The Myers-Briggs Personality System and its Moderating Effects on the Relationship Between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction

In this research, I examined how characteristics of the job, namely task significance and task identity, predicted job satisfaction and how those relationships were moderated by one’s Myers-Briggs type. It was hypothesized that the thinking/feeling dichotomy would moderate the relationship between task significance and job satisfaction and the sensing/intuition dichotomy would moderate the relationship between task identity and job satisfaction. In the study, I sought to understand how these moderated relationships would differ for people with good and poor psychological health. There were 945 people who participated which required them to answer questions about their job, personality, psychological health, life, and demographic information of which 788 participants with usable data were included in the analysis. Results indicated the Myers-Briggs dichotomies did not moderate the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction for both participants with good and poor psychological health. Job characteristics were predictive of job satisfaction over participants’ personalities, suggesting organizations should prioritize structural change, such as increasing task significance, without regard to individual differences. Implications for organizational culture, policy, job design, employee autonomy, well-being, and societal implications are discussed

The production of subjects and everyday life in neoliberal capitalism

Among scholars of neoliberal capitalism, it is commonly noted that neoliberalism shapes human subjectivity. In this thesis, I address this relationship between neoliberal capitalism and subjectivity. I argue that the neoliberalisation of subjectivity and everyday life is central to neoliberalism’s embeddedness. I offer a critical account of what Wendy Brown describes as the neoliberal production of subjects. As I will claim, the production of neoliberal subjects is in part the consequence of applying economic categories and market-like principles and practices to all aspects of human life. To clarify the relationship between neoliberalism and subjectivity, I examine the notion of human capital, which has been pivotal to articulations of neoliberal selfhood. I also critically assess a range of management literature and practices that promote the optimisation of the neoliberal subject’s human capital. Additionally, I contend that neoliberal discourse and practices shape our working lives, both in and outside of formal work settings. My aim is to elucidate the economic and social conditions and the ideological field that have brought about the imperfect yet extensive neoliberalisation of selfhood

