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Within the psychological literature two main approaches can be identified as influential factors in the increase of well-being, defined in this thesis as Hedonic (SWB) vs. Eudaimonic Well-Being (PWB). One of the key qualities of the human mind is its ability to think about and act upon the future. The first approach emphasises the role of psychological strengths related to the utilisation of foresight and planning in such a way as to influence the consequences of current actions. The second approach focuses on the function of basic personality traits in the setting of goals and mental functioning. To integrate these approaches, this thesis brings together two lines of research: future-orientation and personality traits. Two longitudinal studies investigate the predictive qualities of future-orientated constructs in relation to personality traits, while also focusing on their contribution to the setting and attainment of goals and the perception of well-being. In the first study two cognitive-motivational scales, Hope and Personal Growth Initiative (PGI), were administered to measure two hundred and sixty four participants’ future-orientation. The first aim of this study was to examine the distinctiveness of these two scales in predicting well-being. Results from factor analyses cast doubt on the uniqueness of Hope and PGI, while regression analyses demonstrate Hope to be the strongest, most significant predictor of PWB and SWB. A further aim of the study was to ascertain if future-orientation could account for additional variance in the prediction of well-being, after the influence of the Eysenck’s Personality traits have been controlled for. It was indicated that individuals’ Hope levels do account for residual variance in PWB and SWB. The last aim of the study was to determine if future-orientation could contribute to long-term goal attainment and well-being. The results indicate that participant’s Hope levels did not significantly contribute to long-term goal attainment, however it had a direct, significant effect on long-term PWB. The second study, utilising 117 participants, replicated prior findings that demonstrate Hope, instead of PGI, to be the strongest, most significant predictor of both PWB and SWB. The study also extents prior research by utilising the Big-Five traits in the prediction of PWB and SWB. Factor analyses results indicate Hope to share an underlying factor structure with Openness and Conscientiousness, while PGI share an underlying factor structure with Agreeableness. It was further indicated that participants’ Hope, but not PGI, accounts for residual variance in the prediction of PWB, after controlling for the Big-Five traits. Conversely, Hope and PGI did not account for any residual variance in the prediction of SWB, instead almost 60% of the variance can be attributed to the Big-Five personality traits. Extending the first study, the aim of the second study was to ascertain attainment through independent verification and not participant self-assessment. The results indicate that participants who demonstrate greater levels of Openness and PGI tend to set higher quantitative goals. Although not predictive of goal attainment, participants with greater Openness showed higher performance on the goals. Overall, the results question the distinctiveness of Hope and PGI in the prediction of well-being. It adds to our knowledge of how psychological strengths such as future-orientation can contribute variance to the prediction of well-being after basic personality traits have been controlled for. Finally the results also add to our understanding of how personality traits, as well as, Hope and PGI independently contribute to the setting of goals.

[pt] Apesar da crescente consciência dos problemas éticos nas empresas, diariamente são divulgadas notícias de fraude e corrupção mostrando o quanto ainda é necessário ser feito para coibir o comportamento antiético. Esta pesquisa se propõe a contribuir na compreensão do processo de tomada de decisão ética por meio da adoção de múltiplos e simultâneos fatores (individuais e situacionais). Baseado em uma extensa revisão da literatura, este estudo propõe uma teoria integrada dos conceitos de auto monitoramento e orientação futura como fatores individuais e redes sociais no ambiente de trabalho para analisar sua influência em tomadas de decisões éticas. Um questionário e um experimento, ambos online, foram utilizados para descobrir fontes de intenção e comportamento antiético. A amostra foi composta, principalmente, por indivíduos em cargos de gestão de diferentes indústrias, incluindo um número considerável de mulheres em cargos corporativos de alto nível. Os dados foram analisados utilizando-se diferentes ferramentas quantitativas – modelagem de equações estruturais e análise de agrupamento – para fornecerem resultados complementares sobre a teoria. Este estudo encontrou evidências de que não só fatores individuais, especialmente auto monitoramento, mas também a estrutura fechada da rede social do indivíduo aumentam o risco de tomada de decisão antiética. Além disso, o gênero desempenha um papel diferenciado na estrutura de rede dos entrevistados. Um padrão invertido da estrutura da rede surgiu entre os entrevistados que escolheram as opções antiéticas, em comparação com a estrutura da rede dos entrevistados éticos. Os resultados forneceram evidências de que fatores individuais e a consequente criação de redes sociais interagem proporcionado risco mais elevado de decisões antiéticas. / [en] Despite the growing awareness of ethical problems in corporations, the daily news around the world is replete with cases of fraud and corruption, suggesting that much is still to be understood to curb unethical behavior. This research represents a step forward to our understanding of ethical decision-making through the adoption of multiple and simultaneous factors. Based on an extensive review of the literature, this study proposed an integrated theory of self-monitoring, temporal orientation as individual factors, and social networks influencing unethical options. A web survey and a web experiment were used to uncover sources of unethical intention and behavior. The sample consisted mostly of individuals from management positions in different industries, including a considerable number of women in high-level corporate positions. Data were analyzed using different quantitative analytical tools – structure equation modeling and cluster analysis –to provide supplemental results over theory. This study found evidence that individual factors, especially self-monitoring but also future orientation, increase the risk of unethical decision-making. Moreover, gender plays a role in the network structure, and the high self-monitors in network closure are the ones who increase the likelihood of unethical acts. An inverted pattern of the network structure emerged among respondents who chose the unethical options, compared to the network structure of the ethical respondents. The findings provided evidence about the different dynamics of how individual factors influence the creation of social networks, and how the connection of these two can pose a higher risk of unethical business decision-making.

