scholarly journals Primal world beliefs correlate strongly but differentially with character strengths

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Stahlmann ◽  
Willibald Ruch
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Safe Place ◽  
Place Theory ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
The World ◽  
German Speaking

Primal world beliefs–primals–are a category of beliefs about the overall character of the world (e.g., the world is a safe place). Theory suggests that such beliefs drive personality development–or at least reflect personality differences, such as character strengths. We examined the relationships of primals with character strengths among 1122 German-speaking adults. The primary primal good explained the most variance in the majority of character strengths, especially hope, spirituality, zest, gratitude, curiosity, and leadership. Including specific secondary (e.g., safe, enticing, alive) and tertiary primals (e.g., beautiful, needs me, funny) often yielded better predictions, but, with few exceptions, increments were typically smaller than that of the primary primal. We recommend including these primals in positive psychology interventions and describe three couplings of primals and character strengths that may prove especially fruitful for future research and practice.

Positive Psychology Competences of Pre-School Teachers as a Tool for Understanding and Nurturing Children's Play

2017 ◽  
pp. 134-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić ◽  
Petra Prović
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Children's Play ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Children’S Play ◽  
The Common

The Positive Psychology frame and definition present a natural environment for understanding and researching children's play in the context of nurturing overall positive characteristics in children's development. Therefore, this article presents a structured review of the common ground between the basic principles of positive psychology and children's play in the context of early and preschool institutions. Also, it demonstrates the implementation of positive psychology principles in children's play and the methods by which positive psychology could be promoted through children's play in kindergartens. Within that frame, the importance is given to the needed preschool teachers' competences in this area. In this context, various activities are presented that reflect a common ground of positive psychology and children's play. Finally, some significant guidelines for future research and practice enhancement are presented.

scholarly journals Strength-based interventions

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
René T Proyer ◽  
Fabian Gander ◽  
Nancy Tandler
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gifted Children ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Positive Psychology Interventions ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Future Research Directions

Positive psychology has revived psychology’s abandoned interest in the study of morally positively valued traits (the so-called character strengths) and virtues. We review literature generated on strength-based approaches and focus on applications in the so-called positive psychology interventions. There seems to be great potential in this approach for research in the field of giftedness and, of course, also when practically working with gifted children and adolescents. We highlight some ideas for future research directions.

Emerging Career Pathways

2020 ◽  
pp. 255-279
Author(s):  
Gary W. Carter ◽  
Jerry W. Hedge
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Labor Market ◽  
Independent Work

Work arrangements are evolving rapidly throughout the world. Coupled with rapid changes in jobs and the movement to a global labor market, this is creating new career pathways. This chapter examines changes in work arrangements and how these changes are impacting career pathways. Major forces driving transformations in work arrangements and career pathways are addressed, and differences by country, global geographic region, and occupational area in the prevalence of alternative and independent work arrangements are described. Positive and negative aspects of changes in work arrangements are delineated, and the shifting focus of individual careers is discussed. The chapter also explores how individuals and organizations can shape career pathways in the new work environment. The implications of these changes for future research and practice are discussed.

scholarly journals The Conceptualization, Measurement, and Role of Humor as a Character Strength in Positive Psychology

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim R. Edwards ◽  
Rod A. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Humor Styles ◽  
Prediction Of Outcome ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Character Strength

In positive psychology, humor has been identified as one of 24 character strengths considered ubiquitously important for human flourishing. Unlike the other strengths, humor was a late addition to this classification system and its status as a strength continues to be somewhat controversial. Therefore, the first purpose of this study was to explore the associations between humor and several outcome variables of relevance to positive psychology (happiness, routes to happiness, resilience, and morality). The second purpose was to explore how best to conceptualize and measure humor as a character strength by comparing the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) Humor Scale with the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) in their ability to predict the outcome variables. A sample of 176 participants completed questionnaires assessing the humor and positive psychology constructs. The results indicated that the humor measures significantly predicted most of the outcome variables, supporting the importance of humor in positive psychology. Furthermore, although the VIA-IS Humor scale and positive humor styles on the HSQ showed considerable overlap, the negative humor styles added significantly to the prediction of outcome variables beyond these positive humor measures, supporting the importance of assessing maladaptive as well as adaptive uses of humor in research on positive psychology. These findings suggest that the HSQ may be a more useful measure than the VIA-IS Humor scale in future research in this field.

