2,062 research outputs found
The effects of trait emotional intelligence and sociobiographical variables on communicative anxiety and foreign language anxiety among adult multilinguals: A review and empirical investigation
No full textThis study considered the effects of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI; Petrides & Furnham, 2001) and sociobiographical variables (age, gender, education level, number of languages known, age of onset of acquisition, context of acquisition, frequency of use, socialization, network of interlocutors, self-perceived proficiency) on communicative anxiety (CA) in the first, and foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the second, third, and fourth languages of 464 multilingual individuals, in five different situations (speaking with friends, colleagues, strangers, on the phone, and in public). Data were collected via web-based questionnaires. Participants were divided into three groups based on their trait EI scores (low, average, high). Non-parametric statistical analyses revealed a consistent pattern of results across languages and situations. Higher levels of trait EI corresponded to significantly lower CA/FLA scores. Participants who started learning the L2 and L3 at a younger age also suffered less from FLA. Purely classroom-based language instruction was found to be linked to higher levels of FLA compared to instruction that also involved extracurricular use of the language. The knowledge of more languages, a higher frequency of use, a stronger socialization in a language, a larger network of interlocutors and a higher level of self-perceived proficiency in a language were also linked to lower levels of CA/FLA
A Psychometric Study of the Quality Perception Questionnaire
No full texthe present paper reexamines the psychometric properties of the Quality Perception Questionnaire (QPQ), an Italian survey instrument measuring patients' perceptions of the quality of a recent hospital admission experience, in a sample of 4400 patients (M age= 56.42 years; SD= 19.71 years, 48.8% females). The 14-item survey measures four factors: satisfaction with medical doctors, nursing staff, auxiliary staff, and hospital structures. First, we tested two models using a confirmatory factor analysis (structural equation modeling): a four orthogonal factor and a four oblique factor model. The SEM fit indices and the χ 2 difference suggested the acceptance of the second model. We then did a simulation using a bootstrap with 1000 replications. Results confirmed the four oblique factor solution. Third, we tested whether there were significant differences with respect to age or sex. The multivariate general linear model showed no significant differences in the factors with respect to sex or age
Healthy body equals beautiful body? Changing perceptions of health and attractiveness with shifting socioeconomic status
No full textTolerance of Ambiguity: A Review of the Recent Literature
No full textCommons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This review paper attempts to update the literature on tolerance of ambiguity (TA) and related concepts since a previous review (Furnham & Ribchester, 1995). Various related concepts like Uncertainly Avoid-ance and In/Tolerance of Uncertainly are reviewed. Both correlational and experimental studies of TA are reviewed and tabulated. Further, an attempt was made to identify and critique various different question-naires design to measure TA. Recommendations for the use of these tests in research are made. The rea-sons for progress and lack of progress in this field are highlighted
Organizational psychology and poverty reduction: Where supply meets demand
No full textDeveloping a globally responsive Science-Practitioner-Humanist model (Lefkowitz, 2008) means articulating professional values (supply) and meeting global demand. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) seek to halve human poverty by 2015 and how organizations respond to this constitutes a formidable demand on Organizational Psychology. A key process for delivering more effective aid is the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which seeks collaborative contributions from a plethora of Organizations, including business organizations and professions like ours. We argue that a thoughtful articulation of what Organizational Psychology uniquely stands for, and can offer, is therefore needed. It is proposed that a key mechanism for addressing this challenge is a Task Force, whose functions will include the coordination of institutions within psychology, and linking them to those in development. We describe such a task force and outline its core mission (Reichman, Frese, Schein, Carr, MacLachlan, & Landy, 2008). Organizational Psychology's response to poverty reduction should meet Lefkowitz's criteria for developing a more humanist model of science and practice as the MDGs are inherently humanist and values-based
The Big Five Personality Traits and Uses of Music: A Replication in Malaysia Using Structural Equation Modeling
No full textThe current study set out to replicate and extend a recent paper (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007) on personality and uses of music using structural equation modeling. Responses to questionnaire data from 227 Malaysian university students showed that, in line with our hypotheses, individuals higher in Neuroticism were more likely to use music for emotional regulation (influencing their mood states), Extraversion positively predicted use of music as background or for distraction, and Openness to Experience predicted cognitive use of music. However, contrary to the target paper, Conscientiousness did not predict use of music for emotional regulation and Extraversion was positively rather than negatively linked with that use of music. Results are discussed in terms of the generalizability of previous findings on the Big Five as determinants of uses of music
The impact of Western beauty ideals on the lives of women and men: A sociocultural perspective
No full textAccording to a recent survey of 3,300 girls and women across 10 countries, 90 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest (Etcoff, Orbach, Scott, & D’Agostino, 2004). This finding suggests that women’s anxiety about their appearance is a global phenomenon, observed in every country studied from Saudi Arabia to the United States. Beyond body dissatisfaction, a stunning 67 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide reported that they actually withdraw from life-engaging, life-sustaining activities due to feeling badly about their looks. These activities include giving an opinion, meeting friends, exercising, going to work, going to school, dating, and going to the doctor
Gender differences in self-rated and partner-rated multiple intelligences: a portuguese replication
No full textThe authors examined gender differences and the influence of intelligence quotient (IQ) test experience in the self and partner estimation of H. Gardner's (1999) 10 multiple intelligences. Portuguese students (N = 190) completed a brief questionnaire developed on the basis of an instrument used in previous research (A. Furnham, 2001). Three of the 10 self-estimates yielded significant gender differences. Men believed they were more intelligent than were women on mathematical (logical), spatial, and naturalistic intelligence. Those who had previously completed an IQ test gave higher self-estimates on 2 of the 10 estimates. Factor analysis of the 10 and then 8 self-estimated scores did not confirm Gardner's 3-factor classification of multiple intelligences in this sample
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