Handbook of Well-Being

It is a pleasure to bring to you the eHandbook of Subjective Well-Being, the science of when and why people experience and evaluate their lives in positive ways, including aspects such as positive feelings, life satisfaction, and optimism. There are chapters in this eHandbook on the philosophy and history of well-being, as well as reviews of empirical research on the ways to assess well-being, the circumstances that predict it, the outcomes that it produces, the societal policies that enhance it, and many other social, biological, and cultural processes that help us understand why some people are happy and satisfied with their lives, while others are not. There are also chapters on theories of well-being, such as the baseline or set-point models. We believe that Open publication is the wave of the future (Jhangiani & Biswas-Diener, 2017). Therefore, we are presenting the handbook in an electronic format so that it is widely available to everyone around the world. The handbook is entirely open and free – anyone can read and use it without cost. This is important to us as we desire to lower knowledge barriers for individuals and communities, especially because it provides access to students, educators, and scholars who do not have substantial financial resources. We are not certain if this is the first free and open handbook in the behavioral sciences, but hopefully it will not be the last. In the past the prohibitive price of many handbooks have made them available only to scholars or institutions in wealthy nations, and this is unfortunate. We believe scientific scholarship should be available to all. The field of subjective well-being has grown at rapid pace over the last several decades, and many discoveries have been made. When Ed Diener began his research within the field in 1981 there were about 130 studies published that year on the topic, as shown using a Google Scholar search on “subjective well-being.” Eighteen years later when Shigehiro Oishi earned his Ph.D. in 2000 there were 1,640 publications that year on the topic, and when Louis Tay was awarded a Ph.D. in 2011 there were 10,400 publications about subjective well-being. Finally, in 2016 there were 18,300 publications – in that single year alone! In other words, during the time that Diener has been studying the topic, scholarship on subjective well-being has grown over 100-fold! It is not merely the number of published studies that has grown, but there have been enormous leaps forward in our understanding. In the 1980s, there were questions about the reliability and validity of subjective well-being assessments, and the components that underlie it. One notable advance is our understanding and measurement of well-being. We now know a great deal about the validity of self-report measures, as well as the core evaluative and affective components that make up subjective well-being. Further, scholars have a much greater understanding of the processes by which people report their subjective well-being, and various biases or artifacts that may influence these reports. In 1982 many studies were focused on demographic factors such as income, sex, and age that were correlated with subjective well-being. By 2016 we understood much more about temperament and other internal factors that influence happiness, as well as some of the outcomes in behavior that subjective well-being helps produce (e.g., income, performance, physical health, longevity). In the 1980s, researchers assumed that people adapt to almost any life event, and that different life events only have a short-term effect on subjective well-being. A number of large-scale longitudinal studies later showed that that is not the case. By now we know what kinds of life events affect our subjective well-being, how much, and for roughly how long. In the 1980s researchers believed that economic growth would not increase the happiness of a given nation. Now we know when economic growth tends to increase the happiness of a given nation. Additionally, we know much more about the biology of subjective well-being, and an enormous amount more about culture and well-being, a field that was almost nonexistent in 1982. With the advent of positive psychology, we are also beginning to examine practices and interventions that can raise subjective well-being. Given the broad interest in subjective well-being in multiple fields like psychology, economics, political science, and sociology, there have been important developments made toward understanding how societies differ in well-being. This understanding led to the development of national accounts of well-being – societies using well-being measures to help inform policy deliberations. This advance changes the focus of governments away from a narrow emphasis on economic development to a broader view which sees government policies as designed to raise human well-being. We were fortunate to have so many leading scholars of subjective well-being and related topics contribute to this volume. We might be slightly biased but most of the chapters in this eHandbook are truly superb. Not only do they provide a broad coverage of a large number of areas, but many of the chapters present new ways of thinking about these areas. Below is a brief overview of each of the sections in this volume: In Section 1 we begin the volume with chapters on philosophical, historical, and religious thinking on well-being through the ages. Next, we cover the methods and measures used in the scientific study of well-being. Section 2 is devoted to theories of well-being such as the top-down theory, activity theory, goal theory, self-determination theory, and evolutionary theory. Section 3 covers the personality, genetics, hormones, and neuroscience of well-being. Then, demographic factors such as age, gender, race, religion, and marital status are discussed. Section 4 is devoted to how domains of life – such as work, finance, close relationships, and leisure – are related to overall subjective well-being. Section 5 covers the various outcomes of subjective well-being, ranging from work outcomes, to cognitive outcomes, to health, and finally relationship outcomes. Section 6 covers interventions to increase subjective well-being. Finally, Section 7 is devoted to cultural, geographical, and historical variations in subjective well-being. This eHandbook presents the most up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of subjective well-being – and it is freely available to all! The editors would like to extend their thanks to several individuals who have been critical to the success of the handbook. First, our gratitude is immense toward Chris Wiese, Keya Biswas-Diener, and Danielle Geerling, who organized and kept the entire venture on track. Their hard work and organizational skills were wonderful, and the book would not have been possible without them. Second, we extend our thanks to the Diener Education Fund, a charitable organization devoted to education that in part made this project possible. In particular we express deep gratitude to Mary Alice and Frank Diener. Not only did their help make this eHandbook possible, but their lives stood as shining examples of the way to pursue well-being!https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/psychfacbooks/1008/thumbnail.jp

