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.     

Using Themes from Mystical Traditions to Enhance Self-Acceptance in Life Review Groups

ABSTRACT

This article presents a model in which facilitators of life review groups can enhance the self-acceptance of members troubled by memories that seem to confirm their self-as-failed. By incorporating into the group's agenda discussions based on readings from religious mystical traditions East and West, the themes of True-Self, Mystical Night, and Engaged Detachment can move reviewers to own their past, celebrate it as gift, and feel purposeful about their future.     

The Imagination of Images and Images of Imagination: How the Imagination Relates to Aging,Health, and Spirituality

ABSTRACT

Psychological literature suggests that religion and spirituality increase in late adulthood. Yet, operational definitions of spirituality and religiosity remain widely debated and inadequate for the concepts they are designed to measure. The empirical studies of religion and spirituality as one ages are of poor design and often measure only limited aspects of religion or spirituality. Few empirical studies exist which have been conceived to only study religiosity and spirituality in late adulthood. The purpose of this study was to determine the defining aspects of religiosity and spirituality using the Allport, Ross Intrinsic, Extrinsic Religiosity Scale, Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Instrument. Using a principal component factor analysis, the study examined the factor structure using an older adult sample of 320 individuals 65 years of age and older. Having a purpose in life combines with intrinsic religious questions for the first factor. Life satisfaction questions group together on two factors and extrinsic religiosity is clearly one factor. The scales used hold together well when combined. A new, shortened scale to measure aspects of religiosity and spirituality is proposed.     

Dwelling and Seeking in Late Adulthood: The Psychosocial Implications of Two Types of Religious Orientation

SUMMARY

This article summarizes quantitative findings and presents two illustrative case studies showing how religious dwelling and spiritual seeking evolve over the adult life course and relate to psychosocial functioning in late adulthood. The data come from the Institute of Human Development (IHD) longitudinal study of men and women. Religious dwellers tend to emphasize traditional forms of religious behavior whereas spiritual seekers emphasize innovative religious practices. In the IHD study, the religious involvement of the dwellers tended to be highly stable over the life course whereas spirituality gained in salience in the second half of adulthood. In late adulthood, religious dwelling was associated with maintaining close and warm relations with others and communal involvement, and during times of adversity, religiousness served as a buffer against the loss of life satisfaction. Spiritual seeking was associated with an emphasis on personal growth, creativity, and acquiring new knowledge. Spiritual growth was particularly characteristic of introspective individuals who in early adulthood experienced stressful life events.     

Promoting spiritual well-being: a quasi-experimental test of an element of Hay and Nye’s theory of children’s spirituality

This study is one of the first tests of key implicit claims of Hay and Nye’s theory of children’s spirituality and spiritual development. Two quasi-experimental studies tested two claims: that exposure to six conditions posited as fostering relational consciousness in a programme of spiritual formation promotes spiritual well-being; that the effect of the conditions continues after exposure ends. The results for Study One revealed that length of exposure to any of the six conditions was not a significant predictor of spiritual well-being, F(3, 179)?=?1.49, p = 0.22. Study Two results indicated that as the length of time since exposure increased so did spiritual well-being, r(38)?=?0.39, p = 0.01 at the bivariate level, and F(4, 35)?=?2.4, p = 0.06 in the regression. These results reveal a possible relationship between exposure to the six conditions and spiritual well-being.     

大学生性别角色观的差异

运用问卷调查法,结合人格特质词分类法,对140名大学本科新生的性别角色观进行了研究。发现：（1）男女大学生都把勇敢和善良分别放在男女性别角色正价特质的第一位;虚伪和自私分别放在男女性别角色负价特质的第一位。（2）男女大学生在善良是男女性别角色共有正价特质,负责、真诚、稳重和善良是男性角色正价特质,温柔与真诚是女性角色正价特质的重要性认识等方面有显著性的性别差异。在男生认为的男性角色的主要正价特质中女生只认为勇敢、坚强、真诚、稳重、负责是男性角色的主要正价特质。男生更认为温柔是女性角色的正价特质,女生更认为真诚是女性角色的正价特质。（3）男女生都认为势利、自私、虚伪、刻薄、饶舌是女性角色的主要负价特质,但男生把势利是放在女性角色负价特质的第一位,女生把自私放在女性角色负价特质的第一位;男女生都认为势利、自负、自私、粗鲁是男性角色的主要负价特质,但女生比男生更认为自负与懦弱是男性角色的主要负价特质,男生认为势利比自负更是男性角色的主要负价特质。     

大学生上网行为、态度和人格特征的研究

本研究使用自编大学生上网成瘾诊断问卷、自编上网行为和态度问卷以及三个人格量表,对上海市6所高校370名大学生的上网情况进行了调查。结果表明：(1)上网成瘾的大学生在上网的行为和态度上明显不同于非成瘾的大学生,他们表现出高开放性、社交性、胜任能力和匿名性,并且更认可网络交流的便利性。(2)上网成瘾的大学生比非成瘾的大学生明显表现出孤独、抑郁和焦虑的人格特质。(3)逐步回归分析的结果表明,“社交性”、“交流便利”、“焦虑量表分数”、“开放性”、“胜任能力”对大学生陷人网络的程度有显著的预测作用。     

青年罪犯的人格特征研究

采用“卡特尔十六种人格因素测验”问卷,分析比较了青年罪犯与青年学生的人格特质、次元人格因素、应用人格因素。结果表明：青年罪犯与青年学生在8种人格特质(C、F、G、H、L、Q1、Q2、q)、1种次元人格因素(X2)、1种应用人格因素(Y4)上存在显著差异,提示青年罪犯确有异于同龄人的人格特征,这对青年犯罪的预防与矫治具有重要意义。     

Journeys With People Who Have Dementia: Connecting and Finding Meaning in the Journey

This article begins with a reflective journey with one person who was diagnosed with early onset dementia. It then turns to reflect on the subsequent journey of research with other people who have dementia and where they find meaning in life, through the process of spiritual reminiscence. The article views dementia through a theological lens that sees those who have dementia as people made in God’s image and the implications this has for the lives of those living with dementia and those who care for them. One of the important findings from research conducted in the small group process was that meaning was almost synonymous with relationship and connectedness for participants, just as it is for people who don’t have dementia.