Contemporary patterns of career construction of a group of urban workers in São Paulo (Brazil)

By means of a qualitative approach, this study sought to understand the patterns of career construction in contemporary times through content analysis of the narratives generated by a set of 40 urban workers in São Paulo (Brazil), intentionally selected. Five narrative patterns of career construction were found and related to the existing concepts (organizational career, protean and boundaryless career, professional career, transitional career, and hybrid careers), which were respectively described by their core feature (nostalgia, possibility, enclosure, instrumentality, and hybrid). The main results showed that one quarter of participants sought career stability, continuity, and linearity (Nostalgia), one quarter sought flexibility and discontinuity (Possibility), about 1/7 sought a career based on the profession/occupation (Enclosure), about one-third constructed hybrid career narratives, and there was a frequent emergence of crises (Instrumentality). The main contribution of this study was confirming the hybrid nature of contemporary career constructions produced in a constant tension between stability and flexibility, as well as between permanence and change; nevertheless, based on collective standards.     

Psychotic functioning in adolescence: The perverse solution to survive

A psychotic breakdown in adolescence marks the emergence of a manifest aspect of a more complex process that has its origins in the patient's family pre‐history and in the patient's childhood story. This period of life is characterized by a sensorial explosion and adolescents will react differently according to the different resources they have at their disposal. Adolescents will attempt to create defensive solutions in order to face this decompensation on their own. In particular, polymorphously perverse behaviours can be utilized because of their specific characteristics in order to create a potent defence used to arrest a still more severe regression and at the same time providing the time necessary to safely navigate through a difficult and dangerous developmental phase. These solutions can be transitory or transform themselves into lasting defensive adaptations. These defensive modalities are very complex and articulated and can become fossilized in time, as, for example, in the case of a use of perverse defences against a breakdown. An analyst finding him/herself in these situations will find it difficult to differentiate in the diagnosis between a condition that is due to a perverse functioning used as a defence against decompensation, and a truly perverse structure that is beginning to emerge after puberty.     

Intergenerational associations linking identity styles and processes in adolescents and their parents

Identity formation is a lifelong task, yet much research focuses on adolescence and emerging adulthood. Little is known about whether parents' identities are related to their adolescent children's identities. The present studies were designed to examine intergenerational associations. Specifically, we focused on identity styles (Study 1 with 191 mother–adolescent and 170 father–adolescent dyads) and exploration and commitment processes (Study 2 with 230 mother–adolescent and 214 father–adolescent dyads). In Study 1, the information-oriented and normative styles, especially among mothers, were positively associated with these same styles among adolescents. Fathers' use of the normative and diffuse-avoidant style was positively associated with adolescents' use of these same styles. In Study 2, parental identification with commitment was positively associated with adolescent commitment making and negatively with adolescent ruminative exploration. Maternal exploration in depth was positively associated with adolescent exploration in depth and ruminative exploration. In sum, parents may function as role models for adolescent identity formation, although longitudinal research is needed to support more authoritative claims.     

A Slippery Myth: How Learning Style Beliefs Shape Reasoning about Multimodal Instruction and Related Scientific Evidence

The learning style myth is a commonly held myth that matching instruction to a student's “learning style” will result in improved learning, while providing mismatched instruction will result in suboptimal learning. The present study used a short online reasoning exercise about the efficacy of multimodal instruction to investigate the nature of learning styles beliefs. We aimed to: understand how learning style beliefs interact with beliefs about multimodal learning; characterize the potential complexity of learning style beliefs and understand how this short exercise might influence endorsements of learning styles. Many participants who believed in the learning style myth supported the efficacy of multimodal learning, and many were willing to revise their belief in the myth after the exercise. Personal experiences and worldviews were commonly cited as reasons for maintaining beliefs in learning styles. Findings reveal the complexity of learning style beliefs, and how they interact with evidence in previously undocumented ways.     

