La mirada latina sobre la psicología positiva

El siguiente trabajo intenta mostrar el avance que presenta Latinoamérica en cuanto al estudio y aplicación de temáticas relacionadas con la Psicología Positiva (PP). Por un lado, se pretendió describir cómo ha surgido el interés en PP en algunos países de Latinoamérica como Argentina, Perú, México, entre otros. Por otro lado, se analizaron los resultados de un rastrillaje realizado en el cual verifica el cúmulo de trabajos y pruebas psicológicas desarrolladas en la región, principalmente teniendo en cuenta los pilares de la PP propuestos por Seligman (2002, 2009): las emociones positivas, los rasgos positivos, las instituciones positivas y los vínculos positivos (la vida social). México, Chile, Brasil y Argentina, parecen ser los países con mayor productividad. Las temáticas frecuentemente estudiadas están en relación con el bienestar psicológico, las relaciones interpersonales y las intervenciones psicoterapéuticas. Palabras clave: Psicología positiva, pilares, evaluación, Latinoamérica.The present article aims to describe the progress of the study and application of Positive Psychology (PP) in Latin America. On one hand, it is described how the interest in PP has emerged in some Latin American countries such as Argentina, Peru and Mexico, among others. On the other hand, results of a literature review which explore the development of psychological assessments in the region are presented according to PP pillars proposed by Seligman (2002, 2009): positive emotions, positive traits, positive institutions and positive relationships (social life). Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Argentina appeared to be the countries with the highest levels of scientific production related to PP and the topics most frequently studied are psychological well-being, interpersonal relationships and psychotherapeutic interventions.Fil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Palermo; ArgentinaFil: Lupano Perugini, Maria Laura. Universidad de Palermo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The high five: Associations of the five positive factors with the big five and well-being

The study of individual differences in positive characteristics has mainly focused on moral traits. The objectives of this research were to study individual differences in positive characteristics from the point of view of the layperson, including non-moral individual characteristics, and to generate a replicable model of positive factors. Three studies based on a lexical approach were conducted. The first study generated a corpus of words which resulted in a refined list of socially shared positive characteristics. The second study produced a five-factor model of positive characteristics: erudition, peace, cheerfulness, honesty, and tenacity. The third study confirmed the model with a different sample. The five-positive-factor model not only showed positive associations with emotional, psychological and social well-being, but it also accounted for the variance beyond that accounted for by the Big Five factors in predicting these well-being dimensions. In addition, the presence of convergent and divergent validity of the five positive factors is shown with relation to the Values-in-Action (VIA) classification of character strengths proposed by Peterson and Seligman (2004).Fil: Cosentino, Alejandro César. Universidad de Palermo; ArgentinaFil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentin

Character strengths: A study of Argentinean soldiers

The primary objective of this research was to study the differences in positive traits between military and civilian college students and between cadets in their first and final years at a military academy. Second, the research aimed to study the relations between positive traits and the academic and military performance of cadets in their first and final years, according to the classification of positive traits by Peterson and Seligman (2004). To accomplish these objectives, a sample of university students from a military educational institution and a sample of civilian university students were studied. The instruments used were a 24-item self-report measure of positive traits, a measure of social desirability, and objective scores of academic and military performance. The results generally showed that when age and career stage were held constant, the scores of the military students were higher than the scores of the civilian students across various strengths. Military students reported higher levels of the character strength of spirituality than did civilian students. The relationships between strengths and performance differed for students in their first and final years at the military academy. In particular, cadets with the higher levels of academic or military performance in their last year, i.e., the cadets best adapted to the academy, reported higher levels of the character strength of persistence when compared to low-performing cadets in the same year of study.Fil: Cosentino, Alejandro César. Universidad de Palermo; ArgentinaFil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The High Five Model: Associations of the high factors with complete mental well-being and academic adjustment in university students

