Underpinned by the Behavioural Approach System (BAS) dysregulation theory of bipolar disorder (BD), five studies were conducted in non-clinical samples to; refine the measurement of state Approach Motivation (AM); measure minor increases in AM; and then finally, to investigate how this relates to attentional biases for emotional stimuli. Study 1 attempted to clarify the phenomenology of state AM and revealed four separable factors that emerged from pooled AM questionnaire items. These structures loosely mapped on hypothesized components of the BAS (Depue & Iacono, 1989) that pertain to; cognitive elements of approach motivation (feeling determined and inspired); an energized, activated state; an affective structure relating to positive mood and outlook; and finally to feelings of excitement. Studies 2 and 3 investigated the validity of the four derived factors and their parent scales against a reward-oriented laboratory induction, a psychophysiological marker of AM, and a test of the discriminative power. The validity results suggested that the most well-established of the scales, the PANAS-PA, slightly outperformed the other measures by showing the greatest response to an AM induction. A second aim was to explore the substructure of a valid measure of mania risk - the hypomanic personality scale (HPS: Eckblad & Chapman, 1986) – in relation to AM responsivity. Unexpectedly, individuals who endorsed unpredictable and changeable moods (mood volatility) displayed elevated sympathetic arousal in response to control task. On this basis, and with a view to exploring the role selective attentional processes as a mediator of AM dysregulation that is relevant to bipolar disorder, study 4 and 5 utilised PANAS-PA to replicate a bi-directional congruency-effect found in the literature between elevations in AM and attentional information-processing biases to reward-related stimuli. Results in general did not support a causal influence of AM on attentional biases, nor did the attempted manipulation of attentional biases affect downstream AM. However, there was evidence that within a stratified sample of participants who reliably responded to the AM and control conditions, those at greater risk to mania exhibited an attentional bias for both positive and negative stimuli, relative those at lower risk to mania.

This interpretive study sought to understand how six GED graduates who dropped out of high school came to be enrolled at a rural community college, and what factors they perceived promoted or impeded their academic persistence and success. Specifically the study focused on student backgrounds, reasons for dropping out of high school, return motivations, and persistence factors influencing retention. Participants were selected based upon the following characteristics: 1) over the age of 21 2) enrolled both fall quarter, 1993 and winter quarter, 1994 3) studied for and took the GED at Yakima Valley Community College (YVCC) 4) received the GED after the test was revised in 1988 5) had earned at least 20 credits at YVCC by the end of fall quarter, 1993 In-depth student interviews and examination of student records provided data for the development of case records. Data analysis resulted in the generation of seven hypotheses. Among them were hypotheses that suggest that the GED was the key to accessing further education for returning adult high school dropouts, and that a primary benefit of passing the GED Tests was an increase in the self-confidence students needed to continue their education. The study also found that GED graduates recognized they may lack academic survival skills due to dropping out of high school, and that they were inclined to use college services for remediation. Four academic integration factors--the accessibility of a sequence of developmental classes, the existence of study skills or freshman orientation classes, the availability of tutoring, and supportive advising--contributed to the persistence and success of GED graduates. Two factors--the drive to become self sufficient, and the ability of students to develop a strong commitment to college through their faith in education to promote life changes--enabled students to persist and succeed. Participants provided evidence that GED graduates can succeed in community college as well as other students who have earned traditional high school degrees when certain academic conditions are in place. Finally, the study demonstrated the positive effect education can have in breaking the cycle of negative family attitudes toward schooling for the next generation. / Graduation date: 1995

Differential framing occurs when individuals with different latent motives assign qualitatively different meanings to the same attributes or events in the environment (James&Mazerolle, 2002; James&McIntyre, 1996). The implications of this phenomenon for the explanation and prediction of behavior are substantial: In perfectly logical fashions, individuals in exactly the same situation have qualitatively different experiences. In this way, differential framing mediates the relationship between motives and the behaviors that comprise traits. This dissertation tested several propositions associated with this phenomenon, and the results tentatively suggest that individuals with contrasting motives form qualitatively distinct impressions of the same organizational cultures.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-276). Also available in print.

Organizational environment (broadly conceptualized) has been shown to have an important influence on job choice (Chapman, Uggerslev, Carroll, Piasentin & Jones, 2005). Controversy exists, however, regarding how to operationalize organizational environment in a way that is both useful and parsimonious. Consistent with the perspective that situational strength meets these criteria (Meyer & Dalal, 2009), the present study found that participants were attracted to hypothetical organizations that were strong with respect to clarity, consistency, and consequences, but weak with respect to constraints. Further, individual differences in various psychological needs were shown to influence the strength of the relationship between situational strength and organizational attraction; for example, those with a high need for achievement were particularly attracted to organizations that were high with respect to consequences. These results not only contribute to the job choice literature, but also suggest that situational strength is more than just a moderator of personality-outcome relationships – it is an important psychological construct in and of itself, with its own nomological network that is worthy of continued research attention.

"Strong situations" have been shown to decrease behavioral variability, thereby attenuating the criterion-related validity of non-ability individual differences for criteria such as job performance (Barrick&Mount, 1993; Meyer, Dalal,&Bonaccio, 2009). However, it has been suggested that individuals, based on individual differences in implicit motives, may impute discrepant psychological meaning to social stimuli like situational strength--a process sometimes known as differential framing (James&McIntyre, 1996). If different psychological interpretations are attached to strong situation stimuli (e.g., Meyer, Dalal,&Hermida, 2010), an interesting behavioral "double-edged sword" is possible. On the one hand, behaviors pertinent to "primary criteria" (i.e., criteria for which external situational influences and pressures lead to targeted behavioral homogeneity) may occur among those who would not normally engage in them. But, at the same time, behaviors pertinent to "secondary criteria" (i.e., unintended, unforeseen, and potentially reactionary behaviors and/or attitudes) might also increase for some individuals (i.e., those with certain implicit motive characteristics). In other words, high situational strength may simultaneously constrain behavioral variability in primary criteria while serving as a stimulus for differential framing, thereby expanding variability on secondary criteria. The purpose of the present dissertation was twofold: 1) to explore the degree to which situational strength is differentially framed, and 2) to ascertain how the differential framing of situational strength may lead to unintended secondary outcomes. Study 1 findings indicate that, to a partial extent, situational strength is differentially framed by individuals with different implicit motives. Study 2 findings are largely consistent with extant situational strength theory, though partially inconsistent with study predictions.

Thesis (MA (Counselling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2006 Jun 17.

This study examines which and how trait relevant work design characteristics moderate the relationship between proactive personality and engagement. Proactive personality is defined as an individual's tendency to intentionally and directly affect change in their environment (Bateman & Crant, 1993; Crant, 2000). Previous research has been primarily focused on the positive aspects of proactive personality; to fill this gap, I used trait activation theory (Tett & Burnett, 2003) to identify which work characteristics will activate proactive personality to affect engagement and developed specific hypotheses about which work characteristics will attenuate the proactive personality engagement relationship. In the study I identified five work characteristics (autonomy, feedback from job, problem solving, social support, and feedback from others) that may be moderators of the proactive personality- engagement relationship. Data were collected from 258 participants who worked in organizations located in north and northeast Italy. Data were collected at two time points. At time 1, proactive personality and work design characteristics were collected. Work engagement was collected at time 2. Although main effects for proactive personality and the job characteristics on engagement were found, the data did not support most of the hypotheses in this study. However, supplemental analyses found interesting interactions with regards to the impact of decision making autonomy and feedback from others on the relation between proactive personality and work engagement. The supplemental results suggest that proactive personality may act as a personal resource when work design characteristics are lacking. However, when decision making autonomy or feedback from others is high there is a negative relationship between proactive personality and engagement. The results of this study have several implications for management theory and practice. On the theoretical side there are at least three contributions. First, while the majority of research on PAP has focused on main effects, few studies have identified moderators (Crant, 2000). Second, this study adds to research by extending trait activation theory to apply to how proactive workers view work characteristics. Third, while all work design characteristics coexist simultaneously within a work environment, they are usually discussed individually, not simultaneously. Additionally, the results of this study have implications for practice. The results of this study suggest that organizations should consider the work design characteristics and their impact on proactive workers prior to selecting proactive workers. Also organizations who are interested in employing proactive workers can use the results of this study to optimize the success of both high- and low-proactivity workers. By having a more in depth understanding of how work design characteristics impact proactive people organizations will be better able to meet an employee's needs, and the theoretical understanding of proactive personality is advanced.

No abstract / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)