Relations Between Dispositional Expressivity and Physiological Changes During Acute Positive and Negative Affect

The aim of the present study is to examine the relations between emotional expressivity measured by Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire and physiological response in situations where positive and negative affects were induced. On 65 participants four physiological parameters, including finger pulse amplitude, heart rate, skin conductance level and amplitude of skin conductance response were measured. In situations in which negative affect was induced, individuals higher in negative expressivity showed higher skin conductance level, higher amplitude of skin conductance response and higher heart rate compared to individuals low on negative expressivity, whereas finger pulse amplitude did not differ between these two groups. The same results were obtained even when controlling for five factor personality traits and recorded participants’ facial expression. In situation where a positive affect was induced, no differences in sympathetic responses between participants high and low in positive expressivity have been found. The results are explained in the context of Coactivation theory and possible consequences of the results on health outcomes are discussed

GUEST EDITORS\u27 NOTE

The thematic issue of Psychological Topics is devoted to the relationship between personality and social behaviour, two broad and important areas of psychology that have been developed relatively independently of each other for decades. Within the last decade, this situation has changed, and it became clear that these two domains are intertwined in different ways. This issue covers contemporary empirical contributions that aim to understand various personality traits and processes and their effects on social outcomes. Specifically, the articles deal with the question of how a person\u27s characteristics drive and shape social behaviours, such as social dominance, social trust, mating preferences, jealousy, loneliness, habits surrounding alcohol consumption, functional altruism, and relationship satisfaction. The articles presented in this issue come from different methodological and theoretical perspectives and show the richness, complexity and diversity of this area of research. We hope that this issue will allow readers a valuable insight into the current research and give them new ideas for future research within the field. Although the process of editing a journal can be sometimes demanding, we enjoyed it because it was a stimulating, challenging and rewarding experience. In the end, we would like to express our gratitude to all the authors for their willingness to contribute and devote their knowledge, expertise and time as well as to the reviewers for their comments in improving the quality of the articles. Many thanks to the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board for their help in the technical preparations of the articles

Antecedents and Consequences of Agentic and Communal Stressful Life Events in Adolescence

The relationships among frequency and intensity measures of agentic and communal stressful life events was examined on the sample of 265 subjects ranging in age from 11 to 14 years. Also, the relations of the two measures of agentic and communal stressful life events (intensity and frequency) with several antecedents (age, sex, personality traits) and consequences (coping styles and school grades) were examined. The results obtained show that intensity and frequency measures represent different aspects of stressful experience. The relationships among variables are different in boys and girls, especially with regard to the types of stressful life events (agentic and communal). The participants\u27 age is significantly positively related to the frequency of agentic stressful events and overall frequency. Boys have significantly higher scores on the frequency of agentic and the frequency of overall stressful life events than girls. Eysenck\u27s personality traits better predict agentic stressful events and frequency measures on the subsample of boys, whereas they better predict communal stressful events and intensity measures on the subsample of girls. Furthermore, the intensity and frequency measures of agentic and communal stressful life events are related to different coping styles. Girls demonstrate greater differentiation in utilizing certain coping styles under the influences of various stressful events. In both subsamples, the frequency of agentic stressors is prospectively negatively related to school grades

Evolutionary Explanations of Eating Disorders

This article reviews several most important evolutionary mechanisms that underlie eating disorders. The first part clarifies evolutionary foundations of mental disorders and various mechanisms leading to their development. In the second part selective pressures and evolved adaptations causing contemporary epidemic of obesity as well as differences in dietary regimes and life-style between modern humans and their ancestors are described. Concerning eating disorders, a number of current evolutionary explanations of anorexia nervosa are presented together with their main weaknesses. Evolutionary explanations of eating disorders based on the reproductive suppression hypothesis and its variants derived from kin selection theory and the model of parental manipulation were elaborated. The sexual competition hypothesis of eating disorder, adapted to flee famine hypothesis as well as explanation based on the concept of social attention holding power and the need to belonging were also explained. The importance of evolutionary theory in modern conceptualization and research of eating disorders is emphasized

Burnout in dispositional context: the role of personality traits, social support and coping styles

Big five personality traits, social support and coping styles were examined as predictors of three dimensions of burnout on the sample of 214 nurses using hierarchical regression analyses. Personality traits were included into the first step of the analyses, three sources of social support (co-workers, family and friends support) in the second, and in the third step three coping styles (problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and avoidance coping). The results show that out of five personality traits neuroticism positively predicted exhaustion, while agreeableness negatively predicted reduced professional efficacy. Regarding three sources of social support, only co-worker support negatively predicted exhaustion as well as reduced professional efficacy. Regarding coping styles examined, only avoidance coping positively predicted depersonalization. The results obtained were explained by several mechanisms through which personality variables may exert their effects on burnout

Personality, organizational stress, and attitudes toward work as prospective predictors of professional burnout in hospital nurses

Aim To examine to what extent personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness), organizational stress, and attitudes toward work and interactions between personality and either organizational stress or attitudes toward work prospectively predict 3 components of burnout. Methods The study was carried out on 118 hospital nurses. Data were analyzed by a set of hierarchical regression analyses, in which personality traits, measures of organizational stress, and attitudes toward work, as well as interactions between personality and either organizational stress or attitudes toward work were included as predictors, while 3 indices of burnout were measured 4 years later as criteria variables. Results Personality traits proved to be significant but weak prospective predictors of burnout and as a group predicted only reduced professional efficacy (R2 = 0.10), with agreeableness being a single negative predictor. Organizational stress was positive, affective-normative commitment negative predictor, while continuance commitment was not related to any dimension of burnout. We found interactions between neuroticism as well as conscientiousness and organizational stress, measured as role conflict and work overload, on reduced professional efficacy (βNRCWO = -0.30; ßcRCWO = -0.26). We also found interactions between neuroticism and affective normative commitment (β = 0.24) and between openness and continuance commitment on reduced professional efficacy (β = -0.23), as well as interactions between conscientiousness and continuance commitment on exhaustion. Conclusion Although contextual variables were strong prospective predictors and personality traits weak predictors of burnout, the results suggested the importance of the interaction between personality and contextual variables in predicting burnout