The Optimism–Pessimism Short Scale–2 (SOP2): a comprehensive validation of the English-language adaptation

The Optimism–Pessimism Short Scale–2 (SOP2) described in this article measures the psychological disposition of optimism with two items. SOP2 is the English-language adaptation of an originally for the German language developed scale. Because an empirical validation of this English-language SOP2 was hitherto lacking, the aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties (objectivity, reliability, validity) of the English-language adaptation and to investigate measurement invariance across both language versions using heterogeneous quota samples from the UK and Germany. Our results show that the English-language adaptation has satisfactory reliability coefficients and is correlated with 10 external variables in the study (e.g., self-esteem, Emotional Stability, life satisfaction). Moreover, scalar measurement invariance of the scale holds when comparing the UK and Germany, implying the comparability of latent (co)variances and latent means across the two nations. As an ultra-short scale with a completion time of < 20 s, SOP2 lends itself particularly to the assessment of dispositional optimism in survey contexts in which assessment time or questionnaire space are limited. It can be applied in a variety of research disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, or economics.

Human Mind and its Psychological Disposition:

The current paper aims to provide the venue to the spiritual insights of Ghazalian thought to be integrated into the study of Freudian psychoanalysis. The study has adopted descriptive and analytical approach to make a comparative analysis of Ghazalian concept of nafs e lawwamma and Freudian superego. Zepetnek’s (1998) theory of comparative literature has provided the guidelines for an in depth analysis of both the models. This analytical approach may lead to an alternative critical agenda for the better understanding of human psyche. Moreover, the present study emanates from the assumption that though Freudian psychoanalytic theory has provided insightful psychological considerations, equally appropriate readings will possibly result from analyzing Ghazalian theory of soul. Simultaneously, it is also hoped that the insights yielded by this research study may open new panoramas for the study of human nature.

Becoming Pluralists: Kant on the Normative Features of Pluralistic Thinking

Kant’s essays in the philosophy of history, such as Universal History and Conjectural Beginning, offer a speculative account of the gradual development of reason in our species and of the way the mature use of reason can be attained. Such mature use of reason, as Kant explains a few years later in the published Anthropology, is characterized by abandoning the standpoint of “practical egoism” and learning how to exercise the psychological disposition to “pluralism”. To be a pluralist, he claims, means to be capable of seeing things from other people’s standpoints, of giving deliberative weight to the needs of others, and of taking part in universally valid judgments. But Kant is never explicit about what is required in order to become a pluralist, nor does he explain what it means to be a pluralist beyond a brief remark in the Anthropology. My paper takes a detailed look at this under-studied notion and offers a novel account of this notion. I explicate the features of pluralistic thinking and I connect this notion to the public use of reason, the three maxims of common human understanding, and the role played by interpersonal communication in advancing the progress of our rational capacities. I also explain the key role of education in reason’s development and the conceptual relationship between the enlightenment of an individual and the enlightenment of the human species.

Authoritarianism and the Evolution of West European Electoral Politics

The book provides a novel explanation of rising Euroscepticism and right-wing populism in Western Europe. The changing political and cultural environment of recent decades is generating an ongoing realignment of voters structured by authoritarianism, which is a psychological disposition towards the maintenance of social cohesion and order at the expense of individual autonomy and diversity. High authoritarians find the values and demographic changes of the past several decades a threat to social cohesion, which has created an opportunity for populist radical right (PRR) parties to gain their support by campaigning against these perceived threats to national community posed by immigration, values change, and European integration. The result is a worldview evolution in which party conflict is shaped by the rival preferences of high and low authoritarians. Drawing on national and cross-national survey data as well as an original survey experiment, this book demonstrates how the relationship between authoritarianism and (1) attitudes towards the EU and (2) voting behaviour has evolved since the 1990s. In doing so, this book advances these literatures by providing an explanation for why certain voters are shifting towards PRR parties as electoral politics realigns.