Customer service challenges in a South African casino : a participatory intervention.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Background: In an era of global competition, customer service (CS) remains a key differentiating factor for organisations to gain a competitive advantage. Due to heighted emotions experienced by customers when winning and losing, customer mistreatment and difficulties associated with cross-cultural interactions, the casino environment remains a challenging context for the provision of excellent CS on the frontline. Literature is scarce regarding the development of interventions to improve CS within the South African casino industry. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of CS challenges facing frontline staff within a South African casino, and develop, implement and evaluate a participatory intervention to address these challenges. The main objectives were to: 1) To identify challenges facing slots staff in providing excellent CS and generating solutions these challenges; 2) To equip slots hosts with observational skills to identify body language to pre-empt a customers’ need for assistance; 3) To equip slots hosts with skills on how to deal with difficult customers and communicate effectively when dealing with customers; 4) To improve the cultural awareness of slots hosts to enhance their ability to deal with diverse customers 5) To determine the effectiveness of the intervention in addressing CS challenges, motivate slot hosts to exceed customer expectations and provide recommendations to management for improving CS. Method: A case study using intervention research and a multi-phase mixed method design was used. Intervention research was conducted over three phases including a situation analysis, implementation of the intervention and process evaluation. For the qualitative aspect of the study, purposive sampling was used to conduct semi-structured interviews, focus groups and observations in the situation analysis to identify CS challenges facing frontline staff. These findings were thematically analysed and used to develop the CS intervention using Lewin’s Unfreeze-Move-Refreeze Change Management Model as a theoretical framework. The researcher used the participatory action research approach to both develop and facilitate the intervention. At the end of the intervention, a training evaluation questionnaire was implemented for the quantitative aspect of the research. Three indexes were developed based on face validity including learnings gained, perceptions of learning and evaluation of facilitation. In addition, T-tests and One Way ANOVA were used to analyse the quantitative data. In the process evaluation phase, a second round of semi-structured interviews, focus group and observations were conducted to determine the effect of the CS intervention. Results: The qualitative results showed that poor equipment, inadequate CS processes and high workloads were highlighted as key factors impeding service. In addition, the study found that frontline staff from disenfranchised groups responded to perceived discrimination from customers through disengagement, withdrawal or slowing down of service behaviours. These responses were interpreted as poor CS, but were found to be defensive behaviours to reduce expected discrimination. In line with emotion contagion theory, positive or negative interactions with customers were found to shift the mood states of frontline staff, which in turn affected subsequent service interactions. The quantitative results of the workshop evaluation questionnaire suggested increased skills efficacy from learners in terms of learnt CS techniques such as identifying body language leading to customer complaints, as well as being better equipped to deal with difficult customers and customers from different cultures. The intervention also motivated staff to provide better CS with a series of interventions being recommended in future for encouraging sustainable CS behaviours. Conclusion: The study established clear guidelines for management to develop, implement and evaluate a participatory intervention to address CS challenges within a casino context. The participatory approach of the intervention was found to beneficial for knowledge-sharing, allowing for co-creation of workshop content, providing a forum for open communication on CS issues and building ownership of CS issues amongst staff. Further research is recommended to better understand the dynamics and effects of cross-cultural interactions on the frontline, so as to develop tools and techniques to assist staff to respond constructively in such situations and improve frontline CS in the organisation

Creating Through Mind and Emotions

The texts presented in Proportion Harmonies and Identities (PHI) Creating Through Mind and Emotions were compiled to establish a multidisciplinary platform for presenting, interacting, and disseminating research. This platform also aims to foster the awareness and discussion on Creating Through Mind and Emotions, focusing on different visions relevant to Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Design and Social Sciences, and its importance and benefits for the sense of identity, both individual and communal. The idea of Creating Through Mind and Emotions has been a powerful motor for development since the Western Early Modern Age. Its theoretical and practical foundations have become the working tools of scientists, philosophers, and artists, who seek strategies and policies to accelerate the development process in different contexts

Emotional processing in eating disorders

Research into emotional processing in eating disorders (ED) is still very much in its infancy. Milligan and Waller (2000), Waller et al (2003) and others have shown that there is difficulty with the emotion of anger, especially in its expression. Whilst others (e.g. Troop et al, 2000) have demonstrated an increased sensitivity for disgust with an ED population. In recent years, there has been significant development in CBT models of eating disorders; in particular, bulimia nervosa and these models have started to suggest that eating disorder symptomatology acts as an emotional regulator (e.g. Cooper et al, 2004; Waller et al, 2007). Although these models are a useful start in understanding emotions in eating, there is a lack of a theoretical understanding of why people with eating disorders have particular difficulties with certain emotions. This thesis presented a detailed consideration of the literature that has attempted to understand the relationship between emotions and eating disorder symptomatology by proposing a new model of eating disorders that is based upon the recent theoretical developments in emotional processing (i.e. SPAARS model, Power and Dalgleish, 1997, 1999). This SPAARS-ED model was used as the theoretical backdrop for the thesis, and the data from the four studies were designed to test some of the key hypotheses stemming from the model. The first study was a grounded theory study that investigated perceptions of the basic emotions and the developmental histories of emotions within a group of 11 people with severe anorexia nervosa. The results highlighted themes of anger and sadness being suppressed, and were often regarded as being 'toxic'. Furthermore, themes were also explored that focused on metaemotional skills and participants recollections of how their parents, peers and caregivers used to respond to their emotions. The second study directly tested the theoretical idea of 'coupled emotions', and this study found data that demonstrated increased levels of disgust following an anger induction for people with bulimic symptoms, in comparison to control participants. The third study was a survey based study that quantitatively looked at both the predictive power of each of the basic emotions for disordered eating patterns, and also how certain emotion response styles from carers (e.g. punitive, dismissive, etc towards an emotion) were related to disorder eating. The results showed that anger and sadness predicted eating disorder symptoms, and the effect was large. However, there were no significant associations between emotion response styles and disordered eating.The final study was a hybrid study that was based on the two quantitative studies in this thesis. In a cross sectional study, a group of participants with anorexia nervosa were compared to control participants. This study had two parts, with the first part focusing on emotion regulation styles and core beliefs, whilst the second part repeated and developed the experimental methodology from study 2. The results showed that people with anorexia nervosa had significantly more internal dysfunctional emotion regulation style, and significantly more negative beliefs about the self and others when compared to controls. Interestingly these core beliefs patterns were significantly correlated with state emotions, with negative other beliefs being correlated to state anger, whilst negative internal beliefs were significantly correlated to state emotions of disgust and sadness. The second part of this study showed that, following an induced anger emotion, people with anorexia nervosa showed significantly higher levels of disgust, and estimation of body size. This was taken as further evidence of a potential coupled emotion effect, between anger and disgust within eating disorders. These findings were then discussed, in relation to both the SPAARS-ED model, and the general literature

