Refining the maturity principle of personality development by examining facets, close others, and co-maturation

Across adulthood, people tend to experience psychologically adaptive personality trait change, a robust finding known as the maturity principle of personality development. We identify three open areas of inquiry regarding personality maturation and address them in a pre-registered study, using a sample of US adults ages 30-70 who completed a battery of personality questionnaires and were rated by two close others twice over an 11-to-16 year period (Nwave1 = 1,785, Nwave2 = 401). First, it is unclear whether the maturity principle applies to narrower facet-level traits, as there has been little research into facet development across adulthood. We examined 47 facet scales and found that most developed adaptively across ages 30-70, but some did not mature, and three healthy facets (Activity, Openness to Feelings, and Social Potency) declined significantly across adulthood, counter to the maturity principle. Second, no longitudinal research has tested whether personality maturation is perceived similarly by close others. We compared self- and other- rated development and found that close others perceived greater maturation than the self in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and five facets. Finally, few studies have examined whether traits co-mature in adulthood. We found that correlated change between healthy facets was small in magnitude. Additionally, we found tighter co-maturation in other-reported development than self-reported development. We use these results and past research to expand and refine our understanding of personality maturation across adulthood.

TRUANCY AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN: REASONS AND COUNSELLING EXPERIENCES

Background and Purpose: Truancy is one of the top discipline problems in Malaysia and the national prevalence of truancy indicates a significant number of students are truant. Counselling at school aims at helping schoolchildren in personality development and discipline. This qualitative study aims to research the experiences of counselling on schoolchildren who were reported for truancy. Methodology: The research participants involved ten schoolchildren who had played truant and were required to participate in counselling sessions. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and diary entries on two occasions for each participant. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify themes related to the participants’ experiences. Findings: The findings showed that the reasons for truancy among the school children involve self and relationship with others. After being in sessions with school counsellors, the children reported being more responsible, which included behavioural, emotional and goal-based changes. The relationship with the school counsellor allowed them to experience belongingness, which supported them in choosing positive behaviour, emotions and goals, which is related to having a sense of responsibility. Contributions: This paper argues that engaging in counselling with a school counsellor helped the schoolchildren to make responsible decisions about their behaviour, emotions and goals. The most important factor is the “relearning experience” in promoting responsibility among schoolchildren. Keywords: Qualitative research, truancy, belongingness, school counselling, responsibility. Cite as: Mat Min, R., Brahim, S. S., Mohd Yusoff, R. A., & Ramley, F. (2022). Truancy among school children: Reasons and counselling experiences. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 79-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp79-99

The possibilities of using fairy tale therapy in dealing with destructive psychological scenarios of first-year students of educational institutions of higher education

The article considers one of such obstacles to qualitative constructive changes in personality development, namely the destructive behavioral scenario. Many people repeatedly lose certain behavioral scenarios without realizing their constructiveness or destructiveness. Close people in the process of raising a child influence the formation of beliefs, values and norms, including through fairy tales, initially offering certain fairy tales to the child, guided by their own preferences and assessments of the actions of the characters. Recently, this genre of folk folklore has been actively used in psychology and pedagogy as an element of correction. The purpose of the study was to identify destructive behavioral scenarios. The communicative-cognitive and psychosomatic approaches were used, the study was conducted in the 2019-2020 academic year in educational institutions of higher education of the Moscow region. The respondents of the study were 60 first-year students of various (average age 18.7 years). Male and female students were equally present. The results of the study show that first-year students of educational institutions of higher education demonstrate a certain attitude towards themselves and the world, reflected in the fundamental resource life attitudes formed in childhood through fairy tales. This attitude affects their current state, which is characterized by a commitment to the previous lifestyle, but also a desire for transformations associated with a change in the social situation of development

Information and communication technology (ICT) in education of comprehensive Methodological foundations and concept

This paper Information and communication technology (ICT) in education of comprehensive Methodological foundations and concept ,fills two major civilizational functions of personality development: its spiritual, moral, artistic, cultural development and its socialization, as well as the economic function, the reproduction of skilled labor resources for social production. The intensification of the process of obtaining knowledge, the requirements for quality and individualization of the process of obtaining education by different categories of students cause an urgent need to develop and implement a wide range of educational programs that allow everyone who wants to get that education, at the time and place that seem most acceptable to him, regardless of gender, age, social origin and abilities. On the study of the role of education in this context, inclusive pedagogy is aimed.