Revisiting the effects of anthropomorphism on brand relationship outcomes: the moderating role of psychological disposition

Purpose Given the thriving attention paid to brand personification in marketing, this paper aims to delve into consumers’ psychological traits that may moderate the positive anthropomorphic effects on brand outcomes specific to relationship marketing. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical model was proposed based on a review of the extant literature. Study 1 conducted an online survey and used confirmatory factor analysis to validate the constructs significantly correlated with anthropomorphic processing. Two follow-up studies (Study 2a and 2b) using experimental designs were performed to provide evidence substantiating the moderated mediation in the process. Findings Based on the results across the three studies, motivational, rather than cognitive, disposition significantly correlates with perceived anthropomorphism and brand relationship outcomes. Need for belonging serves as a sociality moderator in strengthening the mediating effects of perceived anthropomorphism on brand attachment and brand experience, respectively. Parasocial interaction serves as an effectance moderator in augmenting the mediating effects of perceived anthropomorphism on brand attachment. Research limitations/implications This research extends and contrasts the theoretical grounding for anthropomorphism as a set of situational consumer perceptions by integrating its boosting factors in social psychology with emerging brand constructs in marketing and consumer behavior research. More studies are encouraged to probe into the complex anthropomorphic phenomenon. Practical implications This research sheds light on marketers’ strategic management efforts in implementing brand personification to target a wide range of market segments with diverse psychological disposition. Originality/value Conceiving anthropomorphism as an in-process situational output in information processing, this research provides further understanding of the psychological traits that facilitate the construction of consumer-brand relationships through anthropomorphic perceptions in the context of brand personification.

Effects of Commitment on Fear of Failure and Burnout in Teen Spanish Handball Players

Under an observational, transversal, and descriptive design, the study analyze the degree of adjustment of the perceptions of fear of failure as a mediating variable of the estimated relationship between sporting commitment and the appearance of burnout in young handball players in a competitive context. The sample included a total of 479 youth category handball players (250 boys and 229 girls) selected to compete in the Spanish Regional Championships. The age range was 16 (40.1%)−17 (59.9%) years old (M = 16.60; SD = 0.50). With regard to the years of experience variable, 85.4% stated that they have more than 5 years of experience at the federated handball player level. The Spanish version of Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI), Inventory Athletes Burnout Revised (IBD-R), and Sport Commitment Questionnaire (SCQE) were used to assess fear of failure. The correlation patterns evidence that commitment is negative and significantly associated with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and fear of failure and positively associated with reduced sense of personal accomplishment. In the standardized direct effect, negative and significant effects were observed between commitment and fear of failure, fear of failure with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and on the contrary, a negative and significant effect was observed between fear of failure and reduced sense of personal accomplishment. The evaluated athletes reflect a positive psychological disposition, show pride in having been selected by their territorial teams and reflect a high desire to show their sporting qualities. Despite the emergence of cognitive-emotional processes associated with fear of failure (e.g., shame, fear of criticism), this has been observed to protect the sense of self-fulfillment through sport effort, although it also has impacts on further emotional exhaustion and loss of value of sport effort.

Contemporary Pleonexia: The Birth Root of Nigeria Corruption and Social Instability

Nigeria has been described in recent time as the hub of poverty in the world. This came to many as a surprise because of the human and natural resources Nigeria as a nation has, if well harnessed she can occupy a central stage not only in Africa but the world at large. This article through discursive analysis tried to examine pleonexia, a psychological disposition that encourages people into an insatiable desire to amass wealth or community goods and services at the expenses of others. The findings of the study suggest that greed could be the main reason why corruption has become part of the Nigerian society with all its consequences often felt by the common man. The study recommends that change of lifestyle through education, prosecution of public servants that are found guilty of embezzling public funds and the public mentoring of the younger generation could be the way forward for a better Nigeria.