Being and Becoming Across Difference: A Grounded Theory Study of Exemplary White Teachers in Racially Diverse Classrooms

Of the roughly 3.5 million public school teachers in the United States, approximately 80% are White. In contrast, about 51.7% of the nation’s students are African American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. This mismatch is expected to grow as the number of BIPOC students in our nation’s public schools continues to increase. Studies have shown that strong positive relationships are essential for learning, but often, the relationships between White teachers and BIPOC students are strained at best, leading to poorer learning outcomes. The purpose of this Constructivist Grounded Theory study was to explore an understudied question: How do White teachers who have been deemed exemplary by educators and parents of Color perceive their relationships and experiences with BIPOC students in an educational system and a society that often marginalizes them? Open-ended interviews were conducted with 19 middle and high school teachers in Massachusetts. Dimensional analysis revealed Being-and-Becoming Across Difference as the core dimension. Five primary dimensions were identified: Reflecting, Relating, Embodying Humility, Affirming Culture, and Holding Hope. Results of this study suggest that significant changes are needed in the recruitment and hiring of White teachers and that pre-service and in-service professional development must support White teachers in far more robust and sustaining ways than currently exist. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/, and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

A Theoretically-Based Mixed Methods Approach to Examining Mental Health Disorders and Help-Seeking Behaviors among University-Enrolled African American Men

Recent studies show that African American men in college are disproportionately experiencing high levels of psychological distress, increasing their risk of developing mental health symptoms associated with depression and anxiety. Despite being at higher risk for developing mental health symptoms, university-enrolled, African American men are not seeking help even when experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety, impacting their academic performance. The evidence base describing mental health symptom prevalence and evidence-based prevention strategies among university-enrolled, African American men is limited. To that end, this dissertation work utilized a concurrent, mixed methods approach, theoretically-based in the Social Ecological Model (SEM), to examine the prevalence and correlates of anxiety and depressive symptoms among university-enrolled, African American men, and the contextual factors that impact their perceptions of mental health-related help-seeking. Overall, findings showed that: 1) African American men on this campus are reporting endorsement of anxiety and depressive symptoms at lower rates compared to their male and female counterparts; 2) African American men are utilizing campus health services at lower rates compared to their male and female counterparts; 3) stressful life events are a robust predictor of anxiety and depressive symptoms among this population; and 4) formal therapeutic services may not be preferred or suitable for these men. Researchers, campus-based practitioners, and policymakers who wish to develop effective mental health prevention programs that attenuate mental health risk and increase help-seeking behavior among African American men should aim to expand on these findings and considerations. Importantly, future programming efforts should aim to promote peer-to-peer support and informal, nontraditional methods as viable points for future scientific inquiry, as well as for the development, implementation and evaluation of effective mental health prevention programs. This dissertation study is one of the first to focus specifically on mental health risk and help-seeking behaviors among African American men on a college campus. Hence, further quantitative and qualitative research is needed to improve mental health among this severely marginalized and vulnerable population. Implications for future research are discussed in the following chapters