Traditionally, models of positive personality traits have referred to moral characteristics. The High Five Model (HFM) is a factor model of individual positive traits based on an inductive psycho-lexical approach. Unlike other models, in the HFM the positive characteristics were freely determined by lay people, beyond any moral tones. The HFM comprises the following factors: erudition, peace, cheerfulness, honesty, and tenacity, known as ?the high factors.? This model was shown to positively exceed the capacity of normal personality to predict emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Additionally, this model is negatively associated with non-transmissible diseases, psychopathological symptoms, and psychopathological personality traits. This study aimed to increase the validation of the HFM, by analyzing the relationships among this model and positive mental health, psychopathological symptoms, academic adjustment, and academic performance in university students. Another objective was to study the association between complete mental well-being (i.e., high well-being and low psychopathological symptomatology) and the high factors of the HFM. The sample consisted of 256 university students. Correlations were calculated, and the two-step cluster analysis was used to obtain profiles. The results showed that tenacity and erudition high factors are positively associated with academic achievement and academic adjustment. Finally, each of the high factors was positively associated with complete mental well-being. The HFM has a broad scope, as it is related not only to psychological variables (e.g., well-being or psychopathological symptomatology) but also to academic performance (e.g., adjustment and achievement) in university students.Fil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Universidad de Palermo. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Departamento de Psicología. Centro de Investigación y Posgrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cosentino, Alejandro César. Universidad de Palermo. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Departamento de Psicología. Centro de Investigación y Posgrados; Argentin

The analysis of the virtues and strengths in childhood

Dentro del marco de la psicología positiva existe una línea de investigación centrada en el estudio de las virtudes y fortalezas, entendidas como una familia bien constituida de rasgos positivos del carácter, las cuales permiten adoptar una perspectiva más abierta respecto al potencial humano, sus motivaciones y capacidades (Sheldon & King, 2001). La infancia constituye un momento propicio para detectar y potenciar las virtudes y fortalezas que propone la psicología positiva, debido a que provee al niño una base que le permitirá afrontar los retos más importantes de la adolescencia (Park & Peterson, 2006). El presente artículo se propone realizar una revisión sobre las investigaciones efectuadas en el ámbito de la infancia acerca de las virtudes y fortalezas. Asimismo, se describen algunos de los beneficios que el estudio de las potencialidades puede tener en el desarrollo de programas educativos de prevención y de intervención.Within the framework of positive psychology there is a line of research focused on the study of the virtues and strengths, understood as a well established family of positive character traits, which allow to take a wide perspective on human potential, their motivations and capabilities (Sheldon & King, 2001). Childhood is a good time to identify and promote the virtues and strengths that Positive Psychology proposes, because the child provides a base that allows you address the major challenges of adolescence (Park & Peterson, 2006). This article proposes a review of investigations conducted in the ield of children about the virtues and strengths. It also describes some of the beneits that the study may have potential in developing educational programs for prevention and intervention.Fil: Grinhauz, Aldana Sol. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicologia; ArgentinaFil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicologia; Argentin

Desarrollo y construcción de las puntuaciones de prevalencia del Inventario Millon de Estilos de Personalidad (MIPS) para la población adulta de la ciudad de Buenos Aries

