Happy Like a Fish in Water? The Role of Personality–Situation Fit for Momentary Happiness in Social Interactions across the Adult Lifespan

Growing research on personality–relationship dynamics demonstrates that people's personality and their (enjoyment of) social relationships are closely intertwined. Using experience sampling data from 136 adults (aged 18–89 years) who reported on more than 50 000 social interactions, we zoom into everyday real‐world social interactions to examine how Big Five personality traits and social context characteristics shape people's happiness in social encounters across the adult lifespan. Results revealed that interactions that were social (vs. task‐oriented) and with close (vs. less close) others were associated with higher momentary happiness as were higher levels of the target person's extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and lower neuroticism. Of the 10 personality × situation interactions tested, only one reached significance (with p = .041): Individuals with higher levels of neuroticism benefitted more from interactions with friends than did individuals low in neuroticism. The role of social context characteristics for momentary happiness changed with age, but the role of personality or personality × social context did not, suggesting that personality effects on happiness in social context manifest in similar ways across the adult lifespan. We discuss implications for personality–situation research and the understanding of affective dynamics in everyday social interactions. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Foreign and domestic company attractiveness to host national employees in Japan: A person–organization fit and image theory perspective

This study contributes to research on organizational attractiveness and human resource management (HRM) by drawing on image theory to examine the effect of organizational characteristics (foreign vs. domestic company country‐of‐origin, HRM practices, organizational culture, and work environment) on organizational attractiveness perceptions by host country national (HCN) employees. Drawing on person–organization fit theory, we also examine the moderating effects of HCNs' demographic characters (age and gender), work‐related skills (English proficiency and international experience), and value orientations (individualism and risk aversion) between the relationship of these organizational characteristics and organizational attractiveness. A between‐subject scenario‐based experiment with 800 HCN employees in Japan suggest that not the company country‐of‐origin, but the local adaptation of organizational culture, HRM practices, and work environment influence HCNs' organizational attractiveness perceptions. HCNs' demographic characteristics, work‐related skills, and value orientations had moderating effects between these organizational characteristics and organizational attractiveness perceptions.     

Social contents in dreams: An empirical test of the Social Simulation Theory

Social Simulation Theory (SST) considers the function of dreaming to be the simulation of social events. The Sociality Bias and the Strengthening hypotheses of SST were tested. Social Content Scale (SCS) was developed to quantify social events. Additionally, we attempted to replicate a previous finding (McNamara et al., 2005, Psychological Science) of REM dreams as predisposed to aggressive, and NREM dreams to prosocial interactions.Further, we investigated the frequency and quality of interactions in late vs early REM and NREM dreams. Data consisted of wake, REM and NREM home dream reports (N = 232, 116, 116, respectively) from 15 students. Dreams overrepresented social events compared to wake reports, supporting the Sociality Bias hypothesis. However, the Strengthening Hypothesis was not supported. We weren’t able to replicate the McNamara et al. finding, and no time of night effect was found. While SST gained partial support, further research on social contents in dreams is required.     

Providing Relationship Interventions to Same-Sex Couples: Clinical Considerations,Program Adaptations,and Continuing Education

Despite remarkable similarities to different-sex couples in terms of core relationship processes and outcomes, same-sex couples differ from different-sex couples in important ways, including relational strengths (e.g., more egalitarian) and challenges associated with their sexual minority identity (e.g., discrimination). Given that most cognitive-behavioral relationship interventions have been designed for and tested on different-sex couples, clinicians wishing to serve same-sex couples will need to make appropriate adaptations to these interventions in order to remove heterosexist bias and sensitively meet the unique needs of same-sex couples. Further, clinicians should strive to be culturally competent in serving this population by developing knowledge of same-sex couple dynamics and issues, and by building a sense of comfort working with these families, which may involve addressing personal biases. The current paper seeks to provide an introduction to same-sex couple relational processes, and offers clinical recommendations and intervention adaptations to better serve this population. Some examples will refer to the development of the Strengthening Same-Sex Relationships programs, culturally sensitive relationship education programs specifically designed for and successfully piloted with male and female same-sex couples.     

Climatic effects on the sociocultural and psychological adaptation of migrants within China: A longitudinal test of two competing perspectives

Little is known about how climatic differences may psychologically impact individuals who migrate from one geographical area to another. A climatic demand theory perspective suggests that migration from more demanding climatic areas to less demanding climatic areas would lead to better psychological outcomes while predicting the opposite for migration from less demanding to more demanding climates. In contrast, a climatic‐fit perspective would predict that moving to areas that climatically are similar to one's home would lead to the best psychological outcomes whereas any major deviation would lead to worse outcomes. To test these competing perspectives, a longitudinal, multisite study was conducted with over 1,000 student migrants who moved from various areas in China to 12 cities. Participants’ life satisfaction and perceived stress were assessed upon arrival and at the end of the semester together with their sociocultural adaptation. Supporting the climatic‐fit perspective, multilevel analyses showed that participants reported the least stress and highest sociocultural adaptation when they migrated to host sites that were climatically similar to their homes. Conversely, individuals who migrated from very demanding to less demanding climatic regions and vice versa reported an increase in stress and lower sociocultural adaptation.     

Spirituality and transformation in a community-based group in the Bahamas

Understanding the specific contexts where spirituality may or may not be helpful has been identified as a priority in spirituality and health research. The study aims were to clarify the helpfulness of spirituality and the interrelationships among transformation, spirituality, and forgiveness in this community-based group offered in a societal context of violence. Sixteen group participants from the Bahamas were selected and interviewed. Nine participants were female (56%); 75% identified as Black and 25% identified as White/Caucasian. NVivo 11 software was used. Transformation and spirituality themes were prevalent: themes related to prayer, group connection, and compassion were prominent. Selected spirituality themes were proximal to transformation themes, particularly forgiving others. The group process themes were closely linked to transformation themes. Participants noted that modelling by the group provided support for them to forgive and change. These findings may inform future efforts to intervene in communities experiencing violence and societal fragmentation.     

材料呈现方式和复习与否对中文电子笔记学习学习效果的影响

笔记策略的“转换假说”指出：将听觉材料写下来比将视觉材料写下来的学习效果更好。本研究以此为基础,以104名大学生为被试,采用多元方差分析的方法,探讨了材料呈现方式和复习与否对拼音键入的中文电子笔记的即时和延时学习效果的影响。结果发现,电子笔记在视觉材料上比在听觉材料上的即时学习效果更优;在间隔一周后的延时重测中,复习后的延时学习效果显著优于不复习,但复习在视觉材料组和听觉材料组中的促进作用无显著差异。     

From equality and inclusion to cultural pluralism – Evolution and effects of cultural diversity perspectives in schools*

Schools are a major context for academic and socio-emotional development, but also an important acculturative context. This is notably the case in adolescence, which is a critical period for the development of a social and ethnic identity, as well as moral reasoning and intergroup attitudes. How schools approach cultural diversity issues is therefore likely to affect these developmental and acculturative processes and adaptation outcomes. In the present article, the manifestation and effects of the most prominent approaches to cultural diversity, namely those guided by a perspective of equality and inclusion, and those guided by a perspective of cultural pluralism, are reviewed and compared in the context of multi-ethnic schools. The aim is to explore when and how the potential of cultural diversity can best flourish, enhancing the academic and socio-emotional development of culturally diverse students.