Objective: In studying anxiety, the concepts of state anxiety (reactive) and trait anxiety (personality trait) are distinguished, while it is believed that the higher the trait anxiety, the higher the state anxiety in different situations of threat. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between trait anxiety and state anxiety in volunteers exposed to two distinct anxiogenic situations: an interpersonal threat (Video-Monitored Stroop Test VMST; n=30) and a physical threat (Third Molar extraction TME; n=20). Method: Healthy male subjects had their physiological (heart rate HR; gastrocnemius electromyography - GEM) and psychological parameters (Trait-State Anxiety Inventory STAI; Self-evaluation of tension level - STL; Social Phobia Inventory - SPIN, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - HAD; Dental Anxiety Scale - DAS) evaluated in three different situations: Before, During and After the VMST or the TME. A correlational study was conducted. Scores of STAI-T, DAS, HAD and SPIN were confronted with scores of STAI-E, STL, HR and GEM in each experimental situation (Before, During and After). A level of significance of 5% was considered. Results: In the VMST, STAI-T, HAD and SPIN correlated with STAI-S in all test situations and of STL in most situations. In relation to the TME, STAI-T and HAD were not correlated neither with the STAI-E nor with the STL in any experimental situation. DAS correlated with STAI-E and the STL before and during the test. In both VMST and TME, correlations of psychological with physiological measures were not found in any of the experimental situations. Conclusion: The level of physiological alterations may not reflect the level of anxiety and the anxious trait should be considered as a multidimensional concept, once trait anxiety modulated anxious responses to interpersonal threat, but not to physical threat. / Objetivo: No estudo da ansiedade, distinguem-se ansiedade-estado (reativa) de ansiedade-traço (perfil de personalidade) e acredita-se que quanto maior for a ansiedade-traço, maior será a ansiedade-estado nas mais diversas situações de ameaça. Com isso, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a correlação entre ansiedade-traço e ansiedade-estado em voluntários expostos a duas situações ansiogênicas distintas, sendo uma de ameaça interpessoal (Teste de Stroop Monitorado por Vídeo TSMV; n = 30) e a outra de ameaça física (Exodontia de Terceiro Molar ETM; n = 20). Método: Foram avaliados parâmetros fisiológicos (frequência cardíaca FC; e eletromiografia do músculo gastrocnêmio - EMG); e parâmetros psicológicos (Inventário de Ansiedade-Traço IDATE; Escala Analógica de Tensão EAT; Inventário de Fobia Social SPIN; Escala Hospitalar de Ansiedade e Depressão HAD; Escala de Ansiedade Dental de Corah) de indivíduos saudáveis do sexo masculino nas situações Antes, Durante e Depois do TSMV ou da ETM. O estudo correlacional foi realizado através do Teste de Correlação de Pearson, em que os dados de IDATE-T, Corah, HAD e SPIN foram confrontados com IDATE-E, EAT, FC e EMG em cada uma das situações experimentais (Antes, Durante e Depois). Foi considerado o nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: No TSMV, IDATE-T, HAD e SPIN correlacionaram-se com o IDATE-E, em todas as situações do teste, e com a EAT, na maioria das situações. Já na ETM, IDATE-T e HAD não se correlacionaram nem com o IDATE-E, nem com a EAT em quaisquer das situações experimentais. A escala de Corah correlacionou-se com o IDATE-E e a EAT nas fases Antes e Durante do teste. Tanto no TSMV quanto na ETM, não foi observada correlação dos parâmetros psicológicos com as medidas fisiológicas (FC e EMG) em quaisquer das situações experimentais. Conclusão: O nível das alterações fisiológicas podem não refletir o nível de ansiedade e a multidimensionalidade do traço ansioso deve ser considerado, já que este modulou a resposta ansiosa em situações de ameaça interpessoal, mas não de ameaça física.

For a number of years I have wondered why many of the prefects of some of the Grahamstown Schools have not become leaders in the particular sphere into which they chose to go after school. More than one head prefect that I have known has appeared to fade into anonymity after apparently leading his peers at school. I wondered if this was perhaps because at school he was not really a leader but simply an efficient policeman. Conversely, people who were not prefects at school often appeared as leaders in their chosen post-school careers. It seemed as if for some reason the prefect system at the schools concerned did not appreciably aid many pupils to develop their leadership potential or the selection procedures were inefficient. On investigating further I became more and. more interested in this topic until eventually, on discovering that the Rhodes University Education Department had a set of leadership scores, (calculated from a personality test) I undertook this investigation.