Many researchers have assessed individual differences using empirically-derived instruments alone. The lack of theoretically-derived instruments in the field of normal personality led T. Millon to develop the MlPS (Millon Index of Personality Styles, 1994). The MIPS is based on an ecological-evolutionary theory which proposes an explanation of the development of normal and abnormal personality styles. From the technical point of view, the questionnaire includes prevalence scores instead of other common transformation scores (T scores and percentiles). Prevalence score are based only on comparisons between persons who possess the particular psychological trait, that is to say they do not take into account the entire population in order to derive transformed test scores. Goals: To provide guidelines for constructing plavalence score based on data from the Argentinian population, and to provide cut off scores to make the MIPS a useful assessment tool. Subjects: The sample comprised 450 males artd 489 females aged between 18 and 65, stratified for age and educational level in accordance with National Census data. Results: Enhancing, Modifying and Individuating were the predominant pairs of Motivational aims section. Extraversion, Feeling and Systematizing were the most prevalent cognitive modes. The more adaptive pairs of interpersonal behaviors were the more prevalent. Style response pattern was similar to those reported in normative samples from the US populotion.Existen en la actualidad pocos modelos teóricos que expliquen que la personalidad es más que un agregado de factores obtenidos por procedimientos empiricos. Millon (1994) intenta dar cuenta de que la persorlalidad es mucho más que los rasgos conductuales que tienen las personas. Estas manifestaciones canductuales están ligadas a las aspiraciones y metas y al particular estilo de percibir y procesar la información, elementos que tomados en conjunto dan como resultado una configuración dinámica de estilos de persorlalidad. No hay demasiadas investigaciones que den cuenta de cómo se distribuyen los estilos de personalidad en poblaciones latinas. El objetivo de este estudio es establecer las prevalencias de los rasgos psicológicos que componen los estilos de personalidad para población general adulta residente en la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Se administró el inventario MlPS (Millon Index of Personality Styles, 1994) a 939 participantes adultos entre 18 y 65 años, estratificados, según los datos del censo nacional, por edades y nivel educativo (n = 450 varones y n = 489 mujeres). Se encontraron diferencias en las prevaleracias de los rasgos psicológicos que componen los estilos de persorlalidad para varones y para mujeres en tanto metas motivacionales, modos cogrtitivos y conductas interpersonales

Happy Nations: Beyond money

La felicidad resulta importante no solo a nivel individual sino a nivel social. Es la meta deseable de todas las sociedades, ya que las sociedades consideradas "buenas" son aquellas que ofrecen el mayor grado de bienestar para la mayor cantidad de sus ciudadanos. Uno de los problemas fue identificar los caminos por los cuales los políticos podían incrementar la felicidad de los ciudadanos. Las teorías clásicas consideraron que los ingresos económicos eran el gold estándard de una sociedad feliz. Diferentes estudios sobre la relación entre felicidad e ingresos económicos demostraron que un aumento del nivel económico no siempre se corresponde con el nivel de bienestar de sus ciudadanos. La percepción subjetiva de bienestar de los miembros de una sociedad puede considerarse un indicador de la marcha de las políticas públicas de una nación, las cuales tradicionalmente se han basado en indicadores objetivos de corte económico.Happiness is important not only at the individual level but also socially. It is a desirable goal of all societies, since those considered "good" are the ones that offer the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens. One problem was to identify the ways in which politicians could increase people's happiness.Fil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Universidad de Palermo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Tonon, Graciela Haydee. Universidad de Palermo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora; Argentin

Predictors of socio-cultural adaptation of foreign university students in Argentina