Retrospective and Prospective Measures of Post-Traumatic Growth Reflect Different Processes: Longitudinal Evidence of Greater Decline than Growth Following a Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation

Background. This prospective longitudinal study examined and compared two measures (prospective and retrospective ones) of post-traumatic growth (PTG) following Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation (HSCT) and their respective relationships with mental health and psychological disposition. We also tested the hypothesis that unwillingness to be in contact with distressing thoughts and feelings—i.e. experiential avoidance—would moderate the relationship between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and growth.Methods. This study was carried out with 187 patients. Patients completed the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) five months after HSCT and scales tapping into the five domains of PTGI during hospitalisation and five months after HSCT. Mental health and psychological disposition were also assessed prior to hospitalisation. A PTSD scale was administered at the five-month follow-up.Results. Prospective and retrospective measures of PTG were weakly correlated. Bayesian pre/post-HSCT comparisons in the prospective measure of PTG revealed substantial to very strong decline in four of the five dimensions assessed. Overall, RCI indicated a reliable increase for 5.6% of patients and a reliable decrease for 40.8% of patients. Confirming that retrospective and prospective measures of PTG reflect different processes, they were not related to the same mental health and psychological disposition variables. Moreover, the hypothesis that acquiring positive outcomes from a potentially traumatic experience, such as HSCT, requires direct confrontation with the source of distress was supported in the case of the retrospective measure of growth but not in the case of the prospective measure growth.Conclusions. Retrospective measures such as the PTGI do not appear to assess actual pre- to post-HSCT change. HSCT seems more linked to psychological decline than to growth.

Retrospective and Prospective Measures of Post-Traumatic Growth Reflect Different Processes: Longitudinal Evidence of Greater Decline than Growth Following a Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation

Background. This prospective longitudinal study examined and compared two measures (prospective and retrospective ones) of post-traumatic growth (PTG) following Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation (HSCT) and their respective relationships with mental health and psychological disposition. We also tested the hypothesis that unwillingness to be in contact with distressing thoughts and feelings—i.e. experiential avoidance—would moderate the relationship between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and growth.Methods. This study was carried out with 187 patients. Patients completed the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) five months after HSCT and scales tapping into the five domains of PTGI during hospitalisation and five months after HSCT. Mental health and psychological disposition were also assessed prior to hospitalisation. A PTSD scale was administered at the five-month follow-up.Results. Prospective and retrospective measures of PTG were weakly correlated. Bayesian pre/post-HSCT comparisons in the prospective measure of PTG revealed substantial to very strong decline in four of the five dimensions assessed. Overall, RCI indicated a reliable increase for 5.6% of patients and a reliable decrease for 40.8% of patients. Confirming that retrospective and prospective measures of PTG reflect different processes, they were not related to the same mental health and psychological disposition variables. Moreover, the hypothesis that acquiring positive outcomes from a potentially traumatic experience, such as HSCT, requires direct confrontation with the source of distress was supported in the case of the retrospective measure of growth but not in the case of the prospective measure growth.Conclusions. Retrospective measures such as the PTGI do not appear to assess actual pre- to post-HSCT change. HSCT seems more linked to psychological decline than to growth.

Retrospective and Prospective Measures of Post-Traumatic Growth Reflect Different Processes: Longitudinal Evidence of Greater Decline than Growth Following a Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation

Objective. This prospective longitudinal study examined and compared two measures (prospective and retrospective ones) of post-traumatic growth (PTG) following Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation (HSCT) and their respective relationships with mental health and psychological disposition. We also tested the hypothesis that unwillingness to be in contact with distressing thoughts and feelings—i.e. experiential avoidance—would moderate the relationship between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and growth.Methods. This study was carried out with 187 patients. Patients completed the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) five months after HSCT and scales tapping into the five domains of PTGI during hospitalization and five months after HSCT. Mental health and psychological disposition were also assessed prior to hospitalization. A PTSD scale was administered at the five-month follow-up.Results. Prospective and retrospective measures of PTG were weakly correlated. Bayesian pre/post-HSCT comparisons in the prospective measure of PTG revealed substantial to very strong decline in four of the five dimensions assessed. Overall, RCI indicated a reliable increase for 5.6% of patients and a reliable decrease for 40.8% of patients. Confirming that retrospective and prospective measures of PTG reflect different processes, they were not related to the same mental health and psychological disposition variables. Moreover, the hypothesis that acquiring positive outcomes from a potentially traumatic experience, such as HSCT, requires direct confrontation with the source of distress was supported in the case of the retrospective measure of growth but not in the case of the prospective measure growth.Conclusions. Retrospective measures such as the PTGI do not appear to assess actual pre- to post-HSCT change. HSCT seems more linked to psychological decline than to growth.