Character Strengths: Stability and change from a military college education

A service academy military education seeks to develop character. Twenty-four character strengths measured by the Values in Action – Individual Strengths instrument are examined longitudinally to determine effects on character from a service academy education. Significant growth equations were obtained for Citizenship-Teamwork, Hope-Optimism, Fairness, Capacity to Love and be Loved, Appreciation of Beauty, Industry-Perseverance, Zest-Enthusiasm, Spirituality, Creativity, Leadership, Humor-Playfulness, Judgment, and Love of Learning from a mixed models analysis (overall Type 1 error set at .05). Based upon differences expected from a cross-sectional national sample it was inferred that the military college education differentially affected all character strengths except Gratitude, Citizenship-Teamwork, Creativity, Hope-Optimism, Capacity to Love and be Loved, Humor-Playfulness, Perspective, Modesty-Humility, Appreciation of Beauty, and Judgment.     

Profiling work-related signature strengths of “Born Free” South Africans: A gender perspective

This study investigated the importance of signature strengths of South African trainees in the hospitality industry who are the “Born Free” generation, who have only lived in a democracy, and were given equal opportunities. Utilising a cross-sectional research design, we sampled hospitality industry trainees (n = 290) attending a large South African university (females = 70.3%; black = 91%; mean age = 20.59 years, SD = 3.86 years). For the data analysis we rank order scored the hospitality trainees’ key strengths, and differentiating these by gender. Results indicated the participants to rank Honesty, Love, and Fairness as most important; while Love of learning and Self-regulation were ranked least important of the strengths. Both males and females ranked Fairness highly, while the males ranked Hope as most important, and the females viewed Honesty as an important strength. Moreover, the males scored Leadership significantly higher than the females, while the females scored Forgiveness and Kindness significantly higher than the males. Recognising the signature strengths valued by the South African “Born Free” generation may be important for their self-awareness to provide superior service to guests by using their positive skills.     

The Gift of Growing Up in a Same-Gendered Family: A Case Study

This article portrays the personal strengths of children growing up in same-gendered families from a positive psychological framework. One of the major challenges all children growing up in same-gendered families are faced with is the integration of their family experience with that of the wider society outside the home. A narrative approach was used to explore the experiences of children from their perspectives. Five children from eight families participated in the project. Data were created through interviews and a variety of other supportive qualitative techniques. The data were analyzed using a holistic analysis approach and a narrative was subsequently written to illuminate the uniqueness, the specificity and the individuality of each particular child. This article depicts one of these narratives. From this narrative the following personal strengths emerged: humor, a sense of perceived control, socially intelligent disclosure, agency, okayness and the ability to form positive relationships. I propose that remarkable personal strengths are displayed in the way in which children growing up in same-gendered families engage a heteronormative world.     

The role of peer groups in adolescents' educational trajectories

The present study investigated whether the members of adolescents' peer groups show similar educational trajectories from comprehensive school to either senior secondary or vocational education, and to what extent their educational expectations, academic achievement, family structure, and parents' SES predict these trajectories. Five hundred thirty adolescents filled in a questionnaire focusing on their educational expectations, academic achievement and family background variables before the transition to post-comprehensive education. They were also asked to nominate three peers with whom they most liked to spend their time. After the transition, they reported the school form they were in. The results showed that adolescents who belonged to the same peer group at the end of comprehensive school shared similar educational trajectories later on. Moreover, family background factors shared by peer-group members predicted the academic trajectories typical of the peer group.     

Character strengths and well-being among volunteers and employees: Toward an integrative model

The endorsement and deployment of character strengths in occupational contexts are two promising components for understanding how people create well-being. In this study, a model integrating character strengths, satisfaction with occupational activities, and meaning and well-being was proposed and tested in two samples of volunteers and a sample of working adults. The model fit the data well in all three samples. Results demonstrated that deploying strengths at work provided key links to satisfaction with voluntary and paid occupational activities and to meaning among both young and middle-aged volunteers, and adult working women. Among adult volunteers and paid workers, endorsing strengths was related to meaning, while both endorsing and deploying strengths were related to well-being. Together, these studies provide a model for understanding how strengths may play a role in how both volunteer and paid workers find meaning, well-being, and satisfaction.     

Authenticity,employee silence,prohibitive voice,and the moderating effect of organizational identification

Authenticity is an important concept in positive psychology and has been shown to be related to well-being, health, and leadership effectiveness. The present paper introduces employee authenticity as a predictor of relevant workplace behaviors, namely employee silence and prohibitive voice. Converging evidence across two studies using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs demonstrates that when responding to hypothetical problematic workplace events (Study 1) or actual workplace experiences (Study 2), individual differences in employees’ authenticity predicted more self-reported voice behaviors and less silence that emanated from various motivations. Furthermore, authenticity scores consistently yielded predictive utility over and above the contribution of a broad set of individual and organization-based characteristics. Finally, organizational identification moderated the relation between authenticity and silence, such that for employees with high levels of identification, the relation between authenticity and silence was stronger.     

Roost-mate communication in adult Indian false vampire bats (Megaderma lyra): an indication of individuality in temporal and spectral pattern

The remarkable cognitive abilities of bats indicate that they may recognise particular conspecifics. Because of their highly developed auditory system, it is obvious that vocalisations of bats may give information about the individual emitting them. In a field study of the social behaviour in the Indian false vampire bat (Megaderma lyra), two different types of vocalisation were recorded and analysed. The bats emitted these vocalisations only while aggregating with conspecifics inside the day roost. The “landing strophe” consisted of a number of brief multiharmonic downward frequency-modulated (FM_down) sounds which levelled off as a constant frequency (CF), and the “clatter strophe” was composed of a number of multiharmonic FM_down sounds which became shallow at the end as a short CF. The sounds of the landing strophe and the ¶clatter strophe differed in repetition rate, duration, harmonic components and frequency. Time pattern and peak frequency of the two sound types differed highly significantly between single, unidentified bats. The sounds were inter-individually distinct when the three parameters were combined as an acoustical space. Therefore, these vocalisations might be used for individual recognition in adult bats.     

签名对个体诚实度和道德感的影响

探讨签名的位置以及是否预告签名信息对个体诚实行为的影响, 同时探究不同承诺形式对个体道德行为的调节作用, 从而揭示签名对个体道德行为影响的机制。实验1比较不同签名的位置与是否预告签名信息两种条件下, 被试在有奖抛掷骰子的游戏中的诚实性表现。结果发现, 当游戏前告知需要签名时, 签名位置对被试的诚实行为没有显著影响; 而在游戏前不告知需要签名时, 上位签名的被试比下位签名的被试更倾向于做出诚实行为。实验2比较口头承诺方式与签名方式对个体诚实行为的影响, 结果发现, 口头承诺与上位签名均能促使个体做出诚实行为。结果表明, 签名对个体道德行为的影响, 是通过启动个体的自我认同感而实现的; 签名位置的效应, 实际上是由于启动的时段不同造成; 同时, 通过口头承诺的方式, 同样可以启动个体的自我认同感, 从而促进其实施道德行为。