Character strengths and well-being among volunteers and employees: Toward an integrative model

The endorsement and deployment of character strengths in occupational contexts are two promising components for understanding how people create well-being. In this study, a model integrating character strengths, satisfaction with occupational activities, and meaning and well-being was proposed and tested in two samples of volunteers and a sample of working adults. The model fit the data well in all three samples. Results demonstrated that deploying strengths at work provided key links to satisfaction with voluntary and paid occupational activities and to meaning among both young and middle-aged volunteers, and adult working women. Among adult volunteers and paid workers, endorsing strengths was related to meaning, while both endorsing and deploying strengths were related to well-being. Together, these studies provide a model for understanding how strengths may play a role in how both volunteer and paid workers find meaning, well-being, and satisfaction.     

Revisiting desirable response bias in well-being reports

Growing popular interest in positive psychology may have important implications for the measurement of well-being. Five studies tested the prediction that well-being ratings are influenced by desirability bias. In Study 1, participants (N?=?176) instructed to fake good endorsed higher well-being; those instructed to fake bad endorsed lower well-being, compared to controls. In Studies 2 and 3 (N’s?=?111, 121), control participants endorsed higher levels of well-being compared to those attached to a bogus pipeline. These differences were mediated by desirability bias. In Study 4 (N?=?417), instruction manipulations did not affect well-being levels, but presenting a desirability measure prior to well-being measures attenuated the correlations between them. In Study 5 (N?=?391), however, this order effect did not replicate. We discuss the importance of continued vigilance for desirability bias in well-being research as a ready solution to this clear problem remains elusive.     

Meaning in life,emotional distress,suicidal ideation,and life functioning in an active duty military sample

The present study examined the relationship of meaning in life with emotional distress, suicidal ideation, and life functioning in a sample of 273 active duty Security Forces personnel assigned to two US Air Force bases. Results of regression analyses indicated that stronger meaning in life was significantly associated with less severe emotional distress (p?<?0.001, ΔR ²?=?0.047) and suicidal ideation (p?=?0.043, ΔR ²?=?0.017), and better functioning at work and in intimate relationships, nonfamily relationships, and recreational activities (p?<?0.001, ΔR ²?=?0.073). Meaning in life showed stronger associations with outcomes relative to other predictors and covariates and explained the relationship between belonging and life functioning. Findings suggest that meaning in life is associated with less emotional distress and suicide risk, and greater success and performance across multiple domains in life among military personnel.     

Sense of Divine Involvement and Sense of Meaning in Life: Religious Tradition as a Contingency

This study examines the association between sense of divine involvement and sense of meaning in life. Then it proceeds to assess how this association varies by religious tradition. Using a random and national sample from the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey, this study finds that sense of divine involvement is associated with greater odds of having a sense of meaning in life. In addition, religious affiliation modifies this association. Specifically, the positive association between sense of divine involvement and the odds of having a sense of meaning in life is observed only among evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants, and Catholics, but not among other religionists and religious nones. I discuss how the results make contributions to knowledge about the link between religious beliefs, religious tradition, and mental health.     

Authoritarianism and Political Impoverishment: Deficits in Knowledge and Civic Disinterest

Past research shows that authoritarian individuals hold strong opinions about a variety of political and social issues, such as race relations and military conflict. What has not been established, though, is the amount of general political knowledge that authoritarians possess. In this study, three groups of college students were administered Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale; most of them also received items assessing general political knowledge and specific knowledge about the 2000 presidential election, as well as items assessing interest in politics. Relative to students with low RWA scores, those with high scores possessed less political knowledge; moreover, they expressed less interest in learning about politics. In general, authoritarianism was unrelated to how individuals got their political information or how credible they found their sources. The implication that authoritarians hold strong attitudinal beliefs with weak political knowledge is discussed.     

The Personal Is the Political: Antecedents of Gendered Choices of Elected Representatives

This article focuses on the legislative careers of women and men in state legislative office to explore how the relationship between the private and public spheres affects career opportunities, choices, perceptions, and actions. The findings indicate that the intersection of private and public is configured differently in the lives of women and men. Among other results, women were found to perform double duty, holding primary responsibility for the work of home and children even though they have the same public responsibilities as their male counterparts. The implications of these findings for individuals, public policy choices, institutional operations, and social patterns are explored.     

相互作用的认知子系统理论述评

该介绍和分析了“相互作用的认知子系统”理论的基本观点,即信息的意义分为具体的、低层次的意义和一般的、高层次的意义;编码形式的转换遵循着特定的规则;不同信息的存储具有各自独立的记忆存储系统：高层次的意义对情绪产生具有直接作用。同时阐述了该理论对抑郁性情绪障碍的研究,并指出了该研究对治疗情绪障碍的意义及存在的问题。     

互联网对大学生社会性发展的影响

本研究对110名本科大学生的上网情况和他们在对他人的信任感、主观幸福感及社会疏离感三方面的社会性发展进行了测评,结果表明,对互联网的依赖显著影响了大学生的主观幸福感与社会疏离感,上网时间与对网络的依赖程度呈显著正相关。     

学习支持对儿童在多媒体语境中学习英语词汇的影响

该研究旨在考察中文翻译与主题提示两种学习支持对儿童在多媒体语境中学习英语词汇的作用,为此设计了三种学习条件：无支持条件、中文翻译条件和中文翻译 主题提示条件。对学龄初期儿童在上述三种学习条件下学习英语词汇的过程和结果进行的考察和分析表明：儿童在无支持条件下的学习效果较差;中文翻译可以明显促进儿童对语句的理解,但无法提高儿童对目标词的掌握;中文翻译 主题提示条件下儿童对单词语义的掌握最好,他们表现出了较多的跟读行为,并更倾向于认为学习任务较为容易。     

The First-Order Theories of Dedekind Algebras

A Dedekind Algebra is an ordered pair (B,h) where B is a non-empty set and h is an injective unary function on B. Each Dedekind algebra can be decomposed into a family of disjoint, countable subalgebras called configurations of the Dedekind algebra. There are N₀ isomorphism types of configurations. Each Dedekind algebra is associated with a cardinal-valued function on omega called its configuration signature. The configuration signature of a Dedekind algebra counts the number of configurations in the decomposition of the algebra in each isomorphism type.The configuration signature of a Dedekind algebra encodes the structure of that algebra in the sense that two Dedekind algebras are isomorphic iff their configuration signatures are identical. Configuration signatures are used to establish various results in the first-order model theory of Dedekind algebras. These include categoricity results for the first-order theories of Dedekind algebras and existence and uniqueness results for homogeneous, universal and saturated Dedekind algebras. Fundamental to these results is a condition on configuration signatures that is necessary and sufficient for elementary equivalence.