Appraisal of applicants for ministry careers

A proposed evaluation protocol addresses the need for standards of practice in assessing candidates for ministry careers. The protocol is tailored to parish clergy psychological risk and resiliency factors articulated by personnel officers and identified in scholarly literature. It employs readily available psychological tests with demonstrated psychometric qualities. It utilises interview questions to confirm or disconfirm test-generated hypotheses and to probe for evidence of coping with challenging circumstances. The protocol generates data for appraising risk and promoting long-term resilience. Application of the protocol to 120 applicants for clergy careers in the Episcopal Diocese of the Southwest (EDSW) demonstrates that applicants respond to psychological tests in a manner different from general job applicants. Data analysis generates norms for indentifying unusual applicants who may be at risk for troubled careers. Discussion centres on identifying early markers of risk and resiliency in ministry careers.     

Distancing oneself from God: relationships with borderline personality symptomatology

Self-harm behaviour traditionally has been associated with borderline personality disorder. In this study, we examined the relationship between borderline personality symptomatology and intentionally distancing oneself from God as self-punishment, based on the assumption that such self-punishment may represent a form of self-harm behaviour. Data from four previous samples of primary care outpatients collected over a two-year period were combined (N?=?1511). Borderline personality was assessed with two measures: the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4) and the Self-Harm Inventory (SHI). Point-biserial correlation coefficients revealed that those who endorsed distancing oneself from God as punishment scored relatively higher on both the PDQ-4 (r?=?0.40, p?<?0.001) and the SHI (r?=?0.46, p?<?0.001). Similarly, when compared to respondents who denied ever having distanced themselves from God as punishment, those who did were more likely to exceed the clinical cut-off score on the PDQ-4 (47.3% vs. 10.9%, X^{2 ?}=?152.53, p?<?0.001) and the SHI (57.3% vs. 11.4%, X^{2 ?}=?224.12, p?<?0.001). Findings support our hypothesis that distancing oneself from God as punishment may be a form of self-harm behaviour associated with borderline personality symptomatology.     

The relationship between Big-5 personality traits and cognitive ability in older adults – a review

It is well established that fundamental aspects of cognition such as memory and speed of processing tend to decline with age; however, there is substantial between-individual variability in levels of cognitive performance in older adulthood and in rates of change in cognitive abilities over time. Recent years have seen an increasing number of studies concerned with examining personality characteristics as possible predictors of some of this variability in cognitive aging. The purpose of this article is to review the literature, and identify patterns of findings regarding the relationships between personality (focusing on the Big-5) and cognitive ability across nonclinical populations of older adults. Possible mechanisms underlying associations of personality characteristics with cognition are reviewed, and assessed in the context of the current literature. Some relatively consistent relationships are identified, including positive associations between openness and cognitive ability, and associations of conscientiousness with slower rates of cognitive decline. However, the relationships between several personality traits and cognitive abilities in older adults remain unclear. We suggest some approaches to research design and analysis that may help increase our understanding of how personality differences may contribute to cognitive aging.     

Humble persons are more helpful than less humble persons: Evidence from three studies

Connections between humility and other prosocial qualities led us to develop a humility–helpfulness hypothesis. In three studies, humble persons were more helpful than less humble persons. In Study 1, participants (n?=?117) completed self-report measures of humility, the Big Five, and helpfulness. In Study 2, participants (n?=?90) completed an implicit measure of humility and were presented with an unexpected opportunity to help someone in need. In Study 3, participants (n?=?103) completed self-report and implicit measures of humility and were presented a similar helping opportunity. Humility and helpfulness correlated positively when personality and impression management were controlled. Humble participants helped more than did less humble participants even when agreeableness and desirable responding were statistically controlled. Further, implicit humility uniquely predicted helping behavior in an altruistic motivation condition.     

