Psychology Commons^™

The Development And Validation Of A Preliminary Meditation Intentions Questionnaire, Daniel Kharlas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Meditation programs and mindfulness interventions have become increasingly popular over the last 30 years in both clinical and non-clinical populations. However, challenges such as motivating participants in 8-week programs and adherence rates are issues in many mindfulness meditation interventions. The Meditation Intentions Questionnaire (MIQ) was developed as a measure intended to guide participants to set their own goals and intentions for meditation. The MIQ has six subscales with 8 items each. The subscales assess intentions for participating in meditation programs in the following domains: cognitive enhancement, increased emotional control, greater positive affect, stress relief, spiritual discovery and psychological discovery. Items …

The Light Triad Scale: Developing And Validating A Preliminary Measure Of Prosocial Orientation, Laura K.D. Johnson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Most research on prosocial behaviour focuses on situational factors rather than individual differences. Empathy, compassion, and altruism are three constructs related to prosocial behaviour that also overlap theoretically. However, prosocial traits are rarely studied together, and measures of prosocial orientation are lacking. To address this gap, the Light Triad Scale (Light-3) was developed to assess individual differences in prosocial orientation. Three subscales with 12 items each, assessing empathy, compassion, and altruism, were created using existing measures of each construct. Items were selected according to theory and literature. The Light-3 was then administered to a sample of undergraduate psychology students at …

Hardiness, Perseverative Cognition, Anxiety, And Health-Related Outcomes: A Case For And Against Psychological Hardiness, Christopher M. Kowalski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present study investigates the utility of psychological hardiness as well as the differences between rumination and worry. Undergraduate students completed questionnaires assessing hardiness, worry, rumination, mindfulness, neuroticism, anxiety, somatization, coping, and health. Correlations and partial correlations controlling for neuroticism were examined. Hardiness was negatively correlated with neuroticism, rumination, worry, and anxiety and positively correlated with mindfulness, coping, and health. When neuroticism was statistically controlled, the relationships between hardiness and rumination, health, and coping became nonsignificant, and the relationships between hardiness and worry, mindfulness, and anxiety although attenuated, remained significant. Rumination and worry positively correlated, but when neuroticism was statistically …

Perfectionistic Strivings Are Neither Adaptive, Healthy, Positive, Functional, Nor Advisable: Findings From Six Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles, Martin M. Smith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This article-based dissertation incrementally advanced our understanding of the contentiously debated (mal)adaptiveness of perfectionistic strivings (i.e., self-oriented perfectionism and personal standards). Perfectionistic strivings’ relations with negative emotionality, narcissism, depressive symptoms, and suicide were examined using structural equation modeling, path analysis, and meta-analysis. Additionally, bifactor modeling was used to explore how controlling for perfectionistic concerns (i.e., socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes, and doubts about actions) impacts perfectionistic strivings’ factor structure. Results suggest perfectionistic strivings are neither adaptive, healthy, positive, functional, nor advisable. Indeed, perfectionistic strivings exacerbated perfectionistic concerns’ relationship with negative emotionality. Likewise, controlling for perfectionistic concerns rendered perfectionistic strivings …