El interés para realizar esta investigación surgió a partir de que Argentina recibe un número creciente de estudiantes de otros países latinoamericanos, atraídos por el idioma, el prestigio académico y las condiciones económicas. Como resultado del contacto intercultural, los estudiantes atraviesan el proceso psicológico denominado aculturación, que implica cambios afectivos, comportamentales y cognitivos. En virtud de lo antedicho, este estudio se propuso identificar predictores de adaptación sociocultural en función de variables sociodemográficas, culturales y psicológicas de estudiantes que decidieron realizar sus estudios universitarios en Argentina. Participaron 216 estudiantes migrantes que se encontraban cursando diferentes carreras universitarias, el 57% eran mujeres (n = 124) y el 43% varones (n = 92), con un promedio de edad de 24.18 años (DE = 4.55). El 86% (n = 186) había nacido en Latinoamérica. El restante 14% provenía de países de Europa y Asia. El tiempo promedio de residencia en Argentina era de 3.31años. Se emplearon diferentes instrumentos diseñados ad hoc y/o adaptados para medir las variables involucradas en el estudio. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, no se pudo corroborar la influencia por parte de variables sociodemográficas (edad y tiempo de residencia). En cambio, entre las variables culturales se constató que percibir bajos niveles de discriminación y ansiedad intergrupal predice buenos niveles de adaptación sociocultural. En cuanto a las variables psicológicas, se corroboró que el apoyo social y la satisfacción percibida contribuyen a la adaptación sociocultural. En términos globales, las variables culturales y psicológicas predicen con mayor éxito la adaptación sociocultural en relación alas sociodemográficas.The interest of this research arises from that Argentina received a growing number of students from other Latin-American countries. International migration has risen exponentially in recent decades due to advances in technology and communications. According to the International Organization for Migration (OIM, 2010), the estimated number of international migrants in the world for that year was 214 million, doubling the previous two decades. Globalization has promoted exchanges among different cultures, but also caused the collision between different value systems, beliefs and customs that, in many cases, generates situations of confusion or discomfort in people (Furnham & Bochner, 1986). Approximately 2.9million people each year decide to make or complete their studies in other countries (OECD, 2008). Argentina receives an increasing number of students from other Latin-American countries, attracted by the language, the academic prestige of the local universities and the favorable economic conditions (Filmus, 2007). At the present, international students represent 1.6% of university students in Argentina. Therefore, Argentina is the fourth host country of America, after United States, Canada and Uruguay. As a result of intercultural contact, students go through the psychological process called acculturation, which involves affective, behavioral and cognitive changes. Taking into account the antecedents mentioned, this research proposed to identify predictors of socio-cultural adaptation based on socio-demographic, cultural and psychological variables, in international students who decided to make their university studies in Argentina. The participants of the study were 216 migrant students who were studying different careers. 57% were women (n = 124) and 43% males (n = 92) with an average age of 24.18 years (SD = 4.55). 86% (n = 186) were born in Latin-America. The remaining 14% came from Europe and Asia. The average residence time in Argentina was 3.31 years. The reasons for their arrival in Argentina were diverse, 50% (n = 108) of them considered that Argentina was a good place to study for its academic prestige and low costs. The remaining half was divided between family reasons (n = 47, 21%), to have a different cultural experience (n = 30, 14%), for student exchange (n = 19, 9%) or others reasons (n = 13, 6%). Regarding socio-economic status, the majority of respondents said they were in the middle class (n = 107, 50%) and upper middle (n = 82, 38%). Different instruments, designed ad hoc or adapted, were used to measure the variables involved in the study. To measure cultural variables were used instruments to assess perceived cultural distance, frequency of contact with foreigners and local habitants, intergroup anxiety and perceived discrimination. To measure psychological variables, were used instruments to assess social supportand life satisfaction. Besides, were used instruments to assess the level of socio-cultural adaptation. Based on results obtained, it could not be verified influence by socio-demographic varia bles (age and residence time). In contrast, among the cultural variables it was found that low levels of perceived discrimination an inter-grupal anxiety predicts good levels of socio-cultural adaptation. Regarding psychological variables, it was confirmed that social support and perceived satisfaction contribute to this adaptation. In summary, cultural and psychological variables predict most successful socio-cultural adaptation than socio-demographic variables. One of the limitations of the study was the low inclusion in the sample of immigrants from countries with greater cultural distance. Futures studies can focuses on the analysis of the processes of adaptation with foreign students with language and customs more distant than Latin-American students. Other future re search can study the perceptions of those who receive foreign students (host country) and analyze their relationship and influence on the perception of discrimination and prejudice from immigrants.Fil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lupano Perugini, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Acculturation strategies and psychological and sociocultural adaptation of foreign students in Argentina