Végétarisme,végétalisme,véganisme : des comportements (alimentaires) au service de l’identité ? Une étude qualitative en population française

IntroductionThese last years have been marked by an evolution as to how people feed themselves, highlighting a growing interest for vegetarian food. Vegetarianism at large refers to several types of food that are characterized by the partial or total exclusion of animal foods. This study aims at relating various elements associated to vegetarianism, such as eating motives, behaviors, self-perception and others’ perception, in relation with the notion of identity.MethodParticipants were recruited via vegetarian and vegan (for food and for lifestyle) groups on Facebook, once their agreement was obtained. Six interviews were conducted by a clinical psychologist around the notion of being and identity related to food, as well as the food history of the individual and his/her family. The use of retrospective investigation makes possible to establish a continuity between the past and the current eating behavior. These interviews, once manually transcribed, were the subject of a complex semantic analysis via TROPES software (version 8.4).ResultsThe results showed a major use of state's and identity's verbs (being, becoming, “I”) and the personal pronoun “we”, referring to a construction of both individual and collective identity around the diet. The commitment to vegetarian/vegan diet has been primarily motivated by ethical concern. And, positive feelings have emerged following the adoption of this type of diet, such as pride, inner purity and a sense of being healthy and holy. Despite the fact that their diet is ethically focused, participants spontaneously addressed the issue of weight and body image.Discussion/conclusionWhatever the food's history of participants, identifications to disorders related to body image or identifications to weight categories have preceded the identification to a specific diet. And the following of a vegetarian/vegan diet appears at the base of positive feelings toward oneself and a better self-esteem. So, we can assume that adopting a vegetarian/vegan diet could improve self-perception. Otherwise, the ethical choice mentioned by the participants, may be an acceptable sociable justification to control more or less the fate of their body (inside and outside). More research is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms of vegetarian/vegan diet, to explore the personality profiles of individuals and their relation to the body.     

Relationships between stigma-identity constructs and psychological health outcomes among adults who stutter

PurposeIn the current study, stuttering was conceptualized as a concealable stigmatized identity (CSI). The purpose of this investigation was to determine if four specific stigma-identity constructs that contribute to variability in psychological distress among people in other CSI groups also contribute among adult who stutter (AWS).Method505 AWS completed an online survey that included measures of four stigma-identity constructs in addition to general demographics and measures of self-rated stuttering severity, distress, and adverse impact of stuttering on quality of life. Hierarchical regression was performed to determine the extent that stigma-identity constructs explained variability in psychological health outcomes among AWS. Self-rated stuttering severity was investigated as a moderator in these relationships.ResultsThe stigma-identity constructs accounted for a significant proportion of the variability in distress (∼25 %) and adverse impact of stuttering on quality of life (∼30 %) among AWS. Further, the constructs of salience, centrality, and concealment were positively predictive of distress and adverse impact of stuttering after controlling for demographics and neuroticism. Compared to the other predictor variables (self-rated stuttering severity, demographic characteristics, neuroticism, and the three other stigma-identity constructs), concealment was the strongest predictor of adverse impact of stuttering on quality of life. Finally, self-rated stuttering severity was a moderating variable.ConclusionsThe results from this study suggest that there are useful applications in conceptualizing stuttering as a type of CSI. Speech-language pathologists should be aware of the relationships that stigma has with psychological health outcomes among AWS and should consider the implications for intervention.     

