Differential Effects of Competence and Morality on Self-Esteem at the Individual and the Collective Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Wiktor Soral ◽  
Mirosław Kofta

Abstract. The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive global self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some have provided support for the importance of agency, others have highlighted the importance of communion. This discrepancy can be explained, if one takes into account that people define and value their self both in individual and in collective terms. Two studies ( N = 367 and N = 263) examined the extent to which competence (an aspect of agency), morality, and sociability (the aspects of communion) promote high self-esteem at the individual and the collective level. In both studies, competence was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the individual level, whereas morality was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the collective level.

Author(s):  
Samir Okasha

‘Levels of selection’ examines the levels-of-selection question, which asks whether natural selection acts on individuals, genes, or groups. This question is one of the most fundamental in evolutionary biology, and the subject of much controversy. Traditionally, biologists have mostly been concerned with selection and adaptation at the individual level. But, in theory, there are other possibilities, including selection on sub-individual units such as genes and cells, and on supra-individual units such as groups and colonies. Group selection, altruistic behaviour, kin selection, the gene-centric view of evolution, and the major transitions in evolution are all discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Nadal-Burgues ◽  
Eduard Bonet

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present new aspects of the tension between creativity and productivity and improve the understanding on how research can be developed in very restricted environments, such as the context of an organization managed using the methods of Project Management. And more generally, it introduces the rhetoric of judgment as a fundamental aspect involved in the development and specification of projects. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical approach is based on the phenomenological theory of human intentional action developed by Alfred Schutz, in which the notion of mental project is more flexible than that of project management. In it the concepts of subaction and repeated action are considered a combination of similar actions already performed. The Kantian notion of judgment is introduced to outline self-persuasion as a fundamental source of creativity. Findings – The introduction of an extended notion of project and routine involving judgment expands the rational, generic and technical notion of project management. And the rhetorical aspect of judgment, at the individual level, establishes the possibility to deliver unexpected outcomes that are considered creative. Originality/value – The proposed notions of project and routines mediated through the rhetoric of judgment present theoretical and practical progress in the subject of managing projects.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neus Feliu ◽  
Isabel C. Botero

Philanthropy in family enterprises operates at the crossroads of family, business, and society. Most of the research in this area is approached from the business or the individual level; thus, we have a fragmented understanding of philanthropy in family enterprises. This article presents a systematic review of the literature on the subject. Based on 55 sources published between 1988 and 2014, we explain the drivers of this behavior, the vehicles used to practice it, and the outcomes tied to the practice of philanthropy in family enterprises. We identify gaps in our understanding and provide ideas for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Julian Jeliński

Cornel West’s diagnosis of the crisis of the American democracy is the subject matter of this article. Analyzing the condition of the American democracy of the end of XX and the beginning of XXI centuries, C. West focused on the individual, existential character of the crisis. The diagnosed state had according to him much affect not only on political issues, but first and foremost on the spread of nihilism among American citizens. Nihilism – is understood in the C. West as senselessness of life and low self-esteem is the subject matter of this article.


Author(s):  
Patricia McManus ◽  
Susan Standing ◽  
Craig Standing ◽  
Heikki Karjaluoto

Mobile services (m-services) have become an important part of the e-commerce landscape. Although research has been conducted on which services people use and the benefits they attach to those services, the values associated with the adoption and use of m-services at the individual level is still unclear. This paper addresses the question of why and how individuals adopt and appropriate m-services with a particular focus on m-communication? In the information systems field various technology adoption models have been proposed and validated in relation to technology adoption within an organisational setting but personal adoption and use of technology is less researched. We propose the use of means-end chains and laddering techniques to determine the basic primitive values that are fulfilled for the individual by using various m-services. The examples presented show that mobile services often fulfil such basic needs as self-esteem, achievement, individuality, belonging and well-being. Exploring the realization of values as a theoretical framework offers researchers a way forward in environments characterised by individual technology decisions.


