1,720,987 research outputs found
Framing the tendency to betray one's good intentions. Akrasia as a dialogical dynamic
Full text linkAkrasia, otherwise known as 'weakness of will', is a state of mind whereby people act deliberately against their better judgment. This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework for understanding akrasia from psychosocial perspectives that assume the self is multiple and strongly interconnected with the relational flow of which it is a part. Drawing on key ideas from Dialogical Self Theory, we analyze the main dialogical dynamics that can generate akratic episodes with reference to how individuals organize their personal position repertoire, and to the relational and socio-cultural setting in which the actions are taken. The discussion enables us to identify some indicators to frame the tendency to betray one's good intentions, and to offer some suggestions on how to reduce the occurrence of the various forms of akrasia analyzed
A Generative Sequential Mixed Methods Approach Using Quantitative Measures to Enhance Social Constructionist Inquiry
No full textIn order to enhance core mixed methods research designs, social scientists need an approach that incorporates developments in the social constructionist perspective. This work describes a study that aimed to promote occupational well-being in hospital departments where employees are at risk of burnout, based on a constructionist inquiry developed starting from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Taking this study as an example, we define a “generative sequential mixed methods approach” as a process that involves consulting quantitative studies to identify criticalities on which to conduct focused, transformative investigations. The article contributes by envisaging ways to mix qualitative and quantitative methods that consider a “generative” and “future-forming” orientation to research, in line with recent shifts in social psychology
(Mis)constructing social construction: Answering the critiques
No full textThis article aims to review the main criticisms of social construction (SC) after its formalization as a “movement” in the social sciences. The critiques are organized into six dominant areas that define the relationship between SC and reality, truth, language, human nature, scientific enterprise, and society. For each one of these categories, the more frequent objections raised over time by scholars will be outlined and counterarguments will be offered, centering on common misunderstandings of SC. We show how the major difficulty in embracing SC principles is attributable to the use of incommensurate assumptions and misunderstandings of the aim of social construction
Narrating Vulvodynia: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Experiences of Chronic Pain and the Relevance of Social Relationships
No full textWithin the theoretical framework of social constructionism, this study presents a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of vulvodynia of 17 women of various ages in Italy. Vulvodynia is a case of “contested illness” due to the apparent absence of biomedical abnormalities, alongside a significant involvement of social and cultural components in defining the condition. Textual material was gathered through episodic interviews enquiring into participants’ experiences of diagnosis and chronic pain, which was then subjected to thematic analysis assisted by Atlas.ti software. The inquiry also explored the role played by healthcare assistance and psychological and relational support in harmoniously reconstructing personal experiences. The main results show that physical pain is not the central issue for women with vulvodynia, with participants identifying a lack of social recognition as the main issue for them. The experiences shared also showed the crucial nature of relationships with others in helping women cope with the condition and generating new experiential meanings
Resisting ageism through lifelong learning mature students' counter-narratives to the construction of aging as decline
No full textThis study aims to investigate the narratives of some “mature” students who are challenging the widely-shared view that studying, and learning new things, is a prerogative of young people. Twenty-five narrative interviews were conducted with older people enrolled at the University of Padua, Italy, to shed light on the motives, values, self-image, and personal solutions that supported their decision to resume and successfully pursue a path of studies at a “non-canonical” age. Starting from perspectives that emphasize the social dimension of meaning-making activity, we explore the counter-narratives functional to the deconstruction of “age prejudice”. The results that emerge from a thematic and structural narrative analysis show some common themes and three different counter-narratives through which respondents try to challenge the idea that they are too old to study. The paper ends with some considerations on the degree of efficacy with which these counter-narratives can resist age prejudice, identifying cases in which they favor change on a personal, social, or cultural level
Refining Constructivist Assessment. How to Measure the Main Traditional Indexes in Binary Grids through Formal Concept Analysis
