Daniel levinson and his theory of adult development: A reminiscence and some clarifications

I offer some reminiscences occasioned by the death of Daniel Levinson, a modern pioneer in the study of the human life cycle. I clarify three controversial aspects of Levinson's theory—its universality, the role of critical life events, and the place of relationships—as well as briefly foreshadow findings from his forthcoming book on women. I show that relationships to people, enterprises, and social institutions are the stuff out of which the individual life structure—Levinson's central concept—is formed. Levinson's dream was of a society in which the developmental needs of adults were better understood and met so that they could more generatively fill their roles in the institutions upon which the young depend. He thought this essential to the evolution of a society that would be both more competent and more humane. In this dream, which was a product of his own difficult mid-life transition and a measure of the success he achieved in integrating its polarities, Levinson united a warm, scientific interest in others with an affectionate curiosity about nature.     

Attachment,temperament, and ego development in young adulthood

Attachment and temperament have each been thought to contribute to personality development; however, few empirical studies have examined the relations between the two. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate, in young adulthood, the relations among attachment, temperament, and two aspects of ego development, namely,overall ego development and ego development with respect tointimacy. One hundred and seven college students served as participants. Sixty one percent classified themselves as securely attached and 39% as insecurely attached. A factor analysis of the Emotionality-Activity-Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey for Adults yielded a primary factor (labeled negative emotionality) that accounted for 41% of the variance. A regression analysis then revealed that both attachment status and temperament predicted overall ego development; however, only attachment status predicted ego development with respect to intimacy. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

5──8岁儿童对几种偏正复句的理解

本研究用三种方式测试８０名５—８岁儿童对因果、条件和让步三种复句的理解。结果表明,他们对这三种复句的理解逐年提高,６岁和７岁之间的变化尤为明显。６岁儿童基本能理解因果复句和条件复句,７岁儿童基本能理解让步复句。他们在三种作业中表现出不同的理解水平,判断句子正误的成绩差于完成句子和指认代词所指的成绩。     

Teamwork makes the dream work: Testing for shared perceptions on psycho-behavioural skills between athletes,coaches and parents

Psycho-behavioural skills play a key role in optimising progression through talent development, and this study investigated to what extent athlete’s self-perceptions align with those of their coaches and parents. Firstly, we examined if levels of alignment between these three raters differ across age of the athlete. To this end, 122 athletes between 9 and 18 years old (12.17 ± 2.41 years old; 47 gymnasts, 13 cyclists and 62 badminton players) completed a psycho-behavioural questionnaire. The ANOVA’s indicated low levels of correspondence between the ratings of the athlete, the coach and the parents during childhood, while better levels of shared perceptions were found in adolescence. Secondly, we investigated to what extent coaches and parents believed their own perception of the athlete’s and the perception of the athlete’s psycho-behavioural skills were accurate. Parents appeared to be more confident in accurately perceiving the psycho-behavioural skills of the athlete than coaches. Parents and coaches also believed that older athletes would be more honest on their psycho-behavioural shortcomings than younger athletes. Altogether, these findings highlight that athletes and other stakeholders in the talent development environment should strive for better alignment in perceptions on psycho-behavioural skills during the talent development pathway. With better integrated perceptions, a more functional and efficient talent development system for the athlete targeting the psycho-behavioural skills can be created.     

The Flow-Clutch Scale: Development and preliminary validation in sport and exercise

ObjectivesThe Integrated Model of Flow and Clutch States describes two overlapping psychological states that underlie exceptional performance and rewarding exercise experiences. However, research based on this model is currently hampered because no validated measure has yet been developed. Therefore, the aim of this multi-study paper was to develop and provide preliminary validation of the Flow-Clutch Scale in sport and exercise.DesignUsing two independent adult samples (n = 280; n = 264), three studies were conducted to develop and establish preliminary validity of the Flow-Clutch Scale.MethodIn Study 1, we developed an initial version of the scale and established content validity using an expert panel. In Study 2, we employed exploratory factor analysis to: identify the most appropriate factor structure; examine the scale’s internal consistency; test whether the scale differentiated between individuals who experience flow, clutch, or neither state; and examine relationships with the Flow State Scale-2. In Study 3, we aimed to replicate findings of Study 2 with an independent sample, and employed confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the factor structure, internal consistency, and relationships with the Flow State Scale-2.ResultsThe results provide preliminary validation of the four-factor, 22-item Flow-Clutch Scale.ConclusionsThese studies indicate the Flow-Clutch Scale represents a useful scale for researchers interested in examining flow and/or clutch states in sport and exercise. Recommendations are provided for further research to continue testing, and accumulating evidence for, the validity and reliability of the Flow-Clutch Scale.     

7－15岁儿童对友谊关系的认知及其发展

用以承诺为主题的两难推理故事探查７－１５岁儿童对友谊关系的认知及其发展。结果表明,儿童的有关发展制约于社会观点采择能力的发展和调节友谊关系的道德规范的理解,并表现出阶段结构的发展模式,我国儿童的发展具有某种跨文化的普遍性,也显示出自己的特点。     

Parallel lives: Community psychology in Latin America and the United States

Comparing the history of community psychology as it developed in the U.S. during the 1960s with the community psychology that developed 10 years later in Latin America, one is reminded of the title of Plutarch’s masterpice,Parallel Lives. Although there was very little contact or communication between the first community psychologists in these regions, very similar principles and orientations evolved. These similarities are particularly striking given the many ways in which the U.S. and Latin American contexts and histories differ. Since most readers are expected to be familiar with the history of community psychology as it developed in the U.S., this paper focuses primarily on the development of community psychology in Latin America in order to highlight areas of convergence as well as divergence from the U.S. experience. This paper is based on an address presented at the Fourth Biennial Conference, Society for Community Research and Action, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1993. The author acknowledges the valuable help received from J. R. Newbrough and from the referees in the revision of this paper.     

From dialectic to organization: Bogdanov’s contribution to social theory

This paper situates Bogdanov in the context of social theory generally and socialist theory in particular. It outlines briefly the principal characteristics of his mature system, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of his approach to the fundamental problems of social thought. The paper devotes particular attention to the problem of just how systems develop from less complex to more complex forms of organization, and evaluates Bogdanov’s solution to this problem against the background of populist, social democratic, and Leninist alternatives.     

目标设置过程的理性特征分析

本文运用个案研究方法 ,从人类理性的角度分析了企业在不同的生产经营条件下的目标设置方式 ,发现不确定性和目标难度对管理者的目标设置过程有很大的影响。在确定的 ,且任务较容易的情况下 ,目标设置是以一种与理性期望模型相一致的方式进行的 ,而在高度不确定的条件下 ,管理者则倾向于采用渐进适应的模式设置目标。对管理者的经营活动作进一步深入的分析发现 ,在高难度的任务目标情景中 ,决策者更多地从战略的层次 ,而不是从具体的层次上寻求实现目标的途径 ,从而提出了目标难度与实绩的“策略搜索层次”假设     

3—6岁白、哈尼族与汉族儿童的颜色命名能力的发展

探讨了云南地区白族与哈尼族３—６岁儿童的颜色命名能力发展,并与北京地区汉族同龄儿童作了比较。实验结果表明,不同民族的儿童的颜色命名能力都伴随年龄增长而逐步提高;但汉族儿童的颜色命名能力发展略高于哈尼族与白族同龄儿童。总的来看,儿童对不同颜色正确命名能力的发展有着共同的规律性,即黑、白、红三色较易正确命名,其次是黄、绿、蓝三色较难正确命名,命名正确率最低的颜色是橙与紫。