In the present study the overarching aim was to investigate the relationship between commitment, self-differentiation and pride in undergraduate university students with the view to achieve a better understanding of the extent to which identity-related factors such as self-differentiation and pride as a self-relevant emotion may shape the strength of commitments in a higher education setting. Findings of the study may contribute to the literature on the psychology of academic commitment by distinguishing it from academic engagement (Baldwin & Koh, 2012) and by broadening the study of commitment to include identity-related constructs in the development of academic commitment (Lord, Diefendorff, Schmidt & Hall, 2010). I argue that a well-differentiated self is relevant to academic commitment because it may provide coherency and consistency in commitments. Academic commitment was operationalised as the extent to which students experience their studies as a source of satisfaction and meaning, the extent to which they have invested resources in their studies, and the quality of alternatives available (Rusbult, Martz & Agnew, 1998). I examined self-differentiation in terms of the ability to take an I-position in the absence of Emotional Reactivity, Emotional Cutoff and Fusion with Others (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). Authentic pride was described as a self-relevant emotion consisting of two dimensions, namely Authentic and Hubristic pride (Tracy & Robins, 2007d). The Meaning Maintenance Model (MMM) as discussed by Heine, Proulx & Vohs (2006) was the conceptual framework that guided the study. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was asked for the implementation of a questionnaire that consisted of demographic factors, the Academic Commitment Scale (ACS), the Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI-R) and the Authentic and Hubristic Pride Scales (AHP). A pilot study was conducted to test the new Academic Commitment Scale’s reliability and construct validity. A one-stage random cluster sampling method was used to complete a sample of undergraduate students from two faculties at the same university. Results of the main study were reported in Chapter 4 and a discussion of findings and conclusions, as well as the contribution, limitations and recommendations for future research were addressed in Chapter 5. Findings of the study indicate that commitment as an identity-level construct, related to identity-related constructs such as differentiation of self and pride, can be utilised in a higher education setting to differentiate between high performance students and students at risk of failure. The results can thus assist policy makers, lecturers, educationists and psychologists to achieve a better understanding of the factors underpinning academic success on the one hand and student dropout on the other hand, in order to develop appropriate support programs. A main feature of the study was the development of a new scale to measure commitment in an academic context. The Academic Commitment Scale was created based on an adapted version of the Rusbult et al. (1998) Investment Model. Meaningfulness was added as a fifth subscale which turned out to be a strong predictor of academic commitment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

This diploma thesis with the future through the eyes of senior high school students, especially with its contents and time location of these contents. The theoretical part presents the most famous time perspective theories and the relationship between adolescents and their future. The emhasis is on introducing czech and also foreign research on a similar topic. The empirical part has four goals: find out which future contents senior high school students are dealing with, 2. where these contents are located in time, 3. how important are the contents and 4. what is the relationship between the future contents and student's past and present. They were done semi-structured interviews within the first and the second goal, then these interviews were coded and interpreted by using elements of grounded theory. To answer the other two goals students filled out questionnaire Ten most important life events by Cottle. The discussion part presents results of the research and comparison with the results of other research. The most senior high school students deal (in the context of the future) with university study, profession, travelling, independence and making their own family. Key words: time perspective, future time perspective, future orientation, late adolescence, senior high school students

Despite an increased interest in autism over the last decades, little research exists about life outcomes of autistic adults. The earliest follow-up studies of autistic individuals suggested that self- understanding and conscious efforts to change could be crucial factors in successfully reaching good life outcomes. However, these initial suggestions have not been further investigated. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative study examined the lives of eight highfunctioning autistic adults aged 25 to 63, from their own perspectives, through in-depth, semistructured interviews, to consider the relation of self-understanding and conscious efforts to change—in this study referred to as intentional personal development—to their life outcomes. All participants demonstrated a level of self-understanding beyond what would be predicted by current theoretical models of autism. Their self-understanding was assessed through participants’ self-definitions, meaning-making of life experiences, and understanding of emotions. In their self-definitions, the participants emphasized their abilities and personality characteristics, rather than their disabilities. For their self-defining memories, as indicators of their meaning making of life experiences, most participants chose positive experiences related to their personal development. Their autobiographical accounts revealed that most participants possess a large iii repertoire of emotion words, supporting an understanding of emotions. When a good life outcome is defined traditionally—as being employed, living independently, and having social relationships—this study, contrary to expectations, did not provide overwhelming evidence for the significant role of intentional personal development in achieving this. However, when a good life outcome is defined in terms of achieving personal excellence, then the study did provide confirmation of intentionality as important to attaining good life outcomes. This study therefore suggests that traditional life outcome measures are inadequate for assessing the life outcomes of autistic individuals because such measures do not take into account the individuals’ own sense of satisfaction with themselves and with their lives.

