| 1. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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A Quantification of Agentic and Communal Values in Adolescents’ Life Narratives
- 2014
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Ingår i: 167th American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, New York, New York, USA..
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background Life stories emphasize the narrative and self-organizing aspects of human behaviors and complement personality traits in explaining human identity. In contrast to most research on narratives in which the analysis is restricted to the researcher’s subjective evaluations and interpretations, we used computational methods to quantitatively investigate the relationship between personality and narratives events. Meta-cognitive strategies and principles that guide agentic (self-directedness; e.g., being autonomous, responsible and having self-control), communal (cooperativeness; e.g., showing empathy, helping behavior, and social tolerance), and transcendental (self-transcendence; e.g., the sense of being part of the whole universe) behavior were of special interest. We also investigated which pronouns were most common in relation to personality constructs that were significantly related to the narratives. Method Personality was assessed among 79 adolescents at one point in time using the NEO Personality Inventory – Revised (NEO-PI-R) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Six months later, adolescents were asked to write down the most positive or the most negative event that had happened to them in the last three months. Adolescents were explicitly instructed to answer the following questions within their narratives: What happened? Who were involved? Why do you think it happened? How did you feel when it happened? How do you think the involved persons felt? The descriptions were quantified using semantic spaces, a computational method in which the Latent Semantic Analysis algorithm generates a semantic representation of the narratives. This representation was used to study whether it predicted the personality measures. Results Only Self-directedness and Cooperativeness were predicted by the semantic representation of the narratives. High levels of Self-directedness and Cooperativeness were associated with plural pronouns (e.g., us), whereas low levels were associated with singular pronouns (e.g., one-self, mine). Conclusions Agentic and communal values are involved when adolescents describe positive and negative life experiences.
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| 2. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Agentic, communal, and spiritual traits are related to the semantic representation of written narratives of positive and negative life events
- 2015
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Ingår i: Psychology of Well-Being. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2211-1522. ; 5:8, s. 1-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: We used a computational method to quantitatively investigate the relationship between personality and written narratives of life events. Agentic (i.e., self- directedness), communal (i.e., cooperativeness), and spiritual (self-transcendence) traits were of special interest because they represent individual differences in intentional val- ues and goals, in contrast to temperament traits, which describe individual differences in automatic responses to emotional stimuli. We also investigated which pronouns were most common in relation to personality constructs that were significantly related to the narratives. Methods: Personality was assessed among 79 adolescents at one point in time using the NEO Personality Inventory—Revised (NEO-PI-R) and the temperament and char- acter inventory (TCI). Six months later, adolescents were asked to write down the most positive or the most negative event that had happened to them in the last 3 months. Adolescents were explicitly instructed to answer the following questions within their narratives: What happened? Who were involved? Why do you think it happened? How did you feel when it happened? How do you think the involved persons felt? The descriptions were quantified using a computational method in which the latent semantic analysis algorithm generates a semantic representation of the narratives. Results: Only self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence were related to the semantic representation of the narratives. Moreover, cooperativeness and self- transcendence were associated with less frequent usage of singular pronouns (e.g., me respectively mine). Conclusions: Agentic, communal, and spiritual traits are involved when adolescents describe positive and negative life experiences. Moreover, high levels of communal and spiritual traits are related to less self-focused narratives.
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| 3. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Differences between Affective Profiles in Temperament and Character in Salvadorians: The Self-fulfilling Experience as a Function of Agentic (Self-directedness) and Communal (Cooperativeness) Values
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Happiness and Development. - 2049-2790 .- 2049-2804. ; 2:1, s. 22-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: We used the affective profiles model to investigate differences in personality with respect to different combinations of Positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). Method: The Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule was used to categorize 135 Salvadorians into four affective profiles: self-fulfilling (high PA and Low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). Personality was measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Results: High NA individuals reported higher levels of Harm Avoidance, while high PA individuals reported higher levels of Persistence. Self-destructives reported lower levels of Self-directedness compared to all profiles, while Cooperativeness was higher only among self-fulfilling individuals. Nevertheless, also low affectives scored high in Self-directedness. Conclusion: The discerned differences in character suggest that the self-fulfilling experience, defined as frequently experiencing positive emotions and infrequently experiencing negative emotions, is a function of agentic values in conjunction with communal values.
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| 4. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Exercise Frequency Predicts Performance among White-Collar Workers
- 2012
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Ingår i: 24rd Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Most call centers define performance as the percentage of the scheduled “time on the phone”, this specific type of work design might imply unfavourable working conditions for employees that might affect learning how to cope with the rapid external and internal changes in working life. For example, minimizing opportunities for employees to organize their own work and the opportunities given for making decisions and initiating action (i.e., Autonomy). Moreover, physical activity has been found related to performance on cognitive complex tasks, perhaps because frequent exercise reduces stress symptoms and improves mental states, and in the long term, enable arousal levels to be more appropriate adjusted for cognitive work and by increased stress resistance. These suggestions are investigated in the present study among white-collar workers at a call center. The aim was to investigate if exercise frequency and the perceived work climate predicted workers’ performance on the telephone. At the beginning of the Study, workers (N = 110) self-reported how often they engaged in physical activity and their perception of seven work climate variables: management, time to do the job, autonomy and responsibility, team style, opportunities to develop, guidelines to do the work, contentedness with the workplace (Learning Climate Questionnaire by Bartram el al., 1993). Each worker’s performance (average percent of time on the phone) was then assessed by the same system handling the calls each day over a five month period. To understand which factors contributed to performance over the five months period, we conducted structural equation-modeling analysis. The results showed that low contentedness and low autonomy predicted high performance at work. In other words, when workers perceived low control over how they organize their work and general low feelings of satisfaction with the workplace climate (i.e., complaints, moans, and negative attitudes from colleagues) they spent more time answering calls from customers. However, frequent exercise predicted high performance among workers. In conclusion, call centers might need to emphasize the connection between performance and important measures of work climate by encouraging workers to take responsibility for learning and being given the freedom to experiment and take risks (i.e., autonomy). It is plausible to suggest that such work climate might lead to lower performance, at least in a call center environment. Nonetheless, low Contentedness for example, might arise when colleagues do not get on well, when they tend to blame each other for the work they do and people are resistant to trying new ways of doing things. Such workplace climate might lead to low performance in the long run. More important, encouraging and creating opportunities to frequent physical activity might compensate the negative effects of high autonomy, for example, by boosting up workers’ performance.
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| 5. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Self-regulatory mode (locomotion and assessment), well-being (subjective and psychological), and exercise behavior (frequency and intensity) in relation to high school pupils’ academic achievement
- 2015
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Ingår i: Peer J. - : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 3:847
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. Self-regulation is the procedure implemented by an individual striving to reach a goal and consists of two inter-related strategies: assessment and locomotion. Moreover, both subjective and psychological well-being along exercise behaviour might also play a role on adolescents academic achievement. Method. Participants were 160 Swedish high school pupils (111 boys and 49 girls) with an age mean of 17.74 (sd = 1.29). We used the Regulatory Mode Questionnaire to measure self-regulation strategies (i.e., locomotion and assessment). Well-being was measured using Ryff ’s Psychological Well-Being Scales short version, the Tempo- ral Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule. Exercise behaviour was self-reported using questions pertaining to frequency and intensity of exercise compliance. Academic achievement was operationalized through the pupils’ mean value of final grades in Swedish, Mathematics, English, and Physical Education. Both correlation and regressions analyses were conducted. Results. Academic achievement was positively related to assessment, well-being, and frequent/intensive exercise behaviour. Assessment was, however, negatively related to well-being. Locomotion on the other hand was positively associated to well-being and also to exercise behaviour. Conclusions. The results suggest a dual (in)direct model to increase pupils’ academic achievement and well-being—assessment being directly related to higher academic achievement, while locomotion is related to frequently exercising and well-being, which in turn, increase academic achievement.