Sobre la base del modelo de Berry se diseñó un estudio que tenía como objetivo analizar las estrategias aculturativas empleadas por un grupo de estudiantes extranjeros que habían migrado para realizar estudios universitarios en la Argentina. Se analizó el grado de éxito alcanzado en la implementación de dichas estrategias analizando la adaptación psicológica, la sociocultural, la académica, la satisfacción vital y la discriminación percibida. Se tomó en cuenta la perspectiva del migrante y la de los miembros de la cultura huésped. Participaron del estudio dos muestras de estudiantes universitarios (125 estudiantes extranjeros de diferentes carreras universitarias y 121 estudiantes universitarios argentinos). Los instrumentos utilizados fueron las formas real e ideal de la Encuesta de Estrategias Aculturativas de Berry (1997), una escala de discriminación percibida, una escala de adaptación psicológica, una escala de adaptación sociocultural y una de adaptación académica diseñadas ad-hoc y la escala de satisfacción con la vida (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985). Los resultados señalan que la estrategia preferida es la integración y la menos utilizada la de marginalización. Tanto la percepción del migrante como la del estudiante huésped coinciden respecto del uso de la estrategia aculturativa preferida. La integración es la estrategia que trae mejores resultados adaptativos. Aquellos que optaban por el estilo integrativo eran los migrantes que percibían mayor satisfacción con la vida y un mejor ajuste a la vida académica en general.At present the number of foreign university student is one of the largest in modern history. It has been characterized as those who reside voluntarily and temporarily abroad in order to participate in educational exchange with the intention of returning to their country once they have achieved the purpose of their trip. These kinds of student have been classified as sojourn - ers (temporary residents) and they are people who migrate from one cultural context for a relatively long time (6 months to 5 years). In the last decade Argentina start hosting a large amount of foreign university students, attracted by the language, the favorable economic conditions and the prestige of universities in Latin America. University students have to deal with a psychological phenomenon called acculturation and it is the process of psy - cholog ical and cultural change resulting from intercultural contact. Adaptation to this event can be either psychological or cultural. The psycholog - ical is relat ed to the well-being experienced as a result of cultural contact. Cultural adaptation in - volves the implementation of social skills need ed to function effectively within a complex cultur al environment. Based on acculturation Berry´s model a study was designed to test the accul - turative strategies applied by a group of foreign students who had migrated to carry on university studies in Argentina. Berry propose two separate dimensions: (1) immigrants feel their cultural identity and customs as valuable enough to keep them in the host society (maintenance) and (2) relationships with other people or groups in society are truly valuable to identified and encour - ag ed (participation). These dimensions lead to four acculturation strategies. (a) Integration: the mi - grant try to maintain their cultural heritage and also maintains contact with the dominant cultural group. (b) Assimilation: the individual does not retain their native culture and attempts to maintain contact only with dominant culture members. (c) Marginalization: occurs when the migrant has no interest or ability to pursue their native culture and it is unlikely to come into contact with the host culture. (d) Separation: this occurs when the migrant is able to maintain their original culture but avoid or cannot have interaction with the dominant group. We analyzed the degree of suc - cess achieved in implementing these strategies, assessing the psychological and sociocultural ad - justment, academic achievement, life satisfaction, and perceiv ed discrimination. It also was taken into account the perspective of the members of the host culture. This study involved two samples of university students (125 students of different nation alities and 121 Argentine university students). The instruments used were: Acculturative Strategies Survey (real and ideal forms - Berry, 1997), a scale of perceived discrimination, a psychological adjustment scale, a scale of adaptation sociocultural adaptation designed ad-hoc academic, and The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). The results indicate that the most preferred strategy is the integration and the least used was marginalization. The acculturation process is carri ed out taking into account aspects of both cultures. Perceptions of university students and members of the host culture are congruent. Integration is the strategy that brings better adaptive results. Migrants who opted for the integrative strategy perceived more life satisfaction and a better adjustment to academic life. By contrast, students who chose to retain only aspects relating to their cultural identity and avoid contact with the host culture (separation) are those with less sociocultural adaptation and also feel discriminated as a cultural group. Findings presented are important because the research using Berry´s model in Latin American population is scarce. There are also few investigations analyzing differential perceptions taking into account not only the point of view of the minority group (migrant population) but also the majority group (host culture).Fil: Castro Solano, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin