Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

An Investigation Into The Factors That Lead To Career Success In Accounting: Are Great Accountants Born Or Made?, Kelly Cocco

Honors Projects in Accounting

Are great accountants born or made? This paper examines various factors and personality traits which lead to career success in accounting, as perceived by accountants with various levels of earnings and job satisfaction. The current literature indicates that a gap exists between employer expectations of potential employees and the skills and traits that accounting graduates prioritize as most important when they are about to enter the workforce (Muda 2009). This study extends the literature by attempting to identify the traits and characteristics of successful accountants by surveying accounting professionals, who are defined as those who have careers in accounting functions …

The Relationship Between Personality And Forgiveness Of Sexual Infidelity In Marriage, Karen Suggs Roper

Doctoral Dissertations

Discovery of sexual infidelity is often accompanied by a strong desire for infidelity relevant information (Peluso, 2007). This study explored how information and conceptualization of situational factors affects forgiveness in a spouse who discovers the extramarital sexual activity of his or her spouse. The current study focused on knowledge of details and how such knowledge affected rumination and motivations of revenge, avoidance, and benevolence. Popular literature currently promotes a process of healing that begins with a revelation of the details associated with the extramarital behaviors of the offending spouse. A unique objective of this study was consideration of the specific …

The Relationship Between Personality Traits, Coping Resources, And Burnout In North Louisiana Secondary School Teachers, Angela Kennedy

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate sources of resistance to burnout in secondary teachers. For the purpose of this study secondary teachers were defined as teachers employed in grades 9-12 with 0-5 years of teaching experience employed in north Louisiana schools. Sources of resistance to burnout was researched in three investigative steps: (a) the relationship between levels of burnout and personality traits, (b) the relationship between levels of burnout and coping resources, and (c) the relationship between burnout and aspects of the job. The study sample consisted of 139 participants from nine identified north Louisiana parishes.

When testing …

The Psychological Benefits Of Participation In Leisure Pursuits For Adolescents, Caitlyn Mckay

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper looks to better understand the effects leisure has on adolescents. Leisure is an important past time for adolescents since they have so much free time to pursue activities. The adolescents, their parents, recreation programmers, and school officials should be aware of the benefits and risks associated with different leisure pursuits so they can better help the adolescents’ transition into an adult who has a high level of psychologically well-being. After the different effects are analyzed, this paper offers recommendations to recreation programmers. These recommendations account for the different factors of leisure. Overall, this paper is an analysis of …

Public Support For Military Interventions Across Levels Of Political Information And Stages Of Intervention: The Case Of The Iraq War, Cigdem V. Sirin

Cigdem V. Sirin

This study examines the effect of political information levels and intervention stages on the formation and continuity of public support for military interventions by analyzing survey data pertaining to the 2003 military intervention in Iraq. The results show that before and immediately after the launch of the intervention, politically uninformed individuals expressed higher support for the war compared to politically informed ones. However, as the intervention proceeded and casualties were incurred, higher rates of decrease in support were observed among the politically uninformed. Politically informed individuals, on the other hand, demonstrated more stable levels of support throughout the course of …

Avoidant Personality Disorder, Traits, And Type, Charles A. Sanislow, Katelin Da Cruz, May O. Gianoli, Elizabeth M. Reagan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

In this chapter, the evolution of the avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) diagnosis, its current status, and future possibilities are reviewed. AVPD is a chronic and enduring condition involving a poor sense of self and anxiety in social situations, and it is marked by fears of rejection and a distant interpersonal stance. AVPD may be conceptualized at the severe end of a continuum of social anxiety. In the extreme, traits, mechanisms, and symptoms become integral to chronic dysfunction in personality and interpersonal style. While AVPD is a valid diagnostic construct, the optimal organization of AVPD criteria for the diagnosis, and the …

Elementary School Students' Foreign Language Learning Demotivation: A Mixed Methods Study Of Korean Efl Context, Tae-Young Kim Dr., Hyo--Sun Seo

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This mixed methods study investigates Korean elementary school students’ foreign language learning demotivation and their teachers’ perception of student demotivation. A questionnaire was conducted with 6,301 elementary school students from Grades 3 to 6 to examine their motivational changes. This revealed a decrease in all motivational constructs – instrumental, intrinsic, integrative, parental/academic extrinsic motivations – as the students advanced throughout the school grades. The findings were further analyzed by using interviews and open-ended questionnaires with 17 English teachers. They attributed the students’ demotivation to three elements: 1) the negative impact of the English teacher such as incongruence with students’ needs, …

The L2 Motivational Self System Of Korean Efl Students: Cross-Grade Survey Analysis, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

Due to the increase in international trade, mass transportation, and information technology, the role of English as a global language has changed, and conventional EFL/ESL motivation needs paradigmatic reconstruction. This study compares Dörnyei’s (2009) recent proposal of a second language (L2) motivational self-system with Gardner’s (1985) socio-educational model by investigating 2,783 Korean students’ English learning motivation from Grades 3 through 12 in 14 different schools. The cross-grade survey results indicated that Korean EFL learners’ motivational intensity showed a curvilinear pattern, which means their motivation consistently decreased until Grade 9 but increased from Grades 10 to 12. A series of regression …

Korean Secondary School Students' L2 Learning Motivation: Comparing L2 Motivational Self-System With Socio-Educational Model, Yoon-Kyoung Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

In order to confirm ecological validity of Dörnyei’s second language motivational self, the present study investigated 495 South Korean secondary school students’ L2 learning motivation and motivated behavior by using a questionnaire survey. The participants’ ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, integrativeness, and instrumentality were examined and compared to identify which motivational factor had the most effect on their motivated L2 learning behavior. Among Korean secondary school students, the concept of integrativeness was replaced with the ideal L2 self as a more appropriate concept for understanding Korean secondary school students’ L2 learning motivation. As for instrumentality, promotional aspects demonstrated a …

Korean Efl Students' Amotivation To Learn English: An Activity Theory Analysis, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

By using Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 motivational self-system, this qualitative study investigates 39 Korean EFL students’ amotivation of English learning, or the lack of motivation. Theoretically, the study was guided by Leont’ev’s (1978) activity theory, which emphasizes the unique mediation between the individual (as an active agent representing ontogenetic human development) and the social domain. I argue that an AT perspective can coherently explain students’ amotivation by paying attention to the students’ socioeducational contexts. Particularly, hakbul, or degreeocracy widespread among students and parents in Korea, is attributed to be the major reason for student amotivated but sustained English learning.

The research …

Explaining Individual Differences In Physical Aggression Among A Community Sample, Erica Begelhole, Nicole Guse, Bruce Watt

Bruce Watt

Violence poses an ongoing concern for society. Numerous risk factors have been implicated as contributors to individual differences in levels of physical aggression. The current study examined variations in physical aggression using a community sample in South East Queensland (N = 151). Selfreport measures of alcohol misuse, retrospective conduct disorder, emotional control, violent fantasies and attitudes to violence were examined in the prediction of involvement in physical aggression. Over half of the variance was accounted for by the combination of the independent variables. Attitudes to violence emerged as the greatest contributor in explaining individual differences in physical aggression. The findings …

Predicting Individual Differences In Future Violence Among Juvenile Offenders, Bruce Watt, Michelle Perrin

Bruce Watt

Screening tools in forensic and mental health settings are utilised to assess individual differences in risk for future violence. The Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service Violence Screening Tool (CYFOS VST) was developed for use with juveniles referred to mental health and juvenile justice settings. The reliability and validity of the VST was evaluated based on 222 consecutive referrals to a Youth Justice Service in South East Queensland. Data on future violence was obtained from official Youth Justice Service records as well as case workers recorded observations of youth violence. The VST was found to have adequate inter-rater and test-retest …

The Virus Of Violence: The Relationship Between Victimisation And Aggression, Bruce Watt, Mattias Allard

Bruce Watt

Experiments for the relationship between victimisation and violence often do not include any mediation variables to account for the difference between victimised individuals that become violent in adulthood and those that do not. A model was proposed, using a Gold Coast community sample of 250 individuals (79 males, 138 females, 33 unspecified) with a median age range 41-45 years, that violent thoughts (measured as violent fantasies and permissive attitudes towards violence) mediate the relationship between victimisation (measured retrospectively) and aggression. The study consisted of distal factors (victimisation and gender), proximal factors (permissive attitudes towards violence and violent fantasies) and an …