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| 6. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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The Dark Side of the Affective Profiles: Differences and Similarities in Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism
- 2015
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Ingår i: Sage Open. - : SAGE Publications. - 2158-2440. ; 5:4, s. 1-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The affective profiles model is based on the combination of individuals’ experience of high/low positive affect and high/low negative affect: self-fulfilling, high affective, low affective, and self-destructive. We used the profiles as the backdrop for the investigation of individual differences in malevolent character traits (i.e., the Dark Triad: psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism). A total of 1,000 participants (age: M = 31.50 SD = 10.27, 667 males and 333 females), recruited through Amazons’ Mechanical Turk (MTurk), responded to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule and the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen. Individuals with a high affective profile reported higher degree of narcissism than those with any other profile, and together with individuals with a self-destructive profile, also higher degree of Machiavellianism and psychopathy than individuals with a low affective and self-fulfilling profile. Males scored higher in Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Together with earlier findings, our results show that while individuals in both the self-fulfilling and high affective profiles are extrovert and self-directed, only those in the high affective profile express an immature and malevolent character (i.e., high levels of all Dark Triad traits). Conversely, individuals in the self-fulfilling profile have earlier reported higher levels of cooperativeness and faith. More importantly, the unique association between high levels of positive emotions and narcissism and the unified association between negative emotions to both psychopathy and Machiavellianism imply a dyad rather than a triad of malevolent character traits.
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| 7. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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The Happy Worker: Exercise and Thoughts about Performance leading to Positive Emotions
- 2012
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Ingår i: 6th European Conference on Positive Psychology, Moscow, Russia, June 26-28, 2012.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Most call centers define performance as the percentage of the scheduled “time on the phone”, this specific type of work design might imply unfavourable working conditions for employees that might affect learning how to cope with the rapid external and internal changes in working life. For this reason, the call center environment makes for a remarkable field in order to test if happier people are more productive. Although positive emotions foster productivity under many conditions (Fredrickson, 2001), this effect is probably not ever-present. Although, pleasant emotions might bias cognition and behavior in some ways, the relationship can be the other way around. Moreover, physical activity has been found related to performance on cognitive complex tasks, perhaps because frequent exercise reduces stress symptoms and improves mental states, and in the long term, enable arousal levels to be more appropriate adjusted for cognitive work and by increased stress resistance. These suggestions are investigated in two studies among workers at a call center. Aims: Study 1 aimed to investigate if happiness (i.e., Subjective Well-Being; SWB), Psychological Well-Being (PWB), and exercise frequency predicted workers’ performance. Study 2 aimed to test if priming thoughts of own performance lead to positive emotions. Method: In Study 1, workers (N = 107) self-reported how often they engaged in physical activity, SWB (Life Satisfaction, Positive and Negative Affect), and Psychological Well-Being. Each worker’s performance (average percent of time on the phone) was then assessed by the same system handling the calls each day over a five month period. To understand which factors contributed to performance over the five months period, we conducted structural equation-modeling analysis. In Study 2, workers (N = 104) were randomly assigned to two different conditions. In the “performance” condition participants were asked to report their own performance for the last five months, measured by the same system handling the calls, and then to report how often they had experienced different positive and negative emotions at work. In the “control” condition, participants were first asked for emotions at work and then for their own performance for the last five months. We conducted a condition (performance vs. control) x gender between-subjects ANOVA in order to test differences in positive and negative emotions at work. Results: In Study 1, high exercise frequency and high PWB predicted performance. Moreover, physical activity was also related to PWB. In Study 2, workers in the “performance” condition reported experiencing more positive emotions at work than workers in the “control” condition. Moreover, no differences in negative emotions were found between conditions. Conclusions: At least in regard to performance at call centers, the happy worker seems not to be the most productive worker. Instead, frequent exercise and characteristics such as environmental control and self-acceptance (i.e., PWB) seem to play an important role when organizations measure productivity of this type. More important, thinking about their own performance seems to boost positive emotions at call centers. In other words, the productive worker seems to be the happy worker.
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| 8. |
- Jimmefors, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Self-regulation Dimensions and Psychological Well-Being as a Function of Affective Profiles
- 2015
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Ingår i: 27th Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention. New York, New York, USA.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We studied differences in self-regulatory mode between individuals and its relation to psychological well-being. The backdrop of the study was the affective profiles model. The influence of psychological well-being on self- regulatory dimensions was moderated by the individual’s affective profile.