Despite an increased interest in autism over the last decades, little research exists about life outcomes of autistic adults. The earliest follow-up studies of autistic individuals suggested that self- understanding and conscious efforts to change could be crucial factors in successfully reaching good life outcomes. However, these initial suggestions have not been further investigated. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative study examined the lives of eight highfunctioning autistic adults aged 25 to 63, from their own perspectives, through in-depth, semistructured interviews, to consider the relation of self-understanding and conscious efforts to change—in this study referred to as intentional personal development—to their life outcomes. All participants demonstrated a level of self-understanding beyond what would be predicted by current theoretical models of autism. Their self-understanding was assessed through participants’ self-definitions, meaning-making of life experiences, and understanding of emotions. In their self-definitions, the participants emphasized their abilities and personality characteristics, rather than their disabilities. For their self-defining memories, as indicators of their meaning making of life experiences, most participants chose positive experiences related to their personal development. Their autobiographical accounts revealed that most participants possess a large iii repertoire of emotion words, supporting an understanding of emotions. When a good life outcome is defined traditionally—as being employed, living independently, and having social relationships—this study, contrary to expectations, did not provide overwhelming evidence for the significant role of intentional personal development in achieving this. However, when a good life outcome is defined in terms of achieving personal excellence, then the study did provide confirmation of intentionality as important to attaining good life outcomes. This study therefore suggests that traditional life outcome measures are inadequate for assessing the life outcomes of autistic individuals because such measures do not take into account the individuals’ own sense of satisfaction with themselves and with their lives.

Due to the changing demographics of South African organisations after the 1994 elections and the subsequent sub-cultural diversification, the working environment is becoming the primary place where the different South African sub-cultural groups, with their different value systems, are in interaction with each other. The consequent lifting of sanctions exposed South African organisations to globalisation and international competition. This forced managers to improve organisational processes and operations, not only to protect their own domestic markets, but also to become internationally competitive. At the same time, they had to adhere to newly created labour legislation, which dramatically changed the face of the South African labour market. The complex combination of several sub-cultures in the South African work environment can adversely affect organisational effectiveness if not properly understood and managed by effective transformational leaders. The concept of cultural values was used to explore the differences, as well as the similarities, between the various sub-cultural groups in the South African environment. This study examined cultural differences and similarities between 477 junior and middle managers in the financial services sector, who belonged to the four South African sub-cultural groups (Black, Coloured, White, and Indian), and between South African male and female managers. It also investigated whether cultural values change indiscriminately during the acculturation process, or whether certain cultural values, labelled peripheral values, change easier or before other cultural values, labelled core values. Due to the importance of transformational leadership in the work environment, this study also explored the differences and similarities of South African managers on Bass and Avolio’s Full Range Model of Leadership. (Avolio&Bass, 1999; Bass, 1985, 1997). A moderate social constructionist theory was used as a framework for this study, to analyse and describe quantitative results obtained with the various measuring instruments. Firstly, it was found that although there were statistically significant differences between most of the cultural value dimensions of the various sub-cultural groups, not all of these differences were practically significant. Results indicated that these groups could often be clustered together on specific cultural value dimensions, sometimes consisting of a Black, White, and Coloured cluster, sometimes as a Black, Coloured, and Indian cluster, and so forth. Secondly, independent variables other than sub-cultural group, gender, and age also showed practically significant relationships with some of the cultural value dimensions. Thirdly, the results indicated that the cultural values are very stable, even in the dynamic and multi-cultural South African environment, and as such, no core or peripheral values could be identified. Finally, the results also indicated that the transformational-transactional leadership model is cross-culturally endorsed within the South African financial services sector. It pointed out that irrespective of gender, junior or middle management level, age, educational level, number of years full-time work experience, number of years as manager, or having been exposed to formal Western management training, all managers evaluated themselves as more transformational than transactional. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

The paper analyses whether various aspects of a country's tax system have a positive or negative influence on individuals' attitudes towards the future. These attitudes are measured by an analysis of Google search queries derived from Google Trends which allow constructing an online futureorientation index for a sample of 58 countries. There results of this analysis indicate that capital gains taxes and value added taxes discourage future-oriented behaviour. Also, high personal income tax rates at the lowest income brackets discourage, whereas - surprisingly - the top marginal rates could positively influence an individual's future orientation. The paper contributes to existing research in three ways: First, it expands the existing tax literature by providing evidence that taxes can influence very fundamental personal values, such as individuals' general attitudes towards their future. Second, it contributes to a vast body of cross-cultural studies on future orientation by introducing tax law. Third, by using Internet search patterns the paper introduces these large, automatically gathered data sets into scientific tax research, thereby opening the possibility for further research opportunities. (author's abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

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