Helen Martins devoted approximately the last thirty years of her life to converting her family home into a unique fantasy world which she named the Owl House. Since her death in 1976 the Owl House has become a national monument and museum in South Africa. Throughout her life Helen was considered by most of the surrounding villagers to have been strange, and she withdrew increasingly from society. However, she appeared to have contained a desire for human connection. There are several instances in which she expressed this desire, such as through the numerous letters which she wrote to fellow artists. The existing body of literature on Helen illustrates the complex nature of her personality; however the question of which personality style she best typifies has remained unanswered. In order to answer this question a psychobiography was conducted on Helen. Psychobiographies entail a biographical representation of a person's life history to which a psychological theory is applied. The psychological theory utilised within the current study was Millon's (1969/1996) Biosocial- Learning Theory. Thus, the chief objective of this study was to describe and interpret Helen's personality style through the use of Millon's (1969/1996) Biosocial-Learning Theory. Alexander's model of data extraction and Miles and Huberman's three step approach were implemented in order to reduce, organise and analyse the data. The findings of this study reflected that Helen deteriorated from one of Millon's (1969/1996) proposed personality styles to another as she aged. The current findings may illuminate Helen's motives for obsessively devoting her life to the creation of her fantasy world.

Cross-cultural assessment in South Africa has become more prominent since the first democratic elections held in April 1994, as stronger demands for the cultural appropriateness of psychological tests have been made. The use of psychometric testing, including personality assessment in the workplace, is now strictly controlled by legislation, among others the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), the Labour Relations Act (66 of 1995), and the Employment Equity Act (55 of 1998), and the Health Professions Act (56 of 1974). The present study forms part of the development process of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI), which seeks to explore the indigenous personality structure of all the 11 official language groups found in South Africa and to then develop a personality inventory based on this. The present study aimed to explore and describe the personality facets and clusters that were found among a sample of 95 Xhosa-speaking South Africans. An exploratory descriptive research method was used and participants were selected by means of non-probability purposive sampling. Data were gathered by administering a biographical questionnaire and a tape-recorded 10- item interview questionnaire. Content analysis was used to analyse and reduce the data obtained from interviews into personality descriptors. Of the 1872 personality-descriptive words obtained from the interview questions, 164 facets of different personality characteristics were finally configured as a consequence of a data-reduction process. These facets were further categorised into a total of 37 personality sub-clusters and nine personality clusters which were labelled as Extraversion, Soft-heartedness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Intellect, Openness, Integrity, Relationship Harmony and Facilitating. These clusters and their sub-clusters resonate well with significant aspects and values of the Xhosa culture (e.g., Ubuntu). There also seems to be a moderate correspondence between the clusters and sub-clusters identified in the Xhosa-speaking sample and factors of the Five-Factor Model, especially with respect to the six clusters of Extraversion, Soft-heartedness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Intellect, and Openness. Nonetheless, differences in the composition of the clusters/facets were found, some of which are due to the more unique facets and sub-facets of personality identified in the Xhosa-speaking sample. The limitations of the study are identified and suggestions are made for further research.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a different personality trait between Department of Children's Services, intake and carrier workers. If there is a difference, does it effect job satisfaction when the worker is placed in a position that is not compatible with their personality trait?

Recent organisational changes have refocused attention on the productivity and performance of sales representatives and consequently brought about a re-evaluation of the QWL these employees experience, as well as their trust in the organisation to support them. Responses to an internet-based survey methodology were analysed using quantitative techniques and structural equation modelling. Results confirm a positive relationship between Managerial Practices and Organisational Trust, and a lower relationship between the dimensions of Personality and Organisational Trust. A positive relationship was noted between QWL and Managerial Practices, and a lower relationship between QWL and the Personality constructs. This study accentuates the importance of management to be aware of the trust employees have in the organisation as well as their experience of QWL, as it seems as though the Personality traits and Managerial Practices of managers influences both the trust relationship and QWL experienced by employees. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The present work explores how accuracy and bias in person perception change with the level of liking that the perceiver holds toward the target person. Specifically, we studied whether dislike affects (a) the social desirability of judgments (positivity bias), (b) the extent to which the target is described like an average person (normative accuracy), and (c) the extent to which the judgment reflects the given target’s characteristics in particular (distinctive accuracy). Eighty-four participants watched four target persons on video, after receiving bogus feedback on how positively or negatively those targets had supposedly evaluated them. The participants reciprocated negative bogus evaluations showing a marked decrease in reported liking for the respective target. Most important, dislike was consistently associated with lower positivity bias, greater normative accuracy, and lower distinctive accuracy across two validation measures (i.e., self-reports and informant reports of target persons).

No description available.

No description available.

This research seeks to understand the relationship between arts-based assessments and perception of self through exploration of participants’ interpretations of their own animal drawings. Subjects’ experiences with projective tests, personality assessments and tools, and art assessments were also examined for contextual understanding and comparison. To conduct this mixed methods pilot study, a survey was administered to alumni of the Loyola Marymount University Marital and Family Therapy Department. The findings suggest evidence of self- projection within arts-based assessment interpretation by way of metaphor, and highlight the potential for interpretation bias in therapeutic assessment, both in administration and perception. This pilot study has provided foundational information for future research, and suggests the following to be considered for continued exploration: styles of interpretation, framework of questions, usefulness of assessments, consistency of assessment interpretation, and how demographics plays a role in each of these elements.