明：年龄不是图片部分线索效应的边界条件。实验3考察不同年龄被试对部分线索消极作用的记忆监控的发展变化趋势, 结果发现：小学二年级儿童即使经过多次学习, 也不能意识到部分线索的消极作用; 小学五年级儿童经过二次学习后, 方可意识到这种消极作用, 并在部分线索条件下安排了更多的学习时间; 初二和高二年级学生经过一次学习, 即可意识到部分线索的消极作用, 他们均在部分线索条件下安排了更长的学习时间。结果表明：儿童的学习时间分配决策能力在小学二年级到小学五年级之间有一个质的提高; 与初二学生相比, 高二学生对部分线索带来的消极影响做了更多的时间补偿。     

Who benefits the most? Teacher expectations and their relation with students’ achievement in mathematics in primary school

Over the past 50 years, many studies have investigated the impact of teacher expectations on student achievement and indicated small to moderate effects. Currently, it is still unclear which student-related factors (e.g. socioeconomic status, or gender) moderate the expectation effect. There is still a need to gain a better understanding of the relation between teacher expectations and students' characteristics. The present study aims to examine the accuracy of teacher expectations as well as student-related moderators of the expectation effects on students' achievement. The analyses are based on data from a longitudinal study including 28 primary school teachers and their students (N = 509). The results show that high expectations of teachers correlated positively with student achievement in mathematics, although no significant moderating effects were found. These findings strengthen the importance of ensuring high teacher expectations for all students.     

童年中晚期友谊质量与抑郁的关系:一项纵向研究

以友谊质量问卷和儿童抑郁量表为研究工具,对小学3到4年级847名儿童进行了18个月的追踪研究,采用交叉滞后的研究设计,考察了童年中晚期友谊质量与抑郁的关系。结果表明：（1）同一时间点的友谊质量和抑郁之间呈显著的负相关;（2）早期的友谊质量可以显著预测随后的抑郁,早期的抑郁也可以显著预测随后的友谊质量,且相对于友谊质量对抑郁的积极作用,抑郁对儿童友谊质量的瓦解作用更为突出;（3）童年中晚期友谊质量与抑郁的双向作用关系具有跨性别稳定性。     

Childhood vaccine refusal and hesitancy intentions in Croatia: insights from a population-based study

Considering that programmatic data suggest a recent rise in vaccine refusal in Croatia, this study, first of its kind in Southeast Europe, aimed to estimate the prevalence, and sociodemographic, and sociocultural determinants of childhood vaccine refusal and hesitancy (CVRH) intentions among Croatian adults. Multi-stage stratified population-based survey included 1000 individuals aged 18–88 years (M_age = 47.7, SD = 17.8), of whom 51.7% were women. The outcome, a categorical indicator, distinguished among individuals who would approve vaccinating their children (vaccine accepting), those who would approve some but not all vaccines (vaccine hesitant), and those who would refuse vaccination (vaccine refusing). A sizeable minority of participants was characterized by childhood vaccine refusal (10.6%) and hesitancy intentions (19.5%). In a multivariate assessment controlling for parenthood, the odds of vaccine hesitancy were significantly increased by a younger age (AOR = 1.96–3.03, p < .01). Religiosity (AOR = 1.12, p < .05) and the use of alternative medicine (AOR = 2.85, p < .001) increased the odds of vaccine refusal. However, individual characteristics seem to be relatively poor predictors of CVRH intentions in Croatia. Following the social contagion model, future research should move beyond individual-level approach and take into account social interaction and social network effects.     

Keeping up day-specific effects of transformational leadership: the role of followers’ emotion regulation

This diary study examines the role of day-specific transformational leadership for followers’ personal initiative. Building on Affective Events Theory, we proposed a direct effect of day-specific transformational leadership on followers’ personal initiative on the same day. Furthermore, we took a closer look at lagged effects of day-specific transformational leadership. More specifically, we hypothesized that positive effects of one day’s transformational leadership can endure until the next day for followers who apply beneficial emotion regulation strategies. We conducted a diary study over five consecutive working days among 97 employees. Two-level hierarchical linear modelling supported our hypotheses. As expected, day-specific transformational leadership positively predicted followers’ personal initiative on the same day. Furthermore, concerning the association between day-specific transformational leadership and followers’ personal initiative on the following day, there was a positive relation for followers applying beneficial emotion regulation strategies in terms of high cognitive reappraisal and low expressive suppression, respectively.     

Towards a conceptual and empirical differentiation between workplace bullying and interpersonal conflict

This study investigates the defining features that distinguish workplace bullying from interpersonal conflict – being frequency, negative social behaviour, power imbalance, length and perceived intent – by contrasting the characteristics of conflict incidents in a group of workplace bullying victims versus a group of non-victims. A group of 47 victims and 62 non-victims were identified based on a questionnaire time 1 and time 2 (time lag of 6 months). The conflict incidents were assessed between time 1 and time 2 using an event-based diary study that was filled out for a period of two times 20 working days with a break of 4 months in between. Hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) showed that conflict incidents differed for victims versus non-victims, in line with the defining aspects of workplace bullying: victims’ conflict incidents related more to the work context and included more personal and work-related negative social behaviour. Victims perceived more inferiority and less control in the conflicts, indicated more continuation of previous conflict incidents and reported more negative intentions from their opponent. These findings validate the conceptual differentiation between interpersonal conflict and workplace bullying, while at the same time adhering to their related nature.     

Multi-dependence in the formation and development of the distributed psychological contract

The psychological contract (PC) describes the implicit and explicit promises and obligations exchanged by individuals and organizational agents in an employment relationship. While it has typically been assumed that each employee establishes the PC with a single agent (i.e., the organization), it seems more realistic to treat PCs as multi-focused, involving various organizational agents. In a qualitative study of 41 professors employed at two public universities in Spain, we investigate the organizational agents involved in the formation and development of PCs, the mutual promises and obligations made by each party and the degree of PC fulfilment. Our findings reveal the multiplicity of organizational sources involved in the development of PCs and the complications that arise owing to multiple dependence. Based on our results, we discuss the need for a deeper examination of PCs from a multi-foci perspective in order to more fully understand the complex nature of the PC.