Assessing Character Strengths in Youth With Intellectual Disability: Reliability and Factorial Validity of the VIA-Youth

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karrie A. Shogren ◽  
Leslie A. Shaw ◽  
Sheida K. Raley ◽  
Michael L. Wehmeyer ◽  
Ryan M. Niemiec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
General Population ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Factorial Validity ◽  
Research And Practice

Abstract This article reports the results of an examination of the endorsement, reliability, and factorial validity of the VIA–Youth and assessment of character strengths and virtues developed for the general population in youth with and without intellectual disability. Findings suggest that, generally, youth with intellectual disability endorsed character strengths as being like them at lower levels, although few differences were significant. Issues related to measurement, particularly the establishment of measurement invariance, emerged for some virtues. Reliability of the scale was similar across the two groups. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The development of personality disorders: Perspectives from normal personality development in childhood and adolescence

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 715-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Shiner
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Developmental Pathways ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Normal Personality

AbstractThe developmental pathways leading to personality disorders are poorly understood, but clues to these pathways come from recent research on personality disorders and normal personality development in childhood and adolescence. The first section of this paper reviews recent work on personality disorders in childhood and adolescence, and concludes that personality disorders in adolescence are already prevalent, moderately stable, and impairing. The second section draws on McAdams and Pals' personality model to offer a taxonomy of personality differences that can account for the known patterns of emerging personality pathology. This taxonomy includes youths' temperament and personality traits, mental representations (including attachment), coping strategies, and narrative identities. Individual differences in all of these domains may play critical roles in the development, manifestation, and course of personality disorders. Existing knowledge of normal and abnormal personality development can inform future research on the developmental pathways leading to personality pathology, the diagnostic criteria for personality disorders, and the development of validated treatments for personality disorders in the first two decades of life.

scholarly journals The role of volition in distance education: An exploration of its capacities

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Deimann ◽  
Theo Bastiaens
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
Emotion Control ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Special Relevance

During the past two decades, volition, defined as the ability to stay task-focused and ward off distractions, has become of special relevance for educational research and practice. It describes how decreased motivation or negative emotions can be dealt with by applying action control strategies. However, despite its potential, an important area of education has neglected volitional considerations: distance education (DE). This seems paradoxical because by its very nature distance education requires a great deal of persistence and effort that is volitional. Consequently, the present paper introduces a conceptual framework built on volitional theories; it aims to augment traditional perspectives and to analyse major challenges to DE, such as dropout rates. The paper reports results from a longitudinal study (September 2007-July 2009) that was conducted to determine the factorial structure of the Volitional Persona Test (VPT), an online instrument to assess volitional competence, and to obtain detailed information on students’ volitional competence at a large DE university and at numerous traditional universities in German-speaking countries. It was demonstrated that the construct of volition can be subdivided into distinct factors, volitional self-efficacy, consequence control, emotion control, and meta-cognition, which may enable the development of support systems that are tailored to learners’ individual needs. Implications for future research are discussed.

Classifying and Measuring Strengths of Character

2009 ◽  
pp. 24-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Peterson ◽  
Nansook Park
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Actual Behavior ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Life Worth Living ◽  
Development Interventions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Via Classification

What is the good of a person? Answers to this question lie at the heart of traditional moral philosophy as well as contemporary positive psychology. For the past few years, we have been involved in a project describing important strengths of character and ways to measure them. Our research program is sometimes identified as the Values in Action (VIA) project. The VIA classification includes two dozen strengths of character on which our research has focused. Various VIA measures comprise a family of assessment devices that measure individual differences in the strengths in the classification. The present contribution describes the process by which the VIA classification was created, the ways character strengths are measured, and empirical findings: distribution and demographics; correlates and consequences; origins and development; deliberate cultivation; interventions; and structure and trade-offs. Work is ongoing to refine our measures and to use empirical findings to generate theory. Especially important lines of future research include the relationship of character strengths to hard outcome measures, cultural differences and similarities, development, interventions, and the processes by which strengths of character give rise to actual behavior. Our project supports the premise of positive psychology that attention to good character sheds light on what makes life worth living.

Positive Psychology Competences of Pre-School Teachers as a Tool for Understanding and Nurturing Children's Play

2021 ◽  
pp. 498-516
Author(s):  
Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić ◽  
Petra Prović
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Children's Play ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Children’S Play ◽  
The Common

The Positive Psychology frame and definition present a natural environment for understanding and researching children's play in the context of nurturing overall positive characteristics in children's development. Therefore, this article presents a structured review of the common ground between the basic principles of positive psychology and children's play in the context of early and preschool institutions. Also, it demonstrates the implementation of positive psychology principles in children's play and the methods by which positive psychology could be promoted through children's play in kindergartens. Within that frame, the importance is given to the needed preschool teachers' competences in this area. In this context, various activities are presented that reflect a common ground of positive psychology and children's play. Finally, some significant guidelines for future research and practice enhancement are presented.

scholarly journals Strong Mindfulness: Integrating Mindfulness and Character Strengths

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Niemiec ◽  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Marcello Spinella
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Psychological Disorder ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Psychology Perspective

This article explores the integration of mindfulness meditation and character strengths. Beyond simply focusing attention, mindfulness involves the cultivation of attention infused by an unconditional friendliness and interest. Universally valued character strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) are useful constructs for such an infusion. Most mindfulness approaches and programs deal with managing a problem or psychological disorder; far less discussion, empirical work, and scholarly papers have addressed mindfulness from a positive psychology perspective that explicitly attempts to increase what is good. We review research and practice considerations for such an integration and discuss how character strengths enhance mindfulness (i.e. Strong Mindfulness) by dealing with barriers to mindfulness practice and augmenting mindful living in walking, driving, consuming, speaking, and listening.

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