Perceived control over personal goals in Russian and American college students

This study investigated cultural variations in perceived control over personal goals in Russian and American college students. Several appraisal dimensions of personal goals were studied including goals’ importance, their attainability, and sources of control over goal attainment, such as self, others, luck, and fate. The association between assimilative (tenacious goal pursuit) and accommodative (flexible goal adjustment) control strategies and perceived attainability of goals was also examined. The results indicated that both Russian and American students gave higher priority to work‐ and education‐related goals and lower priority to the familial goal. In both samples, the familial goal was the most influenced and health was the least influenced by luck/chance and fate. Overall, American students were more optimistic about the perceived probability to attain their goals, which may be affected by a cultural tendency for self‐enhancement and positive outlook. Russian students had a stronger belief in control by luck/chance and fate over personal goals, which coincides with a less agentic orientation of Russian culture. Regardless of culture and goal content, goal importance was associated with greater perceived success in goal attainment. However, control strategies (assimilative and accommodative) as well as internal control differentially predicted perceived attainability of goals depending on the goals’ content. For both Russians and Americans, perceived attainability of education‐related goals was associated with assimilative strategies and internal control; leisure was associated with accommodative strategies and health‐related goals were associated with internal control. Characteristics of cultural contexts accountable for crosscultural differences in perceived control over personal goals are discussed.     

Age‐related differences in everyday prospective memory tasks: The role of planning and personal importance

The aim of the present studies was to investigate whether age‐related improvement found in naturalistic but experimenter‐given prospective memory (PM) tasks can be generalized to real‐life intentions. In Study 1, younger, middle‐aged, and older adults generated a list of intended activities for the following week; one week later they marked the tasks that they had performed. The participants were also asked to rate the importance of each listed intention and to describe the circumstances of completion that were already known to them. We found that, compared with younger adults, older adults attributed a higher degree of importance to their intentions and had the circumstances of their completion better planned. However, the age‐related benefit in the PM performance for all listed intentions was not present for the very important and well‐planned tasks. In Study 2 we manipulated whether younger adults engaged or not in the detailed planning of when their intentions could be completed. It was demonstrated that younger adults who had to perform detailed planning completed their intended activities more often than those who did not plan for their intentions. The results support explanations of the age‐related benefit in everyday PM that highlight the role of importance and planning.     

Selfless giving

In four studies, we show that people who anticipate more personal change over time give more to others. We measure and manipulate participants’ beliefs in the persistence of the defining psychological features of a person (e.g., his or her beliefs, values, and life goals) and measure generosity, finding support for the hypothesis in three studies using incentive-compatible charitable donation decisions and one involving hypothetical choices about sharing with loved ones.     

Dark triad personality traits and theory of mind among school-age children

This study examined the associations between four personality dimensions associated with the dark triad (callous–unemotional traits, narcissism, impulsivity, and Machiavellianism) and theory of mind (TOM) abilities among 146 middle school children. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed narcissism to be positively associated with TOM, callous–unemotional (CU) traits to be negatively associated with TOM, and impulsivity and Machiavellianism to be unrelated to TOM. No significant interactions were found between gender and any of the dimensions of personality. The putative mechanisms linking each personality dimension with understanding of mental states in others are discussed, along with directions for future research.     

The factor structure and composite reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among ex-prisoners

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and composite reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) using a sample of 669 ex-prisoners identified in the National Survey of American Life. Six distinct factor models, with uncorrelated measurement error terms, were specified and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results indicated that the two-factor model consisting of positive and negative latent variables provided a better fit to the data than the alternative models. Moreover, only positive self-esteem was a significant predictor of recidivism. Composite reliability indicated that the two factors were measured with very good reliability. The results consequently provide additional support for a two-dimensional model of the RSES within offender populations.     

Rushton: The great theoretician and his contribution to personality

J. Philippe Rushton has been described as one of the greatest theorists in the field of personality and individual differences and social psychology. His life history theory (Differential K Theory) was said to bring unification to the scientific study of racial differences as Einstein’s theory of relativity unified the field of physics. It was maintained that Rushton’s General Factor of Personality (GFP) meshes with both general intelligence and his Differential K Theory. The present author presented a two-pillar theory of adaptive functioning that has a heavy concentration on Rushton conceptualization.     

BIS- and BAS-activation and study outcomes: A mediation study

Building on Gray’s original Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, we examined how individual differences in students’ activation of the behavioral inhibition (BIS) and the behavioral approach (BAS) systems relate to overcommitment to one’s studies and study engagement, and how these two forms of heavy study investment relate to three academically relevant outcomes. Using data from 565 Dutch university students, structural equation modeling showed that BIS-activation was positively associated with overcommitment to one’s studies, which in turn was positively related to exhaustion and the intention to quit one’s studies. BAS-activation was positively associated with study engagement, which in turn was negatively related to exhaustion and the intention to quit, and positively related to academic performance. Bootstrapping techniques revealed a mediating role of the two forms of heavy study investment. Apparently, BIS- and BAS-activation are associated with heavy study behavior, student well-being, and study outcomes.     

The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism: Commenting the critical comments and suggestions of

The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism has recently been analyzed in a critical commentary from Stoeber (2012). The purpose of this article was to have another look at some of the key assumptions of the 2 × 2 model – with a particular focus on the ones that were critically reviewed by Stoeber (2012). In this article, I have tried to clarify our theoretical position to facilitate further theorizing and empirical examination of the 2 × 2 model. The article starts with an overview of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. Then, it reiterates the conceptual meanings attached to subtypes of perfectionism while emphasizing that the word “subtype” is a diminutive for within-person combinations of perfectionism. The article proceeds to outline the importance of adopting neutral labels to define subtypes of perfectionism in order to differentiate them from their expected outcomes. The 2 × 2 model is subsequently described as an open-ended theoretical system in which the four hypotheses are needed to offer a compelling framework to test moderating effects. The article also proposes alternative methods, with a particular focus on equivalence testing in order to empirically determine whether some subtypes of perfectionism are associated with equivalent outcomes.     

Charles Darwin,Paul MacLean,and the lost origins of “the moral sense”: Some implications for general evolution theory

This paper reports the discovery of a lost part of Charles Darwin's theory of the origins of “the moral sense,” its apparent corroboration by what are in effect lost findings by brain researcher Paul MacLean, and the implications of these findings for the advancement of General Evolution Theory and humanity.     

Deception Meets Enlightenment: From a Viable Theory of Deception to a Quirk About Humanity's Potential

This article seeks to further suggestions made by C. West Churchman (1979) Churchman, C. W. 1979. The systems approach and its enemies, New York: Basic Books.  [Google Scholar] that a full inquiry into human systems requires a viable theory of deception. It argues that such a theory of deception requires an understanding of deception, a recognition of errors in perception, and an ability to see simultaneously from competing points of view. The intent here is to provide some insights that are useful in our understanding of deception, and thereby contributing to a viable theory of deception. Insights are used from what Huxley (1944) Huxley, A. 1944. The perennial philosophy, New York: Harper and Row.  [Google Scholar] calls the “perennial tradition,” found particularly within the esoteric traditions of the Buddhist, Sufi, and Taoist esoteric teachings, as well as many other spiritual traditions of the world. The perennial tradition emphasizes the role and continual presence of deception, alongside enlightenment, within human experience. In accord with C. West Churchman's view, this tradition suggests that, by a simultaneous recognition of both our enlightenment and our deception in any given situation, we have the proper perspective to meet the problems we face. A thought experiment, using insights from the perennial tradition, is offered as a challenge to all involved in human systems inquiry.