The personality of meaning in life: Associations between dimensions of life meaning and the Big Five

The goal of the current study was to identify aspects of personality that are associated with different ways in which people find meaning in life. This was achieved using constrained principal component analysis (CPCA) on data from 322 university students, who completed the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life questionnaire and the Big Five Aspects Scale. CPCA demonstrated that personality traits and life meaning are associated, but not redundant, with one another. Specifically, respondents with high scores on lower-level aspects of Openness to Experience tended to derive meaning from questioning, learning and challenging tradition, whereas those with high scores on aspects of Conscientiousness and Extraversion tended to derive meaning from success at work, health, and family. Results suggest that personality traits are associated with variations in the domains used to derive meaning in life, and demonstrate the utility of CPCA as an innovative statistical technique for the study of individual differences.     

The Journal of Positive Psychology – Reviewers for 2012

Optimism and pessimism are associated with important outcomes including health and depression. Yet it is unclear if these apparent polar opposites form a single dimension or reflect two distinct systems. The extent to which personality accounts for differences in optimism/pessimism is also controversial. Here, we addressed these questions in a genetically informative sample of 852 pairs of twins. Distinct genetic influences on optimism and pessimism were found. Significant family-level environment effects also emerged, accounting for much of the negative relationship between optimism and pessimism, as well as a link to neuroticism. A general positive genetics factor exerted significant links among both personality and life-orientation traits. Both optimism bias and pessimism also showed genetic variance distinct from all effects of personality and from each other.     

Happiness and despair on the catwalk: Need satisfaction,well-being,and personality adjustment among fashion models

According to self-determination theory, well-being and healthy personality development depend on the fulfillment of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, relatedness, and competence. However, various contextual features can interfere with need satisfaction and undermine well-being. We hypothesized that fashion models, who are often valued for superficial reasons (i.e., their looks) and who may not have regular opportunities to cultivate deep relationships or exercise personal control on the job, might experience lower psychological need satisfaction, less well-being, and less optimal personality adjustment. Two studies were conducted in which professional fashion models (N?=?56 in Study 1; N?=?35 in Study 2) were compared to approximately equally large groups of non-models. Fashion models reported slightly lower need satisfaction and well-being but greater personality maladjustment (personality disorder features). Mediation analyses in Study 1 suggested that the lower well-being among models was explained via unfulfilled basic needs. These findings further substantiate the importance of basic need satisfaction for well-being and optimal adjustment.     

The Personal and Social Correlates of Spiritual Well-Being Among Primary School Teachers

A sample of 311 primary school teachers completed the Spiritual Health in Four Domains Index alongside the abbreviated revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and measures of religiosity. The data demonstrate that higher levels of spiritual health are found among older teachers who record low scores on the psychoticism scale and who practice religious faith through church attendance and personal prayer.     

Governors in the Legislative Arena: The Importance of Personality in Shaping Success

Research on the leadership of executives in the United States typically follows one of two traditions, emphasizing either characteristics of the incumbent or features of the office. This article brings together these traditions. It draws upon the work of Winter to develop measures of three aspects of personality—the power, achievement, and affiliation drives—and hypothesizes that the power and achievement motives are exhibited in conjunction by successful chief executives. It then tests this hypothesis within the contexts of the American states, thus accounting for both the leaders as individuals and the features of the political and economic environments in which they lead. The primary hypothesis is affirmed. Governors who exhibit high levels of the power and achievement motives in tandem are substantially more likely to achieve their policy goals. In addition, governors who emphasize affiliation are less successful.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: James Arnt Aune, Selling the Free Market: The Rhetoric of Economic Correctness Daniel Bar–Tal, Shared Beliefs in a Society: Social Psychological Analysis Francis A. Beer, Meanings of War & Peace Joseph R. Blaney and William L. Benoit, The Clinton Scandals and the Politics of Image Restoration Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss–Morse (eds.), What Is It About Government That Americans Dislike? Jacob Shamir and Michal Shamir, The Anatomy of Public Opinion Joseph B. Underhill–Cady, Death and the Statesman: The Culture and Psychology of U.S. Leaders During War