Breaking ground in cross-cultural research on the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia): A multi-national study involving 73 countries

The current study examines whether the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) can be assessed reliably and validly by means of a self-report instrument in different countries of the world. All items of the GELOPH (Ruch and Titze, GELOPH46, University of Düsseldorf, 1998; Ruch and Proyer, Swiss Journal of Psychology 67:19-27, 2008b) were translated to the local language of the collaborator (42 languages in total). In total, 22,610 participants in 93 samples from 73 countries completed the GELOPH. Across all samples the reliability of the 15-item questionnaire was high (mean alpha of .85) and in all samples the scales appeared to be unidimensional. The endorsement rates for the items ranged from 1.31% through 80.00% to a single item. Variations in the mean scores of the items were more strongly related to the culture in a country and not to the language in which the data were collected. This was also supported by a multidimensional scaling analysis with standardized mean scores of the items from the GELOPH15. This analysis identified two dimensions that further helped explaining the data (i.e., insecure vs. intense avoidant-restrictive and low vs. high suspicious tendencies towards the laughter of others). Furthermore, multiple samples derived from one country tended to be (with a few exceptions) highly similar. The study shows that gelotophobia can be assessed reliably by means of a self-report instrument in cross-cultural research. This study enables further studies of the fear of being laughed at with regard to differences in the prevalence and putative causes of gelotophobia in comparisons to different culture

Breaking ground in cross-cultural research on the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia): A multi-national study involving 73 countries

The current study examines whether the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) can be assessed reliably and validly by means of a self-report instrument in different countries of the world. All items of the GELOPH (Ruch and Titze, GELOPH46, University of Düsseldorf, 1998; Ruch and Proyer, Swiss Journal of Psychology 67:19–27, 2008b) were translated to the local language of the collaborator (42 languages in total). In total, 22,610 participants in 93 samples from 73 countries completed the GELOPH. Across all samples the reliability of the 15-item questionnaire was high (mean alpha of .85) and in all samples the scales appeared to be unidimensional. The endorsement rates for the items ranged from 1.31% through 80.00% to a single item. Variations in the mean scores of the items were more strongly related to the culture in a country and not to the language in which the data were collected. This was also supported by a multidimensional scaling analysis with standardized mean scores of the items from the GELOPH15. This analysis identified two dimensions that further helped explaining the data (i.e., insecure vs. intense avoidant-restrictive and low vs. high suspicious tendencies towards the laughter of others). Furthermore, multiple samples derived from one country tended to be (with a few exceptions) highly similar. The study shows that gelotophobia can be assessed reliably by means of a self-report instrument in cross-cultural research. This study enables further studies of the fear of being laughed at with regard to differences in the prevalence and putative causes of gelotophobia in comparisons to different cultures

The role of basic psychological needs satisfaction in the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior

The aim of this contribution was to investigate predictors of innovative work behavior (IWB) in nonprofit organizations. For instance, in schools, innovative solutions are crucial as the quality of education and therefore the schools' competitiveness depends on their ability to keep pace with technological, economic, and societal transformations. We addressed this issue in a quantitative study with 130 teachers in Dutch secondary schools employing a time-lag design. In accordance with self-determination theory, we investigated the role of transformational leadership for enhancing IWB and the role of basic psychological needs satisfaction in mediating this relationship. By employing structural equation modeling, we found that transformational leadership was positively related to the satisfaction of the teachers' needs for autonomy and competence. Furthermore, the satisfaction of the need for competence positively predicted teachers' IWB. In addition, perceived competence fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and teachers' IWB. Accordingly, persons with leadership responsibilities should adopt a transformational leadership style and motivate their employees by providing individual attention, intellectual stimulation, and encouragement for goal striving. Specifically, leaders may provide feedback on employees' innovative ideas and their strategies for realizing innovative solutions, thus helping them to become increasingly confident about what they can achieve and improve concerning their contributions to innovation development. For human resource development (HRD) professionals, our findings imply that efforts toward leadership training and development (e.g., training, coaching, and mentoring) should incorporate knowledge and practical experiences about transformational leadership as well as its role for employees' IWB and their contributions to organizational and professional development