Author(s):  
David Sloan Wilson

People have always been fascinated by cooperation and altruism in animals, in part to shed light on our own propensity or reluctance to help others. Darwin’s theory added a certain urgency to the subject because the principle of “nature red in tooth and claw” superficially seems to deny the possibility of altruism and cooperation altogether. Some evolutionary biologists have accepted and even reveled in this vision of nature, giving rise to statements such as “the economy of nature is competitive from beginning to end . . . scratch an ‘altruist’ and watch a hypocrite bleed”. Others have gone so far in the opposite direction as to proclaim the entire earth a unit that cooperatively regulates its own atmosphere (Lovelock 1979). The truth is somewhere between these two extremes; cooperation and altruism can evolve but only if special conditions are met. As might be expected from the polarized views outlined above, achieving this middle ground has been a difficult process. Science is often portrayed as a heroic march to the truth, but in this case, it is more like the Three Stooges trying to move a piano. I don’t mean to underestimate the progress that been made—the piano has been moved—but we need to appreciate the twists, turns, and reversals in addition to the final location. To see why cooperation and altruism pose a problem for evolutionary theory, consider the evolution of a nonsocial adaptation, such as cryptic coloration. Imagine a population of moths that vary in the degree to which they match their background. Every generation, the most conspicuous moths are detected and eaten by predators while the most cryptic moths survive and reproduce. If offspring resemble their parents, then the average moth will become more cryptic with every generation. Anyone who has beheld a moth that looks exactly like a leaf, right down to the veins and simulated herbivore damage, cannot fail to be impressed by the power of natural selection to evolve breathtaking adaptations at the individual level. Now consider the same process for a social adaptation, such as members of a group warning each other about approaching predators.


Modern Italy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Bertrand Marilier

This article examines the relationship of the young Giovanni Papini to the notion of imperialism. The period of Papini's intellectual formation was a time of intense debate among the Italian intelligentsia concerning imperialism and its relationship to nation and culture. He joined the conversation with a distinctive interpretation of the idea, one that could at once make him heir apparent to the tradition of Umbertian nationalism, while also rejecting the positivist slant of his forebears. William James's porous conception of the subject and Papini's sense of his own fragmented subjectivity provided the ground for a psychological understanding of imperialism: one that relied on knowledge and appreciation, which translated into literature at the individual level, and into culture at that of the nation. Ultimately, however, disappointments abroad, the demands of nationalist politics, and Papini's own avant-garde posture, led him to abandon his intellectual empire in favour of a more concrete one.


2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-103
Author(s):  
Jaan Silvet

Abstract Exposing organisms to aversive events which they cannot control might result in motivational, cognitive, emotional, and self-esteem deficits. These deficits are called symptoms of helplessness and are the core part of learned helplessness theory. Many studies have empirically analysed the theory on the individual level. The current study focuses on the learned helplessness in the context of organisational change. The object of the study is one media company in Estonia, which conducted a large restructuring during the 2008 economic crisis. The result shows that there exists an organisational gap when it comes to the estimates of top management and employees. The key to the problem appeared to be the middle management, who were unable to effectively manage their subordinates as they were busy themselves coping with the change.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fons J.R. Van de Vijver ◽  
David Watkins

The question was addressed as to whether individual-level and country-level score differences of a measure of the Independent and Interdependent Self, the Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Inventory (ASSEI) have the same meaning, using two-level exploratory factor analysis in a group of 5,258 college students and other adults from 19 countries. A two-factor solution based on factors interpreted as representing the Independent and Interdependent Self was highly similar at the individual and country levels, suggesting the applicability and similarity of meaning of the factors at both levels. The factors differed from the common conceptualization of in(ter)dependence in that at both levels the Independent Self involved both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, while the Interdependent Self was narrowed down to unselfishness and being a good member of the family, community, and society. Finally, it was found that the two factors were not retrieved in all countries, indicating that the ASSEI did not measure the same in all countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 2672-2679
Author(s):  
Anthony G Shannon ◽  
Dr Danielle Eden

The limits, purpose and scope of academic freedom have been the subject of media controversy, partly because academic freedom and academic integrity are close relatives, the occasional missing link being research ethics. While freedom and integrity should protect each another, it is difficult for institutions and those who navigate them to balance competing and conflicting demands. Some of these demands are at the institutional level and others at the individual level. The purpose of this paper is to tease out some of the issues which are often too sensitive to articulate in the public square.


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