No full textThis paper aims to expand knowledge on the application of formal concept analysis, a mathematical theory, to the elaboration of a repertory grid, which is a method designed for exploring the structure and content of a respondent’s system of constructs. After a critical reexamination of the ways in which the commonly used statistical procedures for the analysis of repertory grids can affect data analysis, we revisit an alternative methodology that is more consistent with both personal construct theory and measurement properties of the variables collected by means of repertory grids. We use a classic example of repertory grid technique and describe it according to both traditional analysis and the alternative methodology. This comparison is aimed at displaying how formal concept analysis applied to repertory grids can provide all the main measures and cognitive indexes that are included in traditional repertory grid analysis. We then provide further evidence to highlight how this proposal can be used to collect more consistent and detailed information from repertory grids, thus preserving the nature of the respondents’ data
Volunteer Motivation and Organizational Climate: Factors that Promote Satisfaction and Sustained Volunteerism in NPOs
No full textKeeping volunteers committed and engaged is one of the toughest challenges for NPOs. The aim of the present study is to investigate the individual and organizational factors that promote volunteer satisfaction and, vice versa, foster intentions to quit. Two hundred forty-seven volunteers operating in four different NPOs were asked to fill in a self-report questionnaire that aimed to explore their motivations to volunteer, their degree of satisfaction and their perception of the organizational climate in the NPO they worked with, in addition to providing details of the activities which they were involved in. Results showed that the organizational climate mediates the relationship between autonomous motivation and satisfaction, as well as that between external motivation and intentions to leave an organization
Shaping Focused Transformative Inquiry. A Generative Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Counteracting Ageism in Non-profit Organizations
No full textThis study aims to counteract ageism in a non-profit organization. It utilized a generative sequential mixed methods approach, consisting of a qualitative inquiry focused on challenging the criticalities identified in a previous quantitative assessment. The first phase used the Fraboni Scale of Ageism to assess participants' discriminatory attitudes toward older individuals. In the second phase, volunteers participated in a qualitative inquiry consisting of "generative" interviews designed to counter age prejudice openly. Thematic analysis revealed the themes used by participants to foster an organizational culture that is positive for aging and intergenerational dynamics. The study provided a detailed procedure with which to create focused generative inquiries and personalized interview protocols to enhance the effectiveness of the generative sequential mixed methods design
The Representations of Caregiving in Informal Caregivers
No full textInformal caregiving is usually deemed stressful and an activity leading to worsening life conditions. Nevertheless, recent studies have suggested the possibility for an informal caregiver to simultaneously experience both positive and negative feelings, identifying in the positive assets the merit of raising resilience and a sense of self-effectiveness. To support informal caregivers and promote their personal well-being, which is crucial also for social well-being, research needs to focus on understanding how they perceive their experiences as caregivers. Based on the theoretical perspectives of caregiving system theory and social representation theory, this research had two aims: first, to compare in terms of caregiving system orientations (especially focusing on deactivation and anxious hyperactivation of the system) people with and without informal caregiving experiences and people who currently are or had been informal caregivers; second, to investigate whether the representations of the salient aspects of caregiving change according to currently being or having been an informal caregiver. The results showed differences in anxiety according to caregiver's experience (current vs. former) and revealed that those caregivers who reported higher scores in anxiety subscale, in comparison to those reporting lower scores in this dimension, tend to devote more attention to the self
The crisis tsunami. Social representations of the economic crisis in the Italian press
No full textThis research investigates social representations of the Italian economic crisis conveyed by representative Italian newspapers between 2007 and 2013. Its aim is to highlight the content of those representations as well as their objectification through the use of metaphorical language. More than 6,000 headlines were collected from four widely distributed Italian newspapers: Il Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Il Giornale, and Il Manifesto. The texts underwent a lexicometric analysis using the TaLTaC2 software. The results showed that the crisis was represented for the most part as an "illness coming from afar" or as an "inevitable disaster" that was shaped somehow by an "agentic entity". These interpretations elaborated an event about which little or nothing could be done except for to suffer/endure or to try to stem the rising tide. Implications for personal attitudes and agency are also discussed
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