A case study of ‘The Good School:’ Examples of the use of Peterson’s strengths-based approach with students

This applied case study centers on two aspects of Peterson’s research as introduced into a large K-12 school in Australia: (i) creating enabling institutions and (ii) applications of character strengths. The paper describes five character strengths initiatives. Four of the strengths initiatives have been integrated into existing school experiences such as English curriculum, school sport, student leadership, and counseling. The fifth initiative involved a brand new program which introduced a Positive Education Curriculum for years?K-10. We describe these five initiatives and then explain how students at the school may experience these in a more holistic and integrated way. We hope that this article will act as a fitting tribute to the legacy of Christopher Peterson.     

Does gratitude always work? Ambivalence over emotional expression inhibits the beneficial effect of gratitude on well‐being

The psychological benefit of gratitude has been well demonstrated in previous studies. However, when we examined these studies closely, we found that the moderators were rarely investigated, suggesting that further work is needed to explore the boundaries of gratitude In this regard, the authors have proposed that ambivalence over emotional expression might be a potential moderator that would inhibit the beneficial effect of gratitude on well-being. Two studies were conducted to examine our hypothesis. Study 1 consisted of 353 Taiwanese college students who completed the Gratitude Questionnaire-Taiwan version (GQ-T), Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire (AEQ), and one question about subjective happiness. We found that ambivalence over emotional expression significantly moderated the effect of gratitude on happiness. To validate our findings in Study 1, 233 Taiwanese college students were recruited for Study 2, and they completed the GQ-T, AEQ, subjective happiness short-form UCLA loneliness scale, as well as the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Both studies demonstrated that ambivalence over emotional expression moderated the relationship between gratitude and well-being indexes. Simply stated, the authors found that across the two independent samples, among students who are high in ambivalence over emotional expression, the beneficial effect of gratitude on subjective happiness was inhibited. However, the moderating pattern for loneliness and depression was contrary to our expectations, indicating that high ambivalence over emotional expression does not inhibit gratitude. Possible explanations and implications for social relationships and emotional expression are discussed.     

条件推理中否定前件下信念偏差发生阶段的ERP研究

以日常生活中的条件推理语句为实验材料,采用大、小前提和结论依次呈现的“推断-判断”范式,利用事件相关电位(event-related brain potential, ERP)技术探讨了条件推理中否定前件下信念偏差效应的脑内时程动态变化。结果发现：在行为反应上,较信念促进,信念阻碍下的正确率更低反应时更长;在脑电上,两条件(信念阻碍和信念促进)诱发的ERP波形仅在大前提加工阶段出现明显的分离。这表明该推理下的信念偏差效应可能早在对大前提的语义表征阶段就已发生。     

积极组织行为学视角下的双重应激管理模式

积极组织行为学的兴起, 为偏向消极应激预防与控制的传统应激管理模式提供了新的思路。应激源对个体而言是中性的, 如果个体对之进行积极评估, 认为应激源可以维持或提升其幸福感, 则引发的反应既是积极应激反应。组织不仅应当注重应对消极应激, 还应当注重诱发和品味积极应激。应对消极应激与品味积极应激并重的双重应激管理模式, 是组织进行应激管理的较好选择。     

童年中期受欺负与问题行为之关系: 一项两年纵向研究

摘要：采用同伴评价和教师评价对733名小学3年级儿童进行为期两年的追踪研究,通过结构方程模型,考察受欺负与两类问题行为的相互预测关系。结果发现：（1）受欺负与外化问题行为和内化问题行为呈显著正相关。（2）受欺负在两年之间呈现较高的稳定性;而外化问题行为和内化问题行为则表现出较低程度的稳定性。 （3）结构方程模型结果表明,三年级时的受欺负可以显著预测五年级时的外化问题行为,而三年级时的外化问题行为不能显著预测五年级时的受欺负;三年级时的内化问题行为可以显著预测五年级时的受欺负,而三年级时的受欺负不能显著预测五年级时的内化问题行为。在受欺负与问题行为的相互预测关系中,内化问题行为更有可能成为受欺负的触发因素,而外化问题行为则更有可能是对受欺负的回应。     