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| 9. |
- Jimmefors, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Self-regulation, Psychological Well-Being, and Swedish High School Pupils’ Academic Achievement
- 2014
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Ingår i: 26th Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention. San Francisco, California, USA.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- ABSTRACT We investigated the relationship between Swedish high school pupils’ grades and self-regulation strategies (i.e., assessment and locomotion) and psychological well-being. We found that a profile consisting of assessment orientation (i.e., assessment, comparison, and appraisal of goals/procedures) combined with self-acceptance and personal growth leads to the best study results. SUPPORTING SUMMARY Background Education plays an important role on a personal level because it is related to personal control, a healthy lifestyle, greater income, employment, interpersonal relations, and social support (Mirowsky & Ross, 2003). Self-regulation is the procedure implemented by an individual striving to reach a goal and consists of two inter-related strategies: (1) the identification of the desired out-come and the appraisal of procedures to reach the desired goal (i.e., assessment), and (2) the selection between available approaches to reach the goal and the commitment to the chosen approaches until the goal is reached (i.e., locomotion) (Kruglanski et al, 2000). Self-regulation plays an essential role in academic achievement (Kruglanski et al 1994, 2000). Psychological well-being is a multi-faceted concept composed of six different intra-personal characteristics that describe the fully functional individual (Ryff, 1989). These factors are: positive relationships with others, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth. We aimed to study the relationship between academic achievement and self-regulation and psychological well-being in Swedish high school pupils. Method Participants were 160 Swedish high school pupils (111 boys and 49 girls) with an age mean of 17.74 (sd = 1.29). We used the Assessment and Locomotion Scales (Kruglanski et al., 2000) to measure self-regulation and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scales short version (Clark et al., 2001) to measure well-being. Academic achievement was operationalized through pupils’ final grades in Swedish, Mathematics, English, and Physical Education. The courses take place during either one or two semesters and the grading scale ranges from F = fail to A = pass with distinction. Results Final grades in Swedish were positively related to two psychological well-being scales: self-acceptance (r = .16, p = < .05) and personal growth (r = .21, p = < .01); and to the self-regulation strategy of assessment (r = .18, p = < . 05). Final grades in Mathematics were positively related to three psychological well-being scales: self-acceptance (r = .19, p = < .05), autonomy (r = .23, p = < .01), and personal growth (r = .19, p = < .05); and also to assessment (r = .24, p = < .01). Final grades in English were positively related to one psychological well-being scale: personal growth (r = .17, p = < .05); and also to assessment (r = .27, p = < .001). Final grades in Physical Education were positively related to four psychological well-being scales: environmental mastery (r = .27, p = < .001), self-acceptance (r = .29, p = < .001), autonomy (r = .19, p = < .05), and personal growth (r = .22, p = < .01); and also to the self-regulation strategy of locomotion (r = .21, p = < .01). Conclusions The most consistent finding is that a profile consisting of assessment orientation combined with self-acceptance and personal growth leads to the best study results. This understanding is important when supporting pupils in achieving the best possible results in school and thus lay the formation for a continued successful life.
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| 10. |
- Lindskär, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Affective Profiles’ Motivation to Exercise, Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise, and Propensity to Exercise During a Six-Month Period
- 2015
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Ingår i: 4th World Congress on Positive Psychology. Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA..
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Conceptualizing affect as a two system model leads to four profiles: self-fulfilling (high positive affect, low negative affect); high affective (high positive affect, high negative affect); low affective (low positive affect, low negative affect); and self-destructive (low positive affect, high negative affect). Using this model as the framework, we investigated 158 individuals’ training frequency for six months back in time (electronically measured) and its relation to motivation (Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire 2) and basic psychological needs (Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale). Training frequency was not significantly different between profiles. The self-destructive profile’s training motivation was regulated by cohesions from the environment (e.g., “I train because other people say I should”) and both guiltiness (e.g., “I feel guilty when I don’t exercise”) and ability to manage the training program (i.e., competence) predicted their exercise frequency during the six months. The self-fulfilling profile scored higher in all basic psychological needs: autonomy (i.e., feeling training was their own choice), competence (i.e., being able to manage the training program), and relatedness (i.e., feeling comfortable with other people at the gym). Nevertheless, feeling social relatedness at the gym was associated to less frequent exercise for individuals with a high affective profile.
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