Internet-Related Disorders and Their Effects on Personality Development in Adolescents from Germany—Results from a Prospective Study

Internet-related disorders (IRD) are increasingly becoming a major health issue. IRD are defined as the predominant use of online content, related to a loss of control and continued use despite negative consequences. Despite findings from cross-sectional studies, the causality of pathways accelerating the development of IRD are unclear. While etiological models emphasize the role of personality as risk factor, mutual influences between IRD and personality have not been examined. A prospective study with two assessments was conducted with n = 941 adolescents (mean age of 13.1 years; 10–17 years). Our aim was to validate etiological assumptions and to examine the effects of IRD-symptoms on the maturation of personality. IRD were measured with the Scale of the Assessment of Internet and Computer game Addiction (AICA-S). Personality traits were assessed using the Brief Five Factor Inventory (BFI). Conscientiousness and neuroticism were predictive for IRD symptoms one year later, and were likewise prone to changes depending on incidence or remission of IRD. Conscientiousness and openness moderated the course of IRD symptoms. Our findings point to complex trait–pathology associations. Personality influences the risk of development and maintenance of IRD symptoms and pre-existing IRD-symptoms affect the development of personality. Adaptations to etiological models are discussed and perspectives for novel intervention strategies are suggested.

Explicit and Implicit Measures of Identity Diffusion in Adolescent Girls With Borderline Personality Disorder

The present study is the first to examine both the implicit and explicit self-concept of identity diffusion in a sample of adolescent patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A clinical sample of adolescent girls with diagnosed BPD (N = 30; M age = 15.9 years) and a sample of girls with a healthy personality development (N = 33; M age = 16.6 years) completed an implicit association test (IAT) that was adjusted to identity diffusion, the core of BPD. Common domains of child and adolescent psychopathology and core components of BPD were assessed using self-reports on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children—11 (BPFSC-11) and the Assessment of Identity Development in Adolescence (AIDA). BPD patients scored significantly higher on explicit measures of borderline pathology than girls with a healthy personality development. A crucial finding for this study was that girls with BPD had a significantly lower implicit preference for stability than their counterparts in the control group. Moreover, explicit measures of borderline personality pathology were significantly correlated with an implicit measure of identity diffusion, the core of BPD. However, when looking at the predictive ability of implicit and explicit measures, only explicit identity diffusion was significantly associated with borderline features. Our data suggests that adolescent girls with BPD differ from healthy individuals not only in their conscious representation but also in their implicit representation of the self with regard to BPD related characteristics, which further advances the need for the identification of at-risk adolescents.

Game-Based Pedagogy and Learner Identity Development

This chapter explores the potentially negative and positive impacts of game-based pedagogy on personality development. The methodology of this chapter is qualitative basic research, while the theoretical framework is critical theoretical analyses, articulated around psychodynamic theory, analytic psychology, and positive psychology. The negative view of game-based personality development presupposes ‘learners for technology' or the pessimistic view, while the positive view of game-based personality development considers ‘technology for learners' as being a perspective which facilitates media literacy, higher order thinking, higher emotional intelligence, and pro-social behaviors. The conclusion is that the positive view of game-based personality development would facilitate learners' effective and efficient acquisition of 21st century literacy skills, that is, information literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy.

A Review on the Cultural Characteristics of Mentalization and Relations with Psychological Symptoms

Mentalization is the ability to surmise the mental states such as thoughts, wishes, intentions, needs and feelings behind one’s own and others’ behaviors. Mentalization has been an important concept in understanding personality development and psychopathology in recent years. However, the cultural factors that affect mentalization is an understudied area, which has also not been investigated in Turkey. In this review, the development of the concept of mentalization will be explored comparing individualistic and collectivistic cultures. The specific mentalization characteristics that may emerge in Turkey are discussed. With this aim, the concept of mentalization, its development and the kinds of mentalization impairments that emerge in psychopathology are discussed. Afterwards, the effects of culture on mentalization are discussed with reference to recent empirical literature. Specifically, the effects of cultural context on the development of theory mind, affective and cognitive mentalization, self and other-focused mentalization, explicit and implicit mentalization are explored. The reviewed studies suggest that in collectivistic cultures, individuals tend to others’ mental states and socially accepted objective norms more than their own internal states and refrain from strong emotions such as anger that may disrupt the social harmony. Moreover implicit mentalization is less affected by culture. Based on the reviewed studies, culturally sensitive suggestions are provided regarding how to conduct mentalization assessments and practices. Keywords: Mentalization, culture, individualism, collectivism, psychotherapy