Financial capability, money attitudes and socioeconomic status: risks for experiencing adverse financial events

The risk of experiencing adverse financial events (e.g. bankruptcy) depends on the world economy and on individual differences in financial and psychological variables. Analysing data from 109,472 British survey respondents, this study reports the risks associated with financial capabilities, money attitudes, and socio-economic status for suffering negative financial outcomes. The results show that (1) socio-economic status is associated with financial capabilities but not with money attitudes; (2) money attitudes and financial capabilities are largely independent; (3) money attitudes and financial capabilities each contribute independently to the risk of experiencing adverse financial outcomes, even after adjusting for socio-economic status; and (4) financial capabilities are greater risk factors of adverse financial outcomes than money attitudes; the latter, however, are likely to be promising targets for interventions

Trait Emotional Intelligence and Personality: Gender-Invariant Linkages Across Different Measures of the Big Five.

This study investigated if the linkages between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and the Five-Factor Model of personality were invariant between men and women. Five English-speaking samples (N = 307-685) of mostly undergraduate students each completed a different measure of the Big Five personality traits and either the full form or short form of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Across samples, models predicting global TEIQue scores from the Big Five were invariant between genders, with Neuroticism and Extraversion being the strongest trait EI correlates, followed by Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness. However, there was some evidence indicating that the gender-specific contributions of the Big Five to trait EI vary depending on the personality measure used, being more consistent for women. Discussion focuses on the validity of the TEIQue as a measure of trait EI and its psychometric properties, more generally

Documentary practice

The thesis is a development of the making of the documentary tape L'Artiste. Le Fermier et Le Paysag. The central argument is to propose a way of looking at documentary based on the possibility of making and examining documentary material which combines narrative and non-narrative techniques and on the value of comparing non-actor contributions to improvised performance processes and outcomes. The purpose of this approach is to produce an effect upon the viewer where the viewer engages in working out what is happening within an array of possible meanings contained within the audio-visual pattern. The qualitative effect is to offer the viewer pleasure, recognition and a game of intellectual inquiry and assessment. The whole activity is termed the non-linear improvised approach to documentary. It places the maker in an ethical relationship with the participants and aims to create a democratic state of affairs for the viewer. Key areas of concern are firstly to examine the role of the participant and maker, before and during shooting. The participant develops confidence with the maker and at the time of shooting he or she is in a state of being to produce a performance which can be described as a line of energy drawn from his/her personality. Secondly, within the overall structure of the documentary attention is given to the opening, the ending and the overall patterning. Each scene produces many moments of meaning (beats) reinforcing the main theme which itself contains a cluster of meanings. Comparisons with silent cinema, the films of Jacques Tati and music hall comedians aim to illuminate the discussion. A key consequence of the non-linear improvised approach is to consider sound and image on an equal footing combining to produce a distinct style. Sound becomes a series of elements - dialogues, atmos. tracks, music and spot effects - which all have a role in the production of beats. Voice elements can be seen as much for their intrinsic poetic qualities as for their objective statements about the social world

Dark side correlates of job reliability and stress tolerance in two large samples

This study set out to examine how dark-side traits (derailers) are related to stress tolerance and job reliability. Over 8000 adult Britons from two separate assessment centres completed two validated questionnaires: the first measured the “dark-side” traits which can derail one's career (HDS: Hogan Development Survey) and the second two established, criterion-related, scales called the Occupational Scales (HPI: Hogan Personality Inventory): Stress Tolerance which is associated with the ability to handle pressure well and not be tense and anxious; Job Reliability which identifies people who are honest, dependable and responsive to supervision. Hierarchical regressions showed that some “dark-side” factors like Excitable and Cautious were related to both Occupational variables while being Leisurely, Bold, Mischievous and Colourful were powerful negative predictors of work reliability. The Moving Against People factor was the strongest predictor of Stress Tolerance and Reliability while the Moving Away from People factor was also a powerful predictor of Reliability. The results highlight “dark-side” traits (Excitable, Cautious, Mischievous, Imaginative) which were most related to two crucial features of successful management

Personality and the happiness of others : a study among 13- to 15-year-old adolescents

This study was designed to assess the level of concern for the happiness of others among a sample of 13- to 15-year-old adolescents in England (N=3,095) and to test the theory that concern for the happiness of others occupies a different psychological space (within Eysenck’s three dimensional model of personality) from the space occupied by personal happiness. The data demonstrated a high level of concern for the happiness of others, with 84% of the adolescents saying that, ‘It is important to me to make other people happy’. While high levels of personal happiness are generally shown to be associated with low neuroticism and high extraversion (stable extraversion), these data demonstrated high levels of concern for the happiness of others tend to be associated with high neuroticism, high extraversion, high social conformity, and low psychoticism

The role of gender, task success probability estimation and scores as predictors of the domain-masculine intelligence type (DMIQ)

This paper reports a study aimed at understanding correlates of self-estimated intelligence. Participants twice estimated their mathematical and spatial intelligence (called domain-masculine intelligence type: DMIQ) on a normal distribution, before and after taking ability tests. They completed a number of short numerical and logical ability tests after which they estimated their performance at a similar, more difficult task. Males gave higher estimates than females and did better on the tests. As predicted their estimates of their DMIQ reduced on the second occasion after testing. Gender, task score and estimated performance were all significant predictors of both DMIQ scores. Task confidence was the best predictor of both before and after test estimates, over and above gender and test score, explaining 17% and 23% of variance, respectively. This is explained in terms of Dweck's (2007) mindset theory and Eccles and Wigfield's (2002) motivation theory. Results are discussed in terms of the literature on self-estimated intelligence and stereotype threat