Change, Correlates, and Structure of Personality Across Adulthood

Personality is both stable and changing across the lifespan. However, many questions remain about the factors that account for individual differences in change, the consequences of personality for life outcomes, and how best to assess personality at different points in the lifespan. First, Olivia Atherton will discuss research on the development of the Big Five personality traits from young adulthood to midlife with a sample of Mexican-origin individuals, as well as sociodemographic and cultural predictors of personality change in this population. Second, Bill Chopik uses data from 90 countries to examine the consistency of age differences in positive personality traits in the second half of life, from midlife to old age, as well as how cultural characteristics moderate the terminal decline in positive personality traits. Third, Emorie Beck will present research demonstrating that personality traits from the Big Five to beyond are robustly associated with a number of key life events across countries, decades, sociodemographic moderators, and even when controlling for selection bias. Finally, Josh Jackson uses network psychometric techniques to examine coherence and differentiation among indicators of the Big Five from 14 to 85 in a large multinational sample, tracking age differences with consequences for the assessment of personality traits in older adulthood. We will conclude with a panel discussion of emerging issues in personality change, prediction, and assessment across adulthood, with each speaker providing unique experience and insight into the study of each area.

Attractive Spheres of Students’ Self-realization as Practices for Supporting Their Psychological Well-being in University Education

The study is aimed at finding the varieties of appealing spheres for realization of students’ potential in higher school. The authors substantiate and develop the concept of attractors for students’ self-realization, which designate the appealing spheres and forms of manifestation of students’ personal efforts and capacities in higher education. The methods of conceptual-applied reconstruction and psychological surveys are used to determine the attractive space for students’ self-development. The study identifies a group of potentially attractive spheres (learning-cognitive, research, sports-wellness, volunteer, artistic-creative, innovative-entrepreneurial, information-media, social-civic, sphere of cross-cultural communication). The study presents the results of diagnosing the subjective significance of these spheres for students of different specialties and different levels of self-realization in education. The conclusion is made about the tendency of influence of students’ involvement in attractive spheres on the success of their self-realization in educational environment. The prospects of applying and operating the category of attractors as socio-cultural predictors of successful self-realization and psychological well-being of students in the process of University training are shown.

The Anatomy of Consonance/Dissonance: Evaluating Acoustic and Cultural Predictors Across Multiple Datasets with Chords

Acoustic and musical components of consonance and dissonance perception have been recently identified. This study expands the range of predictors of consonance and dissonance by three analytical operations. In Experiment 1, we identify the underlying structure of a number of central predictors of consonance and dissonance extracted from an extensive dataset of chords using a hierarchical cluster analysis. Four feature categories are identified largely confirming the existing three categories (roughness, harmonicity, familiarity), including spectral envelope as an additional category separate from these. In Experiment 2, we evaluate the current model of consonance/dissonance by Harrison and Pearce by an analysis of three previously published datasets. We use linear mixed models to optimize the choice of predictors and offer a revised model. We also propose and assess a number of new predictors representing familiarity. In Experiment 3, the model by Harrison and Pearce and our revised model are evaluated with nine datasets that provide empirical mean ratings of consonance and dissonance. The results show good prediction rates for the Harrison and Pearce model (62%) and a still significantly better rate for the revised model (73%). In the revised model, the harmonicity predictor of Harrison and Pearce’s model is replaced by Stolzenburg’s model, and a familiarity predictor coded through a simplified classification of chords replaces the original corpus-based model. The inclusion of spectral envelope as a new category is a minor addition to account for the consonance/dissonance ratings. With respect to the anatomy of consonance/dissonance, we analyze the collinearity of the predictors, which is addressed by principal component analysis of all predictors in Experiment 3. This captures the harmonicity and roughness predictors into one component; overall, the three components account for 66% of the consonance/dissonance ratings, where the dominant variance explained comes from familiarity (46.2%), followed by roughness/harmonicity (19.3%).

The Anatomy of Consonance/Dissonance: Evaluating Acoustic and Cultural Predictors Across Multiple Datasets with Chords

Acoustic and musical components of consonance and dissonance perception have been recently identified. This study expands the range of predictors of consonance and dissonance by three analytical operations: In the first stage, we identify the underlying structure of acoustic and musical predictors within a large set of potential variables using an extensive dataset of chords. In Experiment 1, we evaluate the current model of consonance-dissonance by Harrison and Pearce (2020) based on an generalised linear mixed model analysis a subset of three previously published datasets. This operates also allows us to optimise the predictors in the model in several ways. We bring an additional category, sharpness to complement roughness, harmonicity, and familiarity, but we also propose and assess a number of new predictors representing harmonicity and familiarity that are superior to the past formulations of the models representing these categories. In Experiment 2, the current and the optimised model are evaluated with the aid of nine full datasets that provide empirical mean ratings of consonance and dissonance for a range of intervals and chords. The results within datasets show good prediction rates for the present model (R squared=0.64) and significant improvement for the optimal model (R squared=0.77). Similar patter of differences holds for the analysis across all datasets and there is a significant improvement in the predictive rate when the model has been optimised based on the Experiment 1 analysis. In particular, the new elements, tonal dissonance, familiarity as coded by a corpus-driven predictor, and sharpness are substantial additions to account for the dissonance ratings. The discussion draws attention to the role of harmonicity, which in this analysis is captured by a predictor reflecting the knowledge of Western idiom.

Eliciting Social Cultural Predictors of Risky Sexual Behaviour Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Nigeria.

The thrust of this paper was to elicit socio-cultural predictors of risky sexual behavior among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria .Socio-cultural parameters were seen to be those factors in the social environment that influences behaviour. The socio-cultural theory believes that people learn through interactions within the socio-cultural environment and such interaction includes; home (parental influence, social economical status of family), peers and culture (religious practices, age norms, and gender issues). This paper further examines these factors and how they predict risky sexual behaviour such as early marriage ,non utilization of contraception, early sex initiation, induced abortions, having multiple sex partners, sex under the influence of alcohol, and indulging in sex for financial and material gains, among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria. It was therefore concluded that socio-cultural environment is a strong predictor of adolescent and young adult sexual risk behavior in Nigeria. Thus it was recommended that social cultural environment should be shaped for optimum reproductive health behaviour among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria.

Social And Cultural Predictors Of Tattooing Among Athletes Of Federal Universities In Nigeria

The cross-sectional study investigated the social and cultural predictors of tattooing among athletes of Federal Universities in Nigeria. Data was collected from a sample of 594 athletes using a validated structured questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.77. . Data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Multiple regression and logistic regression were used to establish the joint and independent predictors of tattooing among the athletes. The findings of the study revealed that peer influence (P=0.003), family influence (P=0.000), personal achievement (P=0.006) and academic background (P=0.000) were significant social predictors of tattooing among the athletes. Traditional (P=0.000) and religious beliefs (P=0.000) were also found to be significant cultural predictors of tattooing among the athletes. It was concluded based on the findings that the practice of tattooing among Nigerian University athletes followed similar social influence pattern as in other parts of the world. Social marketing was recommended as a veritable tool for health education and communication to enhance informed decisions regarding tattooing among the athletes.