The Validation Of A Screening Tool For The Assessment Of Violence Risk Among Juvenile Offenders, Michelle Perrin, Bruce Watt, Tasneem Hasan

Bruce Watt

Screening tools in forensic mental health settings are utilised to assess individual differences in risk for future violence. The Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service Violence Screening Tool (CVST) was developed for use with juveniles referred to mental health and juvenile justice settings. The reliability and validity of the CVST evaluated based on 156 consecutive referrals to a Youth Justice Service in South East Queensland. Data on future violence was obtained from official Youth Justice Service records as well as caseworker observations of youth violence. The CVST was found to have adequate inter-rater and test-retest reliability. Importantly, the CVST significantly …

The Virus Of Violence, Mattias Allard, Bruce Watt

Bruce Watt

Models explaining the relationship between victimisation and violence typically fail to include any mediation variables to account for the difference between victimised individuals that become violent in adulthood and those that don’t. A model was proposed, using a Gold Coast community sample of 250 individuals (79 males, 138 females, 33 no answer) with a median age 41-45, that violent thoughts (measured as violent fantasies and permissive attitudes towards violence) mediate the relationship between victimisation (measured retrospectively) and aggression. The study controlled for gender and social desirability bias. The model consisted of a distal stage (victimisation and gender), proximal stage (permissive …

An Examination Of Self-Directed Learning Readiness In Executive-Level Fire Officers, Steven G. Knight

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-directed learning readiness in executive fire officers in relation to the independent variables of personality type, educational attainment, and professional designation. This research utilized a quantitative design.

This study utilized the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) with a sample of 250 professional firefighters. The total sample was divided equally between executive-level fire officers and firefighters at 125 each from professional departments in the Southeastern United States. Results were that the mean SDLRS score for the executive-level fire officers was 233.7 and significantly higher than the …

Confident Parenting - A Book Proposal, Lisa Sansom

Lisa Sansom

Parental self-efficacy is a driver of positive parenting, especially as couples welcome a new baby into their lives, becoming parents for the first time. Confident Parenting is the title of an upcoming book that will aid the transition from couplehood to parenthood, allowing couples to parent effectively and with love, while maintaining their own self-care and relationship-care.

Other books may follow in the series, adapting to different stages of family life.

A Closer Look At The Relationship Between Superstitious Behaviors And Trait Anxiety, Brandy Futrell

Brandy Futrell

This study examines the relationship between superstitious behaviors and trait anxiety. Researchers randomly selected participants from college campuses for a 28-question survey measuring superstitiousness and the 20-question State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI) to measure symptoms of anxiety. Results show a positive correlation between superstitious behaviors and an increase in anxiety symptoms. Significant gender differences were found; women scored higher on superstitiousness survey and the STAI-X2 test. Superstitious behaviors were a significant indicator for developing trait anxiety.

Looking At China’S Great Leap Forward From A Systems Perspective, Brandy Futrell

Brandy Futrell

China’s Great Leap Forward (GLF) campaign of 1958-1961 led by Mao Tse-Tung resulted in a horrendous famine that cost millions of lives. This paper examines the campaign from a systems perspective across the individual, group/societal, and regulatory levels. Looking at each level illustrates errors that explain how the GLF failed.

Factors Associated With Participation And Retention In A Group Treatment For Child Sexual Abuse, Mollie Dittmer, Grace Hubel, David J. Hansen

David J. Hansen

The current study examines factors associated with participation and retention in a child sexual abuse (CSA) outpatient program. Participation and retention are vital if children are to receive the intended benefits of treatment designed to promote healthy coping following CSA. However, little is known about factors that impede or encourage families to consistently attend sessions. Several factors possibly related to child participation and retention were examined, including demographic variables such as income level and education, characteristics of the abuse, and parent and family pretreatment functioning. Participants in the sample included 175 children and adolescents and their non-offending primary caregivers seeking …