员工强制性组织公民行为的多层次形成机制

组织公民行为一直被视为员工“心甘情愿”而为之, 然而随着被加班、被捐款等“被”现象的不断出现, 越来越多的研究证实强制性组织公民行为(即被迫无奈的组织公民行为)在组织中同样普遍存在, 而且会导致劳资关系紧张, 威胁企业内部和谐等, 但相关研究较为匮乏。本研究以员工的强制性组织公民行为为研究对象, 聚焦于对其形成机制的研究。具体地, 使用特质激活、强制说服和自我决定等理论, 分别从指向员工个体、领导和组织三个层次的影响因素揭示员工强制性组织公民行为的形成机制, 建立员工强制性组织公民行为多层次形成机制的概念模型。研究结果实践上有利于本土企业构建和谐的劳资关系并实施更加人性化的管理, 理论上有望为组织公民行为领域贡献新的知识, 在一定程度上推动组织公民行为理论在中国的研究与应用。     

班级结构对留守儿童心理健康的影响:同化还是对比效应?

基于河南和陕西两省17所农村学校4~9年级103个班级内4021名学生的调查数据,分析了班级结构(一般农村儿童在班级中所占比例)对不同家庭背景儿童心理健康的影响机制.采用学校固定效应模型控制校际间差异后发现:(1)对于自尊和未来压力感知,班级结构存在对比效应,即班级内一般农村儿童比例越高,留守儿童的自尊水平越低,特殊结构家庭的儿童会感知到的未来压力更大,但对一般农村家庭儿童的影响不显著;(2)对于抑郁症状,班级结构则存在同化效应,即所在班级内其他学生的平均抑郁水平对个体自身的抑郁症状有显著的预测作用.     

干预初中生的同伴关系以促进其亲社会行为

依据青少年对亲社会行为的概念表征及其重视同伴关系的特点,从同伴关系的建立、维持和冲突解决三方面入手,结合社会技能的行为训练和认知训练,设置改善同伴关系的课程,对石家庄市某中学120名初中生开展10周(每周45分钟)的团体干预活动.结果发现,干预课程显著改善了初中生的同伴关系,并有效促进了他们的亲社会行为,特别是利他性、遵规与公益性和关系性亲社会行为.干预研究为青少年亲社会行为的培养提供了新的思路和方法.     

Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People

Caring is a positive social act, but can it result in negative attitudes towards those cared for, and towards others from their wider social group? Based on intergroup contact theory, we tested whether care workers' (CWs) positive and negative contact with old‐age care home residents (CHRs) predicts prejudiced attitudes towards that group, and whether this generalises to other older people. Fifty‐six CWs were surveyed about their positive and negative contact with CHRs and their blatant and subtle attitudes (humanness attributions) towards CHRs and older adults. We tested indirect paths from contact with CHRs to attitudes towards older adults via attitudes towards CHRs. Results showed that neither positive nor negative contact generalised blatant ageism. However, the effect of negative, but not positive, contact on the denial of humanness to CHRs generalised to subtle ageism towards older adults. This evidence has practical implications for management of CWs' work experiences and theoretical implications, suggesting that negative contact with a subgroup generalises the attribution of humanness to superordinate groups. Because it is difficult to identify and challenge subtle prejudices such as dehumanisation, it may be especially important to reduce negative contact. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Prediction of symptoms of emotional distress by mood regulation expectancies and affective traits

Three studies examined negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) and affective traits as independent predictors of self‐reported symptoms of emotional distress. NMRE represent individuals' beliefs that they can alleviate unpleasant emotional states. Stronger NMRE are associated with more adaptive coping, more positive cognition during negative moods, more effective responses under stress and less emotional distress. Affective traits represent long‐term tendencies toward particular affective experiences; they confer risk for specific symptoms of emotional distress. In Study 1, NMRE, trait negative affect (TNA) and trait positive affect (TPA) were all independently associated with depression among students and staff of a German university. In Study 2, in prospective analyses among U.S. college students traits exhibited hypothesised relationships with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and NMRE uniquely predicted anhedonic depression. Study 3 revealed independent prediction of change in symptoms over time by NMRE among U.S. college students, whereas traits were not associated with change in distress, anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest independent roles for NMRE and traits in the development of depression and anxiety symptoms and highlight the importance of NMRE as a potential target of therapeutic intervention in the process of symptom change.