Relating Decision‐Making Styles to Social Orientation and Time Approach

Research on decision‐making styles has shown that stylistic differences matter for real‐life outcomes, but less research has explored how styles relate to other differences between individuals. Heeding a call for a more systematic and theoretically sound understanding of decision‐making styles, we investigated the relation between decision‐making styles and specific aspects of social orientation and approach to time in two samples (students, n = 118, and police investigators, n = 90). The results of regression analyses showed that decision‐making styles are related to specific differences in social orientation and time approach. Furthermore, results of structural equation model analyses suggested possible adjustments to the proposed two‐factor model for decision‐making styles (Dewberry, Juanchich, & Narendran, 2013a ). © 2017 The Authors Journal of Behavioral Decision Making Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Identity leadership and social identification within sport teams over a season: A social network analysis

ObjectivesThis study explored the relationships between identity leadership and social identification in sport teams over the course of a season using social network analysis.MethodsParticipants from 23 competitive sport teams (N = 388, M_age = 20.7 years) indicated the extent to which each of their teammates displayed various forms of identity leadership (i.e., identity prototypicality, identity advancement, identity entrepreneurship, identity impresarioship) and the extent to which these same teammates were seen to identify with the team (assessed by ingroup ties, cognitive centrality, ingroup affect) early and later in a season. Quadratic assignment procedure correlations and multiple quadratic assignment procedure regressions examined the relationships between the different types of networks for each team across time.ResultsAthletes who perceived team members to show greater identity leadership perceived those same teammates to identify more strongly with the team both early (rs_average > .46) and later (rs_average > 0.48) in the season. Averaged across teams, identity entrepreneurship early in the season was most strongly associated with both perceived ingroup ties (β_average = .24) and ingroup affect (β_average = 0.13) later in the season, while identity impresarioship was most strongly associated with cognitive centrality (β_average = .16). In the reversed direction, perceptions of ingroup ties early in the season were most strongly associated with all identity leadership dimensions later in the season (.28 < β_average < 0.38).ConclusionsCollectively, these findings provide evidence of a mutually reinforcing bidirectional link such that teammates who are seen as actively contributing to promote a sense of ‘us’ among team members are also more likely to be seen as identifying strongly with the team.     

Running as a way fat women re-story their bodies and construct a runner identity in a North American sociocultural context

AimThis research sought to identify the process by which women who identify as fat or as not having a typical athletic body construct an athletic identity and persist in their running and other athletic endeavors despite body size-related barriers.MethodsFrom an online recruitment effort, 19 North American women runners in larger bodies completed interviews in which they told the story of how they had become runners. A narrative analysis with a feminist, constructivist approach was conducted to identify story types.ResultsFour narrative types were identified: reclaiming the body, reclaiming health, space-making, and future-imagining. Through finding a size- and pace-inclusive running community, running persistently, and completing races, women relinquished the stories they’d believed that their bodies were not athletic since childhood and constructed an identity of runner in a fat body.ConclusionsThese women’s engagement in running is a personal form of resistance against those who define athletic and healthy as “thin” or “fit.” They have found a welcoming athletic community and have moved on to leadership where they are working to make running accessible to other women in bodies like theirs. Those reading these narratives should consider ways in which fat bodies have been excluded from athletics, as well as ways to support the work being done by women runners in fat bodies to redefine health and athleticism.     

萌萌哒还是古灵精怪?奢侈品品牌可爱风格对消费者偏好的影响

奢侈品品牌热衷于使用可爱风格与消费者进行互动。本文以理想自我理论为基础,通过4个实验探索奢侈品品牌可爱风格类型对消费者偏好的影响机制和边界条件。实验1表明奢侈品品牌的可爱风格(婴儿图式/古灵精怪)会显著地影响消费者的品牌偏好,验证了主效应的因果链模型。实验2进一步明确了主效应的边界,结果表明品牌可爱风格对消费者偏好的影响只在奢侈品品牌的情境下才存在。实验3探索了自我监控水平对主效应的调节作用,发现对于低自我监控的个体,奢侈品品牌的可爱风格难以有效地影响品牌偏好。实验4分析了个体发展阶段对主效应的调节作用,结果表明对于成年期个体,古灵精怪可爱风格比婴儿图式可爱风格更能提高个体的奢侈品品牌偏好,对于童年期个体,婴儿图式可爱风格比古灵精怪可爱风格更易获得青睐。