Personality,work, and satisfaction: evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel

Previous studies in positive psychology have indicated that work satisfaction is an important determinant of individual well-being. Research has suggested that people are most satisfied with their work when they are doing what they are drawn to naturally. We provide further evidence on this issue from a large representative data set, the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). The 2005 wave of the SOEP contains a battery of personality questions as well as detailed information on personal life and work life. We extract the Big Five personality factors and one character strength: vitality. The main results are based on regression analysis. The analysis supports the hypothesis that certain personality clusters are more predominant in some occupations than in others. Furthermore, an alignment between personal profile and occupational profile tends to be related positively to satisfaction. These results indicate that ignoring mental aspects of work has its price in terms of well-being. They also highlight the importance of studying the way we structure work and harness personality and individual strengths within positive psychology.

To find out what one is fitted to do and to secure an opportunity to do it is the key to happiness.

John Dewey

The fixed person for the fixed duties who in older societies was such a godsend, in the future will be a public danger.

Alfred North Whitehead     

A changed perspective: How gratitude can affect sense of coherence through positive reframing

We hypothesized that gratitude would be related to sense of coherence via positive reframing, which is a process by which negative events or circumstances are seen in a positive light. We tested this hypothesis in two studies. In Study 1 (N = 166) we found a strong, robust relationship between trait gratitude and sense of coherence above and beyond life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, happiness, and social desirability. Study 2 (N = 275) showed that gratitude at Time 1 predicted sense of coherence at Time 2, controlling for baseline scores. Positive reframing mediated the relationship between gratitude and SOC. Results are discussed in terms of their practical implications.     

Introduction: Attaining a New Stage

The current issue of The Journal of Adult Development addresses one of the threads of adult development, namely stage and stage change. There are four major forms of adult developmental study that can be identified: positive adult development, directionless change, stasis, and decline. The first of the four forms, positive adult developmental processes, is divided into at least six areas of study: hierarchical complexity (orders, stages), knowledge, experience, expertise, wisdom, and spirituality. The topic of this special issue, stage and stage change, is therefore part of the study of positive adult developmental processes. Finally, the manner in which these topics are studied both in this special issue and elsewhere can be characterized in terms of three broad classifications (Commons & Bresette, 2000, Commons & Miller, 1998) for the acquisition of knowledge and the verification of truth in general. These classifications include analytic, experiential, and empirical means to reach truth.     

Crones, Dirty Old Men, Sexy Seniors: Representations of the Sexuality of Older Persons

The representations of the sexuality of older persons in American society are neither flattering nor accurate. Often what is presented is filled with confusion, uncertainty, and contradictions. Sexuality of old people, like sexuality of adolescents, frightens most adults in between. Evidence suggests hope that in popular culture, conventional representations of sexless older people are finally undergoing a change. The popular literature aimed at elderly or midlife audiences increasingly portrays older persons as healthy, vigorous, and not unattractive. Since in the popular mind attractiveness and sexuality are believed to be closely linked, this change signals an increased willingness to credit old people who are aging well (i.e., who look and act young) with being sexually interested and probably active.     

Maintaining Life Satisfaction: The Role of Positive Cognitive Bias

Recent research into population standards of life satisfaction has revealed a remarkable level of uniformity, with the mean values for Western populations clustering at around three-quarters of the measurement scale maximum. While this seems to suggest the presence of a homeostatic mechanism for life satisfaction, the character of such a hypothetical device is uncertain. This paper proposes that well-being homeostasis is controlled by positive cognitive biases pertaining to the self. Most particular in this regard are the positive biases in relation to self-esteem, control and optimism. Past controversies in relation to this proposition are reviewed and resolved in favour of the proposed mechanism. The empirical data to support this hypothesis are discussed in the context of perceived well-being as an adaptive human attribute.     

Enhancing Positive Citizenship Ideals on Students Through Bibliotherapy and Cognitive Counseling

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关于归因定向与行为预测的实验研究

不同的归因方式将导致人们对行为的不同预测倾向。本文正是基于这样的假设,来考察在信息匮乏的情况下,性情归因和情景归因对他人积极行为和消极行为的预测倾向的影响。结果发现,两种归因方式都导致被试对积极行为的预测多于对消极行为的预测,而情景归因下的被试对积极行为的预测又显著多于性情归因下的被试。在此基础上,在引人价值判断的因素后,发现不同的归因方式启动了不同的价值判断,进而影响到对行为的预测。     

选择性注意加工机制上学困生和学优生的比较研究

本实验使用正、负启动技术 ,在严格控制各种条件下比较学困生和学优生在选择性注意加工机制———目标激活和分心物抑制方面的差异 ,进而探讨学困生在选择性注意加工机制上所存在的问题。结果显示 ,学困生和学优生的正启动量差异不显著 (p >0 .0 5 ) ,但学困生的负启动量显著小于学优生 (p <0 .0 0 1。这一结果说明 ,学困生在对目标反应期间易受分心物干扰 ,其抑制分心物干扰的能力较弱。同时启示我们应注重训练学困生抑制分心物干扰的能力     

Emotion Regulation Across the Life Span: An Integrative Perspective Emphasizing Self-Regulation,Positive Affect,and Dyadic Processes

In this commentary, we build upon the papers featured in this 2-part special issue to advance an integrative perspective on emotion regulation that emphasizes the developmentally specific goal-contexts of emotional phenomena. We highlight the importance of (1) multilevel longitudinal investigations of interactions among biological, affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes with respect to emotion regulation; (2) the integration of emotion-regulation processes with self-regulatory processes across the life course; (3) the dynamic relationship between positive and negative affect and their respective influence on regulatory processes; and (4) greater consideration of the dyadic context of emotion-regulation processes. From this perspective, the optimal developmental outcome with respect to emotion regulation is not affective homeostasis, but rather a dynamic flexibility in emotional experience, the ability to pursue and prioritize different goals, and the capacity to selectively and proactively mobilize emotions and cognitions in the service of context-specific and developmentally specific goals.